Lok Sabha Question No. 912 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shri Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri C N Annadurai, Shri Avimanyu Sethi, Shri Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Shri Dilip Saikia, Shri P P Chaudhary, Shri Lumbaram Choudhary, Dr. Manna Lal Rawat, Shri Janardan Mishra, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Shri Rajesh Naranbhai Chudasama, Shri Godam Nagesh, Shri Tapir Gao, Smt. Lovely Anand, Smt. Kamlesh Jangde, Shri Praveen Patel, Shri Vijay Baghel, Smt. Smita Uday Wagh, Shri Vijay Kumar Dubey, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Shri Bidyut Baran Mahato, Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Shri Naba Charan Majhi

912.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 912 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

NATIONAL BROADBAND MISSION (NBM) 2.0

| SMT. KAMLESH JANGDE: SHRI TAPIR GAO: SHRI LUMBARAMCHOUDHARY: SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL: SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU: SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA: SHRI P P CHAUDHARY: SHRI DILIP SAIKIA: SHRI VISHWESHWAR HEGDE KAGERI: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: SHRI RAJESH NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA: SHRI VIJAY KUMARDUBEY:   | DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA: SHRI SELVAM G: SHRI C N ANNADURAI: SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL: DR.MANNALAL RAWAT: SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY: SHRI MANISH JAISWAL: SMT. SMITA UDAYWAGH: SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: SHRI GODAM NAGESH: SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI: SMT. LOVELY ANAND: SHRI AVIMANYU SETHI: SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA: SHRI NAVASKANI K:   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the progress achieved under the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 since its launch in terms of optical fibre expansion, broadband coverage of Gram Panchayats and anchor institutions State/UT-wise, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra  Pradesh, Madhya  Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Maharashtra;
- (b) the total number of Gram Panchayats that have been covered under the National Broadband Mission 2.0 in the state of Rajasthan, particularly in the Pali Lok Sabha Constituency;
- (c) the  steps  taken  to  address  regional  and  rural-urban  disparities  in  telecom  penetration, particularly in rural and remote areas, particularly Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh;
- (d) the  impact  of  Right  of  Way  Rules  (RoW),  2024  and  the  Centralised  RoW  Portal  on accelerating infrastructure deployment, particularly Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh;
- (e) whether any State-wise or district-wise  assessment  has  been  undertaken under NBM 2.0, especially for Maharashtra and Jalgaon Lok Sabha constituency;
- (f) the details of targets set for the next phase of broadband and mobile infrastructure expansion in alignment with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, State/UT-wise;
- (g) the time frame within which the Government proposes to make all the Gram Panchayats in all districts of Tamil Nadu fully service-ready under the BharatNet project; and
- (h) the details of the future plan and expansion done in last 5 years in broadband and mobile infrastructure expansion in Palghar district in Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

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

(a), (b) & (c) The Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) length increased from 19.35 lakh route KM to 42.53 lakh route KM (as of December 31, 2025) in the country since the National Broadband Mission (NBM) launch in 2019. The State/UT-wise details are given in Annexure-I .

Further, The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is ensuring stable broadband/internet connectivity and addressing disparities in telecom penetration in rural & remote areas and bridging the digital divide through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) in the country including the state of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Key initiatives include:

- i. The BharatNet project provides broadband to Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages (on demand).
- ii. Various schemes for high-speed internet/broadband and mobile services (including 4G) in remote areas, such as the North-East, Islands, LWE (Left-Wing Extremism)affected regions, Aspirational Districts, and border villages.
- iii. Submarine optical fiber cables were laid between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar (2312  km)  and  Kochi  and  Lakshadweep  (1869  km),  enabling  faster  internet connectivity.

As  of  December  31,  2025,  a  total  of  2,14,904  (Gram  Panchayats)  GPs  have  been  made service-ready under the BharatNet  project  in  the country.  In  the  Pali  Lok  Sabha  constituency  of Rajasthan, out of 327 GPs planned, 307 GPs have been made service-ready. The State-wise details of planned and service-ready GPs excluding Block Headquarters (BHQs) are given in Annexure-II . So far, 14,07,784 Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections have been provided under the BharatNet project  across  the  country  including anchor  institutions  such  as  schools,  Primary  Health  Centres (PHCs), Anganwadi centres and Panchayat offices.

