NEW DELHI, Oct 29: Supply of unique agricultural products from North East to the rest of the country will see a boost with the Centre waiving landing, parking, and route navigation charges for freighters at select Airport Authority of India-operated airports.
This will promote transport of agricultural products from Northeastern states and hilly and tribal regions. There is a significant demand to transport tea leaves, rubber, betel-nut, turmeric (raw), black pepper, mustard, soyabean, and mandarin from the Northeastern region of the country.
The sops are a part of the revised version of the Krishi Udan scheme announced today which prioritises seven cargo routes and aims to create a hub and spoke model for transport of agro-produce within and outside India.
The move will benefit SpiceJet which operates Bombardier Q-400 and Boeing 737 freighters.
But concessions in landing, parking or navigation charges will not be available for cargo carried in the belly of a passenger flight. The government has also modified the provision which required an airline to carry a minimum 50 per cent agro-produce in a flight to claim the concession.
Krishi Udan 2.0 will be a vehicle for value creation for farmers, help reduce wastage and improve margins, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said. The Krishi Udan scheme was first announced in the union budget of 2020.
Last December, the scheme was aligned with the Operations Green Scheme of the Ministry of Food Processing Industry and a 50 per cent subsidy was proposed on domestic air freight and terminal storage and processing charges at airports.
The subsidy was provided for 41 fruits and vegetables.
Shippers would be able to get subsidy benefits under food processing ministry schemes which too are being modified to include more products, according to official sources.