Lok Sabha Question No. 227 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-02
Subject: Telecommunication Facility
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Hibi Eden

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 227 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 ND  FEBRUARY, 2022

## TELECOMMUNICATION FACILITY

## 227. SHRI HIBI EDEN:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether all the villages in the country including tribal areas of various States have been linked with the telecommunication facilities, particularly mobile telephone facilities and if so, the details of the number of such villages and tribal areas thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the  target  fixed  and  achieved  by  the  Government  and  the  details  of  action  plan,  if  any,  for extension of the telecommunication services across all the villages in the country during each of the last three years, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  noticed  that  a  tribal  student  from  Panniyode  tribal  hamlet  at Kannavam in Kannur District of Kerala, fell down from a tree and was seriously injured when he climbed for getting mobile signal to check his plus one seat allotment status; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  the  number  of  students  forced  to  climb  trees  for  attending online classes due to network?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

- (a) As  per  data  provided  by  Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  and  field  units  of  Department  of Telecommunications (DoT), 96% inhabited villages in the country have telecom connectivity, as against 80% inhabited villages in 93 districts with more than 50% tribal population.  The State/UT-wise details are attached as Annexure-I.
- (b) Government of India is implementing various schemes under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)  to  enhance  telecom  connectivity  in  the  rural  and  predominately  tribal  area  of  the  country including North Eastern Region (NER) and areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), Border areas, Aspirational Districts and Islands.  Further, remaining villages of the country including tribal areas are covered by Government and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) in a phased manner. The State/UT-wise details of telecommunication connectivity by Government is attached as Annexure-II.
- (c) & (d) As per the information received from State Government of Kerala, an incident has been reported on 26.08.2021 where a tribal student from Panniyode tribal colony had fallen down from the tree while  attempting  to  connect  the  internet.  However,  no  other  such  incidents  has  been  reported  to  the Government.

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in reply of para (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question no. 227 to be answered on 02nd February 2022 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament regarding 'Telecommunication Facility'

| Sr. No.   | State/UT Name                      |   Number of Tribal District |   Total No of inhabited villages as per Census 2011 in Tribal Districts |   No of inhabited villages with mobile connectivity as on December 2020 |   No of inhabited villages without mobile connectivity as on December 2020 |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           |                           1 |                                                                      90 |                                                                      37 |                                                                         53 |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                     |                           1 |                                                                    3072 |                                                                    1946 |                                                                       1126 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                          13 |                                                                    4361 |                                                                    2305 |                                                                       2056 |
| 4         | Assam                              |                           2 |                                                                    3388 |                                                                    2861 |                                                                        527 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh                       |                           5 |                                                                    5256 |                                                                    4446 |                                                                        810 |
| 6         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                           1 |                                                                      65 |                                                                      65 |                                                                          0 |
| 7         | Gujarat                            |                           6 |                                                                    3329 |                                                                    3062 |                                                                        267 |
| 8         | Himachal Pradesh                   |                           2 |                                                                     521 |                                                                     402 |                                                                        119 |
| 9         | Jharkhand                          |                           5 |                                                                    4139 |                                                                    3664 |                                                                        475 |
| 10        | Karnataka                          |                           1 |                                                                     679 |                                                                     678 |                                                                          1 |
| 11        | Ladakh                             |                           2 |                                                                     236 |                                                                     172 |                                                                         64 |
| 12        | Lakshadweep                        |                           1 |                                                                       6 |                                                                       5 |                                                                          1 |
| 13        | Madhya Pradesh                     |                           6 |                                                                    5598 |                                                                    5128 |                                                                        470 |
| 14        | Maharashtra                        |                           1 |                                                                     930 |                                                                     744 |                                                                        186 |
| 15        | Manipur                            |                           5 |                                                                    2082 |                                                                    1623 |                                                                        459 |
| 16        | Meghalaya                          |                           7 |                                                                    6459 |                                                                    4785 |                                                                       1674 |
| 17        | Mizoram                            |                           8 |                                                                     704 |                                                                     498 |                                                                        206 |
| 18        | Nagaland                           |                          11 |                                                                    1400 |                                                                    1256 |                                                                        144 |
| 19        | Odisha                             |                           8 |                                                                   15652 |                                                                   11145 |                                                                       4507 |
| 20        | Rajasthan                          |                           3 |                                                                    3427 |                                                                    3374 |                                                                         53 |
| 21        | Sikkim                             |                           1 |                                                                      52 |                                                                      44 |                                                                          8 |
| 22        | Tripura                            |                           1 |                                                                     148 |                                                                     131 |                                                                         17 |
| 23        | Uttar Pradesh                      |                           2 |                                                                    3181 |                                                                    3162 |                                                                         19 |
|           | Total                              |                          93 |                                                                   64775 |                                                                   51533 |                                                                      13242 |

## Annexure-II

Annexure referred to in reply of para (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question no. 227 to be answered on 02nd February 2022 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament regarding 'Telecommunication

