Lok Sabha Question No. 2351 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-15
Subject: Internet Connectivity in Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ramapati Ram Tripathi, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Sangamlal Kadedin Gupta, P.P. Chaudhary, Anurag Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2351 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  MARCH, 2023

## INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IN RURAL AREAS

2351.   DR. RAMAPATI RAM TRIPATHI: SHRI BRIJBHUSHAN SHARAN SINGH: SHRI SANGAM LAL GUPTA: SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the steps taken by the Government to promote internet connectivity in rural areas;
- (b) the details of the internet penetration in the country, State-wise including rural and urban areas;
- (c) the details of the internet penetration in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, district-wise;
- (d) the  details  of  the  rural  areas  of  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Rajasthan  connected  with  optical-fibre coverage; and
- (e) whether the Government has any plans to improve internet penetration in rural areas in the coming year and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) Internet  Connectivity  is  provided  in  the  country  by  the  Government,  the  Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) through wireless mobile and fixed wireline  connections  in  phased  manner.  As  per  data  provided  from  Telecom  Service  Providers (TSPs),  Department  of  Telecom's  field  unit  and  State  Governments  as  of  March  '2022,  out  of 6,44,131 villages (villages are as per data of Registrar General of India as of November 2019) in the country, around 6,05,230 villages are having mobile internet connectivity. Government has taken various steps to promote internet connectivity through both wireless and wireline modes in rural areas. Some of the initiatives are listed below:

- BharatNet project is implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country. The scope of BharatNet project has now been extended upto villages beyond GPs in the country.
- PM WANI framework aims to accelerate proliferation of internet services by setting up public Wi-Fi Access points in the country.
- USOF 4G Saturation Scheme to cover 24,680 uncovered villages with 4G and 6,279 villages having 2G/3G connectivity are to be upgraded to 4G.
- Scheme for providing 4G mobile connectivity in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts in four States, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan;
- Scheme  for  provisioning  of  4G  based  Mobile  service  in  7287  uncovered  villages  of Aspirational Districts of 5 States Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha;
- Laying of submarine optical fibre cable between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands for providing connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands;
- Submarine OFC connectivity between Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands.
- Mobile connectivity to cover uncovered villages and along National Highway (NH 223) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands;
- Under LWE Phase-I scheme, 2,343 mobile towers have been installed in LWE areas which including 96 mobile towers of the State of West Bengal and are providing services. Under LWE Phase-II scheme, 2,542 mobile towers at Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) identified locations are approved across the LWE States;
- Scheme  for  providing  mobile  connectivity  in  354  villages  of  uncovered  border  areas including Ladakh and Kargil Region, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other priority areas;
- Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for mobile connectivity in the North Eastern Region to provide mobile coverage in uncovered villages and along with the National Highways;

As per data provided by TRAI, overall internet penetration in the country is 61.62% with 850.95 million internet subscribers. State wise details for rural and urban areas is at Annexure-I . Further  details of district wise  internet connectivity  in Uttar Pradesh  and  Rajasthan  is  at Annexure-II .

Present status of Optical Fibre coverage of GPs in the State of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan is as below:

| State         |   No. of GPs made service ready |
|---------------|---------------------------------|
| Uttar Pradesh |                           45000 |
| Rajasthan     |                            8736 |

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2351 to be answered on 15.03.2023

State/UT wise number of Internet Subscribers per 100 population in Rural/Urban areas of the country, as of 30 th  September 2022

