evidence: To promote regional air connectivity and lower the cost of air travel for the public, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) Called UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on October 21, 2016. UDAN is a self-supporting programme. As of February 28, 2023, 469 UDAN routes, including 9 heliports and 2 water aerodromes, connecting 74 unserved and underserved airports have been operationalized. Under UDAN, it is intended to help Selected Airline Operators (SAOs) by granting concessions from Central Government, State Governments/UTs and airport operators to reduce the cost of airline operations to lower the cost of airline operations on regional routes and by offering financial support (Viability Gap Financing or VGF support) to fill any financial gaps, if any, between the cost of operations and anticipated revenues on such UDAN routes. [...] UDAN has identified 56 seaplane routes connecting 25 water aerodromes in the states/UTs of Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Lakshadweep through several rounds of bidding. UDAN has identified 56 seaplane routes connecting 25 water aerodromes in the states/UTs of Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Lakshadweep through several rounds of bidding.