Lok Sabha Question No. 5111 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-02
Subject: Upgradation of Digital Infrastructure in Villages
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Omprakash Bhupalsinh Alias Pavan Rajenimbalkar, Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5111

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 02.04.2025

## UPGRADATION OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN VILLAGES

## †5111.  SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR: SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to formulate any new scheme or is considering any new proposal  for  upgrading  digital  infrastructure,  providing  last-mile  connectivity  and  enhancing digital literacy in the villages;
- (b)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  upgrade  digital  infrastructure,  provide  last-mile connectivity and enhance digital literacy in the villages;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to form any partnership with the other Ministries or NGOs or private companies for the said purpose and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has carried out any review of the said scheme and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the details of the schemes and activities proposed by the Government to achieve the said goal during the last ten years;
- (f) the details of the implementation of the said scheme and the achievements made against each of the heads/targets, State/UT-wise;
- (g) whether the Government has carried out any review of the proposals for upgrading the digital infrastructure in the villages, providing last-mile connectivity and enhancing digital literacy and if so, the details thereof; and
- (h) the details of the achievements of the National Broadband Mission along with the steps taken to facilitate access to broadband to all the villages by the year 2025?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (g): The BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages beyond GPs on demand basis across the country.

For  providing  a  reliable  network  to  ensure  quality  internet  for  the  users,  amended  BharatNet program  approved  by  the  Union  Cabinet  on  04.08.2023  has  inter-alia  provisions  to  upgrade existing  BharatNet  network  in  ring  architecture,  focus  on  utilization  of  the  network  through BharatNet Udyamis, BSNL is appointed as the single Project Management Agency (PMA) under Amended  BharatNet  program  for  Operation  &  Maintenance  of  the  entire  network  based  on Service Level Agreement (SLA), Dedicated Network Operation Centre, etc.

State-UT/wise details of FTTH connections provided under BharatNet is attached as AnnexureI .

Government of India launched NBM 2.0 on January 17, 2025, with the vision of fast-tracking the  rapid  expansion  of  digital  communications  infrastructure,  bridging  the  digital  divide  and fostering digital empowerment and inclusion, ensuring High-Speed Broadband and Meaningful Connectivity for all.

MeitY initiated Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) to ensure/provide digital literacy in 6 crore rural households (one person per household) nationwide.  The  Scheme  was  implemented  by  CSC  e-Governance  Services  India  Limited through Common Service Centres (CSCs) present at Gram Panchayats level across the country. As against 6 crore, 6.39 crore individuals were  trained. The training  &  certification under the scheme was officially concluded on March 31 , 2024. The States/UTs wise achievement is given as Annexure-II .

The  National  Sample  Survey  Office  (NSSO)  conducted  the  'Comprehensive  Annual  Modular Survey'  (CAMS) in  its  79th  round  (July,  2022  to  June,  2023).  As  per  the  survey,  among  the persons aged 15-24 years, around 78.4 percent reported execution of skill of 'sending messages (e.g.,  e-mail,  messaging  service,  SMS)  with  attached  files  (e.g.,  documents,  pictures,  video)'. Further,  about  94.2  percent  of  rural  households  and  about  97.1  percent  of  urban  households possess telephone and/or mobile phone. From the said report, given the significant rise in smartphone  usage,  internet  penetration,  and  digital  engagement  in  rural  areas,  the  objectives  of  the scheme were successfully achieved.

Impact analysis of the PMGDISHA scheme was carried out by three agencies namely IIT Delhi, Council for Social Development (CSD) and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). The gist of the evaluation report is that the PMGDISHA is a unique scheme due to its large scale and the use of remotely proctored examinations. The training provided under PMGDISHA has had a significant impact on the adoption of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and other forms of digital media. It has benefited its participants by enabling their access to a wide range of information and services for various purposes, helping to reduce the overall digital divide in the country.

(h):    The  National  Broadband  Mission  (NBM)  was  launched  by  the  government  on  17 th December 2019 with a vision to enable fast-track growth of digital communications infrastructure,  bridge  the  digital  divide  for  digital  empowerment  and  inclusion;  and  provide affordable and universal access to broadband for all. The NBM addresses the major bottleneck of Right  of  Way  (RoW)  issues,  enabling  faster  telecom  infrastructure  deployment  across  the country. Key initiative under NBM are:

- (i) Centralized Right of Way (RoW) Portal GatiShakti Sanchar.
- (ii) Telecommunication Right of Way Rules, 2024
- (iii) 'Call Before u Dig' (CBuD) mobile app
- (iv) The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) Platform

## Progress under the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 1.0 since the launch

-  No. of broadband subscribers increased from 66 crores to 94.49 crores.
-  Per capita average monthly wireless data consumption increased from 10 GB to 21.10 GB.
-  The median mobile broadband download speed witnessed a substantial increase, rising from 10.71 Mbps in 2019 to an impressive 144.33 Mbps in February 2025. Similarly, the median fixed broadband download speed increased from 29.25 Mbps in 2019 to 61.66 Mbps in February 2025, according to Ookla'sSpeedtest Global Index.
-  Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) length increased from 19.35 lakh route km to 42.13 lakh route km.
-  Mobile towers increased from 5.37 lakh to 8.23 lakh.
-  Base  Transceiver  Stations  (BTSs)  increased  from  21.80  lakh  to  29.97  lakhs  including 4.69 lakh 5G BTSs.
-  As of March 25, 2025, 206 State Broadband Committee (SBC) meetings were held for the  effective  implementation  of  the  mission  and  proliferation  of  broadband  across  the country.
-  Capacity-building conferences for 5G use cases were held in the majority of States/UTs focussing  on  various  sectors  viz.  health,  education,  Industry  4.0  and  public  safety domains.

