Lok Sabha Question No. 651 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-02-05
Subject: Free Wi-Fi
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Dayakar Pasunoori, Reddeppa Nallakonda Gari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 651 TO BE ANSWERED ON 5 TH  FEBRUARY, 2020

## FREE Wi-Fi

## 651. SHRI PASUNOORI DAYAKAR: SHRI N. REDDEPPA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to provide free Wi-Fi to 48,000 villages in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  uptake  of  the  internet  in  the  rural  areas  through BharatNet project;
- (c) the funds sanctioned/spent so far by the Government in this regard, State/UT-wise; and
- (d) the views and demands of various States met so far in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a) & (b) BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country.  As  part  of  BharatNet  project,  the  Last  Mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband access technology, is to be provided in all Gram Panchayats.

In  the  1.23  lakh  GPs  (approx.)  of  BharatNet  Phase-I,  the  provisioning  of  Wi-Fi  Services  has  been assigned to Government of Rajasthan, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited(a Special Purpose Vehicle under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology), etc. In the 1407 GPs of BharatNet Phase-II, the provisioning of connectivity over satellite media, along with Wi-Fi services, has been assigned to BSNL.

As of now, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in 45,769 Gram Panchayats (GPs) and out of them, services  are  being  provided  in  18,041  GPs.  Further,  the  last  mile  connectivity  is  to  be  provided  through Viability Gap Funding (VGF), however, Wi-Fi services, through BharatNet network, are being provided free of cost till March 2020 by CSC e-Governance Services India Limited.

(c) & (d) The  details  of  the  State/UT-wise  funds  sanctioned/spent  so  far  by  the  Government  in  this regard are given in Annex-I . The funds are disbursed after achieving the milestones as per the Agreement(s)/MoU signed with the Implementing Agencies.

Annexure referred to in Part (c) & (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 651 for Answer on 05.02.2020.

Details of the State/UT-wise disbursement to promote uptake of the internet in the rural areas

| S. No.      | State/Union Territory                        |   Disbursement/ Utilization (In Cr.) |
|-------------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| 1           | Andaman &Nicobar                             |                                 0    |
| 2           | Andhra Pradesh                               |                                 7.05 |
| 3           | Assam                                        |                                 7.79 |
| 4           | Bihar                                        |                                33.21 |
| 5           | Chhattisgarh                                 |                                25.83 |
| 6           | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu           |                                 0.19 |
| 7           | Gujarat                                      |                                26.62 |
| 8           | Haryana                                      |                                30.2  |
| 9           | Himachal Pradesh                             |                                50.94 |
| 10          | Jammu &Kashmir                               |                                 1.49 |
| 11          | Jharkhand                                    |                                17.21 |
| 12          | Karnataka                                    |                                22.13 |
| 13          | Kerala                                       |                                 5.42 |
| 14          | Madhya Pradesh                               |                                81.95 |
| 15          | Maharashtra                                  |                                75.2  |
| 16          | NE-I (Meghalaya, Mizoram &Tripura)           |                                 3.39 |
| 17          | NE-II (Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur &Nagaland) |                                 2.44 |
| 18          | Odisha                                       |                                18.77 |
| 19          | Puducherry                                   |                                 1.77 |
| 20          | Punjab                                       |                                38.54 |
| 21          | Rajasthan                                    |                                47.2  |
| 22          | Sikkim                                       |                                 0.08 |
| 23          | Telangana                                    |                                 9.83 |
| 24          | Tamil Nadu                                   |                                 0    |
| 25          | Uttar Pradesh                                |                               324.47 |
| 26          | Uttarakhand                                  |                                12.91 |
| 27          | West Bengal                                  |                                10.33 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total                                  |                               854.96 |

Note: Besides, above there is a Rs. 999/pm plans funded by BBNL to BSNL for giving rural broadband connections in BharatNet Phase-I GPs for six months

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