Lok Sabha Question No. 282 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: IT Awareness in Rural Areas
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: PARAYAMPARANBIL KUTTAPPAN BIJU

## 282. DR. P. K. BIJU:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the action taken by the Government to increase IT awareness in rural areas of the country;
- (b) whether  the Government proposes to increase the internet connectivity in  various States including the State of Kerala and if so, the action taken thereon; and
- (c) whether    the  Government  proposes  to  use  IT  for  helping  villagers  in  the  areas  of  education,  training, healthcare, agriculture, etc., and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI S.S. AHLUWALIA)

- (a): Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India is implementing a scheme titled "Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)" to usher in digital literacy in rural  India  by  covering  6  crore  rural  households  (one  person  per  household).  Besides  digital  literacy,  the beneficiaries under the PMGDISHA scheme are also trained on use of electronic payment system covering UPI (including BHIM app), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Point of Sale (PoS), Aadhar enabled payment system (AEPS), Cards, and Internet Banking.

As on 10th December, 2018, a total of 1.61 crore candidates have been trained under PMGDISHA scheme, out of which more than 86.54 Lakh candidates have been certified.

- (b): Provisioning  of  internet connectivity at rural  areas  is  under  the  purview  of  Department  of Telecommunications (DoT), under Ministry of Communications.  DoT is implementing BharatNet project, to connect all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.5 lakh) in the country, including Kerala, by broadband in a phased manner.  As  on  02.12.2018,  by  laying  3,01,154  Km  Optical  Fibre  Cable;  a  total  of  1,21,652  Gram Panchayats(GPs) have been connected by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) and OFC laying & equipment installation has been completed at 1,16,411 GPs, which are Service Ready.

As  part  of  BharatNet  project,  the  Last  Mile  connectivity  is  envisaged  through  Wi-Fi  or  any  other  suitable broadband technology for accessing broadband /internet services at the respective GPs in the country, including Kerala. Every GP is being provided with, on an, average 5 Access Points (APs), i.e. 2 APs at Public places & 3 APs at Government Institutions such as school, hospital, post offices, police station, etc. For around 1.07 lakh GPs, the agencies for setting up of Wi-Fi hotspots have been selected. So far, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed at  39,359  GPs  and  out  of  them,  services  are  being  provided  at  10,775  GPs,  catering  to  more  than  11  lakh subscribers with a data usage of over 50 TB per month.

In Kerala, under BharatNet project, as on 02.12.2018, by laying 830 Km Optical Fibre Cable; OFC laying & equipment installation has been completed at 1129 GPs, which are Service Ready.

- (c):    Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (MeitY)  on  31st  October  2018  has  launched  the Digital Village pilot project with a total project outlay of Rs. 98.324 Cr. for implementation in a duration of 3 years. Under this initiative, 700 Gram Panchayats across the country are envisaged to offer  Education Services, Digital Health Services - Tele-Health & Tele-Veterinary consultation, Financial Services, Skill Development and Solar panel powered street lights including Government to Citizens Services (G2C), Business to Citizens (B2C) Services.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 282

TO BE ANSWERED ON : 12.12.2018

## IT AWARENESS IN RURAL AREAS

Various  programmes  such  as  e-Hospital,  National  Agriculture  Market  (eNAM),  Soil  Health  card,  etc.  for helping villagers are also being implemented. In addition to these schemes, Common Services Centres (CSCs) deliver a range of services related to social welfare schemes, financial services, education & skill development, healthcare, agriculture and digital literacy in villages.

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