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Air connectivity is set to get a boost with the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs approving a proposal to expand capacities at three major airports — Chennai, Lucknow, and Guwahati — at a cost of over ₹5,000 crore.
Chennai airport has a capacity to handle 23 million passengers, which is expected to go up to 35 million, once the expansion is completed. The CCEA nod is to build a new terminal which will take the total build-up area to 3.36 lakh sq m, from 1.97 lakh sq m.
“The new terminal building incorporates green building features with an aim to achieve GRIHA-4 Star rating. The building will cater to the requirement of passenger growth up to 2026-27,” an official statement said.
Similarly, construction of new integrated terminal at the Lucknow airport will have an area of 88,000 sq m along with the existing terminal building with 16,292 sq m. This will take the annual capacity to 13.6 million passengers, from the present3.5 million and would cater to the requirement of passenger growth up to 2030-31.
At the Guwahati airport, the government aims to build the new terminal building with an area of 1.02 lakh sq m. This will enhance the passenger handling capacity to 9 million, from 3.5 million. “The building would cater to the requirement of passenger growth up to 2026-27. This will encourage investment and tourism in the North-Eastern region with a thrust on ‘Act East’ Policy,” the statement said.
Expansion of airports is taking place at a time when domestic passenger traffic is witnessing over 24 per cent growth. At the same time, the Government’s effort to bring more and more people into the aircraft through the Regional Connectivity Scheme (better known as UDAN or Ude Desh ka Har Nagrik) , air traffic is expected to touch new heights in the coming years. Keeping this in mind, the Airports Authority of India plans to develop infrastructure to meet growing aviation demand by creating additional capacity at Chennai, Guwahati, Lucknow, Agartala, Patna, Srinagar, Pune, Tiruchi, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Dehradun, Jabalpur, Kolhapur, Goa, Rupsi, Leh, Kozhikode, Imphal, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar with a capital expenditure of ₹20,178 crore in the next 4-5 years.
Benefits for senior citizens
In another decision, the Cabinet approved a proposal to raise the investment limit to ₹15 lakh from ₹7.5 lakh as well as extension of time limits for subscription to March 31, 2020, from May 4, 2018, under the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandan Yojana (PMVVY), a social security scheme for senior citizens. Enhancing the investment limit will help in providing larger social security cover to senior citizens. It will enable them get pension of up to ₹10,000 per month. As of March, over 2.23 lakh senior citizens were benefiting under the PMVVY.
Healthcare infrastructure
The Cabinet also approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) beyond the 12th Five-Year Plan to 2019-20. With total financial outlay of ₹14,832 crore, the scheme involves setting up of 20 new AIIMS and upgradation of 73 government medical colleges.
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