Lok Sabha Question No. 283 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Status of BharatNet Project in Gujarat
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal, Shankar Lalwani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 283 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  FEBRUARY, 2021

## STATUS OF BHARATNET PROJECT IN GUJARAT

- †283.   DR. BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL: SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  and  the  details  of  panchayats  in  the  country  which  have  been  linked  under Bharatnet project;
- (b) the time by which the work of linking all the gram panchayats in the country particularly in the State of Gujarat with internet is likely to be completed; and
- (c) the present status of Bharatnet project particularly in the State of Gujarat?

## 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  at  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country.  As  on  27.01.2021, under BharatNet project (Phase-I  &  II), a total  number of 1,51,431Gram Panchayats (Including Block HQ) have been made Service Ready.  The details of the Service Ready Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country are attached as Annexure-I .
- (b) The BharatNet project was envisaged to be completed by August 2021. However, this time will  now  be  extended  as  the  pace  of  completion  is  affected  by  lockdown  and  restrictions  on movement imposed by the various Governments due to COVID-19.
- (c) In Gujarat, the total Number of Gram Panchayats (including BHQs) is   about 14,311. In the  State,  BharatNet  Phase-I  has  been  implemented  by  RailTel  Corporation  of  India  Limited (RailTel), whereas the BharatNet Phase-II is being implemented under the State-led model by the Government of Gujarat itself.  As of now, a total number of 13,266 Gram Panchayats (Including Block HQ)   have been made Service Ready in Gujarat.

Annexure  referred  to  in  Part  (a)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  283  for  answer  on 03.02.2021

## State/UT-wise Status of Service Ready GPs under BharatNet

| S. No.   | State/UT                            |   No. of GPs Planned (including BHQ) |   No. of Service Ready GPs (including BHQ) |
|----------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands            |                                   71 |                                          8 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                      |                                13533 |                                       1696 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh                   |                                 1864 |                                        510 |
| 4        | Assam                               |                                 2979 |                                       1627 |
| 5        | Bihar                               |                                 8963 |                                       8819 |
| 6        | Chandigarh                          |                                   13 |                                         13 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                        |                                10181 |                                       6638 |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |                                   39 |                                         39 |
| 9        | Gujarat                             |                                14311 |                                      13266 |
| 10       | Haryana                             |                                 6204 |                                       6202 |
| 11       | Himachal Pradesh                    |                                 3269 |                                        369 |
| 12       | Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh           |                                 4799 |                                       1174 |
| 13       | Jharkhand                           |                                 4653 |                                       3433 |
| 14       | Karnataka                           |                                 6252 |                                       6247 |
| 15       | Kerala                              |                                 1129 |                                       1129 |
| 16       | Lakshadweep                         |                                   10 |                                          0 |
| 17       | Madhya Pradesh                      |                                23728 |                                      14721 |
| 18       | Maharashtra                         |                                28260 |                                      18259 |
| 19       | Manipur                             |                                 2799 |                                       1417 |
| 20       | Meghalaya                           |                                 1814 |                                        359 |
| 21       | Mizoram                             |                                  776 |                                        303 |
| 22       | Nagaland                            |                                 1042 |                                        180 |
| 23       | Odisha                              |                                 7095 |                                       5396 |
| 24       | Puducherry                          |                                  101 |                                        101 |
| 25       | Punjab                              |                                12940 |                                      12795 |
| 26       | Rajasthan                           |                                10151 |                                       8961 |
| 27       | Sikkim                              |                                  207 |                                         28 |
| 28       | Tamil Nadu                          |                                12909 |                                          0 |
| 29       | Telangana                           |                                13421 |                                       2047 |
| 30       | Tripura                             |                                 1062 |                                        730 |
| 31       | Uttar Pradesh                       |                                56244 |                                      30998 |
| 32       | Uttarakhand                         |                                 7706 |                                       1536 |
| 33       | West Bengal                         |                                 3708 |                                       2430 |
|          | Total                               |                               262233 |                                     151431 |

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