Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) held a workshop for stakeholders to evaluate the progress and working of Krishi UDAN 2.0.
The conference brought together experts from the Air Cargo Sector for highlighting the benefits of Krishi UDAN and how domestic air cargo players can work in convergence and create a seamless transaction across the value chain.
Chaired by Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, MoCA, and moderated by Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary-MoCA, the Workshop was attended by Piyush Srivastava, Senior Economic Advisor, MoCA, Saurabh Endley, Joint Secretary- MoD North-eastern Region, Ashutosh Dey, Joint Secretary, DONER, Ajay Kumar, CEO, AAICLAS, senior dignitaries from MoCA, AAICLAS, FICCI, MoA&FW, Department of Fisheries, 26 Airport Directors (APDs) across the country and various other stakeholders of Indian Air Cargo Sector.
“Such workshop helps in having a meaningful discussion and act a brainstorming session for new ideas. During the 2 years of the Covid-19 Pandemic, there was a great realization that cargo can play a major role in sustainable options for Airlines. Our country is a vast country that has diversified agricultural produce, and it is in the interest of the airline and the airport to facilitate the transportation of agricultural products which will lead to creating sufficient demand for local producers in domestic as well as international markets. We (MoCA) are willing to work on some pilot projects with the help of agricultural department and state governments regarding a transport subsidy scheme which will help in faster transportation.”
Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, MoCA
Smt Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, delivered a presentation on “Krishi UDAN 2.0 Evaluation”, highlighting the achievements, scope, impact on the Agriculture industry, and future of Krishi UDAN.
Furthermore, the deliberation on the performance of the scheme concerning various airports was carried out. It was also informed that 5 new airports namely Belagavi, Jharsuguda, Jabalpur, Darbhanga, and Bhopal will be added to the existing 53 Krishi UDAN airports, taking the number of airports actively participating in Krishi UDAN up to 58.
Ajay Kumar, CEO-AAICLAS in his presentation on domestic and international cargo in India highlighted the growth and impact of AAICLAS on the Agricultural industry and how AAICLAS is helping in Krishi UDAN.
The workshop was concluded by a Q&A session which allowed the industry players to put forth their suggestions on how to make transportation of agricultural and perishable products better and timely.
