By Aritra Banerjee
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) tableau was selected as the best central tableau for Republic Day 2022. The MoCA tableau showcased Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) and the rich dividends it has been yielding. Conceptualised by the Ministry and implemented by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the scheme aims to enhance regional connectivity in an economically sustainable and affordable manner.
The UDAN scheme was launched in 2016 to fulfil ordinary people’s aspirations by following the vision of ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik’ with enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II III cities. In a short span of seven years, today, 403 UDAN routes connect 65 underserved/unserved airports, including heliports and water aerodromes, and over 80 lakh people have benefited from it.Â
UDAN scheme has immensely helped several sectors pan-India including the Hilly States, North-Eastern region and Islands. The transformational impact can be understood better in the backdrop of an analysis of the civil aviation landscape which revealed that during FY 2015-16, around 65% of the passenger traffic and 61% of the aircraft movement (ATM) was concentrated between six metro cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.
In an aircraft shaped tableau, the front part showcased women pilots depicting women power in India’s aviation, as India tops in women commercial pilots globally. The rear portion of the tableau showed the symbol of Buddhism and the motto of UDAN- ‘Sab Uden, Sab Juden’.
The middle part showcased the Buddhist circuit featuring Buddha Statue at Gaya where he attained enlightenment, Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath where he delivered his first sermon (Dharmachakra Parivartan) and the Mahaparinirvana Stupa, Kushinagar where he reached Mahaparinirvana. Both sides of the middle portion of the tableau depicted heritage sites- Humayun tomb from North, Konark sun temple in East, Hampi temple chariot in South and Ajanta caves in West, connected with air services.
