(a) the main objectives of Krishi Udan 2.0;
(b) the manner in which it is different from the scheme launched in 2020 for the transportation of agricultural products;
(c) the names of the locations in the country from where this service is likely to be started;
(d) the names of the districts in Gujarat which are likely to be connected with this service; and
(e) whether this service is likely to be started from rural districts of Gujarat especially in Amreli/Banaskantha districts?
Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))
(a) and (b) Krishi Udan Scheme 1.0 was launched in August 2020 on international and national routes to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products so that it improves their value realization. Under Krishi Udan 1.0, the waiver of landing, parking, Terminal Navigational Landing Charges (TNLC) and Route Navigation Facility Charges (RNFC) by Airports Authority of India for Indian freighter and P2C (Passenger-to-Cargo) aircraft was available if agri-produce account for over 50% of total chargeable weight of cargo carried.
Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 was announced on 27 October 2021 enhancing the existing provisions, mainly focusing on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, North-Eastern States and tribal areas. ;
The Krishi Udan Scheme is a convergence scheme where eight Ministries/Departments namely Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Agriculture & Farmers'' Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) would leverage their existing schemes to strengthen the logistics for transportation of Agri-produce. For facilitating and incentivizing movement of agri-produce by air transportation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) provides full waiver of Landing, Parking, TNLC and RNFC for Indian freighters and P2C Aircrafts primarily around 25 airports focusing on North Eastern, Hilly and Tribal region and 28 airports in other regions/areas.
The objective of Krishi Udan 2.0 are to increase the share of air in the modal mix for transportation of Agri-produce, which includes horticulture, fishery, livestock & processed products. To achieve better convergence on various components catering to the development of sustainable and resilient Agri-produce, value chains across various schemes of the Central and State Governments and their associated agencies as well as the resources committed by the private sector to improve supply chain competitiveness are being leveraged by:
(i) providing more air connectivity (national and international) between origin-destination airports aimed at bringing in improved logistical efficiency.
(ii) improving infrastructure and performance in processing of air cargo by all stakeholders, including Agri produce, horticulture, fisheries, livestock products at airports and off-airport facilities, by regulatory Participating Governmental Agencies (PGAs).
(iii) imparting special focus to air freight of organic and natural produce of NER, Tribal and Hilly Districts. ;
(iv) achieving better and timely mapping of Agri-produce production/ supply centres with domestic demand clusters and international markets in sync with the marketing strategies.
(v) promoting adoption of plant and animal quarantine and other regulatory requirements (at airport) in the export supply chains end-to-end.
(vi) enabling paperless and contactless interface with all stakeholders through digitization and digitalization via integration with existing e-platforms and their creation wherever required.
(c) Primarily the scheme was focusing on 25 airports of North-Eastern Region, Hilly and Tribal region namely Agartala, Agatti, Barapani, Dehradun, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Gaggal, Imphal, Jammu, Jorhat, Kullu (Bhuntar), Leh, Lengpui, Lilabari, Pakyong, Pantnagar, Pithoragarh, Port Blair, Raipur, Ranchi, Rupsi, Shimla, Silchar, Srinagar and Tezu. Subsequently, other 28 AAI airports, namely, Adampur (Jalandhar), Agra, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bareilly, Bhuj, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Goa, Gorakhpur, Hindon, Indore, Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kanpur (Chakeri), Kolkata, Nasik, Pathankot, Patna, Prayagraj, Pune, Rajkot, Tezpur, Trichy, Trivandrum, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam have been included in the Scheme. ;
(d) and (e) Currently, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot airports from Gujarat are included under Krishi Udan Scheme. Krishi Udan is an ongoing Scheme and is reviewed from time to time in consultation with stakeholders.
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