Lok Sabha Question No. 2685 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Implementation of BharatNet Project
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Subrata Pathak, Ravindra Kushawaha, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Shrirang Appa Barne, Rajendra Dhedya  Gavit, Sudheer Gupta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2685 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## IMPLEMENTATION OF BHARATNET PROJECT

2685.   SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI SUBRAT PATHAK:

SHRI RAVINDRA KUSHWAHA:

SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI RAJENDRA DHEDYA GAVIT:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the status of implementation of Phase I and Phase II of the BharatNet project, State/UT-wise along with  the  number  of  Gram  Panchayat  covered  so  far  thereunder,  State/UT-wise,  including  Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  fixed  any  time  line  by  which  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  will  be provided with Broadband connectivity and if so, the details in this regard, State/UT-wise;
- (c) the details of funds so far allocated, released and utilized under Phase I and Phase II separately, State/UTwise;
- (d) the number of broad band connections working and provided with infrastructure to provide high speed broadband connectivity in various States as on date; and
- (e) whether  wifi  technology  is  being  used  to  provide  the  services  in  rural  areas  under  BharatNet Project in various states particularly in the aforementioned States and if so, the details thereof?

## 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 create network to connect all the Gram Panchayats (approximately 2.5 lakh) with broadband in the country, including Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The  Phase-I  of  the  BharatNet  has  been  implemented  through  three  Central  Public  Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) namely Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited  (PGCIL)  and  RailTel  Corporation  of  India  Limited  and  the  execution  of  this  Phase  is  almost complete.  BharatNet  Phase-II  is  being  implemented  through  State-led  Model,  Private  Sector  Model  and Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) led Model by using an optimal mix of media (OFC, Radio and satellite).The State/UT-wise details of the Service Ready Gram Panchayats under BharatNet projectin the

country,  including  Maharashtra,  Odisha,  Jharkhand,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Madhya  Pradesh  are  given  in Annexure-I .

(b) The  BharatNet  project  was  envisaged  to  be  completed  by  August  2021.However,  this  time  will now be extended as the pace of completion is affected by lockdown and restrictions on movement imposed by the various Governments due to COVID-19.

(c) The  State/UT-wise  details  of  the  funds,  released  by  Bharat  Broadband  Network  Limited  (the Executing Agency for the project), are at Annexure-II .

(d) & (e) As on 26.02.2021, a total of 1,54,096 Gram Panchayats (Including Block Headquarters) 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  being  provided  at  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  in  the country.

The  provisioning  of  Wi-Fi  Services  in  about  1.10  lakh  GPs  has  been  assigned  to  CSC  eGovernance  Services  India  Limited  (a  Special  Purpose  Vehicle  under  Ministry  of  Electronics  & Information Technology), and in about 10,000 GPs to Government of  Rajasthan/Raj COMP Info Services Ltd. (RISL), etc.

Out of  around 1.10 lakh GPs assigned to CSC e-Governance Services India Limited for providing Wi-Fi services across India,  it is also providing Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections to 5 Government Institutions  in  77,000  (approx.)  GPs.  Further,  under  State-led  model,  the  States  are  responsible  for utilisation of the BharatNet Network.

As  on  26.02.2021,  Wi-Fi  hotspots  have  been  installed  in  1,03,400  GPs  and  4,95,078  FTTH connections on BharatNet have been provided in the country, including Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

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Annexure-I Annexure referred to in Part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2685 for answer on 10.03.2021 The State/UT-wise Status of BharatNet

