Lok Sabha Question No. 19 (STARRED), answered on 2023-07-20
Subject: Regional Air Connectivity Scheme
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Pocha Brahmananda Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

## Lok Sabha

STARRED QUESTION NO. : 19

( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  20th July 2023 )

REGIONAL AIR CONNECTIVITY SCHEME

19.    SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  the  details  of  the  Regional  Air  Connectivity  Scheme  launched  to connect underserved airports to key airports at a cost of Rs. 2,500 per hour flight;
- (b) the objectives and components of the scheme;
- (c) the details of the progress made in this regard, State/UT-wise and year-wise;
- (d) whether the Government proposes to launch UDAN-RCS 6.0 in near future; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

Minister  of  CIVIL  AVIATION            (Shri  Jyotiraditya  M&#46; Scindia)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the table of the House.;

******

STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 19 REGARDING "REGIONAL AIR CONNECTIVITY SCHEME" TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2023; (a) & (b):: The Government launched the Regional

Connectivity  Scheme  (RCS)  -  UDAN  (Ude  Desh  ka  Aam Nagrik) in October 2016 to enhance regional air connectivity from  unserved  and  underserved  airports  in  the  country  for making air travel affordable to the masses through revival of the existing airstrips and airports. The scheme would be in operation for a period of ten years. ; Financial incentives in terms of concessions from Central, State Governments and airport operators are extended to Selected Airline Operators to encourage operations from unserved/underserved airports/heliports/water  aerodromes  and  keep  the  air  fare affordable.;  Support  to  the  Selected  Airline  Operators  is extended  in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF). State Governments provide 20% share towards VGF for RCS flights pertaining  to  their  states.  However,  the  share  of  VGF  for North-Eastern states and Union Territories is 10%.;  UDAN is a  market driven scheme. Interested airlines based on their assessment  of  demand  on  particular  routes  submit  their proposals  at  the  time  of  bidding  under  UDAN.    (c):  As  on 11.07.2023,  479  RCS  routes  connecting  74  unserved  and underserved  airports  (including  9  heliports  &  02  water aerodromes) have been operationalised (as per detail given in  Annexure).    More  than  123  lakh  domestic  passengers travelled in over 2.34 lakhs RCS flights. ;  (d) & (e): No Sir, at present there is no such proposal.

