Lok Sabha Question No. 1148 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-02
Subject: Fiber Connectivity
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: RITI PATHAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1148

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  MARCH,  2016

## FIBER CONNECTIVITY

†1148. SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

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

- (a) the  status  of  big  project  regarding  fiber  connectivity  of  the  Government  at panchayat  level  in  the  State  of  Madhya  Pradesh  and  the  possible  use  of  this connectivity at primary level in the opinion of the Government;
- (b) whether there is any provision of training as part of the project;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  preparing  a  skilled  manpower  pool  to  use  it  in  a better way; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project  was planned, in 2011,  to connect all  Gram  Panchayats  (approx.  2.5  lakh)  in  the  country,  including  Madhya  Pradesh, through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) utilizing existing fibres of  Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)  viz.  Bharat  Sanchar  Nigam  Limited  (BSNL),  Power  Grid  Corporation  of  India Limited (PGCIL)  and RailTel and laying incremental fiber wherever necessary to bridge the  connectivity  gap  between  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  and  Blocks  for  providing broadband  connectivity.  The  project  is  being  executed  by  a  Special  Purpose  Vehicle (SPV), namely, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), which has been incorporated on 25.02.2012 under Indian Companies Act 1956.  Under this project, at least  100  Mbps  bandwidth  has  to  be  provided  in  all  the  estimated  2.5  lakh  GPs  for utilization  by  all  categories  of  service  providers  on  non-discriminatory  basis  including Internet Service Providers. These  access  providers/service  providers  like  mobile operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), cable TV operators, content providers can launch various services in rural areas. Various applications for e-health, e-education, egovernance etc. can be provided.

State-wise  status  of  NOFN,  including  Madhya  Pradesh,  as  on  31.01.2016,  is given in the Statement at Annexure-I.

- (b) & (c): There is no provision of training as part of the Project.
- (d) & (e): Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC), a non profit organisation constituted in January, 2013 has empanelled 157 training partners across the country and trained 1.21 lakh persons so far.

## Statewise status of NOFN (BharatNet) as on  31.01.2016

| S.No.   | States/ UTs         | No. of Gram Panchayats (GPs)- Phase I   | Pipe laid (kms.)   | Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid (in kms)   | No. of GPs where OFC laid   | No. of GPs lit   |
|---------|---------------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------|------------------|
| 1.      | Jammu &Kashmir      | 624                                     | 93                 | 69                                        | 47                          | 0                |
| 2.      | Himachal Pradesh    | 283                                     | 201                | 75                                        | 14                          | 0                |
| 3.      | Punjab              | 6128                                    | 4432               | 3280                                      | 2055                        | 0                |
| 4.      | Haryana             | 6090                                    | 4775               | 4340                                      | 2776                        | 45               |
| 5.      | Rajasthan           | 6967                                    | 11281              | 10065                                     | 3092                        | 71               |
| 6.      | Chandigarh          | 12                                      | 18                 | 19                                        | 12                          | 12               |
| 7.      | Uttarakhand         | 1767                                    | 1190               | 862                                       | 554                         | 46               |
| 8.      | UP (West)           | 8040                                    | 8095               | 4290                                      | 2055                        | 65               |
| 9.      | UP (East)           | 14474                                   | 14634              | 10545                                     | 4764                        | 36               |
| 10.     | Bihar               | 5202                                    | 6416               | 5303                                      | 1936                        | 124              |
| 11.     | West Bengal         | 2713                                    | 1933               | 1683                                      | 619                         | 0                |
| 12.     | Sikkim              | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 13.     | Assam               | 1013                                    | 1751               | 1359                                      | 515                         | 23               |
| 14.     | Jharkhand           | 1388                                    | 2600               | 1862                                      | 770                         | 84               |
| 15.     | Odisha              | 3388                                    | 4086               | 2960                                      | 1355                        | 12               |
| 16.     | Andaman &Nicobar    | 69                                      | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 17.     | Arunachal Pradesh   | 256                                     | 272                | 69                                        | 10                          | 0                |
| 18.     | Nagaland            | 743                                     | 1160               | 509                                       | 154                         | 0                |
| 19.     | Manipur             | 24                                      | 71                 | 73                                        | 24                          | 0                |
| 20.     | Meghalaya           | 638                                     | 737                | 210                                       | 47                          | 0                |
| 21.     | Tripura             | 1021                                    | 1277               | 951                                       | 434                         | 40               |
| 22.     | Mizoram             | 163                                     | 183                | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 23.     | Madhya Pradesh      | 10516                                   | 15531              | 12134                                     | 3898                        | 26               |
| 24.     | Chattishgarh        | 2110                                    | 4368               | 3913                                      | 1258                        | 171              |
| 25.     | Gujarat             | 5735                                    | 5508               | 3572                                      | 1648                        | 91               |
| 26.     | Maharashtra         | 12055                                   | 11078              | 7826                                      | 3478                        | 37               |
| 27.     | Daman &Diu          | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 28.     | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 29.     | Karanataka          | 5599                                    | 9596               | 9248                                      | 4348                        | 2283             |
| 30.     | Andhra Pradesh      | 0                                       | 1913               | 19                                        | 0                           | 0                |
| 31.     | Telengana           | 2097                                    | 3912               | 2883                                      | 1296                        | 5                |
| 32.     | Tamil Nadu          | 0                                       | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 33.     | Kerala              | 977                                     | 746                | 810                                       | 1129                        | 1129             |
| 34.     | Pudducherry         | 98                                      | 82                 | 92                                        | 98                          | 101              |
| 35.     | Lakshadweep         | 10                                      | 0                  | 0                                         | 0                           | 0                |
| 36.     | Goa*                | -                                       | -                  | -                                         | -                           | -                |
| Grand   | Total               | 100200                                  | 117939             | 89021                                     | 38386                       | 4401             |

## Annexure-I