Under UDAN, 453 routes have commenced, operationalizing 70 Airports including 2 Water Aerodrome & 9 Heliports

Under UDAN, 453 routes have commenced, operationalizing 70 Airports including 2 Water Aerodrome & 9 Heliports

• Ministry of Civil Aviation launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on 21.10.2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses. 
• As on 29.11.2022, after four rounds of bidding under UDAN, 453 routes have commenced, operationalizing 70 Airports including 2 Water Aerodrome & 9 Heliports. 
• More than 2.15 lakh UDAN flights have operated and over 1.1 crore passengers have availed the benefits in UDAN flights so far. The scheme has been able to provide air connectivity to Tier-2 &Tier-3 cities at affordable airfares and has transformed the way people travel.
• The UDAN Scheme is applicable for a period of 10 years from the date of notification of Scheme. The Government has set a target to operationalize 1000 UDAN routes during the currency of the scheme and to revive/develop 100 unserved & underserved airports/heliports/water aerodromes by 2024. 
• The Government of India has approved a budget of Rs. 4500 crores for revival of existing unserved / underserved airports / airstrips of the State Governments, Airports Authority of India, Public Sector Undertakings and Civil Enclaves. 
• Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Implementing Agency, monitors the progress for the revival/development of awarded aerodromes under UDAN and the same is reviewed by the Ministry in consultation with stakeholder’s time to time.

58 airports covered under Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0

• Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 was announced on 27 October 2021 enhancing the existing provisions, mainly focusing on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, North-Eastern States and tribal areas.
• The main objective of the Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 is to increase share of air carriage in the modal mix for transportation of Agri-produce, which includes horticulture, fishery, livestock and processed products. The scheme assists farmers in transporting agriculture products so that it improves their value realisation.
• Initially 53 Airports were covered in the pilot project for 06 months. Thereafter, during the review, 05 more Airports were added thus total covered are 58 Airports.

Ministry of Culture operates Museum Grant Scheme (MGS) and Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science (SPoCS) for modification and modernization of museums

• Ministry of Culture operates two schemes namely Museum Grant Scheme (MGS) and Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science (SPoCS), one of the components of which is development/modification of existing museums and modernization/upgradation of existing Science Cities/Science Centers/Innovation Hubs respectively.
• These schemes aim to provide financial assistance to modernize/upgrade and create a congenial spatial setting for diverse exhibitions, galleries and visitors’ amenities in the existing Museums and Science Cities/Science Centers/Innovation Hubs. One of the components under Museum Grant Scheme is Digitization of Museum Collections which primarily focuses on digitization of museum collection.
• During the last two years (2020-21 and 2021-22), 8 museums have been funded under Museum Grant Scheme for development/modernization of existing museums. Similarly, 13 Science Cities/Science Centers/Innovation Hubs have been funded under Scheme for Promotion of Culture of Science for modernization, renovation and improvement of existing facilities.