| S.N.              | State(s)                               | Total Internet Subscribers (In million)   | Total Internet Subscribers (In million)   | Total Internet Subscribers (In million)   | Internet Subscribers per 100 population   | Internet Subscribers per 100 population   | Internet Subscribers per 100 population   |
|-------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| S.N.              | State(s)                               | Rural                                     | Urban                                     | Total                                     | Rural                                     | Urban                                     | Total                                     |
| 1                 | Andhra Pradesh                         | 16.25                                     | 16.20                                     | 32.44                                     | 47.99                                     | 84.24                                     | 61.12                                     |
| 2                 | Arunachal Pradesh                      | 0.46                                      | 0.33                                      | 0.79                                      | 39.40                                     | 83.48                                     | 50.65                                     |
| 3                 | Assam                                  | 10.12                                     | 6.39                                      | 16.50                                     | 33.66                                     | 115.78                                    | 46.39                                     |
| 4                 | Bihar                                  | 30.49                                     | 15.02                                     | 45.51                                     | 27.58                                     | 97.34                                     | 36.12                                     |
| 5                 | Chattisgarh                            | 7.18                                      | 8.16                                      | 15.34                                     | 32.75                                     | 100.65                                    | 51.08                                     |
| 6                 | Goa                                    | 0.68                                      | 1.33                                      | 2.00                                      | 174.98                                    | 111.88                                    | 127.43                                    |
| 7                 | Gujarat                                | 16.46                                     | 34.80                                     | 51.26                                     | 44.93                                     | 100.80                                    | 72.05                                     |
| 8                 | Haryana                                | 8.08                                      | 13.29                                     | 21.37                                     | 46.21                                     | 105.65                                    | 71.09                                     |
| 9                 | Himachal Pradesh                       | 3.80                                      | 2.35                                      | 6.15                                      | 56.79                                     | 306.54                                    | 82.51                                     |
| 10                | Jharkhand                              | 9.37                                      | 7.80                                      | 17.17                                     | 32.28                                     | 76.14                                     | 43.73                                     |
| 11                | Karnataka                              | 18.55                                     | 32.06                                     | 50.61                                     | 49.25                                     | 107.41                                    | 74.96                                     |
| 12                | Kerala                                 | 14.63                                     | 16.56                                     | 31.19                                     | 160.19                                    | 62.31                                     | 87.33                                     |
| 13                | Madhya Pradesh                         | 17.18                                     | 26.12                                     | 43.30                                     | 28.06                                     | 104.75                                    | 50.26                                     |
| 14                | Maharashtra                            | 30.98                                     | 69.57                                     | 100.55                                    | 47.67                                     | 114.06                                    | 79.81                                     |
| 15                | Manipur                                | 0.85                                      | 1.24                                      | 2.09                                      | 39.17                                     | 119.79                                    | 65.22                                     |
| 16                | Meghalaya                              | 1.16                                      | 0.70                                      | 1.86                                      | 43.82                                     | 101.14                                    | 55.64                                     |
| 17                | Mizoram                                | 0.46                                      | 0.65                                      | 1.11                                      | 82.44                                     | 96.08                                     | 89.93                                     |
| 18                | Nagaland                               | 0.88                                      | 0.64                                      | 1.51                                      | 72.02                                     | 63.25                                     | 68.05                                     |
| 19                | Odisha                                 | 14.17                                     | 7.46                                      | 21.63                                     | 39.45                                     | 89.69                                     | 48.89                                     |
| 20                | Punjab                                 | 8.63                                      | 16.87                                     | 25.51                                     | 48.29                                     | 132.11                                    | 83.22                                     |
| 21                | Rajasthan                              | 21.34                                     | 23.69                                     | 45.03                                     | 36.01                                     | 110.60                                    | 55.82                                     |
| 22                | Sikkim                                 | 0.37                                      | 0.36                                      | 0.74                                      | 104.35                                    | 110.04                                    | 107.09                                    |
| 23                | Tamil Nadu incl. Chennai               | 15.55                                     | 40.39                                     | 55.94                                     | 43.57                                     | 98.35                                     | 72.88                                     |
| 24                | Telangana                              | 11.49                                     | 19.95                                     | 31.43                                     | 57.40                                     | 110.26                                    | 82.49                                     |
| 25                | Tripura                                | 0.93                                      | 1.00                                      | 1.93                                      | 36.69                                     | 62.64                                     | 46.74                                     |
| 26                | Uttar Pradesh (UPE+UPW)                | 52.09                                     | 54.72                                     | 106.80                                    | 29.19                                     | 97.28                                     | 45.51                                     |
| 27                | Uttarakhand                            | 4.08                                      | 4.67                                      | 8.75                                      | 54.79                                     | 112.81                                    | 75.50                                     |
| 28                | West Bengal incl. Kolkata              | 21.96                                     | 35.82                                     | 57.78                                     | 35.04                                     | 98.94                                     | 58.43                                     |
| Union Territories | Union Territories                      | Union Territories                         | Union Territories                         | Union Territories                         | Union Territories                         | Union Territories                         | Union Territories                         |
| 1                 | Andaman &Nicobar Islands               | 0.20                                      | 0.24                                      | 0.44                                      | 88.52                                     | 134.96                                    | 108.91                                    |
| 2                 | Chandigarh                             | 0.04                                      | 0.81                                      | 0.84                                      | -                                         | -                                         | 68.77                                     |
| 3                 | Dadar &Nagar Haweli (incl. Daman& Diu) | 0.24                                      | 0.36                                      | 0.60                                      | 100.94                                    | 36.41                                     | 48.81                                     |

