Important Facts For Prelims
Lifeline Udan Initiative
- 01 May 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
A total of 415 flights have been operated under the ‘Lifeline Udan’ initiative by various air carriers.
- The cargo transported till date is around 779.86 tons and aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights is over 4 lakh kilometres.
Lifeline Udan
- The ‘Lifeline Udan’ intends to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country amid the lockdown to support India’s fight against Covid-19.
- The essential cargo include goods such as regents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits and PPE, masks, gloves and other essential items as applicable by the State and Union Territory Governments.
- It is launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to ensure a steady supply of essentials, even in the most remote locations in the country.
- However, the special focus has been on the North East Region, island territories and the hill states.
- The flights under the initiative ‘Lifeline Udan’ have been operated by Air India, Alliance Air, Indian Air Force, Pawan Hans and private carriers.
- It is to be noted that ‘Lifeline Udan’ is different from the UDAN where the former focuses on the transport of medical essentials to fight against Covid-19 and latter focuses purely on the regional connectivity in the country.
UDAN
- Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) was launched as a regional connectivity scheme under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2016.
- It is an innovative scheme to develop the regional aviation market.
- It aims to create affordable yet economically viable and profitable flights on regional routes so that flying becomes affordable to the common man even in small towns.
