Lok Sabha Question No. 27 (STARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Digital Literacy and Internet Speed
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shankar Lalwani, Queen Oja

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 27 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  FEBRUARY, 2021

## DIGITAL LITERACY AND INTERNET SPEED

- †*27.   SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI: SHRIMATI QUEEN OJA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  digital  literacy  has  increased  in  the  country  during  the  lockdown  period  imposed consequent to COVID-19 pandemic and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  internet  speed particularly in the rural areas;
- (c) the number of villages where the facility of high speed internet is not available, State/UT-wise including Gujarat; and
- (d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) to  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  27 FOR  3 RD FEBRUARY,  2021 REGARDING 'DIGITAL LITERACY AND INTERNET SPEED'.

(a) Under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Saksharta  Abhiyan  (PMGDISHA)  Scheme, administered by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, since the imposition of lockdown by  Central/State  Governments  in March  2020, around  55.21  Lakh  candidates  have  been  enrolled; 43.86 Lakh have been trained, out of which more than 30.29 Lakh candidates have been duly certified in  FY  2020-21.  As  on  2nd  February  2021,  around  4.19  crore  candidates  have  been  enrolled;  3.43 crore candidates have been trained, out of which 2.50 crore candidates have been certified.

(b) To  improve  the  internet  speed  particularly  in  rural  areas,  BharatNet  project  is  being implemented to connect all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) (approx. 2.5 lakh) by broadband/high speed internet infrastructure in the country.

(c)& (d) High speed internet facility is being provided in rural areas by the Government and the Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  through  3G/4G  mobile  connectivity  and  through  Optical  Fibre Cable  (OFC)  connectivity.  37,439  census  villages  in  the  country  are  not  covered  by  high  speed 3G/4G  mobile  connectivity.  In  Gujarat  State,  775  villages  are  not  covered  by  high  speed  3G/4G mobile connectivity. State/UT-wise details given in Annexure . These villages are being covered with high speed internet facility under schemes of the Government and Telecom  Service Providers in a phased manner.

Annexure referred to in Part (c)& (d) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 27 for Answer on 03.02.2021.

## No. of Villages Not having high speed internet Coverage

| Sl. No.   | State/UT                           | No of inhabited villages as per Census 2011   | No of inhabited villages not having high speed internet Coverage   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           | 396                                           | 311                                                                |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                     | 16158                                         | 2095                                                               |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 5258                                          | 3343                                                               |
| 4         | Assam                              | 25372                                         | 1231                                                               |
| 5         | Bihar                              | 39073                                         | 321                                                                |
| 6         | Chandigarh                         | 5                                             | 0                                                                  |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                       | 19567                                         | 2793                                                               |
| 8         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 84                                            | 11                                                                 |
| 9         | Delhi                              | 103                                           | 0                                                                  |
| 10        | Goa                                | 320                                           | 21                                                                 |
| 11        | Gujarat                            | 17843                                         | 775                                                                |
| 12        | Haryana                            | 6642                                          | 1                                                                  |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 17882                                         | 974                                                                |
| 14        | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 6101                                          | 388                                                                |
| 15        | Jharkhand                          | 29492                                         | 2069                                                               |
| 16        | Karnataka                          | 27397                                         | 608                                                                |
| 17        | Kerala                             | 1017                                          | 0                                                                  |
| 18        | Ladakh                             | 236                                           | 155                                                                |
| 19        | Lakshadweep                        | 6                                             | 0                                                                  |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 51929                                         | 2450                                                               |
| 21        | Maharashtra                        | 40959                                         | 2014                                                               |
| 22        | Manipur                            | 2515                                          | 806                                                                |
| 23        | Meghalaya                          | 6459                                          | 2418                                                               |
| 24        | Mizoram                            | 704                                           | 296                                                                |
| 25        | Nagaland                           | 1400                                          | 378                                                                |
| 26        | Odisha                             | 47677                                         | 8947                                                               |
| 27        | Punjab                             | 12168                                         | 1                                                                  |
| 28        | Puducherry                         | 90                                            | 0                                                                  |
| 29        | Rajasthan                          | 43264                                         | 1453                                                               |
| 30        | Sikkim                             | 425                                           | 16                                                                 |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                         | 15049                                         | 74                                                                 |
| 32        | Telangana                          | 10128                                         | 375                                                                |
| 33        | Tripura                            | 863                                           | 60                                                                 |
| 34        | Uttarakhand                        | 15745                                         | 2410                                                               |
| 35        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 97813                                         | 620                                                                |
| 36        | West Bengal                        | 37478                                         | 25                                                                 |
|           | Total                              | 5,97,618                                      | 37,439                                                             |

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