Lok Sabha Question No. 121 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-02
Subject: Optical Fibre
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sisir Kumar Adhikari, Rajan Baburao  Vichare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 121 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 ND  FEBRUARY, 2022

## OPTICAL FIBRE

## 121. SHRI SISIR KUMAR ADHIKARI: SHRI RAJAN VICHARE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has undertaken to connect all the villages of the country with optical fibre by 2023;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the amount of funds likely to be spend on it, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government plans to provide mobile connectivity in villages which are located in strategic and border areas; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  timeline  by  which  the  said  connectivity  is  likely  to  be provided in the aforesaid areas?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) BharatNet project is implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) of the country. The scope of BharatNet has now been extended upto all inhabited villages beyond GPs. On 30.06.2021, Union Cabinet accorded approval for a revised strategy for  implementation  of  BharatNet  through  Public-Private  Partnership  (PPP)  model  in  16  States  of  the country covering about 3.61 lakh villages, and a Request for Proposal (RFP) was floated on 20.07.2021 for implementation of the same.

The estimated maximum Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), approved for the above PPP model, is Rs. 19,041 crore and the details of the same are given in Annexure-I .

(c) & (d) Mobile  services  are  provided  in  a  phased  manner  by  the  Government  and  Telecom Services Provider (TSPs) in the uncovered villages of the country, including those located in strategic and border areas. The Government has the following schemes with USOF funding in this regard:

- (i) Under  354  Uncovered  Villages  Scheme,  border  villages  of  Jammu  &  Kashmir  and Ladakh,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Rajasthan,  Gujarat,  Uttarakhand  and other priority areas are included.
- (ii) Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for mobile connectivity in the North Eastern Region.
- (iii) Schemes for providing mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas and Aspirational Districts.

Annexure referred to in Parts (a) & (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question         No. 121 for answer on 02.02.2022

## Details of the estimated maximum Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for PPP model of BharatNet

| Package   | States                                                                                   |   Total Villages (including GPs) |   VGF (Rs Cr.) |
|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------------|
| I         | Kerala and Karnataka                                                                     |                            33383 |           2225 |
| II        | Uttar Pradesh (East)                                                                     |                            78011 |           2895 |
| III       | Uttar Pradesh (West)                                                                     |                            25228 |           1053 |
| IV        | Rajasthan                                                                                |                            46343 |           2441 |
| V         | Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh                                                     |                            39344 |           2589 |
| VI        | West Bengal                                                                              |                            39188 |           1277 |
| VII       | North East Region (Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) |                            19664 |           3453 |
| VIII      | Assam                                                                                    |                            27912 |            781 |
| IX        | Madhya Pradesh                                                                           |                            52497 |           2327 |
|           | Total                                                                                    |                           361570 |          19041 |

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