Under the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025) in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, a total of 4,917 villages were planned, of which 4,584 villages have been covered. The status of the 4G Saturation Project is given in Annexure-III .

(d) The  Telecommunications  (Right  of  Way)  Rules,  2024  (effective  from  January  01,  2025) under The  Telecommunications  Act,  2023,  have  further accelerated telecom infrastructure deployment by standardising the Right of Way (RoW) framework including uniform RoW charges nationwide  for  obtaining  RoW  permissions  across  different  states  and  municipalities,  thereby facilitating  faster  approvals  and  enabling  timely  deployment  of  telecom  infrastructure  across  the country.

The  Centralized  RoW  Portal,  launched  on  May  14,  2022  for  the  submission  of  RoW applications on a single platform, ensuring transparent processes, minimising paperwork and thereby reducing the delays and disposal time of RoW applications, thus facilitating the streamlining of the RoW permissions for the deployment of telecom infrastructure viz. OFC laying and telecom tower installation across the country including the state of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. The RoW portal has been further upgraded in the majority of states in accordance with RoW Rules 2024.

(e) No. However, in the Jalgaon Parliamentary Constituency, all 653 Gram Panchayats (GPs) planned have been connected through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) under the BharatNet Project.

(f) & (h) The  following  key  targets  are  set  for  the  broadband  infrastructure  expansion,  in alignment with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 under NBM 2.0:

- i. Operational Optical fiber cable (OFC) connectivity to 2.70 lakh villages with 95% uptime
- ii. Broadband Connectivity to 90% anchor institutions- Schools, PHCs, Anganwadi Centre and Panchayat Offices.

Further, on 04.08.2023, the Union Cabinet has approved the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) for up-gradation of existing network of BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II, creation of network in  balance  GPs,  Operation  and  Maintenance  for  10  years  and  utilization.  The  connectivity  to remaining non-GP villages is proposed to be provided on demand basis from their respective GPs including  the  target  of  providing  1.50  crore  FTTH  connections  in  next  five  years  across  all States/UTs  with  priority  to  cover  Government  institutions  including  schools,  PHCs,  Anganwadi centres, Panchayat offices etc.

The project for saturation of 4G mobile services is also under implementation with other schemes for mobile services. The project/schemes are for providing mobile services in uncovered, rural, remote, difficult, border villages and other priority areas of the country.

As  of  December  31,  2025,  23,694  mobile  towers  have  been  commissioned  in  uncovered remote & rural areas of the country under various Government funded mobile projects.

In Palghar district in Maharashtra, under the BharatNet Project, as of December 31, 2025, out of the 474 planned GPs, 461 GPs have been made service-ready. Further, 4,336 Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed during the last five years. The year-wise details are given in Annexure-IV .

- (g) BharatNet in Tamil Nadu is being implemented through State-led model.

## Annexure-I

## Annexure referred to in Part (a), (b) & (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 912 for Answer on 04.02.2026.

