International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS)- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges– Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS) in News
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS) scheme (International Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN).
- International UDAN is an extension of the domestic UDAN scheme.
International UDAN
- About: International UDAN aims to enhance air connectivity from certain States of the country with selected international destinations to promote socio-economic growth.
- Participation: International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS) is supported by the State Governments.
- Connectivity: The State Government of Assam, Manipur and Tripura have identified routes connecting Guwahati, Imphal and Agartala with selected international destinations viz.-
- Bangkok,
- Dhaka,
- Kathmandu,
- Yangon,
- Hanoi,
- Mandalay,
- Kunming &
- Chittagong
- Subsidy under Overseas UDAN:
- To encourage Airlines to participate, the government offers a subsidy in the form of pre-decided payout per seat.
- Airlines are required to bid on the number of passenger seats per flight for which such support is required.
- Unlike in domestic UDAN where both the Centre and the State government share the subsidy, it is only the State government that will provide the financial support for flights under international UDAN.
- Like the domestic UDAN, the financial support and flying exclusivity on the route will be for three years.
- Criteria for Participation:
- Only Indian carriers can participate in the international UDAN scheme.
- Only aircraft with capacity of 70 seats or more can fly the foreign routes.
- Significance:
- Overseas UDAN would promote the development of the city and the State by wooing tourists and business people to travel via smaller towns, instead of their flying through the metros.
- The scheme seeks to make use of the open skies policy that India has with other Asian countries that allow direct and unlimited flights to and from these nations to 18 Indian destinations.
UDAN scheme: Only 1 out of 4 survive on completion of 3 years
Steps taken to Promote International Connectivity of North Eastern Region
- International Airports in NER: There are two international airports in the NER at-
- Guwahati- operated by Guwahati International Airport Limited (GIAL) and
- Imphal- operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
- GIAL and AAI both have undertaken construction of the New Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) and other associated works at their respective airports to improve services including, an increase in passenger handling capacity.
- AAI has taken up the following development works to boost international connectivity to/from North Eastern Region-
- The new terminal building at Agartala Airport has been designed as an integrated terminal keeping in view the future requirement for international operation.
- Construction of a New Integrated Terminal Building for 2.4 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA), has been undertaken at Imphal Airport to augment passenger handling capacity, which has been declared as an International airport.
UDAN Scheme
- UDAN scheme full form:Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik is a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to ensure affordability, connectivity, growth and development.
- Objective: It provides a win-win situationfor all stakeholders – citizens would get the benefit of affordability, connectivity and more jobs.
- The scheme was launched in 2016, and would be in operation for a period of 10 years.