Lok Sabha Question No. 1530 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-10
Subject: Internet Subscribers
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Aparajita Sarangi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1530 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  FEBRUARY, 2021

## INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS

## 1530.   SHRIMATI APARAJITA SARANGI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of internet subscribers in Rural and Urban districts of the country State/UT-wise including Odisha;
- (b) the internet penetration in Urban and Rural districts of each State;
- (c) whether there exists a parity in tele-density between the Urban and the Rural parts;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the actions taken by the Government to bridge the gap;
- (e) whether there exists a gender gap with regard to access to internet and if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a)  to (c) As  per  'The  Indian  Telecom  Services  Performance  Indicators'  report  published  by Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  on  21 st January,  2021,  there  were  302.35  million internet subscribers in rural area and 474.11 million subscribers in urban area as on 30 th September, 2020 in the country. There were 33.99 rural internet subscribers per 100 population and 101.74 urban internet  subscribers  per  100  population.  Service  Area-wise  details  of  such  subscribers  as  on  30 th September, 2020 is enclosed as Annexure-I.

- (d) To bridge the gap between internet connectivity in Rural and Urban areas of the country the Government has undertaken BharatNet project with funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for providing broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats in the country. Further, to provide  broadband/  internet  services  at  Public  places  &  Government  Institutions  such  as  school, hospital,  post  offices,  Aanganwadi,  customer  service  centres,  police  station,  etc.  Wi-Fi  hotspots  or any  other  broadband  technology,  including  Fibre  To  The  Home  (FTTH)  connections  have  been provided in rural areas.

(e) Internet connection  at home is generally used by all members of the family including women and children.  Gender  based  distribution  of  internet  subscribers  is  not  separately  maintained  by  the Department.

## Internet Subscriber Base as on 30 th  September, 2020 (in Millions)

| Sl. No.   | Telecom Service Area   |   Rural |   Urban |   Total |
|-----------|------------------------|---------|---------|---------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh         |   26.69 |   34.43 |   61.12 |
| 2         | Assam                  |    8.9  |    6.19 |   15.09 |
| 3         | Bihar                  |   32.83 |   18.86 |   51.68 |
| 4         | Delhi                  |    0.76 |   41.08 |   41.84 |
| 5         | Gujarat                |   14.67 |   32.74 |   47.41 |
| 6         | Haryana                |    7.08 |   10.79 |   17.86 |
| 7         | Himachal Pradesh       |    4.09 |    2.31 |    6.4  |
| 8         | Jammu &Kashmir         |    3.45 |    4.36 |    7.81 |
| 9         | Karnataka              |   17.17 |   30.93 |   48.1  |
| 10        | Kerala                 |   11.5  |   16.96 |   28.47 |
| 11        | Kolkata                |    1.44 |   16.78 |   18.22 |
| 12        | Madhya Pradesh         |   20.84 |   30.48 |   51.32 |
| 13        | Maharashtra            |   26.86 |   39.86 |   66.72 |
| 14        | Mumbai                 |    1.95 |   28.51 |   30.46 |
| 15        | North East             |    4.31 |    4.16 |    8.47 |
| 16        | Orissa                 |   13.1  |    7.25 |   20.34 |
| 17        | Punjab                 |    8.66 |   19.31 |   27.96 |
| 18        | Rajasthan              |   20.49 |   22.86 |   43.36 |
| 19        | Tamil Nadu             |   14.63 |   38.43 |   53.07 |
| 20        | UP (East)              |   30.52 |   26.36 |   56.88 |
| 21        | UP (West)              |   14.9  |   24.14 |   39.04 |
| 22        | West Bengal            |   17.52 |   17.33 |   34.84 |
|           | Grand Total            |  302.35 |  474.11 |  776.46 |

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