Note: No.  of  total  internet  subscribers  per  100  population  is  derived  from  the  subscriber  data provided by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the projection of population from the 'Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States 2011 - 2036'.

| 4     | Delhi          |   0.71 |   42.14 |   42.85 | -     | -      |   202.19 |
|-------|----------------|--------|---------|---------|-------|--------|----------|
| 5     | Jammu &Kashmir |   4.02 |    4.98 |    9    | 42.57 | 120.65 |    66.33 |
| 6     | Ladakh         |   0.17 |    0.04 |    0.2  | 79.62 | 38.44  |    67.03 |
| 7     | Lakshdweep     |   0.05 |    0    |    0.06 | -     | -      |    82.61 |
| 8     | Puduchery      |   0.24 |    0.42 |    0.67 | 49.91 | 36.97  |    40.83 |
| Total | Total          | 343.82 |  507.13 |  850.95 | 38.33 | 104.77 |    61.62 |

## Annexure-II

Annexure referred to in part (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2351 to be answered on 15.03.2023

| Rajasthan Coverage Status District wise   | Rajasthan Coverage Status District wise   | Rajasthan Coverage Status District wise   | Rajasthan Coverage Status District wise   | Rajasthan Coverage Status District wise   |
|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| SN                                        | District Name                             | Total Number of Villages                  | No of Villages having Mobile coverage     | No of Uncovered Villages                  |
| 1                                         | Ajmer                                     | 1128                                      | 1103                                      | 25                                        |
| 2                                         | Alwar                                     | 2067                                      | 2006                                      | 61                                        |
| 3                                         | Banswara                                  | 1540                                      | 1477                                      | 63                                        |
| 4                                         | Baran                                     | 1233                                      | 1166                                      | 67                                        |
| 5                                         | Barmer                                    | 2964                                      | 2401                                      | 563                                       |
| 6                                         | Bharatpur                                 | 1530                                      | 1526                                      | 4                                         |
| 7                                         | Bhilwara                                  | 1910                                      | 1843                                      | 67                                        |
| 8                                         | Bikaner                                   | 946                                       | 826                                       | 120                                       |
| 9                                         | Bundi                                     | 881                                       | 860                                       | 21                                        |
| 10                                        | Chittaurgarh                              | 1771                                      | 1542                                      | 229                                       |
| 11                                        | Churu                                     | 904                                       | 891                                       | 13                                        |
| 12                                        | Dausa                                     | 1136                                      | 1059                                      | 77                                        |
| 13                                        | Dhaulpur                                  | 834                                       | 788                                       | 46                                        |
| 14                                        | Dungarpur                                 | 1014                                      | 967                                       | 47                                        |
| 15                                        | Ganganagar                                | 3024                                      | 2977                                      | 47                                        |
| 16                                        | Hanumangarh                               | 1909                                      | 1866                                      | 43                                        |
| 17                                        | Jaipur                                    | 2264                                      | 2161                                      | 103                                       |
| 18                                        | Jaisalmer                                 | 855                                       | 526                                       | 329                                       |
| 19                                        | Jalor                                     | 822                                       | 794                                       | 28                                        |
| 20                                        | Jhalawar                                  | 1626                                      | 1536                                      | 90                                        |
| 21                                        | Jhunjhunun                                | 982                                       | 893                                       | 89                                        |
| 22                                        | Jodhpur                                   | 1909                                      | 1773                                      | 136                                       |
| 23                                        | Karauli                                   | 900                                       | 808                                       | 92                                        |
| 24                                        | Kota                                      | 879                                       | 868                                       | 11                                        |
| 25                                        | Nagaur                                    | 1641                                      | 1589                                      | 52                                        |
| 26                                        | Pali                                      | 1047                                      | 944                                       | 103                                       |
| 27                                        | Pratapgarh                                | 1009                                      | 939                                       | 70                                        |
| 28                                        | Rajsamand                                 | 1084                                      | 838                                       | 246                                       |
| 29                                        | Sawai Madhopur                            | 825                                       | 804                                       | 21                                        |
| 30                                        | Sikar                                     | 1191                                      | 1162                                      | 29                                        |
| 31                                        | Sirohi                                    | 506                                       | 430                                       | 76                                        |
| 32                                        | Tonk                                      | 1210                                      | 1185                                      | 25                                        |
| 33                                        | Udaipur                                   | 2536                                      | 2075                                      | 461                                       |
|                                           | Grand Total                               | 46077                                     | 42623                                     | 3454                                      |

