Lok Sabha Question No. 1515 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-31
Subject: National Broadband Mission
Ministry: COMMUNICATION
Asked by: Smt. Aparajita Sarangi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1515 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31 ST  JULY, 2024

## NATIONAL BROADBAND MISSION

## 1515 SMT. APARAJITA SARANGI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of villages connected so far under National Broadband Mission during the last five years across country particularly in the State of Odisha;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  details  about  the  number  of  villages  connected  under  National Broadband Mission Lok Sabha Constituency-wise and if so, the details of the same for Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha Constituency during the last five years;
- (c) the funds allocated and utilized under National Broadband Mission during the last five years and the details of funds utilized in Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha Constituency; and
- (d) the step  taken  by Government to  meet the growing demands for high-speed internet services under National Broadband Mission across the country and in the State of Odisha?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

- (a) The number of villages connected in the country is 6,20,629 out of which 47,323 are connected in the state of Odisha as of 30 th April 2024.
- (b) Constituency-wise village coverage data is not available.
- (c) A budget of Rs.10,52,28,723/- was allocated for the  NBM (National Broadband Mission) till 2024-25 and Rs.8,35,15,564/- were utilized till June 2024. The funds allotted to the National Broadband Mission  are  for  the  development  and  operations  of  the  Centralized  Right  of  Way  portal  named  as GatiShakti Sanchar portal and for the mission activities.
- (d) The  National  Broadband  Mission  was  launched  by  the  Government  of  India  on  the  17 th of December 2019 with a vision to enable fast-track growth of digital communications infrastructure to provide affordable and universal broadband access for all. The Mission aims to facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services for growth and development throughout the country (especially in rural and remote areas).

## The following actions were undertaken for quick deployment of Telecom Infrastructure across India including the state of Odisha

- i. Centralized Right of Way portal : The GatiShakti Sanchar Portal (Centralized Portal for Right of Way Permissions) was launched on 14 th May 2022, to bring Ease of Doing Business for the applicants for  quick  RoW  permissions  for  laying  OFC  and  erecting  Telecom  towers.  The  portal  has onboarded/integrated all 36 States/UTs and four central ministries.
- ii. DoT has  also  come  out  with  ITRoW  (Indian  Telegraph  Right  of  Way)  rules  2016,  which  were amended in Aug 2022 for the 5G roll-out. These rules provide for the standardization of rates for

overground and underground telecom infrastructure, rates for street furniture for utilization for 5G small cells, and charges applicable for compensation and restoration. DoT has followed up with all states/UTs for alignment  of their RoW policies  with  that  of  Central  Right  of  Way  rules  and  for clearance of pending Right of Way applications. Further, the Telecommunication Act passed in 2023 will provide legal backing to the RoW rules to be issued as per this act

BharatNet : Also, under BharatNet, out of 2,69,215 Gram Panchayats under BharatNet scope, 2,17,725 are service-ready as of 25 th July 2024. In Odisha state, out of 7,112 Gram Panchayats under BharatNet scope, 7,099 are service-ready as of 25 th July 2024.

The above steps of the National Broadband Mission, DoT will facilitate meeting the growing demands for high-speed internet services under the National Broadband Mission across the country and in the State of Odisha.

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