Lok Sabha Question No. 243 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Internet Service in Gram Panchayats
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAHUL KASWAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 243 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## INTERNET SERVICE IN GRAM PANCHAYATS

†243. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  has  been  planned  to  connect  every  gram  panchayat  of  the  country  to  the internet service;
- (b) if so, the State-wise details including Rajasthan at present;
- (c) the time by which the gram panchayats will be connected with internet;
- (d) whether it is true that internet work is not done smoothly in gram panchayats connected with internet;
- (e) whether the Government has prepared any work plan for its monitoring; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) BharatNet project, to connect by broadband  all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.5 lakh) in the country, including Rajasthan is being implemented in  a phased manner. As part of BharatNet project, the Last Mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology to access broadband/ internet services, is being implemented at all the GPs in the country.  The  Wi-Fi  network  under  the  project  is  to  provide  internet  services  to  average  3 Government Institutions at GP level such as Police Station, Post Office, School, Hospital and through two other Access Points (APs). In all, on an average, 5 Wi-Fi APs are planned for each GP. In Rajasthan, Wi-Fi Services at all the 10,000 (approx.) Gram Panchayats will be provided through Government of Rajasthan/RISL (a PSU of State Government).

- (c) BharatNet  is planned to be completed by March  2019.
- (d) No, Madam
- (e) & (f) The following monitoring mechanism is in place to monitor the project:
- a. Empowered Committee, headed by Secretary, Department of Telecom.
- b. Steering Committee, headed by Administrator, USOF

## Status of State/UT-wise GPs where broadband connectivity is provided

| Sr. No   | State/UT             |   GPs where Optical Fiber cable laid and equipment installed |
|----------|----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh       |                                                         1160 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh    |                                                           43 |
| 3        | Andaman & Nicobar    |                                                            0 |
| 4        | Assam                |                                                         1589 |
| 5        | Bihar                |                                                         5865 |
| 6        | Chandigarh           |                                                           13 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh         |                                                         4052 |
| 8        | Dadar & Nagar Haveli |                                                           21 |
| 9        | Daman & Diu          |                                                           17 |
| 10       | Gujarat              |                                                         5113 |
| 11       | Haryana              |                                                         6186 |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh     |                                                          226 |
| 13       | Jammu & Kashmir      |                                                          257 |
| 14       | Jharkhand            |                                                         2302 |
| 15       | Karnataka            |                                                         6110 |
| 16       | Kerala               |                                                         1129 |
| 17       | Madhya Pradesh       |                                                        12689 |
| 18       | Maharashtra          |                                                        15126 |
| 19       | Manipur              |                                                          248 |
| 20       | Meghalaya            |                                                          122 |
| 21       | Mizoram              |                                                           19 |
| 22       | Nagaland             |                                                           86 |
| 23       | Odisha               |                                                         3470 |
| 24       | Puducherry           |                                                          101 |
| 25       | Punjab               |                                                         7903 |
| 26       | Rajasthan            |                                                         8447 |
| 27       | Sikkim               |                                                           14 |
| 28       | Telangana            |                                                         2047 |
| 29       | Tripura              |                                                          527 |
| 30       | Uttar Pradesh        |                                                        27940 |
| 31       | Uttarakhand          |                                                         1508 |
| 32       | West Bengal          |                                                         2081 |
|          | Total                |                                                       116411 |

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