Indian Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, has confirmed the government has received a "strong response" to its second round Request For Proposals (RFP) for its Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

At a press conference last week, Raju told reporters that seventeen operators had submitted a total of 141 proposals. Of those 141, thirty-three focussed on rotary-wing aircraft, he said. In total, the proposals cover 502 routes including 161 in the priority areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Northeast India (which consists of the eight states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura). The names of applicants were not disclosed.

Unveiled earlier this year, the RCS aims to improve regional connectivity in parts of India that have little or no aviation services through a system of cross-subsidisation.

During the first round, held earlier this year, government awarded INR2.05 billion rupees (USD31.6 million) in subsidies to five operators including Air India unit Alliance Air (India), Deccan Charters, Air Odisha, TruJet, and SpiceJet to operate seventy-eight eligible routes.