Lok Sabha Question No. 198 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-16
Subject: WIFI in Cities
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: P. C. MOHAN, YOGI ADITYANATH, K. MARAGATHAM

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.198 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  NOVEMBER, 2016

## FREE Wi-Fi FACILITIES

†198.   SHRI P. C. MOHAN: AHRI YOGI ADITYA NATH: SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is working on a project for providing free of cost high speed wi-fi facility in the cities, towns and panchayats of the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  cities,  towns  and  panchayats  identified  under  the  said  project, tate/Union-Territory-wise and the time by which the said project will be implemented;
- (d) the total kilometers of fibre cable laid in the country under this  project, State/Union Territory-wise;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  decided  to  provide  wi-fi  facilities  at  100  tourist destinations across the country; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof along with the places identified for providing these services?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) & (b) The Telecom Commission has approved, 'in-principle', for the implementation strategy  for  the  BharatNet  project  in  3  phases  to  establish  a  network  infrastructure  by connecting  all  Gram  Panchayats  in  the  country  with  Optical  Fibre  Network  (OFC)  for broadband connectivity. Under Phase-II of this project, an outdoor Public Wi-Fi Access Point would be set up in each of the Gram Panchayats of India with funding from the Universal Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF),  while  the  provision  of  services  to  citizens  would  be implemented  through  Viability  Gap  Funding  (VGF)  model,  in  Public  Private  Partnership (PPP) model.
- (c) All Gram Panchayats in the country will be covered under the BharatNet project. The Phase-II of the project is envisaged to be completed by September, 2018.
- (d) Total 1, 43,445 Km Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid under BharatNet project as on 6 th November, 2016. The State/UT wise status of the BharatNet project is enclosed herewith at Annexure-I.
- (e) & (f) The  details  of  the  100  tourist  places  across  India  where  the  Central Government has decided to provide Wi-Fi facility are placed at Annexure-II.

State-wise status of NOFN (BharatNet) as on  06.11.2016

| Sr. No.   | States/ UTs       | No. of Gram Panchayats (GPs)- Phase I   | Pipe laid (kms.)   | Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid (in kms)   | No. of GPs where OFC laid   | Connectivity provided (GPs )   |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------|
| 1         | Assam             | 1013                                    | 2252               | 2088                                      | 770                         | 243                            |
| 2         | Bihar             | 5202                                    | 8786               | 7615                                      | 2891                        | 333                            |
| 3         | Chhattisgarh      | 2110                                    | 5392               | 5147                                      | 1724                        | 943                            |
| 4.        | Haryana           | 6090                                    | 6257               | 6244                                      | 3871                        | 296                            |
| 5.        | Jammu & Kashmir   | 624                                     | 253                | 240                                       | 118                         | 0                              |
| 6.        | Karnataka         | 5599                                    | 10383              | 10764                                     | 5256                        | 4826                           |
| 7.        | Kerala            | 977                                     | 720                | 826                                       | 1129                        | 1129                           |
| 8.        | Madhya Pradesh    | 10516                                   | 23760              | 21458                                     | 7141                        | 629                            |
| 9.        | Maharashtra       | 12055                                   | 17623              | 15471                                     | 6999                        | 842                            |
| 10.       | Punjab            | 6128                                    | 6471               | 6213                                      | 4290                        | 70                             |
| 11.       | Rajasthan         | 6967                                    | 15980              | 15005                                     | 4834                        | 810                            |
| 12.       | Uttar Pradesh     | 22514                                   | 35083              | 26645                                     | 12406                       | 920                            |
| 13.       | Uttarakhand       | 1767                                    | 2141               | 1857                                      | 1006                        | 216                            |
| 14.       | West Bengal       | 2713                                    | 2641               | 2534                                      | 920                         | 107                            |
| 15.       | Andaman & Nicobar | 69                                      | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                              |
| 16.       | Chandigarh        | 12                                      | 18                 | 19                                        | 12                          | 12                             |
| 17.       | Arunachal Pradesh | 256                                     | 693                | 117                                       | 22                          | 0                              |
| 18.       | Nagaland          | 743                                     | 2171               | 818                                       | 194                         | 0                              |
| 19.       | Manipur           | 24                                      | 71                 | 73                                        | 24                          | 26                             |
| 20.       | Mizoram           | 163                                     | 448                | 123                                       | 5                           | 0                              |
| 21.       | Tripura           | 1021                                    | 1560               | 1368                                      | 641                         | 79                             |
| 22.       | Meghalaya         | 651                                     | 1133               | 277                                       | 80                          | 0                              |
| 23.       | Gujarat           | 5771                                    | 7969               | 6308                                      | 2859                        | 320                            |
| 24.       | Puducherry        | 98                                      | 82                 | 92                                        | 98                          | 101                            |
| 25.       | Andhra Pradesh    | 0                                       | 1913               | 21                                        | 0                           | 0                              |
| 26.       | Telangana         | 2097                                    | 4266               | 4043                                      | 1818                        | 127                            |
| 27.       | Odisha            | 3388                                    | 5801               | 4962                                      | 2091                        | 335                            |
| 28.       | Jharkhand         | 1428                                    | 3046               | 2920                                      | 1202                        | 233                            |
| 29.       | Himachal Pradesh  | 283                                     | 288                | 196                                       | 62                          | 0                              |
| 30.       | Daman & Diu       | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                              |
| 31.       | Dadra & Nagar     | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                              |
| 32.       | Sikkim            | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                              |
| 33.       | Lakshadweep       | 10                                      | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                              |
| 34.       | Tamil Nadu        | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                              |
| 35.       | Goa*              | -                                       | -                  | -                                         | -                           | -                              |
|           | Grand Total       | 100289                                  | 16720              | 143445                                    | 62463                       | 12597                          |