| District wise Village coverage-UPE   | District wise Village coverage-UPE   | District wise Village coverage-UPE   | District wise Village coverage-UPE    | District wise Village coverage-UPE   |
|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| S.No.                                | District Name                        | Total Number of Villages             | No of Villages having Mobile coverage | No of Uncovered Villages             |
| 1                                    | Ambedkar Nagar                       | 1740                                 | 1740                                  | 0                                    |
| 2                                    | Amethi                               | 988                                  | 988                                   | 0                                    |
| 3                                    | Ayodhya                              | 1226                                 | 1226                                  | 0                                    |
| 4                                    | Azamgarh                             | 4078                                 | 4078                                  | 0                                    |
| 5                                    | Bahraich                             | 1390                                 | 1380                                  | 10                                   |
| 6                                    | Ballia                               | 2357                                 | 2357                                  | 0                                    |
| 7                                    | Balrampur                            | 1016                                 | 997                                   | 19                                   |
| 8                                    | Banda                                | 734                                  | 734                                   | 0                                    |
| 9                                    | Barabanki                            | 1831                                 | 1831                                  | 0                                    |
| 10                                   | Basti                                | 3273                                 | 3273                                  | 0                                    |
| 11                                   | Bhadohi                              | 1219                                 | 1219                                  | 0                                    |
| 12                                   | Chandauli                            | 1635                                 | 1625                                  | 10                                   |
| 13                                   | Chitrakoot                           | 657                                  | 636                                   | 21                                   |
| 14                                   | Deoria                               | 2161                                 | 2161                                  | 0                                    |
| 15                                   | Farrukhabad                          | 992                                  | 991                                   | 1                                    |
| 16                                   | Fatehpur                             | 1512                                 | 1512                                  | 0                                    |
| 17                                   | Ghazipur                             | 3374                                 | 3374                                  | 0                                    |
| 18                                   | Gonda                                | 1821                                 | 1821                                  | 0                                    |
| 19                                   | Gorakhpur                            | 3267                                 | 3267                                  | 0                                    |
| 20                                   | Hamirpur                             | 610                                  | 610                                   | 0                                    |
| 21                                   | Hardoi                               | 2071                                 | 2071                                  | 0                                    |
| 22                                   | Jalaun                               | 1150                                 | 1147                                  | 3                                    |
| 23                                   | Jaunpur                              | 3284                                 | 3284                                  | 0                                    |
| 24                                   | Jhansi                               | 819                                  | 814                                   | 5                                    |
| 25                                   | Kannauj                              | 752                                  | 752                                   | 0                                    |
| 26                                   | Kanpur Dehat                         | 1005                                 | 1005                                  | 0                                    |
| 27                                   | Kanpur Nagar                         | 1007                                 | 1007                                  | 0                                    |
| 28                                   | Kaushambi                            | 808                                  | 808                                   | 0                                    |
| 29                                   | Kheri                                | 1799                                 | 1775                                  | 24                                   |
| 30                                   | Kushi Nagar                          | 1487                                 | 1487                                  | 0                                    |
| 31                                   | Lalitpur                             | 750                                  | 724                                   | 26                                   |
| 32                                   | Lucknow                              | 718                                  | 718                                   | 0                                    |
| 33                                   | Maharajganj                          | 1219                                 | 1217                                  | 2                                    |
| 34                                   | Mahoba                               | 521                                  | 513                                   | 8                                    |
| 35                                   | Mau                                  | 1574                                 | 1574                                  | 0                                    |
| 36                                   | Mirzapur                             | 1967                                 | 1954                                  | 13                                   |
| 37                                   | Pratapgarh                           | 2139                                 | 2139                                  | 0                                    |
| 38                                   | Prayagraj                            | 2868                                 | 2867                                  | 1                                    |
| 39                                   | Rae Bareli                           | 1573                                 | 1573                                  | 0                                    |
| 40                                   | Sant Kabeer Nagar                    | 1646                                 | 1646                                  | 0                                    |
| 41                                   | Shahjahanpur                         | 2310                                 | 2309                                  | 1                                    |
| 42                                   | Shravasti                            | 536                                  | 532                                   | 4                                    |
| 43                                   | Siddharth Nagar                      | 2400                                 | 2400                                  | 0                                    |
| 44                                   | Sitapur                              | 2349                                 | 2348                                  | 1                                    |

