NewzVille Desk
The Ministry of Civil Aviation today took a major step towards strengthening regional air connectivity across the country with the signing of 21 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with States and Union Territories under the next phase of the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) Scheme.
The MoUs mark a significant milestone in Centre–State/UT cooperation for the development of aviation infrastructure and expansion of air connectivity to underserved and unserved regions.
The ceremony was inaugurated by Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviationin NewDelhi, in the presence of Murlidhar Mohol, Minister of State for Civil Aviation; Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Vipin Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), and senior officials of the Ministry.
“With these MoUs, Team Bharat is joining hands to take India’s regional aviation to greater heights. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Viksit Rajya is the foundation of Viksit Bharat, with every State as an equal partner in this journey,” said Shri Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu.
Talking about the impact of UDAN, the Minister added, “Since its launch, UDAN has operationalized 687 routes and 95 aerodromes, with more than 3.66 lakh flights carrying around 1.71 crore passengers. But the numbers that matter most to me are the numbers of impact, aviation-sector jobs have grown from around 3 million in 2014 to nearly 7.7 million today, with the potential to reach 25 million by 2040. Airports like Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh and Purnea in Bihar, once cut off from air connectivity by hundreds of kilometers, are today becoming drivers of regional prosperity”.
