New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- The government aims to expand the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, or Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik, to 120 airports in the next 10 years. The scheme, launched in October 2016, covers 88 airports in underserved areas and has operationalised 619 routes. This number is set to swell to 739 operational routes.

In her budget speech for FY26 on Saturday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Inspired by the success, a modified UDAN scheme will be launched to enhance regional connectivity to 120 new destinations and carry 4 crore passengers in the next 10 years."

At least 1.5 crore passengers have benefited from the UDAN scheme since it was launched more than 8 years ago to make air trave affordable and help develop re...