Lok Sabha Question No. 2455 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: FTTH Connection
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Pritam Gopinath Munde, Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, Chandra Sekhar Sahu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2455 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  DECEMBER, 2022

## FTTH CONNECTIONS

## 2455.   DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE: SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE: SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT: SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  process  for  releasing  FTTH  Connections  in  the  BharatNet  Phase-I  districts  of  the States have been completed;
- (b) if so, the details and the status thereof, State-wise;
- (c) the details of funds so far allocated, released and utilised under BharatNet project in the country;
- (d) whether BSNL has prepared any action plan for Maharashtra and Odisha;
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the number of villages proposed to be connected with internet service;
- (f) whether  the  State  Governments  of  Maharashtra  and  Odisha  has  requested  funds  under  special assistance to be utillised under BharatNet Phase II; and
- (g) if  so,  the  details  in  this  regard  along  with  the  action  so  far  taken  by  the  Union  Government thereon?

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

- (a) & (b)    BharatNet project is implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) of the country. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) undertakes the task of providing  Fiber  to  the  Home  (FTTH)  connections  in  Gram  Panchayats  through  Channel  Partners.  The State/UT-wise details of FTTH connections provided under BharatNet Phase-I is given in Annexure .
- (c) As  on  31.10.2022,  Rs.  36,502.41  crore  has  been  allocated  /released/disbursed  from  Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under BharatNet project.
- (d) & (e)   Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has developed Franchise Management System (FMS) for  onboarding  the  Franchises  /  Local  Entrepreneurs  /  Revenue  Share  Partners  for  providing  FTTH connections  using  BharatNet  also  in  the  country,  including  Maharashtra  and  Odisha.  The  BharatNet Phase-II  is  implemented  in  Maharashtra  and  Odisha  by  the  State  Government  under  State-led  model, which is also responsible for its utilization. The scope of BharatNet to provide broadband connectivity is extended to all inhabited villages beyond GPs in the country, including Maharashtra and Odisha.
- (f) & (g)  Under Part-V (Optical Fibre Cable) of the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment  for  the  year  2022-23,  the  State  Government  of  Maharashtra  and  Odisha  have  submitted proposal amounting to Rs. 611.37 Crore and Rs. 326.69 Crore respectively. Department of Telecommunications submitted these proposals along with recommendation to Department of Expenditure. As of now, Department of Expenditure has approved the capital expenditure on the Optical Fibre Cable Network amounting to Rs.286 Crore for the State of Maharashtra.

Annexure referred to in Parts (a) & (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2455 for answer on 21.12.2022

State/UT-wise details of FTTH connections under BharatNet Phase-I (as on 12.12.2022)

| S. No.   | State/UT                          | FTTH Connections (Phase-I BharatNet)   |
|----------|-----------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar                  | 82                                     |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                    | 3,228                                  |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh                 | 88                                     |
| 4        | Assam                             | 1,121                                  |
| 5        | Bihar                             | 10,325                                 |
| 6        | Chandigarh                        | 64                                     |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                      | 3,607                                  |
| 8        | Daman &Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli | 15                                     |
| 9        | Gujarat                           | 4,872                                  |
| 10       | Haryana                           | 17,495                                 |
| 11       | Himachal Pradesh                  | 325                                    |
| 12       | Jammu &Kashmir                    | 1,526                                  |
| 13       | Jharkhand                         | 2,968                                  |
| 14       | Karnataka                         | 10,211                                 |
| 15       | Kerala                            | 4,107                                  |
| 16       | Lakshadweep                       | 0                                      |
| 17       | Ladakh                            | 0                                      |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh                    | 6,583                                  |
| 19       | Maharashtra                       | 10,203                                 |
| 20       | Manipur                           | 331                                    |
| 21       | Meghalaya                         | 4                                      |
| 22       | Mizoram                           | 11                                     |
| 23       | Nagaland                          | 116                                    |
| 24       | Odisha                            | 2,433                                  |
| 25       | Puducherry                        | 52                                     |
| 26       | Punjab                            | 26,843                                 |
| 27       | Rajasthan                         | 1,215                                  |
| 28       | Sikkim                            | 6                                      |
| 29       | Telangana                         | 1,985                                  |
| 30       | Tamil Nadu                        | 91                                     |
| 31       | Tripura                           | 504                                    |
| 32       | Uttar Pradesh                     | 11,555                                 |
| 33       | Uttarakhand                       | 2,853                                  |
| 34       | West Bengal                       | 4,579                                  |
| Total    | Total                             | 1,29,398                               |

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