Lok Sabha Question No. 2792 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: Universal Service Obligation Fund
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Dean Kuriakose, Jayant Sinha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2792 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2021

## UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION FUND

2792.   ADV. DEAN KURIAKOSE: SHRI JAYANT SINHA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has allocated any funds from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) towards improving the infrastructure in any part of the nation;
- (b) if so, the state wise details thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  the  Universal  Access  Levy  (UAL)  collected  in  the  last  five  years,  statewise;
- (d) the  subsidies  disbursed  under  the  Universal  Service  Obligation  (USO)  in  the  last  five years;
- (e) the details of the subsidies and funds utilised under the USOF in the last five years;
- (f) whether the Government has any plans to improve the 4G connectivity of BSNL network in the Idukki parliamentary constituency by utilising funds from the above mentioned USOF;
- (g) if so, the details thereof; and
- (h) if  not,  the  reasons  for  non  utilisation  of  funds  to  improve  connectivity  in  a  largely backward region with a considerable tribal population?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Yes,  Sir.  Rs.  55,508  crore  has  been  allocated  /disbursed  up  to  Oct.,  2021  from Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  towards  improving  telecom  infrastructures  in  the rural and remote areas of the Country. The State/UT-wise details of allocation/ disbursement of funds are given in Annexure-I .

## (c) Rs. 41,127 crore Universal Access Levy (UAL), collected in the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21), the year wise details are as under:

| Financial years   |   Universal Access Levy (UAL) (Figures in crores) |
|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 2016-17           |                                              9764 |
| 2017-18           |                                              7019 |
| 2018-19           |                                              6911 |
| 2019-20           |                                              7962 |
| 2020-21           |                                              9471 |
| Total             |                                             41127 |

(d) & (e) Rs. 29,140 crore has been disbursed/utilized as subsidy from USOF in the last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21).

(f) to (h) 4G mobile connectivity is provided by the Government and the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) in a phased manner in the country.  The Government, with support from USOF, is  implementing  schemes  for  providing  4G  services  in  rural  and  remote  areas  of  the  Country. However, presently  there  is  no  specific  USOF  Scheme  to  improve  4G  connectivity  of  Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) network in the Idukki parliamentary constituency.

Annexure  referred  to  in  Parts  (a)  &  (b)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question    No.  2792  for answer on 15.12.2021

## State/UT-wise  details  of  allocation/  disbursement  of  subsidy  from  Universal  Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

| S. No.   | Name of State/ UT                      |   Figures in Crore |
|----------|----------------------------------------|--------------------|
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar                       |                957 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                         |                872 |
| 3        | Assam                                  |                507 |
| 4        | Bihar                                  |                609 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                           |                533 |
| 6        | Gujrat                                 |                676 |
| 7        | Haryana                                |                194 |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh                       |                274 |
| 9        | Jammu and Kashmir                      |                100 |
| 10       | Jharkhand                              |                647 |
| 11       | Karnataka                              |                686 |
| 12       | Kerala (including Lakshadweep)         |                575 |
| 13       | Maharashtra                            |               1452 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                         |                872 |
| 15       | NE-I *                                 |                244 |
| 16       | NE-II **                               |                363 |
| 17       | Odisha                                 |                618 |
| 18       | Punjab                                 |                336 |
| 19       | Rajasthan                              |                804 |
| 20       | Telangana                              |                 59 |
| 21       | Tamil Nadu                             |                359 |
| 22       | Uttar Pradesh                          |                952 |
| 23       | Uttarakhand                            |                162 |
| 24       | West Bengal (including Sikkim)         |                267 |
| 25       | Centrally Allocated / Disbursed Funds# |              42390 |
|          | Total                                  |              55508 |

#Fund released for BharatNet etc.

*NE-I includes Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura

**NE-II includes Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur

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