Civil Aviation Ministry official says UDAN scheme result of PM Modi's dream of poor man travelling on flight

Ministry of Civil Aviation joint secretary Usha Padhee on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recognising the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme which was awarded Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020, and said the regional air connectivity and affordability have been provided at an affordable rate.

Notably, the award was given away by Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia to the UDAN team led by Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA in presence of Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, MoCA and Sanjeev Kumar, Chairman, Airports Authority of India.

Speaking to ANI, Usha Padhee said, "Our UDAN scheme has got the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence. UDAN scheme is the result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of a poor man travelling on a flight. Under this scheme, regional air connectivity and affordability are the two things that are provided under this scheme."

Detailing on the team's plans for the future, Usha Padhee said that they are planning to provide 100 airports in tier three and four cities of the country in the coming years.

"We have connected 67 towns so far which are tier three and four cities with 419 new air connectivity. Our target is, in the coming days, the Ministry of Civil Aviation plans and commits to construct 100 new airports by 2024 with 1,000 new routes under the UDAN scheme by the year 2026. We sincerely thank PM Modi for recognising for giving us this opportunity and recognising the UDAN scheme," Usha Padhee.

Earlier in the day, on the occasion of the Civil Services Day, PM Modi urged civil servants of the country to select any one of the government schemes and draft a plan to implement it in districts where they're posted.

( With inputs from ANI )