Lok Sabha Question No. 1499 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-28
Subject: BharatNet Project in Assam
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Kripanath Mallah

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1499 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 th   JULY, 2021

## BHARATNET PROJECT IN ASSAM

## 1499.   SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the BharatNet Scheme;
- (b) the details of the funds sanctioned, allocated and utilized under this scheme in Assam so far;
- (c) the  details  of  the  number  of  districts  that  have  been  covered  under  this  scheme  within Assam so far;
- (d) whether the Government is aware that due to COVID-19 pandemic all school and colleges have been closed and the students are bound to continue their studies through online education during this period and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (e) whether the Government is aware of the fact that districts the Karimganj and Helakandi of Assam are still not covered under the scheme of BharatNet which has impeded the educational pursuit of the students and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (f) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) BharatNet  project  is  being  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  to  provide  broadband connectivity  to  all  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  in  the  country.  The  infrastructure  created  under BharatNet  project  is  a  national  asset,  accessible  on  a  non-discriminatory  basis  to  the  Service Providers. The scope of BharatNet has been recently 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 (including Assam) of the country covering about 3.61 lakh villages including GPs.
- (b) Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the Executing Agency for BharatNet Project under Department of Telecommunications, has so far released funds of Rs. 160.96 crore (approx.) for implementation of the project in Assam.
- (c) In  Assam, the GPs of 28 Districts have been taken for implementation under BharatNet Phase-I on Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) media.

(d) As  informed  by  the  Department  of  School  Education  &  Literacy,  in  order  to  impart education to students, a multi-pronged approach  has been adopted by leveraging technology to reach  the  students.  Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge  Sharing  (DIKSHA),  Study  Webs  of Active-Learning  for  Young  Aspiring  Minds  (SWAYAM),  PRAGYATA  guidelines  on  digital education,  e-textbooks  and  e-content  on  National  Repository  of  Open  Educational  Resources (NROER),  Online  Virtual  Labs  (OLABS)  for  practical's  related  e-content,  activity-based  and highly  engaging modules for special resources for teachers focusing upon experiential learning and competency-based education, NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers for their Holistic Advancement) online for capacity building programme for Elementary school teachers and school heads etc. are used by schools, to provide learning facilities.

Further,  initiatives  such  as  SWAYAM,  SWAYAM  Prabha,  National  Digital  Library (NDL), Virtual Lab, e-Yantra, FOSSEE (Free Open-Source Software for Education), ePathshala, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)content; use of Radio, Community radio, and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani, etc. are being taken to ensure quality education to the students. Quality Online  courses  are  provided  through  SWAYAM  which  is  an  indigenously  developed  MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) platform.

A comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA has been initiated which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education.

The Government of Assam has also taken digital initiatives in this regard such as Biswa Vidya  'Radio  Programme,  Gyan  Brikshya,  Digi  LEP  WhatsApp  Group,  Jio  TV  Platform  for Academic support of the students, uploading of e-learning resource in the Android App. Further, for academic support during the pandemic, a Mentor teacher is assigned to a group of students.

(e) & (f) The  GPs of Karimganj and Helakandi Districts have been taken up for implementation in BharatNet Phase-I, and 44 GPs of Karimganj and 52 GPs of Helakandi have been  made  Service  Ready.  The  remaining  inhabited  villages  including  GPs  of  the  Assam (including these two Districts) are planned to be implemented under  Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model of BharatNet. Further, 907 villages out of 915 villages of Karimganj District have broadband  services  through  3G/4G  technology.  In  Helakandi  District,  315  villages  out  of  330 villages have broadband services through 3G/4G technology.

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