PM Krishi Udan Yojana 2.0 – 53 Airports Operated by AAI Covered

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Central government has launched Krishi Udan Yojana 2.0 on 27 October 2021. The new Krishi Udan 2.0 scheme will focus on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, northeastern states and tribal areas. Krishi Udaan 2.0 Scheme will help solve the problem of wastage of agricultural food wastes in the country. In this article, we will tell you about the complete details of Krishi Udaan Yojana.

What is Krishi Udan Yojana 2.0

The Union govt. of India is committed to doubling farmers income and for doing this, there needs to be a paradigm shift. Doubling farmers income doesn’t mean only increasing the value in the market for the produce but it also means creating a paradigm shift for the farmers. Under Krishi Udan Yojana 2.0, MoCA will provide a full waiver of the following charges for domestic airlines:-

• Landing
• Parking
• Terminal Navigation
• Route Navigation Facilities

Airports Covered under Krishi Udaan 2.0 Scheme

Ministry of Civil Aviation will setup terminals in Leh, Srinagar, Nagpur, Nashik, Ranchi Bagdogra, Raipur and Guwahati. It has selected 53 airports to be covered under the Krishi Udan 2.0 Scheme which will be majorly operated by the Airports Authority of India.

Along with this eight domestic and international trade routes will also be started under Krishi Udaan 2.0 Scheme. The routes include Amritsar-Dubai to transport baby corn, Darbhanga and the rest of India to transport Lychees and Sikkim and the rest of India for organic produce.

Trade Route Setup under Krishi Udan 2.0 Scheme

Central government will also work towards setting up a trade route between Chennai, Vizag and Kolkata and East Asian countries to transport seafood. Other routes include Agartala-Delhi-Dubai for Pineapple, Dibrugarh-Delhi-Dubai for Mandarin Oranges and Guwahati to Hong Kong for pulses, fruits and vegetables.

Ministry has asked states to reduce sales tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to 1 percent for airlines under Krishi Udan 2.0 Scheme. The ministry along with AAI will setup up a hub and spoke model at Agartala, Srinagar, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Hubbali, Imphal, Jorhat, Lilabari, Lucknow, Silchar, Tezpur, Tirupati and Tuticorin in 2021-22.

In 2022-23, they will develop a hub and spoke models to transport perishable products in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jharsuguda, Kozhikode, Mysuru, Puducherry, Rajkot, and Vijayawada, in 2023-24, Agra, Darbhanga, Gaya, Gwalior, Pakyong, Pantnagar, Shillong, Shimla, Udaipur and Vadodara and in 2024-25, Holangi and Salem will be covered.

E-Kushal Portal for Krishi Udaan Yojana 2.0

The ministry will also develop an online portal E-KUSHAL to facilitate information on Krishi UDAN 2.0. MoCA will keep working on refining the rules of the scheme and urged the transport industry to point out any bottlenecks, they are facing in the transport of goods across the country.

Announcement of Krishi Udan 2.0 Yojana

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had first announced Krishi Udan Yojana 2.0 during her Budget speech on February 1, 2020 to assist farmers in transportation of their agricultural products. Krishi Udaan Scheme 2.0 aims to transport agri-products to national as well international destinations that will help improve value realisation, especially in the Northeast and tribal districts.

Objective of Krishi Udaan 2.0 Yojana

The main objective of Krishi Udaan 2.0 Yojana is to give farmers wings by improving their value realization. Central government is focusing on modernization of agriculture and farm produce and to realist the vision of Doubling Farmers Income By 2022. The Krishi Udan Yojana 2.0 is a part of the 16 point action plan for farmers. Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched this Krishi Udaan Scheme on international and national routes. This scheme is a part of the Udey Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Yojana which was launched in FY 2016 as regional connectivity scheme.

The Krishi Udan Scheme will immensely improve the value realisation on agricultural products especially in north east and tribal districts.

Features of Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 by Civil Aviation Ministry

Just like the Udan scheme was launched in 2016 for regional connectivity between states for common man. The central govt. has started Krishi Udan Yojana to benefit farmers. Under UDAN Scheme, financial incentives in terms of concessions from the centre, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airlines. This is done to encourage operations from unserved and undeserved airports and keep airfares affordable. Similar to this, Krishi Udan Scheme will attract incentives to airlines from govt. and airport operators for transport of agricultural products to different parts of the country. Now the second phase of Krishi Udan Scheme i.e Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 has been launched on 27 October 2021.

How Krishi Udaan Scheme 2.0 of Central Govt. Will Work?

At-least half of the seats in Udan flights are offered at subsidized fares and participating carriers are provided a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF). The VGF amount is shared b/w the central government and the concerned state governments. Krishi Udan Yojana is a path breaking step as subsidized fares would be provide for farmers and delivery of their agricultural products. This subsidy will remain applicable on national and international routes.

Source / Reference Link: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/govt-launches-krishi-udaan-2-0-scheme-53-airports-operated-by-aai-covered-7635811.html