The News Services Division brings glimpses of &quot;The Year that was&quot; in our Special Year Ender series. Today, we look at the numerous steps taken by Civil Aviation Ministry to enhance regional connectivity. A total of 168 routes were awarded during last year under UDAN 4.1 and 100 routes commenced as part of the vision to improve connectivity across India.<br />”<br />”Twelve airports were operationalised which included three heliports. For sale of Air India, share purchase agreement was signed with Talace Pvt Ltd on 25th of October last year. The entire disinvestment process was carried out in a transparent manner through multi-layered decision-making.<br />”<br />”AIR correspondent reports, Krishi UDAN 2.0 was launched in October last year to ensure seamless, cost-effective, time-bound air transportation of agri produce. Krishi UDAN 2.0 primarily focuses on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, northeastern states and tribal areas.<br />”<br />”Seven focus routes have been identified to support region-specific products like Lichi from Darbhanga and Pineapple from Agartala.<br />”<br />”Drone Rules 2021 was notified in August to make India a global hub for the research and development, testing, manufacturing and operation of drones.<br />”<br />”For smooth and affordable journey of the common people, six airports including Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram were handed over for management under the PPP model. Kushinagar, Kurnool and Sindhudurg airports have been made operational last year.<br />”<br />”Dehradun Terminal was inaugurated and the foundation stone laying ceremony was done for Jewar International Airport.&nbsp;<br />”<br />”<br />