Jyotiraditya Scindia Inaugurates 5th Heli Summit and Launches UDAN 5.2

The Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated the 5th Heli Summit (Helicopter and Small Aircraft Summit) at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh on 25 July 2023. He also launched the UDAN 5.2 and HeliSewa-App at the summit. 

The 5th Helicopter and Small Aircraft Summit was organised by: 

• The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, in association with the
• Government of Madhya Pradesh, 
• Pawan Hans Ltd., and 
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Theme of the 5th Heli Summit

• The Theme of the 5th Helicopter and Small Aircraft Summit was "Reaching the Last Mile: Regional Connectivity through Helicopters & Small Aircraft".

UDAN 5.2 and HeliSewa App: 

• During the 5th Heli Summit Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the next phase of the “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik” scheme, 
• UDAN 5.2 aims to connect the remote part of the country with aircrafts having seating capacity of less than 20 passengers.
• Jyotiraditya Scindia also launched a mobile application called HeliSewa to streamline approvals for helicopter operators from government authorities through a single-window service platform.

Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Scheme:  

• The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on 21 October 2016. 
• The first flight under the UDAN scheme was from Shimla to Delhi in April 2017.
• UDAN aims to make air travel accessible to a wider range of citizens by capping airfare on regional routes. The government compensates the airline operator in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for losses due to low fares. 
• According to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry the UDAN scheme at present covers 148 airports in the country.

About Khajuraho:  

• The temple town of Khajuraho is famous  for its Hindu and Jain temples. It is located on the Vindhya mountain range in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

• The temples of Khajuraho were built by the Chandela rulers between 950-1050 AD.
• The temples of Khajuraho were given the status of 'World Heritage Site' by UNESCO in the year 1986 due to their architectural beauty.