India to invest around $3.0b to boost air connectivity

NEW DELHI, Mar 25 (Reuters): India, the world's fastest-growing aviation market, will invest $3.06 billion as part of a programme to increase air transport to under-served regions in the country, it said on Wednesday.

The country is relying on a boom in aviation to boost job creation and drive economic growth, but it has encountered challenges, including inadequate infrastructure and taxation issues.

The programme named Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik, or "Let the common citizen of the country fly", was first launched in 2016. India will develop 100 more airports and provide more subsidies to airlines to operate routes that would otherwise be unviable.