******

Annexure-I State-UT/wise details of FTTH connections provided under BharatNet

|   S.No. | State              |   Total FTTH connection |
|---------|--------------------|-------------------------|
|       1 | A&N                |                    7741 |
|       2 | Andhra Pradesh     |                   50142 |
|       3 | Arunachal Pradesh  |                      16 |
|       4 | Assam              |                    5877 |
|       5 | Bihar              |                   42121 |
|       6 | Chandigarh         |                     300 |
|       7 | Chhattisgarh       |                   12202 |
|       8 | Dadra Nagar Haveli |                     173 |
|       9 | Daman &Diu         |                       0 |
|      10 | Gujarat            |                  125864 |
|      11 | Haryana            |                  150256 |
|      12 | Himachal Pradesh   |                    3650 |
|      13 | Jammu &Kashmir     |                    9789 |

| 14   | Jharkhand       | 25899     |
|------|-----------------|-----------|
| 15   | Karnataka       | 53530     |
| 16   | Kerala          | 199753    |
| 17   | Lakshadweep     | 0         |
| 18   | Leh (UT)        | 0         |
| 19   | Madhya Pradesh  | 57914     |
| 20   | Maharashtra     | 27328     |
| 21   | Manipur         | 3957      |
| 22   | Meghalaya       | 102       |
| 23   | Mizoram         | 48        |
| 24   | Nagaland        | 136       |
| 25   | Odisha          | 11832     |
| 26   | Puducherry      | 4105      |
| 27   | Punjab          | 230243    |
| 28   | Rajasthan       | 52041     |
| 29   | Sikkim          | 46        |
| 30   | Telangana       | 22409     |
| 31   | Tamilnadu       | 102       |
| 32   | Tripura         | 1408      |
| 33   | Uttar Pradesh-E | 77698     |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh-W |           |
| 35   | Uttarakhand     | 21481     |
| 36   | West Bengal     | 55834     |
|      | Total           | 12,53,997 |

Source: Department of Telecommunications

## Annexure- II

## State/UT-wise achievement made under PMGDISHA Scheme

|   Sl.No. | State Name                         | Registered CandidatesTrained Candidates   | Registered CandidatesTrained Candidates   |
|----------|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands        | 5,564                                     | 2,931                                     |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh                     | 23,01,731                                 | 19,17,452                                 |
|        3 | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 14,949                                    | 11,615                                    |
|        4 | Assam                              | 27,21,585                                 | 23,60,195                                 |
|        5 | Bihar                              | 82,40,606                                 | 74,12,740                                 |
|        6 | Chhattisgarh                       | 24,86,455                                 | 21,37,064                                 |
|        7 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu | 20,522                                    | 18,029                                    |
|        8 | Goa                                | 58,569                                    | 53,784                                    |
|        9 | Gujarat                            | 30,31,310                                 | 26,83,286                                 |
|       10 | Haryana                            | 18,57,815                                 | 15,77,109                                 |
|       11 | Himachal Pradesh                   | 6,61,922                                  | 5,32,976                                  |
|       12 | Jammu and Kashmir                  | 8,70,451                                  | 7,06,991                                  |
|       13 | Jharkhand                          | 27,52,731                                 | 22,86,356                                 |

| 14    | Karnataka      | 29,64,726   | 24,40,957   |
|-------|----------------|-------------|-------------|
| 15    | Kerala         | 1,77,165    | 1,18,132    |
| 16    | Ladakh         | 24,785      | 22,122      |
| 17    | Lakshadweep    | 142         | 35          |
| 18    | Madhya Pradesh | 56,92,467   | 50,69,449   |
| 19    | Maharashtra    | 61,23,970   | 53,23,817   |
| 20    | Manipur        | 28,397      | 18,286      |
| 21    | Meghalaya      | 1,52,783    | 1,06,063    |
| 22    | Mizoram        | 30,317      | 23,125      |
| 23    | Nagaland       | 11,990      | 8,968       |
| 24    | Odisha         | 36,16,441   | 30,86,143   |
| 25    | Puducherry     | 22,079      | 15,801      |
| 26    | Punjab         | 17,46,448   | 15,14,820   |
| 27    | Rajasthan      | 45,06,184   | 39,70,690   |
| 28    | Sikkim         | 27,035      | 23,122      |
| 29    | Tamil Nadu     | 17,04,537   | 14,07,880   |
| 30    | Telangana      | 14,56,226   | 12,10,448   |
| 31    | Tripura        | 3,25,000    | 2,64,186    |
| 32    | Uttar Pradesh  | 1,63,14,369 | 1,45,48,273 |
| 33    | Uttarakhand    | 7,85,978    | 6,73,306    |
| 34    | West Bengal    | 28,36,714   | 23,95,565   |
| Total | Total          | 7,35,71,963 | 6,39,41,716 |

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