100 more airports by 2024 to support UDAN Scheme

Published By : Admin | February 1, 2020 | 16:59 IST

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21, in Parliament today, said that infrastructure was crucial to the theme of “Economic development” and hence the Budget which is dedicated to provide “Ease of Living” to all citizen.

Emphasising need for efficiency of India Sea Ports and use of technology to improve their performance, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, said “The government would consider corporatizing at least one major port and subsequently its listing on the stock exchanges.”

Speaking about Inland Waterways, the Finance Minister also announced that the “Jal Vikas Marg” on National Waterway-1 will be completed and further the 890 Km Dhubri-Sadiya connectivity will be done by 2022”.

Smt Sitharaman further said that Plans are afoot on “Arth Ganga”- PM’s vision to energise economic activity along the river banks. In order to boost the transport Infrastructure in the country the Union Budget has provided for about Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore.

Impetus to Civil Aviation Sector

The Finance Minister also announced that 100 more airports would be developed by 2024 to support Udaan scheme. She also remarked in her Budget presentation that India’s Air traffic has grown rapidly as compared to global average and the Air fleet number was expected to go up from the present 600 to 1200 during this time.

In the direction of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, among other measures, the Finance Minister also announced launch of “Krishi Udaan” by the Ministry of Civil aviation on International & National routes. This is aimed to help improve value realisation especially in North-East and Tribal districts. 

Power and Renewable Energy

The Union Finance Minister, also proposed an allocation of Rs. 22000 crore for Power and Renewable Energy sector in 2020-21. Finance minister urged all States and Union Territories to replace conventional meters by prepaid “Smart Meters” in the next 3 years and measures to reform DISCOMs.

Further, the Finance Minister proposed in the Budget that national gas grid would be expanded from the present 16200 km to 27000 km with further reforms to be undertaken to facilitate transparent price discovery and ease of transactions.

The Finance Minister also proposed to extend corporate tax rate of 15% to new domestic companies engaged in the generation of electricity.

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PM chairs 52nd PRAGATI Meeting
June 24, 2026
PM reviews four key infrastructure projects worth around ₹30,000 crore spanning four states across Road, Power, Industrial Corridor and Metro Rail sectors
PM emphasises use of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and timely updation of project, utility and infrastructure data on the portal for efficient planning
PM asks Ministries and State Governments to resolve pending issues in a mission-mode manner and ensure close monitoring
PM reviews TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and emphasizes need to leverage latest digital technologies including AI
PM reviews grievances related to Cyber Crime and Digital Arrest and stresses timely action, coordinated response and e-Zero FIR registration mechanism

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the 52nd meeting of PRAGATI, the ICT-enabled, multi-modal platform aimed at fostering Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, by seamlessly integrating efforts of the Central and State Governments, earlier today at Seva Teerth.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister reviewed four critical infrastructure projects across the Road, Power, Industrial Corridor and Metro Rail sectors, covering four States and costing around ₹30,000 crore. These projects, important for economic growth, regional connectivity, industrial development and public welfare, were reviewed with focus on timelines, inter-agency coordination, issue resolution and timely completion.

Prime Minister underlined that delays in infrastructure projects not only lead to cost escalation, but also deprive people and industries of timely benefits. He asked the concerned Ministries and State Governments to resolve pending issues in a mission-mode manner and ensure close monitoring at the highest level.

Prime Minister emphasised the use of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan for efficient planning and timely implementation of infrastructure projects. He also underlined the need for regular and timely updation of project details, utilities, infrastructure layers, clearances and other field-level information on the portal. He further emphasised that the platform must reflect the latest ground situation so that bottlenecks can be identified in advance, inter-agency coordination can be improved and decisions can be taken on the basis of reliable, real-time data.

Prime Minister reviewed TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and emphasised the need to leverage latest digital technologies including Artificial Intelligence. He suggested a team of NCC cadets and MY Bharat volunteers, for awareness, patient follow-up and community mobilisation.

Prime Minister also reviewed grievances related to Cyber Crime and Digital Arrest. He expressed concern over the rising misuse of digital platforms to defraud citizens and stressed that such matters require coordinated, sensitive and time-bound handling by all concerned agencies. He noted that citizens should not be made to run from one department or agency to another. He also emphasized the need for clear ownership, faster response, better coordination among law enforcement agencies, banks and digital platforms, and stronger public awareness campaigns.

Prime Minister observed that in cases involving cyber fraud, timely action is crucial to prevent financial loss and restore public confidence. He asked all stakeholders to work in close coordination to strengthen prevention, reporting, investigation and grievance redressal mechanisms. He also emphasised that States should work towards enabling e-Zero FIR mechanisms for faster registration and response in cyber fraud cases.