Lok Sabha Question No. 835 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-06-26
Subject: BharatNet Project
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Bidyut Baran Mahato, Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, Gowdar Mallikarjunappa Siddeshwara

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 835 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  JUNE, 2019

## BHARATNET PROJECT

## 835. SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: DR. (PROF.) KIRIT PREMJIBHAI SOLANKI: SHRI G.M. SIDDESHWAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the BharatNet Project and the current status of implementation of the same;
- (b) the  number  of  Gram  Panchayats  connected  with  the  optical  fibre  under  the  said  project, State/UT-wise  and  the  number  of  Gram  Panchayats  where  broadband  connectivity  has  been provided, State/ UT-wise;
- (c) the reasons for the reported delay in the execution of the said project and the time by which it is  likely  to  cover  all  Gram  Panchayats  across  the  country  along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the Government in this regard;
- (d) the  funds  sanctioned/allocated  and  utilized  under  the  project  during  each  of  the  last  three years and the current year, State/UT-wise; and
- (e) the  internet  penetration  rate  in  the  country  in  terms  of  number  of  internet  subscribers  per hundred population, State/ UT-wise?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) BharatNet, one of the biggest rural telecom projects of the world, is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity at all Gram Panchayats (approx. 2,50,000) in the country. The infrastructure created by BharatNet is a national asset and non-discriminatory access to Service Providers is to be provided under the project.The Phase-I was completed in December 2017 under which more than 1 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) were connected.

On 19.07.2017, the Union Cabinet approved a modified strategy for implementing BharatNet under which, the remaining 1,50,000 (approx.) Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country are to be provided broadband connectivity in Phase-II of the project. The salient features of the BharatNet Phase-II, which is under implementation, are as follows:

- i. The  implementation  is  to  be  done  through  State  Model,  Private  Sector  Model  and CPSU Model.

- ii. Optimal mix of media (OFC, Radio and satellite) to be used to connect GPs.
- iii. Service  delivery  mechanism  by  providing  last  mile  connectivity,  through  Wi-Fi  or any other suitable broadband technology to all GPs has been made an integral part of the project.

As on date, 3,37,515 km Optical Fibre Cable has been laid, thereby connecting 1,28,870 GPs by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), out of which 1,19,513 GPs are Ready for broadband service. In addition 828 GPs have been made Service Ready on satellite media (i.e. a total of 1,20,341 GPs are Service Ready).

- (b) Status of GPs connected with optical Fiber, State/UT-wise, under BharatNet project is as per Annexure-I .
- (c) All out efforts are being made to expeditiously implement the project. The delay in the initial implementation of the project 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.
4. (d) Funds released by BBNL, State/UT wise in last three years is at Annexure- II.
5. (e) Internet penetration rate in the country, State/UT-wise, is at Annexure-III.

Status of GPs connected with Optical Fiber , State/UT-wise, under BharatNet Project

## Annexure-I

| Sr. No                  | States/UTs              | Number of Gram Panchayats connected with Optical Fiber   | Number of GPs where Broadband Connectivity has been provided   |
|-------------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Units                   |                         | GPs                                                      | GPs                                                            |
| 1                       | Assam                   | 1622                                                     | 1622                                                           |
| 2                       | Bihar                   | 6712                                                     | 6159                                                           |
| 3                       | Chhattisgarh            | 4303                                                     | 4088                                                           |
| 4                       | Haryana                 | 6188                                                     | 6188                                                           |
| 5                       | J&K                     | 368                                                      | 881                                                            |
| 6                       | Karnataka               | 6242                                                     | 6158                                                           |
| 7                       | Kerala                  | 1129                                                     | 1129                                                           |
| 8                       | MP                      | 13360                                                    | 12722                                                          |
| 9                       | Maharashtra             | 15665                                                    | 15173                                                          |
| 10                      | Punjab                  | 9292                                                     | 8318                                                           |
| 11                      | Rajasthan               | 8712                                                     | 8642                                                           |
| 12                      | UP(E)                   | 20108                                                    | 18031                                                          |
| 13                      | UP(W)                   | 11447                                                    | 10354                                                          |
| 14                      | Uttarakhand             | 1541                                                     | 1516                                                           |
| 15                      | West Bengal             | 2328                                                     | 2171                                                           |
| 16                      | Sikkim                  | 41                                                       | 17                                                             |
| 17                      | A&N                     | 23                                                       | 0                                                              |
| 18                      | Chandigarh              | 13                                                       | 13                                                             |
| 19                      | Arunachal               | 565                                                      | 146                                                            |
| 20                      | Nagaland                | 644                                                      | 119                                                            |
| 21                      | Manipur                 | 374                                                      | 323                                                            |
| 22                      | Mizoram                 | 130                                                      | 41                                                             |
| 23                      | Tripura                 | 817                                                      | 543                                                            |
| 24                      | Meghalaya               | 352                                                      | 192                                                            |
| 25                      | Gujarat                 | 6405                                                     | 5829                                                           |
| 26                      | D&D                     | 18                                                       | 18                                                             |
| 27                      | D&NH                    | 21                                                       | 21                                                             |
| 28                      | Puducherry              | 98                                                       | 101                                                            |
| 29                      | Tamil Nadu              | 0                                                        | 0                                                              |
| 30                      | AP                      | 1513                                                     | 1492                                                           |
| 31                      | Telangana               | 2047                                                     | 2047                                                           |
| 32                      | Odisha                  | 3915                                                     | 3646                                                           |
| 33                      | Jharkhand               | 2643                                                     | 2407                                                           |
| 34                      | HP                      | 234                                                      | 234                                                            |
| 35 Lakshdweep           |                         | 0                                                        | 0                                                              |
| (Total all States& UTs) | (Total all States& UTs) | 128870                                                   | 120341                                                         |

