We want to extend RCS-UDAN scheme for another 10 years: Civil Aviation Minister

New Delhi [India], September 5 (ANI): Claiming the “huge success” of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu has said the Centre “wants” to extend it for another 10 years.

The central government had launched the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme on October 21, 2016, to make air travel affordable for the people.

“..We have observed the huge success that the RCS UDAN scheme has achieved. So, we want to extend it for another 10 years and see what gaps are there and try to address them…Right now, we have 157 (airports), in the plan of Viksit Bharat for 2047, we are planning to improve these 157 airports to 400 airports – including waterdrome airports, heliports and everything,” said Naidu on Wednesday.

“We still feel that India has an opportunity to double the airports that are there today, and we are going to work on it…” he stated.

The union civil aviation minister indicated that India will soon enter into aircraft manufacturing to make India a global hub for aircraft manufacturing.

“We want to inform the industry that the government is strongly pushing into the idea of India manufacturing its own plane,” he said.

The minister emphasised that the government aimed to expand this initiative dramatically not only to meet domestic demand but also to position India as an exporter of aircraft.

“Our intention is to build the final plane here in India,” Naidu stated.

He acknowledged that while there might be a need to source certain components or engines from other players initially, the goal was to develop a self-sustaining ecosystem where every part could eventually be manufactured within the country.

“To give a push to regional transport aircraft, we are forming this SPV. In the next five years, we will sit down and address all the critical concerns,” he assured.

When asked whether international giants like Airbus and Boeing would be part of the SPV, Naidu confidently replied, “We are a major client for them, and they have a strong inclination to partner with us. We will involve everyone in terms of know-how and expertise.”