Krishi UDAN Yojana: A Flight Of Hope

Logistical support can change the way a business or activity earns profits. Read more on how UDAN, a Krishi Yojana, is helping farmers earn more!

Logistical facilities are quintessential to the process of production of goods and services. The transportation of agricultural goods from remote areas, especially the ones with a lack of road or railway connectivity was a major issue.

To curb the hurdles faced in the process and to facilitate farmers and producers in such areas to earn more profits, the Government of India launched the Krishi UDAN Scheme. 

What Is The Government’s Krishi UDAN Scheme For Farmers?

The Krishi UDAN scheme was launched on October 21, 2016, which is also celebrated as UDAN Day. The motive of this scheme is to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products on national and international routes to realise their value.

The scheme is geographically intended to benefit the producers in hilly, tribal and North-Eastern regions of the country. The main objectives of the scheme are

• Provision of smooth, seamless, cost-effective and time-bound air transportation services for agricultural produce. 

• Processing of air cargo related to all sorts of produce; agricultural, horticultural, fisheries-related and livestock products through improved infrastructure at airports by implementing agencies. 

• Ensuring better air connectivity between the source and destination of goods. 

• Emphasising air carriage of natural and organic produce of the specified regions. 

• Encouraging digital and paperless functioning between all stakeholders and implementing agencies. 

In furtherance of these objectives and to provide a better framework, Krishi UDAN 2.0 was launched in August 2020. It was implemented as a convergence between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The principles of sustainability and resilience are sought to be implemented in the Agri-value chain through the UDAN 2.0 scheme. 

Benefits Of The UDAN Scheme

The UDAN scheme is an initiative with the vision of boosting value realisation through integration and convergence of air transportation facilities and optimisation of harvest under dynamic conditions. The benefits offered by the scheme are:

• Pooling of Resources: the convergence of various departments of ministries such as AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited (AAICLAS), Invest India and other regulatory bodies to enhance air transportation and provide incentives to promote  collaborative work and pooling of resources. 

• Selection of Airports: 53 Airports in total have been selected to flag off the scheme. The strategic location of these airports is aimed at promoting the transportation of produce and harvest especially  from these areas. These airports are aimed at not only improving national connectivity, but also international delivery of goods. 

• E-Kushal: Dissemination of information via a digital platform known as E-KUSHAL (Krishi Udaan for Sustainable Holistic Agri-Logistics) is aimed at providing all the stakeholders with information in  one place. It will also assist in the analysis of the results of the scheme and monitoring. 

• Subsidies on Air Transportation: Charges such as Parking, Landing, RNFC and TNLC have been completely waived off  to facilitate movement by air logistics. Furthermore, states are being encouraged to reduce Sales Tax to 1% on ATF for carriage and freight planes. 

Application Procedure For Krishi UDAN Scheme

The application procedure for the Krishi UDAN scheme is mentioned below:

• Visit the webpage of AAI Cargo Services  and Allied Services Company Ltd at www.aai.aero.

• Register and log in  to the website and fill in the necessary details. 

• Upload the required documents.

• Submit your application. 

Conclusion

The concessions, infrastructural and digital incentives being provided by the UDAN scheme intend to enhance the value-realisation of the products from specific regions that may be at a geographic disadvantage. The scheme is a commendable initiative in the field of connectivity and logistics. It provides an equitable and socially just environment for harvesters across the country. 

For more information, click here or call the Kisan help centre at 1800 180 1551.