New Delhi: Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagrik) has been selected for Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020 under the category “Innovation (General) – Central”, said a statement from the Ministry. The Ministry of Civil Aviation will receive the award on Civil Service Day - April 21.
A special event has been organized by 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. Launched in 2016, UDAN scheme aims to fulfil the aspirations of the common man by following the vision of UdeDeshkaAamNagrik,with an enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and III cities, the statement said.
"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 Hilly States, North-Eastern region, and Islands," it added.
The Ministry claimed that UDAN 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 local population.