Lok Sabha Question No. 4623 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: E-Governance
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Devji Mansingram Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4623 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 TH  MARCH, 2023

## E-GOVERNANCE

## †4623. SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the opportunities of social activities i.e. E-Governance, digital services jobs etc. are growing in the nearby places of villages where telecom towers have been installed and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the number of villages across the country including Rajasthan where telecom towers have been installed in rural areas so far;
- (c) the details of the total number of such towers proposed to be installed in rural areas in coming years; and
- (d) the details of the total number of such towers installed in rural areas of Rajasthan including Sirohi and Jalore districts during the last three years, State-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) Government  and  Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  provide  telecommunication connectivity  in  the  country  in  a  phased  manner.  As  per  data  provided  from  Telecom  Service Providers (TSPs), Department of Telecom field unit and State Government as of March 2022, out of 644131 (as per RGI data of 31-11-2019) villages in the country including Rajasthan, 605230 villages are covered with Mobile connectivity.

Government  is  implementing  various  schemes  under  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund (USOF) to enhance telecom connectivity through installation of Mobile Towers in the rural and remote areas of the country, to bridge the digital divide and thereby enabling the citizens for availing the E-Governance services.  Around 44706 villages in the rural and remote areas of the country have been planned to be covered through these USOF schemes/project, out of which 3592 villages are of Rajasthan  state,  of  which  25  villages  in  Jalore  district  and  79  villages  are  in  Sirohi  district  of Rajasthan. Details of USOF Schemes to provide mobile connectivity are at Annexure-I .

- (d) As per information received from DoT field units, details of mobile towers installed during last three years in the State of Rajasthan and Jalore & Sirohi districts of Rajasthan are as below:

|   Sr. No | Area            | No. of villages where BTS/Towers installed during last three years and till date in current year.   |
|----------|-----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Rajasthan State | 9,946                                                                                               |
|        2 | Jalore District | 433                                                                                                 |
|        3 | Sirohi District | 266                                                                                                 |

Annexure referred to in reply of part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4623 to be  answered  on  29 th March,  2023  raised  by  Hon'ble  Member  of Parliament  regarding  'EGovernance'

Details of schemes/projects to improve the communication network/system in rural, tribal and hilly areas across the country:

- i. 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;
- ii. Scheme  for  providing  mobile  connectivity  in  354  villages  of  uncovered  border  areas including Ladakh and Kargil Region, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other priority areas.;
- iii. 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;
- iv. Scheme for providing 4G mobile connectivity in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts in four States, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan;
- v. 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;
- vi. Mobile connectivity to cover uncovered villages and along National Highway (NH 223) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands;
- vii. 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.

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