Facility' (a) Details of  State/UT-wise Service Ready Gram Panchayats (GPs) of BharatNet project is given below:

| Sr. No.   | State/UT                           | Service Ready GPs (including Block Headquarters) as on   | Service Ready GPs (including Block Headquarters) as on   | Service Ready GPs (including Block Headquarters) as on   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| Sr. No.   | State/UT                           |                                                          | Mar-20                                                   | Mar-21                                                   |
| 1         | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           | 0                                                        | 8                                                        | 24                                                       |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                     | 1407                                                     | 1648                                                     | 1709                                                     |
| 3         | Arunachal                          | 108                                                      | 335                                                      | 666                                                      |
| 4         | Assam                              | 1621                                                     | 1622                                                     | 1627                                                     |
| 5         | Bihar                              | 5876                                                     | 8461                                                     | 8825                                                     |
| 6         | Chandigarh                         | 13                                                       | 13                                                       | 13                                                       |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                       | 4074                                                     | 4925                                                     | 7598                                                     |
| 8         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 38                                                       | 39                                                       | 39                                                       |
| 9         | Goa                                | 0                                                        | 0                                                        | 0                                                        |
| 10        | Gujarat                            | 5449                                                     | 11771                                                    | 13517                                                    |
| 11        | Haryana                            | 6187                                                     | 6189                                                     | 6203                                                     |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 227                                                      | 281                                                      | 371                                                      |
| 13        | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 655                                                      | 875                                                      | 1010                                                     |
| 14        | Jharkhand                          | 2388                                                     | 2570                                                     | 3742                                                     |
| 15        | Karnataka                          | 6117                                                     | 6246                                                     | 6247                                                     |
| 16        | Kerala                             | 1129                                                     | 1129                                                     | 1129                                                     |
| 17        | Ladakh                             | 50                                                       | 167                                                      | 184                                                      |
| 18        | Lakshadweep                        | 0                                                        | 0                                                        | 0                                                        |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 12706                                                    | 13109                                                    | 15351                                                    |
| 20        | Maharashtra                        | 15173                                                    | 15843                                                    | 19155                                                    |
| 21        | Manipur                            | 322                                                      | 953                                                      | 1429                                                     |
| 22        | Meghalaya                          | 187                                                      | 256                                                      | 580                                                      |
| 23        | Mizoram                            | 32                                                       | 235                                                      | 422                                                      |
| 24        | Nagaland                           | 98                                                       | 129                                                      | 222                                                      |
| 25        | Odisha                             | 3616                                                     | 4186                                                     | 6071                                                     |
| 26        | Puducherry                         | 101                                                      | 101                                                      | 101                                                      |
| 27        | Punjab                             | 7945                                                     | 12676                                                    | 12803                                                    |
| 28        | Rajasthan                          | 8564                                                     | 8817                                                     | 8979                                                     |
| 29        | Sikkim                             | 17                                                       | 28                                                       | 28                                                       |
| 30        | Tamil Nadu                         | 0                                                        | 0                                                        | 0                                                        |
| 31        | Telangana                          | 2047                                                     | 2047                                                     | 3748                                                     |
| 32        | Tripura                            | 529                                                      | 690                                                      | 737                                                      |
| 33        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 28207                                                    | 29157                                                    | 31531                                                    |
| 34        | Uttarakhand                        | 1508                                                     | 1530                                                     | 1565                                                     |
| 35        | West Bengal                        | 2128                                                     | 2373                                                     | 2498                                                     |
|           | Total                              | 118519                                                   | 138409                                                   | 158124                                                   |

- (b) The State/UT wise details of villages for providing mobile connectivity in USOF Scheme for 354 uncovered villages is given below:

| Sr. No.   | State/UT         | No. of Village covered as on   | No. of Village covered as on   | No. of Village covered as on   |
|-----------|------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Sr. No.   | State/UT         | Mar-19                         | Mar-20                         | Mar-21                         |
| 1         | Bihar            | 0                              | 0                              | 8                              |
| 2         | Gujarat          | 0                              | 0                              | 16                             |
| 3         | Himachal Pradesh | 0                              | 0                              | 4                              |
| 4         | Jammu            | 0                              | 0                              | 12                             |
| 5         | Karnataka        | 0                              | 0                              | 3                              |
| 6         | Kashmir          | 0                              | 0                              | 11                             |
| 7         | Rajasthan        | 0                              | 0                              | 24                             |
| 8         | Uttar Pradesh    | 0                              | 0                              | 2                              |
| 9         | Uttarakhand      | 0                              | 0                              | 14                             |
| 10        | West Bengal      | 0                              | 0                              | 1                              |
|           | Total            | 0                              | 0                              | 95                             |

Note: The Agreement for providing mobile connectivity in 354 uncovered villages was signed on April 2020.

- (c) The  State/UT  wise  details  of  villages  for  Mobile  Services  in  USOF  Scheme  for  uncovered villages  in  Assam,  Manipur,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Tripura,  Sikkim,  and  Arunachal  Pradesh  (National Highways only) of NER and seamless coverage along National Highway is given below:

| Sr. No.   | State             | No. of Village covered as on   | No. of Village covered as on   | No. of Village covered as on   |
|-----------|-------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|           |                   | Mar-19                         | Mar-20                         | Mar-21                         |
| 1         | Arunachal Pradesh | 0                              | 0                              | 0                              |
| 2         | Assam             | 82                             | 443                            | 530                            |
| 3         | Manipur           | 12                             | 276                            | 382                            |
| 4         | Mizoram           | 9                              | 172                            | 213                            |
| 5         | Nagaland          | 2                              | 96                             | 112                            |
| 6         | Tripura           | 0                              | 0                              | 0                              |
| 7         | Sikkim            | 0                              | 7                              | 8                              |
|           | Total             | 105                            | 994                            | 1245                           |

Note: Arunachal Pradesh includes only National Highway Sites.

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