Parliament Question: Expansion of Regional Connectivity Scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 2994 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 18th December 2025 ) EXPANSION OF REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME

2994. SHRI ANIL YESHWANT DESAI Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government has taken initiatives to expand regional air connectivity in Odisha beyond Bhubaneshwar under the UDAN scheme or any other scheme and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the current status of aviation infrastructure development in Odisha's tribal and coastal regions;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any feasibility studies to boost drone and small aircraft logistics in cyclone and flood-prone areas and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government proposes to encourage development and manufacture of Drones in civil and defence sectors in view of the smooth operational capability of Drones in almost all spheres of life like defence, commerce, agriculture etc. and if so, the details thereof;

(e) the details of defence units and civilian manufacturers who are contributing to the development of defence and civil use of Drones in the country; and

(f) whether there is any Government watch over the use of this new tool/technology to ensure national security and if so, the details thereof ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol)

(a) & (b): Under the UDAN scheme, seven airports/airstrips in the state Odisha have been identified for the development and operation of Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) flights.

Out of these, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Utkela, and Jeypore have already been developed and operationalized.

Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN is an ongoing scheme wherein bidding rounds are conducted from time to time for covering more destinations and routes under the scheme.

Revival / up-gradation of unserved and underserved airports is undertaken upon its identification through valid bid and award to the Selected Airline Operator (SAO).

(c) to (f): Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued the liberalised & simplified Drone Rules, 2021 for various Drone activities in India.

Further, to promote indigenous drone manufacturing in India, Ministry of Civil Aviation notified the certification scheme for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) on 26th January, 2022 and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme on 30th September 2021.As on 15 December 2025, 142 type certificates have been granted to a total of 95 Indian manufacturers by DGCA for various applications such as Agricultural, mapping, Inspection, surveillance and logistic purposes.

The Government has put in place a comprehensive regulatory framework for conduct of safe and efficient use of unmanned aircraft systems (drones).

The measures taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation include: - Notification of the Drone Rules, 2021 (25 August 2021), mandating type certification of drones under the UAS certification scheme (26 January 2022), except for Nano and R&D drones.

- Subsequent Drone (Amendment) Rules notified in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for further ease of doing business by removing the remote pilot license clause and facilitated remote pilot training organization itself to impart and issue Remote Pilot Certificate.

- Provision of an interactive airspace map on the Digital Sky platform, classifying low-level airspace into red, yellow and green zones. ******