Lok Sabha Question No. 1032 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-26
Subject: Digital Divide between Urban and Rural India
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Behanan Benny, T.N. Prathapan, Faizal P.P. Mohammed, Amar Singh, Anto  Antony

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1032

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 26.07.2023

## DIGITAL DIVIDE BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL INDIA

## 1032.   SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:

SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:

SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN:

SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.:

DR. AMAR SINGH:

SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

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

- (a) the details of the steps taken by the Government to address the digital divide between urban and rural India;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  set  a  target  to  provide  broadband  connectivity  to  all remote  and  rural  villages  under  the  National  Broadband  Mission,  if  so,  the  details thereof including its present status;
- (c) the  details  of  budgetary  outlay  for  schemes  to  enhance  internet  services  across  the country over the past three years; and
- (d) whether the Government plans to improve internet access in both rural and urban areas, especially in the light of the BharatNet optical fibre project's significant delays and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a): Government has launched the Digital India programme with the vision of transforming India  into  a  digitally  empowered  society  and  a  knowledge-based  economy,  by  ensuring digital  access,  digital  inclusion,  digital  empowerment  and  bridging  the  digital  divide.  The programme is centred on three key vision areas, namely digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen, governance and services on demand, and digital  empowerment of citizens. The  overall  goal  is  to  ensure  that  digital  technologies  improve  the  life  of  every  citizen, expand  India's  digital  economy,  and  create  investment  and  jobs  &  transform  India  from consumer of technology to becoming a producer of technology and a trusted tech player for the world.

Digital  India  has  considerably  bridged  the  distance  between  Government  and  citizens  and enhanced trust on government and governance. It has also helped in the delivery of services directly to beneficiaries in a transparent and corruption-free manner. In the process, India has emerged as one of the pre-eminent nations of the world to use technology to transform the lives of its citizens.

Government  has  taken  several  steps  to  bridge  digital  divide  which  range  from  providing meaningful connectivity to citizen to providing necessary infrastructure and digital literacy to the citizen. Over 83 crore citizens are connected through internet. Some of the key initiatives taken  by  Government  to  bridge  the  digital  divide  between  urban  and  rural  India  are  as follows:

- (i). BharatNet  project,  one  of  the  biggest  rural  telecom  projects  of  the  world,  is  being implemented  by  Department  of  Telecommunications,in  a  phased  manner  to  create network to connect all the Gram Panchayats (GPs)/ Villages with broadband.
- (ii). Government  approved  a  scheme  titled  ''Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)'' to usher in digital literacy in rural India with a target to cover 6  crore  rural  households  (one  person  per  household)  across  the  country.  As  of  now, more than 7.03 crore candidates have been enrolled and 6.06 crore have been trained.
- (iii). Aadhaar provides online authentication to individual for availing services and benefits.
- (iv). Common Service Centres (CSCs) provide assisted delivery of digital services to citizen in rural area to bridge digital divide.
- (v). In  addition,  citizens  across  the  country,  have  also  been  enabled  to  access  e-services under various initiatives, such as Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG), DigiLocker, e-Hospital and MyGov.

(b): Yes, the Government has set an envisaged target to provide broadband connectivity to all remote  and  rural  villages  under  the  National  Broadband  Mission.As  per  information furnished by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the status is as under:

| Key performance indicator (KPI)        | 1-year (FY 2020-21)   | 2-year (FY 2021- 22)   | 3-year (FY 2022-23)   | Status (as of 28.02.2023)   |
|----------------------------------------|-----------------------|------------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------------|
| Broadband Connectivity to Villages (%) | 50%                   | 60%                    | 100%                  | 93.47%                      |

(c):  An  amount  of  ₹19,000  Crore  has  been  disbursed  during  last  three  years  (2020-21  to 2022-23) under various USOF's Projects to improve Telecom Services/ Internet Services in Rural/ Remote/ Uncovered areas of the country.

(d):  On  30.06.2021,  Union  Cabinet  has  accorded  in  principle  approval  for  extending BharatNet beyond Gram Panchayats (GPs) upto villages in the country.

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