Lok Sabha Question No. 1584 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-19
Subject: Wi-Fi at Railway Stations
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: RAMDAS CHANDRABHANJI TADAS, NARANBHAI KACHHADIA, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1584 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.12.2018

## WI-FI AT RAILWAY STATIONS

†1584. SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS: SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of railway stations where Wi-Fi services are proposed to be provided, State-wise;
- (b) the names of service providers with which agreement has been signed for  providing  free  Wi-Fi  services  at  railway  stations  along  with  the details of conditions prescribed in the agreement;
- (c)  whether the Ministry has any data regarding the percentage of people using free mobile Wi-Fi service at present and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the total fund allocated by the Government so far for providing free Wi-Fi service at railway stations?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a): Wi-Fi services have been provided at 715 no. of railway stations as on 14.12.2018.  Wi-Fi  services  are  proposed  to  be  provided  on  5734  railway stations. State-wise list of 5734 Railway stations is appended.

(b): RailTel Corporation of India Limited (RCIL), a Public Sector Undertaking under  Ministry  of  Railways  has  entered  into  an  agreement  with  M/s. Mahataa Information India Private Limited (M/s. MIIPL), an Indian subsidiary of  Google Inc. for providing free Wi-Fi at 438 A1 and A category stations. The complete cost has been shared by RCIL and MIIPL.

RCIL has also entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) / Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications for providing Wi-Fi services at 200 rural railway stations.

(c):  Yes,  Madam,  Free  mobile  Wi-Fi  services  at  715  railway  stations  have been used by 1.3 million unique users till the month of October 2018.

(d): The cost of providing Wi-Fi at 438 stations where RCIL has entered into agreement with M/s. MIIPL is shared by RCIL & M/s. MIIPL and no fund has been provided by Government. However, the cost of providing Wi-Fi at 200 rural  stations  where RCIL has entered into an agreement with Ministry of Communications, the funds of ₹ 27.77 Crore have been provided by Ministry of Communications under USOF.

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APPENDIX REFERRED  TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  1584  BY  SHRI  RAMDAS  C.  TADAS,  SHRI  NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA  AND  SHRI  BIDYUT  BARAN  MAHATO  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN LOK SABHA ON 19.12.2018 REGARDING WI-FI AT RAILWAY STATIONS.

(a):  List of  Stations (State-wise) where Wi-Fi Internet Facility are planned:-

| S.No.   | Name of State     |   No. of Stations |
|---------|-------------------|-------------------|
| 1.      | Andhra Pradesh    |               449 |
| 2.      | Arunachal Pradesh |                02 |
| 3.      | Assam             |               225 |
| 4.      | Bihar             |               366 |
| 5.      | Chhattisgarh      |               109 |
| 6.      | Delhi             |                25 |
| 7.      | Goa               |                06 |
| 8.      | Gujarat           |               352 |
| 9.      | Haryana           |               117 |
| 10.     | Himachal Pradesh  |                42 |
| 11.     | Jammu & Kashmir   |                29 |
| 12.     | Jharkhand         |               191 |
| 13.     | Karnataka         |               159 |
| 14.     | Kerala            |               110 |
| 15.     | Madhya Pradesh    |               363 |
| 16.     | Maharashtra       |               489 |
| 17.     | Manipur           |                02 |
| 18.     | Meghalaya         |                02 |
| 19.     | Mizoram           |                01 |
| 20.     | Nagaland          |                02 |
| 21.     | Odisha            |               207 |
| 22.     | Puducherry        |                03 |
| 23.     | Punjab            |               211 |
| 24.     | Rajasthan         |               453 |
| 25.     | Tamilnadu         |               428 |
| 26.     | Telangana         |                10 |
| 27.     | Tripura           |                12 |
| 28.     | Uttar Pradesh     |               785 |
| 29.     | Uttarakhand       |                19 |
| 30.     | West Bengal       |               565 |
| Total   | Total             |              5734 |