UDAN: Regional Connectivity Scheme (Yojana > Ed_June_2017)

By Bharat Choudhary -
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is First-of-its-kind Scheme Globally to Stimulate Regional Connectivity Through a Market-Based Mechanism.

Scheme inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shimla (HP) on April 27, 2017, key component of 'National Civil Aviation Policy' (15 June 2016). He also inaugurated flights between Kadpa - Hyderabad & Nanded - Hyderabad.
It is a regional airport development and 'Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)' of the Government of India, with the objective of 'Let the common citizen of the country fly', aimed at making air travel affordable and widespread, enabling inclusive job growth and infrastructure development of all regions and states of India.

Click below link to Download file in PDF Format

Key Facts:
  • Scheme by Ministry of Civil Aviation
  • Implementing agency is Airport Authority of India (AAI)
  • Will connect 70 airports (of tier 2 & tier 3 cities) and 128 routes in country
Expected Benefits:
  • will spur economics growth in hinderland
  • will provide affordable air travel for the cast middle class
  • will end monopoly of the elite air services in country
Provisions: 
  • Fixed wing aircraft: price of travel of approx. 500 km or for 60 minute will be capped to 2500. Service provider will have to reserve 50% of flight capacity for RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) - Min 9 to Max 40 Seats
*It is applicable on flights which cover between 200 km and 800 km.
  • Helicopter: 30 minute of ride will be capped. Reservation for 5 to 13 seats for RCS.

Challenges & Solution:
  • Major challenge will be viability of funds to reduce cost of operations.
    • Solution: concessions in form of VGF (Viability Gap Fund) - It is a grant to support projects that are economically justified but not financially viable.
      • It was launched in 2004 by Government of India to support force multiplying projects under Public-Prive-Partnership (PPP) mode.
      • Available only for infrastructure projects. 
      • North-Eastern states will provide 10% where other states will provide 20% share.
  • Service providers will benefit as there will not be any airport charges and will have 3-year exclusivity on the routes.
  • RCS subsidy will also be raised by levying a cess, which will be revised periodically, on the flight between main trunk routes connecting major cities. 


ROUTES COVERED (MAP):  

Image Courtesy: THE INDIAN EXPRESS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Continent Wise Classification and Distribution of Local Winds

By Bharat Choudhary -
Image
Local winds are small scale convective winds of local origin caused by temperature differences. Local terrain has a very strong influence on local winds, and the more varied the terrain, the greater the influence. These occur on a small spatial scale, their horizontal dimensions typically several tens to a few hundreds of kilometers. They also tend to be short-lived lasting typically several hours to a day. There are many such winds around the world. Most common local winds are  sea breezes and land breezes, Anabatic and katabatic winds, and Foehn winds. Land Breezes and Sea Breezes:   As the names suggest, the two breezes occur along coastal areas or areas with adjacent large water bodies. Water and land have different heating abilities. Water takes a bit more time to warm up and is able to retain the heat longer than land does. Now let us see the following Diagram - Land Breeze:  It's  a coastal breeze blowing at night from land to s...
Read more

Soil Geography - Zonal, Intrazonal and Azonal Soils (Older System of Classification)

By Bharat Choudhary -
Image
Soil geography deals with the distribution of soils as function of the five recognized soil-forming factors (climate, flora and fauna including Man, relief, parent material, time), either acting singly or in combination. It forms the basis of such concepts as zonality (i.e. the regional distribution of soils in zones), first formulated by Dokuchaev on the basis of climate for European Russia, elaborated upon further by Glinka and Sibirchev, who introduced the zonal, intrazonal and azonal soils approach, taking into account other soil-forming factors than climate. The loose material or the upper layer of the Mantle Rock, t he soil system, is the product of environmental and biological processes in interrelation with climate, vegetation (flora), animals (fauna), underlying rocks, topography and time which affect the biosphere. This is the  Zonal ( Older ) System of Classification .  This system links the distribution of various soil types to the distribution of...
Read more

Is God A Woman?

By Bharat Choudhary -
Image
THE SHAKTI PRINCIPLE Is God A Woman? Shakti literally means power but a different kind of power—the power of beauty, intuition, nurturing, and tenderness. DEEPAK CHOPRA Image Source :   http://www.carolinejariwala.com/ No God is not a woman, but God's feminine face has been ignored for too long. The masculine energies have dominated our culture for centuries and because of that we have become a predatory species. We are the only animal that kills our own kind most frequently in the name of God. The feminine forces of the universe are desperately needed if we have to evolve into our next stage of development.  "The whole universe is a gesture of erotic love and every dancing molecule is moving in longing for an unseen lover." God, being infinite intelligence, cannot be squeezed into the volume of a body or the span of a lifetime. Nor can God be conceived of in human form. Nevertheless, God can be symbolised in masculine and feminine forms. The masculine form needs to be pu...
Read more