## List of RCS Airports Operationalized Financial Year wise

| S. No.                                                           | Airport                                                          | Date of operationalization                                       |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Financial Year 2017-18                                           | Financial Year 2017-18                                           | Financial Year 2017-18                                           |
| (Total 20 Nos. including 7 Underserved and 14 Unserved airports) | (Total 20 Nos. including 7 Underserved and 14 Unserved airports) | (Total 20 Nos. including 7 Underserved and 14 Unserved airports) |
| 1.                                                               | Kadapa (Underserved)(Round-1)                                    | 27-Apr-2017                                                      |
| 2.                                                               | Shimla(Round-1)(Unserved)                                        | 27-Apr-2017                                                      |
| 3.                                                               | Nanded(Round-1)(Unserved)                                        | 27-Apr-2017                                                      |
| 4.                                                               | Bhatinda(Round-1)(Unserved)                                      | 27-Apr-2017                                                      |
| 5.                                                               | Gwalior (Underserved)(Round-1)                                   | 31-May-2017                                                      |
| 6.                                                               | Kandla(Round-1)(Unserved)                                        | 01-Jul-2017                                                      |
| 7.                                                               | Porbandar (Underserved)(Round-1)                                 | 10-Jul-2017                                                      |
| 8.                                                               | Pondicherry (Underserved)(Round-1)                               | 16-Aug-2017                                                      |
| 9.                                                               | Mysore(Round-1)(Unserved)                                        | 02-Sep-2017                                                      |
| 10.                                                              | Ludhiana(Round-1)(Unserved)                                      | 02-Sep-2017                                                      |
| 11.                                                              | Vidyanagar(Round-1)(Unserved)                                    | 21-Sep-2017                                                      |
| 12.                                                              | Bikaner(Round-1)(Unserved)                                       | 26-Sep-2017                                                      |
| 13.                                                              | Jaisalmer(Round-1)(Unserved)                                     | 29-Oct-2017                                                      |
| 14.                                                              | Agra (Underserved)(Round-1)                                      | 08-Dec-2017                                                      |
| 15.                                                              | Jalgaon(Round-1)(Unserved)                                       | 23-Dec-2017                                                      |
| 16.                                                              | Ozar (Nasik)(Round-1)(Unserved)                                  | 23-Dec-2017                                                      |
| 17.                                                              | Jamnagar (Underserved)(Round-1)                                  | 17-Feb-2018                                                      |
| 18.                                                              | Mundra(Round-1)(Unserved)                                        | 17-Feb-2018                                                      |
| 19.                                                              | Diu (Underserved)(Round-1)                                       | 24-Feb-2018                                                      |
| 20.                                                              | Salem(Round-1)(Unserved)                                         | 25-Mar-2018                                                      |
| Financial Year 2018-19                                           | Financial Year 2018-19                                           | Financial Year 2018-19                                           |
| (Total 18 Nos. including 8 Underserved and 10 Unserved airports) | (Total 18 Nos. including 8 Underserved and 10 Unserved airports) | (Total 18 Nos. including 8 Underserved and 10 Unserved airports) |
| 1.                                                               | Pathankot(Round-1)(Unserved)                                     | 05-Apr-2018                                                      |
| 2.                                                               | Kolhapur(Round-1) (Unserved)                                     | 08-Apr-2018                                                      |
| 3.                                                               | Tezpur (Underserved)(Round-2)                                    | 26-Apr-2018                                                      |
| 4.                                                               | Shillong (Underserved)(Round-1)                                  | 26-Apr-2018                                                      |
| 5.                                                               | Bhavnagar (Underserved)(Round-1)                                 | 01-May-2018                                                      |
| 6.                                                               | Adampur(Round-1)(Unserved)                                       | 01-May-2018                                                      |
| 7.                                                               | Hubli (Underserved)(Round-2)                                     | 14-May-2018                                                      |
| 8.                                                               | Jagdalpur(Round-1)(Unserved)                                     | 14-Jun-2018                                                      |
| 9.                                                               | Allahabad (Underserved)(Round-2)                                 | 14-Jun-2018                                                      |
| 10.                                                              | Kanpur(Chakeri)(Round-1)(Unserved)                               | 03-Jul-2018                                                      |
| 11.                                                              | Jorhat (Underserved)(Round-2)                                    | 01-Aug-2018                                                      |
| 12.                                                              | Jharsuguda(Round-1)(Unserved)                                    | 22-Sep-2018                                                      |
| 13.                                                              | Pakyong(Round-2)(Unserved)                                       | 04-Oct-2018                                                      |

