Heli Shikhar Summit 2023 and Udaan 5.2 inaugurated at Khajuraho | 27 Jul 2023

Why In News?

On July 25, 2023 Union Civil Aviation and Steel Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia inaugurated the Heli Summit 2023 at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. Also launched RCS Udaan 5.2 and b

Key Points::

  • This 5th Helicopter and Small Aircraft Summit (Heli Shikhar Summit 2023) was jointly organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in collaboration with the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Pawan Hans Limited and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
  • The theme of the event was 'Reaching the Last Mile: Regional Connectivity through Helicopters and Small Aircraft'.
  • An inaugural session followed by a technical session was organized during the event.
  • The main objectives of this summit are as follows:
    • To provide a common platform for all industry stakeholders and policy makers to discuss the growth story of the Indian helicopter and small aircraft industry.
    • To increase the scope of UDAN scheme in remote and hilly areas and to expand rural to urban connectivity in the country.
    • To promote connectivity through helicopters and small aircraft to existing and potential tourist hotspots by providing seamless services.
  • UDAN 5.2 has been launched for further enhancing the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country and achieving last-mile connectivity through small aircraft such as 1A (<9 seats) and Category 1(<20 seats).
  • Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed that Udaan 5.2 has been introduced for helicopters and under this VGF has been increased and fare cap has been reduced. Along with this, a single window service platform of Heli Sewa has also been started.
  • Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also launched the Heli-Sewa mobile application during the programme.
  • It is noteworthy that the Heli Sewa Portal is an initiative of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under Digital India. Under this, a common platform has been established to create an ecosystem between helicopter operators and district officials.
  • This mobile application will make it much more convenient in terms of user experience, content uploading and access.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between Pawan Hans and Jet Serve on the occasion to further the helicopter and small aircraft sector in India.