Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) flagship Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN has been selected for Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2020 under the Innovation (Central) category.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation will receive the award on the 21st of April, i.e. Civil Service Day.
A special event is been organized by the Government of India at Vigyan Bhawan on the occasion of “Civil Service Day” where the representative of the ministry will be facilitated with the award.
What is Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration?
The government of India has initiated the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration award to acknowledge, recognize and reward extraordinary and innovative work done by Districts and Organizations of the State.
This award emphasizes Good Governance, Qualitative achievements, and last-mile connectivity rather than only on achievement of quantitative targets. The award consists of a trophy, scroll, and an incentive of Rs 10 lakhs.
What is UDAN Scheme?
The UDAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in 2016 to provide enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and III Indian cities.
The scheme aims to fulfill the flying aspirations of the common man by following the vision of Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik i.e. let common people fly.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is the nodal agency to oversee the successful implementation of the UDAN scheme.
In a short span of 5 years, today 415 UDAN routes connect 66 underserved/unserved airports, including heliports and water aerodromes, and over 92 lakh people have benefited from it.
More than 1 lakh 79 thousand flights have flown under this scheme. UDAN scheme has immensely benefitted several sectors pan-India including the Hilly States, North-Eastern region, and Islands
Impact of the UDAN Scheme on the Economy
The UDAN scheme has a positive impact on the economy of the country and has witnessed an excellent response from industry stakeholders, especially airlines operators and state governments.
More than 350 new city pairs are now scheduled to be connected under the scheme, with 200 already connected and are widely spread geographically providing connectivity across the length and breadth of the country as well as ensuring balanced regional growth resulting in economic growth and employment to the local population.
The scheme also led to the development of new Green Field Airports such as Pakyong near Gangtok in Sikkim, Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
The scheme also led to a 5% incremental growth in the domestic passenger share of non-metro airports.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation plans and commits to construct 100 new airports by 2024 in India with 1,000 new routes under the UDAN RCS scheme by the year 2026.
Recently, the Ministry of Civil Aviation tableau was named the best central ministry tableau for Republic Day 2022.
The tableau of the Ministry of Civil Aviation showcased Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) as its central theme.