| 14.                                                     | Kishangarh(Round-2)(Unserved)                           | 08-Oct-2018                                             |
|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| 15.                                                     | Pantnagar (Underserved)(Round-1)                        | 04-Jan-2019                                             |
| 16.                                                     | Lilabari (Underserved)(Round-2)                         | 15-Jan-2019                                             |
| 17.                                                     | Pithoragarh(Round-2)(Unserved)                          | 17-Jan-2019                                             |
| 18.                                                     | Kannur(Round-2)(Unserved)                               | 25-Jan-2019                                             |
| Financial Year 2019-20                                  | Financial Year 2019-20                                  | Financial Year 2019-20                                  |
| 1.                                                      | Belgaum (Underserved)(Round-3)                          | 01-May-2019                                             |
| 2.                                                      | Kullu (Underserved)(Round-1)                            | 13-May-2019                                             |
| 3.                                                      | Durgapur(Underserved)(Round-1)                          | 25-Jun-2019                                             |
| 4.                                                      | Hindon(Round-2)(Unserved)                               | 11-Oct-2019                                             |
| 5.                                                      | Kalaburgi (Gulbarga)(Round-3)(Unserved)                 | 22-Nov-2019                                             |
| 6.                                                      | Dimapur (Underserved)(Round-3)                          | 07-Dec-2019                                             |
| 7.                                                      | Bidar(Round-1)(Unserved)                                | 07-Feb-2020                                             |
| 8.                                                      | Sahastradhara - Heliport (Round-2) (Unserved)           | 08-Feb-2020                                             |
| 9.                                                      | Chinyalisaur - Heliport (Round-2)(Unserved)             | 08-Feb-2020                                             |
| 10.                                                     | Gaucher - Heliport (Round-2)(Unserved)                  | 08-Feb-2020                                             |
| Financial Year 2020-21 (Total 9 Nos. Unserved airports) | Financial Year 2020-21 (Total 9 Nos. Unserved airports) | Financial Year 2020-21 (Total 9 Nos. Unserved airports) |
| 1.                                                      | New Tehri - Heliport (Round-2)(Unserved)                | 29-Jul-2020                                             |
| 2.                                                      | Srinagar - Heliport (Round-2)(Unserved)                 | 29-Jul-2020                                             |
| 3.                                                      | Statue of Unity (W) (Round-3)(Unserved)                 | 31-Oct-2020                                             |
| 4.                                                      | Sabarmati River Front (W) (Round-3) (Unserved)          | 31-Oct-2020                                             |
| 5.                                                      | Darbhanga(Round-1)(Unserved)                            | 08-Nov-2020                                             |
| 6.                                                      | Hissar (Round-2)(Unserved)                              | 14-Jan-2021                                             |
| 7.                                                      | Bilaspur (Round-1)(Unserved)                            | 01-Mar-2021                                             |
| 8.                                                      | Bareilly (Unserved)                                     | 08-Mar-2021                                             |
| 9.                                                      | Kurnool (Unserved) (Round-3)                            | 28-Mar-2021                                             |
| Financial Year 2021-22                                  | Financial Year 2021-22                                  | Financial Year 2021-22                                  |
| 1.                                                      | Rupsi (Unserved)                                        | 08-May-2021                                             |
| 2.                                                      | Passighat (Unserved)                                    | 24-May-2021                                             |
| 3.                                                      | Tezu (Unserved)                                         | 15-Aug-2021                                             |
| 4.                                                      | Haldwani - Heliport (Round-2) (Unserved)                | 08-Oct-2021                                             |
| 5.                                                      | Sindhudurg (Unserved)                                   | 09-Oct-2021                                             |
| 6.                                                      | Kushinagar (unserved)                                   | 26-Nov-2021                                             |
| 7.                                                      | Mandi - Heliport (Round-2) (Unserved)                   | 09-Dec-2021                                             |
| 8.                                                      | Rampur - Heliport (Round-2) (Unserved)                  | 14-Dec-2021                                             |
| 9.                                                      | Gondia (Round-4( (Unserved)                             | 13-Mar-2022                                             |
| Financial Year 2022-23 (Total 7 Nos. Unserved airports) | Financial Year 2022-23 (Total 7 Nos. Unserved airports) | Financial Year 2022-23 (Total 7 Nos. Unserved airports) |

|   1. | Keshod (Round-2) (Unserved)            | 16-Apr-2022   |
|------|----------------------------------------|---------------|
|    2 | Deoghar (Round-4.1) (Unserved)         | 12-July-2022  |
|    3 | Jeypore (Round-1) (Unserved)           | 03-Aug-2022   |
|    4 | Almora - Heliport (Round-2) (Unserved) | 26-Aug-2022   |
|    5 | Rourkela (Round-1) (Unserved)          | 07-Jan-2023   |
|    6 | Hollongi (Round-4.3) (Unserved)        | 15-Jan-2023   |
|    7 | Jamshedpur (Round-1) (Unserved)        | 31-Jan-2023   |
|    8 | Cooch Behar (Round-1) (Unserved)       | 21-Feb-2023   |