Lok Sabha Question No. 1288 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-14
Subject: Achievements in Communications Sector
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sunil Baburao Mendhe

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1288 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 TH  DECEMBER, 2022

## ACHIEVEMENTS IN COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR

## 1288.   SHRI SUNIL BABURAO MENDHE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the achievements made by the Government in communication sector during the last three years in Maharashtra, including the Bhandara and Goniya districts;
- (b) whether  any  roadmap  has  been  prepared  by  the  Government  for  the  communication revolution in the next two years and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether there is any ongoing project for Bhandara & Goniya districts and if so, the details thereof?

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

- (a) Around 27,720 number of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), in the state of Maharashtra including 480 BTSs of Bhandara district and 530 BTSs of Goniya district, have been installed by Government  and  Telecom  Service  Providers(TSPs)  during  last  three  years.  Further,  under BharatNet project around 7150 number of Gram Panchayats have been made service ready during last three years in the State of Maharashtra including the Bhandara and Goniya districts.
- (b) Government,  through  funding  from  USOF,  have  prepared  various  scheme  to  cover  all uncovered area with telecommunication connectivity in the country in a phased manner. The list of the major USOF schemes are given in Annexure-I.
- (c) Under USOF Scheme of 4G mobile Saturation, 40 number of villages of Bhandara districts and 48 villages of Goniya district are being covered with 4G mobile coverage. In addition, 22 villages of Goniya district are being covered through scheme for providing mobile connectivity in Left Wing Extremism (LWE-II) affected areas.

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in reply of part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1288 to be answered on 14/12/2022 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament regarding 'Achievements in communications sector'

## List of the major USOF schemes:

- (i) BharatNet project
- (ii) Saturation of 4G mobile services in uncovered villages across the country
- (iii) Provision of 4G mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas under PhaseII
- (iv) Provision  of  Mobile  Services  in  Uncovered  villages  in  Assam,  Manipur,  Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) of NER and seamless coverage along National Highway
- (v) Provision of 4G Mobile Services in Uncovered villages of Meghalaya and seamless coverage along National Highway
- (vi) Provision of 4G Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages of Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam
- (vii) Hiring  of  10  Gbps  International  Bandwidth  through  BSNL  for  Internet  Connectivity  to Agartala from BSCCL, Bangladesh via Cox Bazar. Approval has been issued for hiring of additional 10 Gbps International Bandwidth also.
- (viii) Provision  of  mobile  connectivity  in  354  uncovered  villages  of  J&K,  Ladakh,  Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Border area & other priority areas
- (ix) Provision of 4G mobile connectivity in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts in four States (namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan)
- (x) Remaining 7,287 Aspirational District villages (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha) for provision of 4G mobile services
- (xi) Provision  of  4G  Mobile  Coverage  in  85  uncovered  Villages  and  seamless  4G  Mobile coverage of NH223 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- (xii) Laying of submarine OFC Connectivity between Mainland India (Kochi) and Lakshadweep Islands
- (xiii) Public Wi-Fi hotspots at the 25,000 rural telephone exchanges of BSNL

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