As many as 21 states and Union Territories have signed MoUs with the Civil Aviation Ministry under the next phase of the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu said here on Tuesday.

In his remarks at the MoU signing ceremony, the Civil Aviation Minister described UDAN as one of the most revolutionary schemes in the country, propelling regional air connectivity across the nation.

The minister said that with the extension of the UDAN scheme for another 10 years, the government aims to construct 100 new airports and 200 modern helipads across the country. He added that the upcoming phase targets facilitating travel for four crore UDAN passengers.

Naidu highlighted that more than 80 airports have been built over the past decade under the modified UDAN, extending affordable air travel benefits to nearly 1.54 crore passengers. The event also witnessed the launch of the Challenge Mode under the next phase of UDAN and the release of bidding round documents. Under the Challenge Mode, airport projects will be prioritised and fast-tracked to cut construction timelines down to an 18-month target from the earlier average of two to three years.

He said that India's aviation sector is currently supporting over 7 million jobs, and the number is expected to rise to more than 20 million by 2040.

The minister said Viability Gap Funding support will be provided in a tapered manner, with VGF support being extended from three years to five years.

He also said all partnerships undertaken by the government need to be structured in a way that ensures they are successfully continued.

Naidu said the government wants to create more airlines in India and urged states to engage with smaller airlines.

"Smaller airlines want to grow rapidly; they want a nudge," he said.

He added that states can find solutions to bring groups together to start airlines, stressing that more than the Centre, states need to engage with smaller airlines.

States can also work on smaller models to support the growth of regional airlines, he said.

Naidu also said that the DGCA was maintaining tight scrutiny over the operations and finances of low-cost carrier SpiceJet in order to ensure that there was no lapse in safety standards.

He said the Centre earlier extended support through the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) during challenging industry conditions, including headwinds from the West Asia crisis, under which Rs 150 crore was disbursed to the airline.