Lok Sabha Question No. 3575 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-17
Subject: Current Status of BharatNet Project
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3575 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH  MARCH, 2021

## CURRENT STATUS OF BHARATNET PROJECT

3575.   SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

DR. HEENA GAVIT:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether 2,55,000 Gram Panchayats are proposed to be provided with broadband connectivity under BharatNet project and if so, the details thereof and the reason for pendency of the work for providing  1,10,000  Gram  Panchayats  with  satellite  tele-communication  facility  as  on  31st  March, 2020;
- (b) the  number  of  Gram  Panchayats  provided  with  net  connectivity  as  on  March,  2021  out  of those panchayats connected under BharatNet project, State/ UT-wise including Maharashtra; and
- (c) the investment plan made by the Government under the said project along with the amount invested as on March,2021?

## 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 create network to connect all the Gram Panchayats (approximately 2.5 lakh) with broadband in the country.

The  Phase-I  of  the  BharatNet  project  has  been  implemented  through  three  Central  Public  Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) namely Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and RailTel Corporation of India Limited and the execution of this Phase is almost complete. BharatNet Phase-II is being implemented through State-led Model, Private Sector Model and Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) led Model by using an optimal mix of media (OFC,  Radio  and  satellite).  As  on  08.03.2021,  a  total  number  of  1,54,596  Gram  Panchayats (Including Block Headquarters) have been made Service Ready and 5,08,328 km Optical Fibre Cable has been laid.

As  regards  the  pendency  of  the  work  for  providing  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  with  satellite telecommunication facility under the project, it is mentioned that only about 5,200 GPs, located in remote and hilly locations with poor connectivity, are to be connected over satellite media so as to provide broadband connectivity to these GPs expeditiously. Installation has been completed at 3667 GPs, out of which 3652 GPs have been made Service Ready. It is further indicated that BharatNet is a challenging project of mega nature and the Gram Panchayats (GPs) are widely dispersed across the country  in  rural  and  remote  areas.  Since  March  2020,  pursuant  to  Lockdown  and  movement restrictions  due  to  COVID-19  in  the  country,  the  project  progress  is  affected.  However,  with  the beginning of unlock phase, all efforts are being made to speed up the project implementation.

(b) The State/UT-wise details are given in Annexure .

(c) As per the Union Cabinet approval dated 19.07.2017, the total estimated cost of BharatNet Project is Rs. 42,068 crore and it is to be funded from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). As on 31.01.2021, a total of  Rs. 26,431.10 crore has been disbursed by USOF for this project.

Annexure  referred  to  in  Part  (b)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  3575  for  answer  on 17.03.2021

## State/UT-wise details of Connectivity under BharatNet

|   S. No. | State/UT                           |   No. of Service Ready GPs (including BHQs) |
|----------|------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           |                                           8 |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh                     |                                        1707 |
|        3 | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                                         637 |
|        4 | Assam                              |                                        1627 |
|        5 | Bihar                              |                                        8824 |
|        6 | Chandigarh                         |                                          13 |
|        7 | Chhattisgarh                       |                                        7354 |
|        8 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                                          39 |
|        9 | Gujarat                            |                                       13391 |
|       10 | Haryana                            |                                        6203 |
|       11 | Himachal Pradesh                   |                                         371 |
|       12 | Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh          |                                        1174 |
|       13 | Jharkhand                          |                                        3608 |
|       14 | Karnataka                          |                                        6247 |
|       15 | Kerala                             |                                        1129 |
|       16 | Lakshadweep                        |                                           0 |
|       17 | Madhya Pradesh                     |                                       15087 |
|       18 | Maharashtra                        |                                       19024 |
|       19 | Manipur                            |                                        1422 |
|       20 | Meghalaya                          |                                         514 |
|       21 | Mizoram                            |                                         392 |
|       22 | Nagaland                           |                                         222 |
|       23 | Odisha                             |                                        5670 |
|       24 | Puducherry                         |                                         101 |
|       25 | Punjab                             |                                       12795 |
|       26 | Rajasthan                          |                                        8970 |
|       27 | Sikkim                             |                                          28 |

| S. No.   | State/UT      |   No. of Service Ready GPs (including BHQs) |
|----------|---------------|---------------------------------------------|
| 28       | Tamil Nadu    |                                           0 |
| 29       | Telangana     |                                        2047 |
| 30       | Tripura       |                                         733 |
| 31       | Uttar Pradesh |                                       31290 |
| 32       | Uttarakhand   |                                        1539 |
| 33       | West Bengal   |                                        2430 |
|          | Total         |                                      154596 |

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