| S. No.   | State/UT                           |   Service Ready GPs (Including BHQs) in Phase-I |   Service Ready GPs (Including BHQs) in Phase-II |
|----------|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                     |                                            1680 |                                               27 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                                              88 |                                              533 |
| 3        | Andaman &Nicobar                   |                                               8 |                                                0 |
| 4        | Assam                              |                                            1627 |                                                0 |
| 5        | Bihar                              |                                            6003 |                                             2818 |
| 6        | Chandigarh                         |                                              13 |                                                0 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                       |                                            4112 |                                             3134 |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                                              39 |                                                0 |
| 9        | Gujarat                            |                                            6372 |                                             7019 |
| 10       | Haryana                            |                                            6203 |                                                0 |
| 11       | Himachal Pradesh                   |                                             252 |                                              118 |
| 12       | Ladakh                             |                                               0 |                                              186 |
| 13       | Jammu &Kashmir                     |                                             393 |                                              595 |
| 14       | Jharkhand                          |                                            2600 |                                              997 |
| 15       | Karnataka                          |                                            6247 |                                                0 |
| 16       | Kerala                             |                                            1129 |                                                0 |
| 17       | Lakshadweep                        |                                               0 |                                                0 |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh                     |                                           12698 |                                             2251 |
| 19       | Maharashtra                        |                                           15335 |                                             3619 |
| 20       | Manipur                            |                                             326 |                                             1095 |
| 21       | Mizoram                            |                                              41 |                                              327 |
| 22       | Meghalaya                          |                                             122 |                                              372 |
| 23       | Nagaland                           |                                             127 |                                               92 |
| 24       | Odisha                             |                                            3952 |                                             1681 |
| 25       | Puducherry                         |                                             101 |                                                0 |
| 26       | Punjab                             |                                            8040 |                                             4755 |
| 27       | Rajasthan                          |                                            8937 |                                               30 |
| 28       | Sikkim                             |                                              28 |                                                0 |
| 29       | Tamil Nadu                         |                                               0 |                                                0 |
| 30       | Telangana                          |                                            2047 |                                                0 |
| 31       | Tripura                            |                                             595 |                                              137 |
| 32       | Uttar Pradesh                      |                                           28242 |                                             2987 |
| 33       | Uttarakhand                        |                                            1536 |                                                0 |
| 34       | West Bengal                        |                                            2430 |                                                0 |
| Total    | Total                              |                                          121323 |                                            32773 |

## Annexure-II

Annexure referred to in Part (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2685 for answer on 10.03.2021

## The  State/UT-wise  details  of  the  funds,  released  by  Bharat  Broadband  Network  Limited  for BharatNet

| S. No.   | State/UT                                 |   Fund released for Phase-I (in Rs.) |   Fund released for Phase- II (In Rs.) |
|----------|------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands                 |                            152184834 |                                      0 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                           |                           3009081475 |                             2271280000 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh                        |                            455796430 |                                      0 |
| 4        | Assam                                    |                           1627920812 |                                      0 |
| 5        | Bihar                                    |                           4702466090 |                             4314800000 |
| 6        | Chhattisgarh                             |                           5202892683 |                            10087831700 |
| 7        | Gujarat, Dadra &Nagar Haveli, Daman &Diu |                           3821047516 |                            17068140000 |
| 8        | Haryana                                  |                           3851661631 |                                      0 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                         |                            824901953 |                              272445540 |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir                           |                            771127190 |                                      0 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                                |                           2593841277 |                             2964300000 |
| 12       | Karnataka                                |                           6545168327 |                                      0 |
| 13       | Kerala                                   |                            597060814 |                                      0 |
| 14       | Lakshadweep                              |                              1034134 |                                      0 |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh                           |                          16628285906 |                               31000000 |
| 16       | Maharashtra                              |                          16451738937 |                            11215880000 |
| 17       | Manipur                                  |                            495044991 |                                      0 |
| 18       | Meghalaya                                |                            666137968 |                                      0 |
| 19       | Mizoram                                  |                            341256527 |                                      0 |
| 20       | Nagaland                                 |                            600672076 |                                      0 |
| 21       | Odisha                                   |                           4853921628 |                             3048767000 |
| 22       | Puducherry                               |                             48606957 |                                      0 |
| 23       | Punjab                                   |                           3757757151 |                             4808500000 |
| 24       | Rajasthan                                |                           9017997157 |                              472000000 |
| 25       | Sikkim                                   |                            152094963 |                                2000000 |
| 26       | Tamil Nadu                               |                            108055326 |                             1500820000 |
| 27       | Telangana                                |                           2139124557 |                             3352780000 |
| 28       | Tripura                                  |                            732190895 |                                      0 |
| 29       | Uttar Pradesh                            |                          13559531296 |                             2800000000 |
| 30       | Uttarakhand                              |                           2479300282 |                               27700000 |
| 31       | West Bengal                              |                           3963543831 |                               20998295 |
|          | Total                                    |                         110151445615 |                            64259242535 |
|          | *GPON&OFC                                |                           1277609848 |                                      0 |
|          | * Ad hoc payment done for BSNL           |                                    0 |                            39350000000 |
|          | TCIL                                     |                                    0 |                              310729117 |
|          | BSNL -VSAT                               |                                    0 |                              423800000 |
|          | Bandwidth                                |                                    0 |                              401200000 |
|          | Grand Total                              |                         111429055463 |                           104744971652 |

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