Lok Sabha Question No. 232 (STARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Internet Services to Remote Villages
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: C.N. Annadurai, Rebati Tripura

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 232 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## INTERNET SERVICES TO REMOTE VILLAGES

- *232.   SHRI C.N. ANNADURAI: SHRI REBATI TRIPURA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has decided to provide internet services to 5000 remote villages using Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellites;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  details  of  the  villages  that  have  been  identified  for  this purpose, State/ UT-wise;
- (c) the time by which these villages will be provided with internet services;
- (d) whether there is no internet facility in remote villages dominated by SC/ST population and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (e) whether  internet/broadband  speed  is  very  slow  in  remote  areas  dominated  by  SC/ST population where internet/broadband facility is available; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor and also the efforts made by the Government to overcome this problem?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to  (f) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) to  (f)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  232  FOR  10 TH   MARCH,  2021 REGARDING 'INTERNET SERVICES TO REMOTE VILLAGES '.

(a)  to  (c)          The  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT)  has  targeted  to  provide  internet connectivity  to  5,519  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  (4,112  GPs  by  Bharat  Broadband  Network  Ltd. (BBNL) by November 2021 and 1,407 by BSNL by June 2021) on Satellite Media under BharatNet Project. As on 01.03.2021, 3,587 GPs (BBNL: 2,432 and BSNL: 1,155) have been connected. The State/UT-wise details are at Annexure-I.

(d) to (f)    High speed internet facility is being provided in rural areas by the Government and the Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  through  3G/4G  mobile  connectivity  and  through  wireline connectivity.  As  per  data  collected  from  the  Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  in  2020,  it  is estimated that out of 5,97,618 inhabited villages (as per Census 2011) in the country, a total number of  5,58,537  villages  have  3G  or  4G  mobile  wireless  coverage.  The  services  cover  the  entire population including SCs/ST+s of the area. State/UT wise details are given in Annexure-II.

In  addition,  to  improve  the  internet  speed  particularly  in  rural  areas,  BharatNet  project  is being  implemented  to  connect  all  the  GPs  (approx.  2.5  lakh)  by  broadband/high  speed  internet infrastructure in the country. As on 26.02.2021, a total number of 1,54,096 GPs including Block Head Quarters (BHQs) have been made service ready with broadband infrastructure.

## Annexure referred to in Part (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 232 for Answer on 10.03.2021.

## No. of planned and service ready GPs on satellite media as on 01.03.2021

| Sl. No.   | State             | Planned (GPs)   | Planned (GPs)   | Planned (GPs)   | Service ready (GPs)   | Service ready (GPs)   | Service ready (GPs)   |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
| Sl. No.   | State             | BSNL            | BBNL            | Total           | BSNL                  | BBNL                  | Total                 |
| 1.        | Arunachal Pradesh | 407             | 882             | 1289            | 203                   | 330                   | 533                   |
| 2.        | Assam             | 0               | 5               | 5               | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 3.        | Manipur           | 0               | 1219            | 1219            | 0                     | 1095                  | 1095                  |
| 4.        | Meghalaya         | 77              | 582             | 659             | 70                    | 302                   | 372                   |
| 5.        | Mizoram           | 0               | 595             | 595             | 0                     | 327                   | 327                   |
| 6.        | Nagaland          | 0               | 120             | 120             | 0                     | 92                    | 92                    |
| 7.        | Sikkim            | 0               | 13              | 13              | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 8.        | Tripura           | 0               | 142             | 142             | 0                     | 137                   | 137                   |
| 9.        | J&K (UT)          | 613             | 80              | 693             | 588                   | 7                     | 595                   |
| 10.       | Leh (UT)          | 172             | 39              | 211             | 169                   | 17                    | 186                   |
| 11.       | A&N               | 0               | 8               | 8               | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 12.       | Lakshadweep       | 0               | 10              | 10              | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 13.       | Bihar             | 0               | 16              | 16              | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 14.       | Chhattisgarh      | 23              | 5               | 28              | 13                    | 0                     | 13                    |
| 15.       | Gujarat           | 0               | 23              | 23              | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 16.       | HP                | 0               | 159             | 159             | 0                     | 118                   | 118                   |
| 17.       | Jharkhand         | 0               | 8               | 8               | 0                     | 3                     | 3                     |
| 18.       | Maharashtra       | 0               | 5               | 5               | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 19.       | MP                | 33              | 0               | 33              | 30                    | 0                     | 30                    |
| 20.       | Odisha            | 19              | 0               | 19              | 19                    | 0                     | 19                    |
| 21.       | Punjab            | 0               | 4               | 4               | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 22.       | Rajasthan         | 30              | 0               | 30              | 30                    | 0                     | 30                    |
| 23.       | UP                | 33              | 0               | 33              | 33                    | 0                     | 33                    |
| 24.       | Uttarakhand       | 0               | 175             | 175             | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 25.       | West Bengal       | 0               | 3               | 3               | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 26.       | AP                | 0               | 15              | 15              | 0                     | 0                     | 0                     |
| 27.       | Co-located        | 0               | 4               | 4               | 0                     | 4                     | 4                     |
| Total     | Total             | 1407            | 4112            | 5519            | 1155                  | 2432                  | 3587                  |

