Lok Sabha Question No. 2755 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Bharat Net Project in Odisha
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ramesh Chandra Majhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2755 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## BHARAT NET PROJECT IN ODISHA

## 2755. SHRI. RAMESH CHANDRA MAJHI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of working broadband connections in Odisha, district-wise;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government for providing broadband facility in all gram panchayats under phase-I of BharatNet project;
- (c) the  number of gram panchayats in Odisha that have been provided with infrastructure to provide high speed broadband connectivity and the steps taken by the Government to connect all villages with internet;
- (d) the reasons for poor utilisation, if any, of broadband facility under the phase-I of BharatNet project; and
- (e) whether  Wi-Fi  technology  is  being  widely  used  in  rural  areas  to  provide  internet/broadband  services under  the  said  project  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  provide  Wi-Fi technology in rural areas of Odisha?

## 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 to all the Gram  Panchayats  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country,  including  Odisha.  The  District-wise  details  of  the functional/active Fibre to the Home (FTTH) broadband connections, provided by utilising the BharatNet network in Odisha, are given in Annexure-I .
- (b) to (e) The Phase-I of the project has been implemented in Odisha through Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), and as on 26.02.2021, a total of 3952 Gram Panchayats (Including Block Headquarters) have been made Service Ready in this Phase.

The Phase-II of the BharatNet project in Odisha is being implemented mainly by the State Government under State-led model and they are responsible for providing last mile connectivity also. As on 26.02.2021, a total of 1681 GPs have been made Service ready, including 19 GPs on satellite media. Therefore, in total (Phase-I and Phase-II), total 5,633 GPs (Including BHQs) have been made Service Ready. Further, as part of this project, the last mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology, is to be provided at all the GPs in the country.

In Odisha, for Gram Panchayats (GPs) of Phase-I, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (a Special Purpose  Vehicle  under  Ministry  of  Electronics  &  Information  Technology)  has  been  assigned  the  work  of provisioning of 1 Wi-Fi Access Point in the GP and 5 Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections to Government Institutions  at  each  GP.  As  on  26.02.2021, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in 2514 GPs and 20,960 FTTH connections on BharatNet have been provided.

For connecting about 6 lakh villages on Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) in the country, including in Odisha, the scope of BharatNet project is being expanded.

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in Part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2755 for answer on 10.03.2021 District-wise status of the functional/active FTTH connection under BharatNet in Odisha

| S. No.   | District             |   No. of functional/active FTTH connection |
|----------|----------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Balangir             |                                          8 |
| 2        | Balasore (Baleswar)  |                                       1059 |
| 3        | Bhadrak              |                                        626 |
| 4        | Boudh                |                                         41 |
| 5        | Cuttack              |                                        685 |
| 6        | Deogarh (Debagarh)   |                                        219 |
| 7        | Dhenkanal            |                                        699 |
| 8        | Gajapati             |                                         15 |
| 9        | Ganjam               |                                       1122 |
| 10       | Jagatsinghapur       |                                        880 |
| 11       | Jajpur               |                                        625 |
| 12       | Kalahandi            |                                        170 |
| 13       | Kandhamal            |                                        454 |
| 14       | Kendrapara           |                                        853 |
| 15       | Keonjhar (Kendujhar) |                                        186 |
| 16       | Khordha              |                                        282 |
| 17       | Mayurbhanj           |                                       1009 |
| 18       | Nayagarh             |                                        644 |
| 19       | Puri                 |                                        883 |
| Total    | Total                |                                      10460 |

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