## Annexure-II

| funds disbursed by BBNL, State/UT wise for BharatNet project*   | funds disbursed by BBNL, State/UT wise for BharatNet project*   | funds disbursed by BBNL, State/UT wise for BharatNet project*   | funds disbursed by BBNL, State/UT wise for BharatNet project*   | funds disbursed by BBNL, State/UT wise for BharatNet project*   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                 | Financial Year                                                  | 2016-17                                                         | 2017-18                                                         | 2018-19                                                         |
| S.No.                                                           | State                                                           | Year 16-17                                                      | Year 17-18                                                      | Year 18-19                                                      |
| 1                                                               | A & N                                                           | 18464332                                                        | 1600000                                                         | 0                                                               |
| 2                                                               | Assam                                                           | 891768154                                                       | 30088614                                                        | 41069932                                                        |
| 3                                                               | Bihar                                                           | 1900995444                                                      | 225376634                                                       | 483712053                                                       |
| 4                                                               | Chattisgarh                                                     | 2412033156                                                      | 2368208766                                                      | 2395577291                                                      |
| 5                                                               | Haryana                                                         | 906575955                                                       | 1346574610                                                      | 94664743                                                        |
| 6                                                               | J & K                                                           | 423750351                                                       | 36357422                                                        | 137758733                                                       |
| 7                                                               | Karnataka                                                       | 12490077                                                        | 2246872986                                                      | 238419660                                                       |
| 8                                                               | Kerala                                                          | 259560814                                                       | 0                                                               | 0                                                               |
| 9                                                               | Maharastra                                                      | 5851859025                                                      | 4235640248                                                      | 3701109151                                                      |
| 10                                                              | Madhya Pradesh                                                  | 4519556872                                                      | 1902222230                                                      | 1536060473                                                      |
| 11                                                              | Punjab                                                          | 2362941194                                                      | 0                                                               | 526383240                                                       |
| 12                                                              | Rajasthan                                                       | 1624698933                                                      | 1082712706                                                      | 1224720159                                                      |
| 13                                                              | UP (East)                                                       | 4231734476                                                      | 105114087                                                       | 1268510803                                                      |
| 14                                                              | Up (West)                                                       | 2121295001                                                      | 672513579                                                       | 1167988739                                                      |
| 15                                                              | Uttarakhand                                                     | 1274448954                                                      | 30802089                                                        | 28550190                                                        |
| 16                                                              | West Bengal                                                     | 1416285784                                                      | 910420748                                                       | 114694430                                                       |
| 17                                                              | Sikkim                                                          | 432268500                                                       | 5780972                                                         | 0                                                               |
| 18                                                              | Pudducherry                                                     | 22342903                                                        | 5316342                                                         | 0                                                               |
| 19                                                              | Arunachal Pradesh                                               | 176787282.9                                                     | 139671853                                                       | 5967951                                                         |
| 20                                                              | Manipur                                                         | 185186215.2                                                     | 146307480                                                       | 31312662                                                        |
| 21                                                              | Meghalaya                                                       | 247461225.6                                                     | 195508225                                                       | 20819377                                                        |
| 22                                                              | Mizoram                                                         | 132129545.2                                                     | 123487397                                                       | 16933556                                                        |
| 23                                                              | Nagaland                                                        | 203622895.9                                                     | 160873490                                                       | 137020415                                                       |
| 24                                                              | Tripura                                                         | 209153900.2                                                     | 165243293                                                       | 36899351                                                        |
| 25                                                              | Gujarat,D& N, Daman & Diu                                       | 1297999723                                                      | 2304089756                                                      | 3110068187                                                      |

| 26           | Lakshadweep                            | 0                                      |           0 | 0           |
|--------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------|-------------|
| 27           | Telengana                              | 82389383                               |  1122780000 | 74344690    |
| 28           | Odisha                                 | 1158064960                             |   468995146 | 778596908   |
| 29           | Jharkhand                              | 813945657                              |   481310822 | 1121262052  |
| 30           | Himachal Pradesh                       | 525127700                              |    13045540 | 6356752     |
| 31           | Andhra Pradesh                         | 0                                      |   847980000 | 1812083295  |
| 32           | Tamilnadu                              | 0                                      |  1106410000 | 0           |
|              | Total                                  | 35714938415                            | 22481305036 | 20110884793 |
| * *GPON &OFC | * *GPON &OFC                           | 5554481492                             |  2584191463 |             |
|              | ***Advance given to BSNL for Phase- II | ***Advance given to BSNL for Phase- II | 23020000000 | 8630000000  |
|              | Grand Total                            | 41269419907                            | 48085496499 | 28740884793 |

Note*: Funds have been disbursed to three CPSUs namely BSNL, PGCIL and Railtel for PhaseI and to CPSUs and State Governments for Phase-II implementation of BharatNet Project. Reconciliation of Data regarding Utilization of funds by CPSUs/ State Governments is underway.

