Lok Sabha Question No. 906 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: BharatNet Centrally Funded/Monitored Service
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Dr. Mallu Ravi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 906 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## BHARATNET CENTRALLY FUNDED/MONITORED SERVICE

## 906. DR. MALLU RAVI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  acknowledges  that  BharatNet  is  centrally  funded  and  centrally monitored, yet responsibility for last-mile service delivery is routinely attributed to States and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether this results in a diffused accountability structure where neither Centre nor State can be held responsible for non-functional connectivity in constituencies like Nagarkurnool and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has any plan/penalty or any corrective mechanism exists when fiber is laid and lit but services remain unavailable and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government tracks such 'asset-created-but-unused' cases and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  continuation  of  expenditure  without  service  outcomes  violates  principles  of outcome-based governance; and
- (f) the steps proposed to fix this accountability gap?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) BharatNet  is  funded  by  the  Digital  Bharat  Nidhi  (DBN)  under  the  Department  of Telecommunications. Assets created under BharatNet are national assets owned by DBN accessible on a non-discriminatory basis to all service providers for service provision including last-mile service delivery.
- (b) Bharat  Broadband  Network  Limited  (BBNL)  a  Special  Purpose  Vehicle  (SPV)  under Department of Telecommunications implemented BharatNet Phase I & II. Eight States including Telangana  were  given  the  responsibility  of  implementing  BharatNet  Phase-II.  In  Nagarkurnool district 415 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made service-ready Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with States including Telangana defines roles and responsibilities of the parties and are available on https://usof.gov.in/en/project-documents.
- (c) Government has approved a revised implementation model for BharatNet under the Amended BharatNet  Program  on  04.08.2023.  Bharat  Sanchar  Nigam  Limited  (BSNL)  as  the  Project Management Agency (PMA) has signed agreements with Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs)

which includes Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Operation & Maintenance of the network as per RFP provisions. RFP available on https://tender.bsnl.co.in/bsnltenders/bsnltender/tender\_achieve\_view\_detail\_1.jsp?&tenderID=505 43

(d) to (f) The details of utilization of BharatNet network as on 31.12.2025 is as follows:

|   Sl. No. | Item                             | Quantity   |
|-----------|----------------------------------|------------|
|         1 | FTTH connections Provided (no's) | 14,07,784  |
|         2 | Dark Fibre leased (fibre Kms)    | 1,19,905   |
|         3 | Leasing of Bandwidth (in Mbps)   | 3,98,841   |
|         4 | Data consumption (in TB)         | 1,89,448   |

Development Monitoring  and Evaluation Office  (DMEO),  which is an attached  office of NITI  Aayog  maintains  the  Output-Outcome  Monitoring  Framework  (OOMF)  which  includes indicators for digital connectivity programs including DBN funded projects. The details are available on the DMEO website (https://dmeo.gov.in/output-outcome-framework?ministry=55&tid\_1=223). BharatNet Project is being monitored by the Government, State Broadband Committees (SBCs) and District Level Telecom Committees (DLTCs).

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