Lok Sabha Question No. 3341 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-23
Subject: 4G Mobile Services in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Reddeppa Nallakonda Gari, Sanjeev Kumar Singari, Pocha Brahmananda Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3341 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23 RD  MARCH, 2022

## 4G MOBILE SERVICES IN ANDHRA PRADESH

3341.   SHRI N. REDDEPPA: DR. SANJEEV KUMAR SINGARI: SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the districts identified in Andhra Pradesh (AP) for implementation of the Government  scheme  to  improve  4G  mobile  services  in  over  7,000  villages  across  five  States including Andhra Pradesh;
- (b) the number of aspirational districts being covered in each of the five States;
- (c) the  details  of  outcome  of  above  interventions,  with  particular  reference  to  identified districts in AP and the status of their progress; and
- (d) the details of any additional steps being taken to improve digital connectivity in AP?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The Union Cabinet has approved a Scheme for provisioning of 4G Mobile Coverage in 7287 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and  Odisha, to be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). Under this scheme, identified uncovered villages of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Y.S.R. Districts of Andhra Pradesh are included for providing 4G Mobile Services.
- (b) The State-wise number of Aspirational districts covered in 7287 villages scheme, is as given below:

| S. No.   | State          |   No. of Aspirational districts |
|----------|----------------|---------------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh |                               3 |
| 2.       | Chhattisgarh   |                               8 |
| 3.       | Jharkhand      |                              19 |
| 4.       | Maharashtra    |                               4 |
| 5.       | Odisha         |                              10 |
|          | Total          |                              44 |

- (c) A Request for Proposal (RFP) has been floated on 07.12.2021 for the implementation of aforesaid  scheme  and  the  same  was  opened  on  24.02.2022.  The  identified  uncovered  villages, included in the above scheme, will be provided with 4G  mobile coverage, which can be utilized for accessing various e- services such as e-education, e-health, etc.
- (d) The  Department  of  Telecom  has  the  following  additional  schemes    to  improve  digital connectivity in Andhra Pradesh:
- i. Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE)  Affected  Area  Scheme  Phase-II includes installation  of  2542  towers  for  providing  4G  mobile  services  at  the  locations identified    by  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  across  10  States,  including  346  mobile towers in Andhra Pradesh.
- ii. BharatNet  project is  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  to  provide  broadband internet connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) of the country, including Andhra Pradesh. The scope of the project has recently been extended to all inhabited villages, beyond GPs, of  the country.

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