| 45   | Sonbhadra   |   1429 |   1376 |   53 |
|------|-------------|--------|--------|------|
| 46   | Sultanpur   |   1720 |   1720 |    0 |
| 47   | Unnao       |   1797 |   1797 |    0 |
| 48   | Varanasi    |   1250 |   1250 |    0 |
|      | Grand Total |  78829 |  78627 |  202 |

| District wise Village coverageUPW   | District wise Village coverageUPW   | District wise Village coverageUPW   | District wise Village coverageUPW     | District wise Village coverageUPW   |
|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| S.No.                               | District Name                       | Total Number of Villages            | No of Villages having Mobile coverage | No of Uncovered Villages            |
| 1                                   | Agra                                | 935                                 | 935                                   | 0                                   |
| 2                                   | Aligarh                             | 1188                                | 1188                                  | 0                                   |
| 3                                   | Amroha                              | 1124                                | 1124                                  | 0                                   |
| 4                                   | Auraiya                             | 841                                 | 841                                   | 0                                   |
| 5                                   | Baghpat                             | 315                                 | 315                                   | 0                                   |
| 6                                   | Bareilly                            | 2061                                | 2061                                  | 0                                   |
| 7                                   | Bijnor                              | 2992                                | 2991                                  | 1                                   |
| 8                                   | Budaun                              | 1678                                | 1678                                  | 0                                   |
| 9                                   | Bulandshahr                         | 1246                                | 1246                                  | 0                                   |
| 10                                  | Etah                                | 883                                 | 883                                   | 0                                   |
| 11                                  | Etawah                              | 693                                 | 693                                   | 0                                   |
| 12                                  | Firozabad                           | 803                                 | 803                                   | 0                                   |
| 13                                  | Gautam Buddha Nagar                 | 326                                 | 326                                   | 0                                   |
| 14                                  | Ghaziabad                           | 209                                 | 209                                   | 0                                   |
| 15                                  | Hapur                               | 352                                 | 352                                   | 0                                   |
| 16                                  | Hathras                             | 660                                 | 660                                   | 0                                   |
| 17                                  | Kasganj                             | 716                                 | 716                                   | 0                                   |
| 18                                  | Mainpuri                            | 833                                 | 833                                   | 0                                   |
| 19                                  | Mathura                             | 813                                 | 813                                   | 0                                   |
| 20                                  | Meerut                              | 664                                 | 664                                   | 0                                   |
| 21                                  | Moradabad                           | 1164                                | 1164                                  | 0                                   |
| 22                                  | Muzaffarnagar                       | 706                                 | 706                                   | 0                                   |
| 23                                  | Pilibhit                            | 1435                                | 1435                                  | 0                                   |
| 24                                  | Rampur                              | 1161                                | 1161                                  | 0                                   |
| 25                                  | Saharanpur*                         | 1573                                | 1573                                  | 0                                   |
| 26                                  | Sambhal                             | 1011                                | 1011                                  | 0                                   |
| 27                                  | Shamli                              | 320                                 | 320                                   | 0                                   |
|                                     | Total                               | 26,702                              | 26701                                 | 1                                   |

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