How good is UDAN?

The focus of UDAN on connecting India's hinterland to the main airports, and later connecting hinterland within themselves, is a task that requires structural changes to the aviation setup in India.

- AMEYA JOSHI

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had a tableau for this Republic Day parade a unique appearance. For the tableau, the ministry chose to showcase its flagship scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik). The tableau won accolades formally as well as informally! The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN has been the talk of the town and much touted by the government since it was introduced in the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) in 2016 and subsequently saw first flight in 2017. Ironic, as it may seem, the first route under UDAN, between Delhi and Shimla, is no longer operational!

The idea of incentivising airlines for remote connectivity has been in the works by last two or three governments, but it was only when the project started getting touted as a pet project of the Prime Minister, that it got a name, acronym and the necessary push. RCS-UDAN went into a Blitzkrieg mode with the officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and officials concerned of the state and central government dealing with infrastructure, security and allied departments being tasked to get as many airports as possible to be operational in a short span of time.

Regional connectivity was the need of the hour for a country with a population of over 1.3 billion! India is divided amongst regions that have different seasons, people and languages. While the population has been more urban in the last few decades, it is largely scattered. The urban population has migrated from across the country. Over the years, as the economy started improving and the middle class started growing at a rapid pace, it made air travel affordable for a larger number of people.