By Admin 
UDAN 2.0: The Central Government has taken a big decision to strengthen regional air connectivity in the country. Approval of Rs 28,840 crore has been given for the ‘Udaan 2.0’ (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme. Under this scheme, new airport infrastructure will be developed, along with financial assistance to airlines and support for operation of small aerodromes will also be given.
Cabinet approves Udaan 2.0
After getting the cabinet approval, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that 100 new airports will be developed under this scheme. These airports will be built by developing existing unused airstrips. Each airport will cost around Rs 100 crore. A total of Rs 12,159 crore will be spent on the development of these airports in the next 8 years.
Apart from this, a target has been set to develop 200 modern helipads under the scheme, for which Rs 3,661 crore will be spent in the next eight years. At the same time, to make the projects viable, airline companies will be given assistance of Rs 10,043 crore in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) in 10 years.
Scheme started in 2016
It is noteworthy that ‘Udaan’ scheme was started in October 2016, the objective of which is to connect small cities of the country with the air network and make air travel accessible and affordable for the common people. The government says that the main objective of the ‘Udaan 2.0’ scheme is to strengthen regional air connectivity, increase access to inaccessible and remote areas and promote balanced economic development by connecting small towns with the air network.
A provision of Rs 3,661 crore has been made for the construction of the helipad. Apart from this, an additional allocation of Rs 400 crore has been made in the budget to strengthen the production capacity of the aviation sector domestically under the ‘Udaan 2.0’ scheme.
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