*All the GPs of Goa are already connected with Optical Fibre

## Annexure-I

Contd…3/-

-3-

List  of  100  tourist  sites  where  Wi-Fi  facility  is  to  be  provided  by  the  Central Government

|   Sl. No. | NAME OF THE SITES                | STATE/UT             |
|-----------|----------------------------------|----------------------|
|         1 | Ramakrishna Beach, Vizag         | Andhra Pradesh       |
|         2 | Lal Bagh, Bangalore              | Karnataka            |
|         3 | Brindavan Gardens, Mysore        | Karnataka            |
|         4 | Cubbon Park                      | Karnataka            |
|         5 | Guruvayur Temple                 | Kerala               |
|         6 | Upper Lake, Bhopal               | Madhya Pradesh       |
|         7 | Orchcha Temple                   | Madhya Pradesh       |
|         8 | Boulevard, Pondicherry           | Tamil Nadu           |
|         9 | Meenakshi Temple, Madurai        | Tamil Nadu           |
|        10 | Botanical Garden, Ooty           | Tamil Nadu           |
|        11 | Hussein Sagar Lake               | Hyderabad            |
|        12 | Jagannath Temple, Puri           | Odisha               |
|        13 | Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar           | Uttarakhand          |
|        14 | Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur | Tamil Nadu           |
|        15 | Hampi                            | Karnataka            |
|        16 | Taj Mahal, Agra                  | Uttar Pradesh        |
|        17 | FatehpurSikri, Agra              | Uttar Pradesh        |
|        18 | Sarnath Temple                   | Uttar Pradesh        |
|        19 | Khajuraho                        | Madhya Pradesh       |
|        20 | Konark Temple                    | Odisha               |
|        21 | Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram      | Tamil Nadu           |
|        22 | Tirumala Temple                  | Andhra Pradesh       |
|        23 | Bodh Gaya                        | Bihar                |
|        24 | Deveka Beach                     | Gujarat              |
|        25 | Daman Fort                       | Daman & Diu          |
|        26 | Nagoa Beach                      | Daman & Diu          |
|        27 | Vanganga Lake Garden             | Dadra & Nagar Haveli |
|        28 | Ghats of Varanasi                | Uttar Pradesh        |
|        29 | Char Minar, Hyderabad            | Andhra Pradesh       |
|        30 | Dakshineshwar Temple             | West Bengal          |
|        31 | National Rail Museum             | Delhi                |
|        32 | PuranaQuila                      | Delhi                |
|        33 | India Gate(Lawn)                 | Delhi                |
|        34 | National Museum                  | Delhi                |
|        35 | Lodhi Garden                     | Delhi                |
|        36 | Humayun's Tomb                   | Delhi                |
|        37 | Red Fort                         | Delhi                |
|        38 | Qutub Complex                    | Delhi                |
|        39 | Safdarjung Tomb                  | Delhi                |
|        40 | Rajpath Lawns, India Gate        | Delhi                |
|        41 | Elephant Caves                   | Maharashtra          |
|        42 | Marine Drive                     | Maharashtra          |
|        43 | Chowpaty Beach                   | Maharashtra          |
|        44 | Great Buddha Statue, Bodh Gaya   | Bihar                |
|        45 | Rose Gardens                     | Chandigarh           |
|        46 | Pinjore Gardens                  | Haryana              |
|        47 | The Mall, Shimla                 | Himachal Pradesh     |

