Four towns in Punjab – Bathinda, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Adampur – will soon start operating flights under the affordable air travel policy of the Government of India. For this, the Punjab Government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India (GoI) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the country's flagship programme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik).
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A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said the tripartite agreement was signed by Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, on behalf of GoI and Tejveer Singh, Secretary Civil Aviation, Punjab Government, and G.K Chaukiyal, Executive Director, AAI, in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh.
Lauding the Captain initiative, the Chief Minister said it would give a major boost to local trade and industry, especially in Ludhiana. It would also help the state explore untapped commercial potential in the border areas to create job opportunities for the youth.
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Under the scheme, the four airports are being connected through five proposals. While Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi flight by Alliance Air is already operational, Delhi-Pathankot-Delhi and Delhi-Ludhiana-Delhi, also by Alliance Air, would be made operational by July 2017. Delhi-Adampur-Delhi by Spicejet will be operationalized by August 2017 and Delhi-Ludhiana-Delhi by Deccan would become operational by September 2017, the spokesperson informed.
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UDAN will make available one lakh seats of which 50 percent (50,000 seats) would be under fare cap (which is concessional fares). Viability Gap Funding (VGF) will be shared by Central Government and State Government in 80:20 ratio. The state’s share would work out to an estimated Rs. 3 crore per annum.
Sharing details of the scheme with the Chief Minister, Padhee informed that UDAN, an innovative GoI regional connectivity scheme in collaboration with the state governments, enables air operations on routes not served connecting regional areas, and promotes balanced growth, besides making flying affordable for masses.
Routes under UDAN are selected through a transparent bidding process. During first round of bidding, 27 proposals have so far been awarded, 128 routes involving 33 unserved and 12 underserved airports. The scheme has large outreach and all regions have been connected (Northern region 17, Southern 11, North Eastern 6, Western 24 and Eastern 12), she added.
 with the Government of India (GoI) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the country's flagship programme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik).){kind=link}