Lok Sabha Question No. 3620 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-17
Subject: GramNet
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Anil Firojiya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3620 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH  MARCH, 2021

## GRAMNET

## †3620. SHRI ANIL FIROJIYA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any provision has been made by the Government to connect all the villages in the country under GramNet through wi-fi and if so, the details thereof along with the manner in which it will be done; and
- (b) the details of the progress made by the Government in this regard, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) 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.  Further,  as  part  of  this project, the last mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology, is to be provided at all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country.

The provisioning of  Wi-Fi Services in about 1.10 lakh GPs has been assigned to CSC e-Governance Services  India  Limited  (a  Special  Purpose  Vehicle  under  Ministry  of  Electronics  &  Information Technology),  and  about  10,000  GPs  of  Rajasthan  to  Government  of   Rajasthan/Raj  COMP  Info Services  Ltd.  (RISL).  In  1407  GPs  of  BharatNet,  the  provisioning  of  connectivity  over  satellite media, along with Wi-Fi services, is being provided through Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Further, under State-led model, the States are responsible for utilisation of the BharatNet Network.

- (b) Under BharatNet project, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in 1,03,400 GPs. The State/UTwise details of Gram Panchayat where Wi-Fi Hotspots have been installed are attached as Annexure.

Annexure  referred  to  in  Part  (b)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  3620  for  answer  on 17.03.2021

## State/UT-wise details of Gram Panchayat where Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed

| S. No.   | State/UT                           |   No. of GPs where Wi-Fi hotspots installed |
|----------|------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                     |                                        1570 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                                         208 |
| 3        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           |                                           0 |
| 4        | Assam                              |                                           0 |
| 5        | Bihar                              |                                        5345 |
| 6        | Chandigarh                         |                                          12 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                       |                                        3664 |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                                          41 |
| 9        | Gujarat                            |                                        3755 |
| 10       | Haryana                            |                                        5953 |
| 11       | Himachal Pradesh                   |                                         254 |
| 12       | Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh          |                                        1138 |
| 13       | Jharkhand                          |                                        2381 |
| 14       | Karnataka                          |                                        5358 |
| 15       | Kerala                             |                                        1047 |
| 16       | Lakshadweep                        |                                           0 |
| 17       | Madhya Pradesh                     |                                       10888 |
| 18       | Maharashtra                        |                                       10960 |
| 19       | Manipur                            |                                         161 |
| 20       | Mizoram                            |                                           0 |
| 21       | Meghalaya                          |                                          70 |
| 22       | Nagaland                           |                                           0 |
| 23       | Odisha                             |                                        2514 |
| 24       | Puducherry                         |                                          81 |
| 25       | Punjab                             |                                        7891 |
| 26       | Rajasthan                          |                                        8124 |
| 27       | Sikkim                             |                                           0 |
| 28       | Tamil Nadu                         |                                           0 |
| 29       | Telangana                          |                                        1997 |
| 30       | Tripura                            |                                         463 |
| 31       | Uttar Pradesh                      |                                       26897 |
| 32       | Uttarakhand                        |                                        1251 |
| 33       | West Bengal                        |                                        1377 |
| Total    | Total                              |                                      103400 |

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