Lok Sabha Question No. 673 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-06-26
Subject: Universal Service Obligation Fund
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre, Devji Mansingram Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 673 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  JUNE, 2019

## UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION FUND

## †673.   SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE: SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to spend ten thousand crores of rupees in the current financial  year  from  the  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  to  give  impetus  to  basic infrastructure facilities in rural areas under the Digital India Programme;
- (b) if  so,  the details thereof including the quantum of amount spent during each of the last two years, State/UT-wise and the availability of amount in this fund during the same period;
- (c) the  number  of  Gram  Panchayats  and  rural  post  offices  connected  with  optical  fibre network in the country including the State of Maharashtra and specifically for Latur district of Maharashtra; and
- (d) the reasons of the delay in connecting all the Gram Panchayats and rural post offices of the country including in the State of Maharashtra and Rajasthan with optical fibre?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) Rs.  8350  Crore  is  proposed  in  the  current  financial  year  from  the  Universal  Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for telecom and broadband infrastructure facilities in rural areas.
- (b) The year wise allocation of funds from USOF is enclosed as Annexure -A .  The State/ UT-wise  amount  spent  under  various  Schemes  during  the  last  two  years  is  enclosed  as Annexure-B. Rs. 48426.45 Crore and Rs. 50542.30 Crore were available in the USO Fund at the end of F.Y. 2017-18 and F.Y. 2018-19 respectively.
- (c) The Broadband connectivity to Gram Panchayats is being provided under BharatNet by BBNL. The connectivity to rural Post Offices is not covered in BharatNet scheme. At present 120341 GPs have been provided infrastructure for Broadband connectivity. Out of these GPs, 15173 GPs are in Maharashtra, of which 436 GPs are in Latur District of Maharashtra.
- (d) As per the modified strategy for implementation of BharatNet, the project was targeted to be completed by March 2019. The delay in the initial implementation of the project  including in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, was on account of:

- (i) Delay in the initial commencement of project as the work on the project began in the  second  half  of  2014  due  to  field  survey  of  GPs  and  pilot  testing  of  the technology model.
- (ii) Only one media that is underground OFC to cover GPs, and Right of Way (RoW) issues.

Since May 2016, with the constitution of the following committees, the issues are being resolved timely:

- i) Empowered Committee under Secretary, DoT
2. ii) Steering Committee under Administrator, USOF.
3. iii) State Committee under Chief General Manager (CGM), BSNL for resolution of State level issues.

## Annexure -A

## THE YEAR WISE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FROM USOF Rs. in Crore

| Schemes       |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |
|---------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| BharatNet     |      6000 |   4145.54 |      6000 |
| Other Schemes |      1000 |    642.68 |      2350 |
| Total         |      7000 |   4788.22 |      8350 |

## Annexure-B

## STATE/UT-WISE SUBSIDY DISBURSED FROM USOF DURING LAST TWO YEARS UNDER DIGITAL INDIA PROGRAMME

## Rupees in Cr.

| Sl. No.   | NAME OF STATEs/UTs/ CCAs   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   |
|-----------|----------------------------|-----------|-----------|
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH             | 6.85      | 5.45      |
| 2         | ASSAM                      | 0.50      | 6.34      |
| 3         | BIHAR                      | 53.35     | 35.82     |
| 4         | CHHATTISGARH               | 118.64    | 28.22     |
| 5         | DELHI                      | 0.04      |           |
| 6         | DOT HQ *                   | 6516.45   | 4409.04   |
| 7         | GUJRAT                     | 0.54      |           |
| 8         | HARYANA                    | 0.21      | 0.95      |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH           | 0.02      | 2.70      |
| 10        | J&K                        | 0.12      | 0.03      |
| 11        | JHARKHAND                  | 168.32    | 108.46    |
| 12        | KARNATAKA                  | 9.10      | 0.01      |
| 13        | KERALA                     | 0.76      | 2.59      |
| 14        | MAHARASHTRA                | 12.20     | 11.86     |
| 15        | MADHYA PRADESH             | 4.40      | 2.65      |
| 16        | NE-I **                    | 0.33      | 0.08      |
| 17        | NE-II ***                  | 0.05      | 0.01      |
| 18        | ODISHA                     | 40.64     | 38.62     |
| 19        | PUNJAB                     | 0.66      |           |
| 20        | RAJASTHAN                  | 0.45      | 3.68      |
| 21        | TELANGANA                  | 15.49     | 17.27     |
| 22        | TAMILNADU                  |           | 91.98     |
| 23        | UP(E)                      | 26.93     | 3.58      |
| 24        | UP(W)                      | 0.33      | 0.06      |
| 25        | UTTARANCHAL                | 0.21      |           |
| 26        | WEST BENGAL                | 22.16     | 18.82     |
|           | Total                      | 6998.75   | 4788.22   |

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