Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Scheme

Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) is a regional airport development and connectivity scheme aimed at making air travel affordable and accessible in unserved and underserved regions through capped fares and viability gap funding.

Under Indian Economy

• It advances balanced regional growth by linking remote, Tier-2, and Tier-3 markets to mainstream economic corridors.
• It demonstrates an innovative cross-subsidisation financing model where trunk route levies fund viability gap support for regional operators.
• It enhances multi-modal logistics and tourism infrastructure, particularly in geographically challenging areas like the North-East and island territories.

UPSC typically frames questions around UDAN under GS Paper 3 infrastructure, testing candidates on its structural efficacy and viability gap funding mechanism. Questions often focus on implementation bottlenecks such as high operating costs, fleet availability, and airport readiness in remote areas. Candidates are expected to analyze whether the scheme balances commercial profitability for airlines with the developmental mandate of inclusive connectivity.

• Infrastructure: energy, ports, roads, airports, railways GS3
• Government policies and interventions GS2