Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated that under the regional air connectivity scheme of the government, around 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads will be connected. In the budget for 2018-2019, it has been proposed by the government that the airport capacity should be expanded by more than five times in order to handle a billion trips a year as part of the new initiative. The passengers for the domestic airlines have increased by 18 percent per annum over the last 3 years and the airline companies have placed orders for more than 900 aircrafts as stated by Arun Jaitley. The Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik scheme launched by the government last year basically connect the under-served as well as the unserved airports thereby making the flying experience affordable for the population. UDAN will connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads across the country stated the finance minister. Also, the operation of 16 such airports has already started. With respect to the expansion of the airport capacity, the balance sheet of Authority of India (AAI) will be leveraged in order to raise resources for its funding said Arun Jaitley.
The authority of India is a state-owned body which manages 124 airports. Infrastructure is the driver which helps in the growth of the economy. There are huge investments which are needed in the country estimated to be around Rs. 50 Lakh Crore infrastructure so as to increase the growth of GDP and to connect the nation as well as integrate it with a network of roads, airports, railways and the inland waterways. This will also provide good quality services to all the people of the nation. The development of these airports is going to bring about a positive change in the development of the country.