Perspective: 9 Years of UDAN: Connecting India | 21 October, 2025

Sansad Tv

The sky — once a distant dream for so many Indians — has, in less than a decade, turned into an open highway of opportunity. Thanks to the Regional Connectivity Scheme – UDAN, launched back in October 2016, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s simple yet powerful visio –  “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik” — that even a common man in slippers should be able to afford air travel. From that first historic flight between Shimla and Delhi in April 2017, to now connecting over 90 airports and benefiting more than 1.4 crore passengers, UDAN has truly democratised the skies. It’s linked small towns to big cities, boosted tourism and trade, and turned flying from a luxury into something within reach for millions of Indians. As the scheme enters its ninth year, we take a closer look at how UDAN has reshaped India’s aviation map — bridging distances, empowering regions, and bringing the dream of flight closer to every citizen

 

Guests:

  1. Dr. Vandana Singh, Chairperson, Federation of Aviation Industry in India
  2. Swaminathan Subramanian, Former Executive Director (Admin), Airports Authority of India (AAI)

3- Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd.), Defence Expert

 

Anchor: Teena Jha

Producer: Sagheer Ahmad

Guest Coordinator: Deepti Vashisht, Vinod Kumar Singh, Paras Kandpal

Sansad Television is the Parliamentary channel of India. It was created in 2021 by merging Lok Sabha Television and Rajya Sabha Television.

 

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