Uttar Pradesh Budget: Rs. 1,150 crore Allocated for Noida International Airport | 06 Feb 2024
Why in News?
The Uttar Pradesh government has allocated Rs. 1,150 crore for the upcoming Noida International Airport at GautamBuddha Nagar in the budget for 2024-25.
Key Points
- The announcement was made by UP's Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna as he tabled the budget for the fiscal year in the state assembly.
- Development is underway for phase one of Noida International Airport, which is scheduled to open for commercial operations by the end of 2024.
- To enhance air connectivity in the state, initiatives are being carried out under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-UDAN) of the Centre and Civil Aviation Promotion Policy of the state government.
- For air connectivity, selected airports like Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad, Shravasti and Chitrakoot have been developed. Development work of the airports of Mayorpur (Sonbhadra) and Sarsawa (Saharanpur) is in progress.
- A proposal of Rs. 150 crore has been made for expansion of Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya.
- Rs. 1,100 crore has been proposed for construction, expansion, and strengthening of airstrips as well as land acquisition.
Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN)
- It was launched as a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2016.
- It was formulated based on the review of The National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP)-2016 and it was planned to remain in force for a period of 10 years.
- Under this Scheme, Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) was created, which funds the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) requirements of the scheme through a levy on certain domestic flights.
- VGF means a grant one-time or deferred, provided to support infrastructure projects that are economically justified but fall short of financial viability.