Note:** The Payment has been made to 3 CPSUs for decentralized procurements. State wise data is not available as the payment has been released on lumpsum basis. The state wise reconciliation is being done.

Note:** *BSNL has been given work for 8 States namely Assam, J & K, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim, UP-E, UP-W, & West Bengal . The payment has been released on Lumpsum basis. Hence, data is not available State wise.

## Annexure-III

## The internet penetration based on TRAI & Census 2011 in the  country in terms of internet subscriber per 100 population State & UT wise

| Telecom Service Area   | Narrowband   | Narrowband   | Broadband   | Broadband   | Total Internet   | Total Internet   | Population    | Internet Subscriber   |
|------------------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|-------------|------------------|------------------|---------------|-----------------------|
| Telecom Service Area   | Rural        | Urban        | Rural       | Urban       | Rural            | Urban            |               | per 100               |
| Andhra Pradesh         | 4.64         | 4.64         | 16.09       | 25.37       | 20.72            | 30.01            | 49,386,799    | 60.7652679            |
| Assam                  | 0.93         | 0.67         | 4.65        | 4.51        | 5.59             | 5.18             | 31,169,272    | 16.61894955           |
| Bihar                  | 4.26         | 1.89         | 16.24       | 13.5        | 20.5             | 15.38            | 103,804,637   | 14.82                 |
| Delhi                  | 0.22         | 2.73         | 0.51        | 31.15       | 0.73             | 33.88            | 19,861,488    | 170.58                |
| Gujarat                | 1.55         | 1.91         | 9.14        | 25.26       | 10.68            | 27.17            | 60,383,628    | 45.00                 |
| Haryana                | 0.83         | 0.61         | 4.28        | 8.24        | 5.11             | 8.85             | 25,353,081    | 34.91                 |
| Himachal Pradesh       | 0.32         | 0.18         | 2.79        | 1.66        | 3.11             | 1.84             | 6,864,602     | 26.80                 |
| Jammu &Kashmir         | 0.44         | 0.31         | 2.29        | 3.44        | 2.74             | 3.75             | 12,548,926    | 29.88                 |
| Karnataka              | 1.94         | 2            | 9.51        | 24.99       | 11.45            | 26.99            | 61,130,704    | 44.15                 |
| Kerala                 | 1.15         | 1.27         | 8.62        | 12.77       | 9.77             | 14.03            | 33,387,677    | 42.02                 |
| Kolkata                | 0.15         | 1.6          | 1.17        | 12.15       | 1.32             | 13.75            | 4,496,694     | 305.78                |
| Madhya Pradesh         | 3.39         | 2.52         | 10.3        | 22.36       | 13.69            | 24.88            | 72,597,565    | 34.27                 |
| Maharashta             | 3.33         | 2.93         | 15.5        | 28.74       | 18.83            | 31.67            | 112,372,972   | 28.18                 |
| Mumbai                 | 0.12         | 2.63         | 1.04        | 21.94       | 1.16             | 24.57            | 12,967,483    | 189.47                |
| North East             | 0.41         | 0.42         | 2.3         | 3.24        | 2.71             | 3.65             | 13,278,350    | 27.49                 |
| Odisha                 | 1.64         | 0.68         | 6.99        | 5.16        | 8.64             | 5.84             | 41,947,358    | 13.92                 |
| Punjab                 | 0.91         | 1.1          | 6.02        | 14.41       | 6.94             | 15.5             | 27,704,236    | 55.95                 |
| Rajasthan              | 2.4          | 1.78         | 12.35       | 17.48       | 14.75            | 19.25            | 68,621,012    | 28.05                 |
| Tamilnadu              | 1.77         | 3.12         | 9.64        | 29.49       | 11.41            | 32.62            | 72,138,958    | 45.22                 |
| Uttar Pradesh (East)   | 4.6          | 2.41         | 15.6        | 18.24       | 20.19            | 20.66            | 62,366,906    | 33.13                 |
| Uttar Pradesh (west)   | 2.62         | 1.9          | 8.32        | 17.04       | 10.94            | 18.94            | 71,217,132    | 26.59                 |
| West Bengal            | 2.38         | 1.55         | 9.94        | 10.94       | 12.33            | 12.5             | 91,347,736    | 13.68                 |
| Total                  | 40           | 38.85        | 173.29      | 352.08      | 213.31           | 390.91           | 1,054,947,216 | 1287.29               |

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