Lok Sabha Question No. 143 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Net Neutrality
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ritesh Pandey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 143 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## NET NEUTRALITY

## * 143.   SHRI RITESH PANDEY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the steps taken by the Government to ensure net neutrality in India;
- (b) the reasons as to why the Multi-Stakeholder Body, as recommended by TRAI to DoT in 2020, has not been established yet;
- (c) whether the Government has carried out any technical audit of net neutrality across different Internet Service Providers (ISPs), if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) whether the Government has periodically issued directions to monitor net neutrality in their network, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a)  TO  (d)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *143/3 RD   FOR  13 TH DECEMBER, 2023 REGARDING 'NET NEUTRALITY.'

(a) Government  issued  the  directives  on  Net  Neutrality  incorporating  the  principles  of  nondiscriminatory treatment on 31 st  July 2018. Subsequently, relevant licenses were amended in 2018 and 2019 to enforce this directive.

(b) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendations on 'Traffic Management Practices (TMPs) and Multi-Stakeholder Body for Net Neutrality' are under consideration in DoT.

(c) & (d) Technical  audit  of  Internet  Service  Providers  is  carried  out  as  per  the  License Agreement and includes the provisions related to net neutrality. The details of the number of the audits conducted are enclosed as Annexure-I.

Table 1: Number of Audit Conducted

| S.No.       | Name of LSA      | Count of Audits Conducted   |
|-------------|------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1           | Andhra Pradesh   | 22                          |
| 2           | Assam            | 13                          |
| 3           | Bihar            | 25                          |
| 4           | Delhi            | 8                           |
| 5           | Gujarat          | 30                          |
| 6           | Himachal Pradesh | 3                           |
| 7           | Haryana          | 25                          |
| 8           | Jammu &Kashmir   | 9                           |
| 9           | Karnataka        | 26                          |
| 10          | Kerala           | 6                           |
| 11          | Madhya Pradesh   | 3                           |
| 12          | Maharashtra      | 12                          |
| 13          | Mumbai           | 34                          |
| 14          | North East       | 6                           |
| 15          | Odisha           | 11                          |
| 16          | Punjab           | 12                          |
| 17          | Rajasthan        | 6                           |
| 18          | Tamil Nadu       | 27                          |
| 19          | UP(E)            | 17                          |
| 20          | UP(W)            | 27                          |
| 21          | West Bengal      |                             |
| 22          | Kolkata          | 13                          |
| Grand Total | Grand Total      | 335                         |

******

Annexure-I