Lok Sabha Question No. 4660 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: Expansion of 4G based Mobile Service
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: P.P. Chaudhary, Mahendra Singh Solanky, Anurag Sharma, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Ramapati Ram Tripathi, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Sangamlal Kadedin Gupta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4660 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 TH  MARCH, 2023

## EXPANSION OF 4G BASED MOBILE SERVICE

## 4660.   SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY:

SHRI MAHENDRA SINGH SOLANKY:

SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

DR. RAMAPATI RAM TRIPATHI:

SHRI BRIJBHUSHAN SHARAN SINGH:

SHRI SANGAM LAL GUPTA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  plans  to  expand  the  provision  of  4G  based  mobile  service  in uncovered villages under Aspirational District Scheme through an extended coverage of additional villages  particularly  in  Rajasthan,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Odisha  and  Madhya  Pradesh,  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (b) the State-wise details of funds allocated and mobile towers installed till date including in Pali, Rajasthan; Jhansi-Lalitpur, Deoria, Gonda-Bahraich and Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh; Balasore in Odisha and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh; and
- (c) whether the Government plans to create a network to connect all the Gram Panchayats and villages with broadband infrastructure and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Government has approved following Universal Service Obligation (USOF) funded schemes for provision of 4G based Mobile services in uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts:
- i. 502 Aspirational District Project :  The Project is for provisioning of 4G based Mobile service in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts of four states in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan. Further additional 27 uncovered villages of Madhya Pradesh are also proposed to be covered under this project.
- ii. 7287  Aspirational  District  Project: The  Union  Cabinet  has  approved  a  project  for provisioning  of  4G  Mobile  Coverage  in  7287  uncovered  villages  of  44  Aspirational Districts of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Odisha.

Further, Government has also approved USOF funded 4G saturation scheme for provision of 4G based Mobile services in the uncovered villages across the country including those in Aspirational Districts.    As  per  cabinet  approval  on  27.07.2022,  under  4G  saturation  project  24680  uncovered

villages across the country are proposed to be covered with 4G services with extra provision of 20% villages. The project also includes upgradation of existing 2G/3G sites to 4G service at 6279 villages. 3368 villages of Rajasthan State,340 villages of Uttar Pradesh State,2792 villages of Odisha State and 3191 villages of Madhya Pradesh State are included in this project.

(b) State wise detail of fund allocated under the scheme mentioned in para (a) above is enclosed as Annexure-I .  State  wise  details  of  the  no.  of  mobile  tower  installed  till  date  under  the  abovementioned schemes is enclosed as Annexure-II . Till date, no mobile tower has been installed in Pali Rajasthan; Jhansi-Lalitpur, Deoria, Gonda-Bahraich and Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh; Balasore in Odisha and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh under the above-mentioned schemes of USOF.

(c) BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to create network to connect Gram Panchayats (GPs)/ Villages with broadband in the country. This infrastructure is leased to TSPs/ISPs for provision of internet connectivity in GPs/rural areas including villages/ Government institutions, schools and private areas. As of Feb 2023, 189256 GPs have been made service ready for providing broadband connectivity in rural area under BharatNet Project. On 30.06.2021, Union Cabinet has accorded in principle approval for extending BharatNet beyond GPs upto villages in the country.  The  implementation  strategy  and  cost  estimation  of  BharatNet  implementation  is  being worked out. The target for completion of BharatNet project is 2025.

Annexure referred to in Part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4660 for answer on 2903-2023

## STATE  WISE  DETAIL  OF  FUND  ALLCOATED/DISBURSED  UPTO  02.03.2023  FOR PROVISION OF MOBILE SERVICES IN THE SCHEMES NAMELY 502 UNCOVERED VILLAGES OF ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS AND 4G SATURATION PROJECT

| Sl. No.   | STATE         |   Rupees in Crore |
|-----------|---------------|-------------------|
| 1         | RAJASTHAN     |               142 |
| 2         | UTTARPRADESH  |                10 |
| 3         | ODISHA        |               152 |
| 4         | MADHYAPRADESH |                24 |
| TOTAL     | TOTAL         |               327 |

## ANNEXURE-II

Annexure referred to in Part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4660 for answer on 2903-2023

## STATE WISE DETAILS OF THE NUMBER OF TOWER INSTALLED IN THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN, UTTAR PRADESH, ODISHA AND MADHYA PRADESH

| Sl. No.   | STATE         |   No of towers installed |
|-----------|---------------|--------------------------|
| 1         | RAJASTHAN     |                       50 |
| 2         | UTTARPRADESH  |                       26 |
| 3         | ODISHA        |                       22 |
| 4         | MADHYAPRADESH |                       58 |
| Total     | Total         |                      156 |

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