NEW DELHI: Government’s ambitious UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme may not be yielding the desired results, yet, Airport Authority of India (AAI) has chosen to showcase the theme of regional connectivity during the upcoming Republic Day ceremony.
A tableau on the theme of UDAN has been proposed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the occasion of Republic Day.
The objective behind the move is to showcase achievements of the Airports Authority, particularly under the regional connectivity scheme.
The AAI has already put out a tender for conceptualising, designing and display of the tableau at Rajpath on January 26.
The government had launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN during October 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable.
However, the scheme has not shown the desired level of success.
Under RCS-UDAN, 688 RCS routes have been awarded in the first three phases, out of which only 232 RCS routes commenced, connecting 43 small cities till date.
Officials agreed that regional connectivity scheme is market-driven and airlines assess demand and nature of supply required on a particular route and based on their analysis participate in the bidding process.
Authorities involved, including the Centre, State and Airports Authority provide concessions and financial support to operators to promote affordability in regional connectivity; however, despite this, many operators have not complied with the agreement resulting in the cancellation of routes.