Contd…4/-

| 48    | Lady Hydri Park, Shilong                                          | Meghalaya                |
|-------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
| 49    | M.G.Road, Gangtok                                                 | Sikkim                   |
| 50    | Victoria Memorial, Kolkata                                        | West Bengal              |
| 51    | Indian Museum, Kolkata                                            | West Bengal              |
| 52    | Botanical Gardens, kolkata                                        | West Bengal              |
| 53    | Virbhadra Temple, Lepakshi                                        | Andhra Pradesh           |
| 54    | Kailashnath Temple, Kanchipuram                                   | Tamil Nadu               |
| 55    | Group of Temples, Pattadakal                                      | Karnataka                |
| 56    | Group of Temples, Aihole                                          | Karnataka                |
| 57    | Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala, Belur                            | Karnataka                |
| 58    | GolGumbaz, Bijapur                                                | Karnataka                |
| 59    | DariyaDaulatBagh, Srirangapattnam                                 | Karnataka                |
| 60    | Shravanabelagola                                                  | Karnataka                |
| 61    | Bekal Fort                                                        | Kerala                   |
| 62    | Fort Kochi                                                        | Kerala                   |
| 63    | Rani-Ki Vav, Patan                                                | Gujarat                  |
| 64    | RamappaTemple,Warangal                                            | Telengana                |
| 65    | Golkonda Fort                                                     | Telengana                |
| 66    | Sun Temple, Modhera                                               | Gujarat                  |
| 67    | Diu Fort, Diu                                                     | Gujarat                  |
| 68    | Royal Places, Mandu                                               | Madhya Pradesh           |
| 69    | Buddisht Monuments at Sanchi                                      | Madhya Pradesh           |
| 70    | Gwalior Fort, Gwalior                                             | Madhya Pradesh           |
| 71    | Pre-historic rock shelters of Bhimbetka                           | Madhya Pradesh           |
| 72    | Group of Temples at Amarkantak                                    | Madhya Pradesh           |
| 73    | Kushinagar                                                        | Uttar Pradesh            |
| 74    | Rani Jhansi Fort,Jhansi                                           | Uttar Pradesh            |
| 75    | Residency,Lucknow                                                 | Uttar Pradesh            |
| 76    | Itmad-ud-oaula's Tomb                                             | Uttar Pradesh            |
| 77    | Rushikonda Beach, Vizag                                           | Andhra Pradesh           |
| 78    | Pulicat Lake, Nellore                                             | Andhra Pradesh           |
| 79    | Salarjung Museum, Hyderabad                                       | Telengana                |
| 80    | Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad                                  | Telengana                |
| 81    | Medak Church                                                      | Telengana                |
| 82    | Water Sports Complex, Aberdeen Bazar, Port Blair Kamkhya Guwahati | Andaman &Nicobor Islands |
| 83    | Temple,                                                           | Assam                    |
| 84    | Rajgir                                                            | Bihar                    |
| 85    | Vaishali                                                          | Bihar                    |
| 86    | Miraman Beach, Goa                                                | Maharashtra              |
| 87    | Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, Goa                     | Maharashtra              |
| 88    | Veena Lake, Mahabaleswar                                          | Maharashtra              |
| 89    | Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad                                   | Gujarat                  |
| 90    | Ulsoor Lake, Bengaluru                                            | Karnataka                |
| 91    | Mysore Palace,Mysore                                              | Karnataka                |
| 92    | Badami Caves, Bagalkote                                           | Karnataka Madhya Pradesh |
| 93    | Gwalior Fort, Gwalior                                             | Madhya Pradesh           |
| 94    | Marble Rocks, Jabalpur                                            | Pradesh                  |
| 95    | Pachmarhi Hills                                                   | Madhya                   |
| 96    | Kodaikanal                                                        | Tamilnadu Tamilnadu      |
| 97 98 | Yercaud Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari                    | Tamilnadu                |
| 99    | Bara Imambara, Lucknow                                            | Uttar Pradesh            |
| 100   | Triveni Sangam, Allahabad                                         | Uttar Pradesh            |

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