## Annexure referred to in Part (d) to (f) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 232 for Answer on 10.03.2021.

No. of Villages with 3G/4G Mobile Coverage

| Sl. No.   | State/UT                        | No of inhabited villages as per Census 2011   | No. of villages high Speed internet Facility(3G or 4G or both Technologies)   |
|-----------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | A&N Islands                     | 396                                           | 83                                                                            |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                  | 16158                                         | 14072                                                                         |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh               | 5258                                          | 2761                                                                          |
| 4         | Assam                           | 25372                                         | 24148                                                                         |
| 5         | Bihar                           | 39073                                         | 38733                                                                         |
| 6         | Chandigarh                      | 5                                             | 5                                                                             |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                    | 19567                                         | 16624                                                                         |
| 8         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu | 84                                            | 79                                                                            |
| 9         | Goa                             | 320                                           | 279                                                                           |
| 10        | Gujarat                         | 17843                                         | 16932                                                                         |
| 11        | Haryana                         | 6642                                          | 6641                                                                          |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh                | 17882                                         | 16934                                                                         |
| 13        | Jammu &Kashmir                  | 6101                                          | 5763                                                                          |
| 14        | Jharkhand                       | 29492                                         | 27397                                                                         |
| 15        | Karnataka                       | 27397                                         | 26705                                                                         |
| 16        | Kerala                          | 1017                                          | 1017                                                                          |
| 17        | Ladakh                          | 236                                           | 83                                                                            |
| 18        | Lakshadweep                     | 6                                             | 4                                                                             |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh                  | 51929                                         | 48366                                                                         |
| 20        | Maharashtra                     | 40959                                         | 37572                                                                         |
| 21        | Manipur                         | 2515                                          | 1704                                                                          |
| 22        | Meghalaya                       | 6459                                          | 3813                                                                          |
| 23        | Mizoram                         | 704                                           | 411                                                                           |
| 24        | Nagaland                        | 1400                                          | 1057                                                                          |
| 25        | Delhi                           | 103                                           | 103                                                                           |
| 26        | Odisha                          | 47677                                         | 39546                                                                         |
| 27        | Puducherry                      | 90                                            | 90                                                                            |
| 28        | Punjab                          | 12168                                         | 12168                                                                         |
| 29        | Rajasthan                       | 43264                                         | 41716                                                                         |
| 30        | Sikkim                          | 425                                           | 403                                                                           |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                      | 15049                                         | 14939                                                                         |
| 32        | Telangana                       | 10128                                         | 9793                                                                          |
| 33        | Tripura                         | 863                                           | 802                                                                           |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                   | 15745                                         | 97049                                                                         |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                     | 97813                                         | 13281                                                                         |
| 36        | West Bengal                     | 37478                                         | 37464                                                                         |
|           | Total                           | 5,97,618                                      | 5,58,537                                                                      |

************