| S. No   | State/UT Name                           | OFC Laid (as of 2019) in routeKM   |   OFC Laid (as of Dec 31, 2025) in routeKM |
|---------|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andaman and Nicobar Islands (UT)        | 806                                |                                       1544 |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh                          | 90335                              |                                     251753 |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh                       | 5247                               |                                       9913 |
| 4       | Assam                                   | 38789                              |                                      93234 |
| 5       | Bihar                                   | 76525                              |                                     129992 |
| 6       | Chandigarh (UT)                         | 2055                               |                                      24763 |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh                            | 55138                              |                                     118793 |
| 8       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu (UT) | 329                                |                                       1328 |
| 9       | Delhi (UT)                              | 37632                              |                                      77409 |
| 10      | Goa                                     | 3366                               |                                       5065 |
| 11      | Gujarat                                 | 115169                             |                                     290429 |
| 12      | Haryana                                 | 55853                              |                                      83932 |
| 13      | Himachal Pradesh                        | 21769                              |                                      35787 |
| 14      | Jammu and Kashmir (UT)                  | 19624                              |                                      44479 |
| 15      | Jharkhand                               | 37151                              |                                      82034 |
| 16      | Karnataka                               | 127418                             |                                     226763 |
| 17      | Kerala                                  | 56490                              |                                     259252 |
| 18      | Ladakh (UT)                             | 3110                               |                                       5663 |
| 19      | Lakshadweep (UT)                        | 34                                 |                                         59 |
| 20      | Madhya Pradesh                          | 151207                             |                                     263453 |
| 21      | Maharashtra                             | 198145                             |                                     406637 |
| 22      | Manipur                                 | 5080                               |                                      10499 |
| 23      | Meghalaya                               | 3827                               |                                      11952 |
| 24      | Mizoram                                 | 3016                               |                                       8332 |
| 25      | Nagaland                                | 5042                               |                                      10057 |
| 26      | Odisha                                  | 71865                              |                                     156298 |
| 27      | Puducherry (UT)                         | -                                  |                                        138 |
| 28      | Punjab                                  | 68755                              |                                     197105 |
| 29      | Rajasthan                               | 138865                             |                                     239458 |
| 30      | Sikkim                                  | 3035                               |                                       4827 |
| 31      | Tamil Nadu                              | 121462                             |                                     308907 |
| 32      | Telangana                               | 62032                              |                                     237946 |
| 33      | Tripura                                 | 6272                               |                                      11294 |
| 34      | Uttar Pradesh                           | 232732                             |                                     406697 |
| 35      | Uttarakhand                             | 27855                              |                                      50178 |
| 36      | West Bengal                             | 89872                              |                                     187364 |
| Total   |                                         | 1935903                            |                                    4253337 |

## Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in Part (a), (b) & (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 912 for Answer on 04.02.2026.

| S. No   | State Name          |   Total GPs planned (excluding BHQs) |   Total Service ready (excluding BHQs) |
|---------|---------------------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 1       | Assam               |                                 2665 |                                   1507 |
| 2       | Bihar               |                                 8405 |                                   8340 |
| 3       | Chhattisgarh        |                                11711 |                                   9695 |
| 4       | Haryana             |                                 6256 |                                   6082 |
| 5       | Jammu &Kashmir      |                                 4299 |                                   1101 |
| 6       | Karnataka           |                                 6090 |                                   6084 |
| 7       | Kerala              |                                  978 |                                    978 |
| 8       | Madhya Pradesh      |                                22858 |                                  17850 |
| 9       | Maharashtra         |                                27939 |                                  24575 |
| 10      | Punjab              |                                13337 |                                  12668 |
| 11      | Rajasthan           |                                11352 |                                   8776 |
| 12      | Uttar Pradesh (E)   |                                43072 |                                  34274 |
| 13      | Uttar Pradesh (W)   |                                16218 |                                  12472 |
| 14      | Uttarakhand         |                                 7937 |                                   1993 |
| 15      | West Bengal         |                                 3340 |                                   2677 |
| 16      | Sikkim              |                                  185 |                                     35 |
| 17      | Chandigarh          |                                   12 |                                     12 |
| 18      | Lakshadweep         |                                   10 |                                      9 |
| 19      | Arunachal Pradesh   |                                 1959 |                                   1124 |
| 20      | Nagaland            |                                 1007 |                                    236 |
| 21      | Manipur             |                                 2936 |                                   1475 |
| 22      | Mizoram             |                                  784 |                                    540 |
| 23      | Tripura             |                                 1179 |                                    740 |
| 24      | Meghalaya           |                                 1857 |                                    698 |
| 25      | Gujarat             |                                14324 |                                  14320 |
| 26      | Daman &Diu          |                                   18 |                                     18 |
| 27      | Dadra &Nagar Haveli |                                   20 |                                     20 |
| 28      | Puducherry          |                                  110 |                                     98 |
| 29      | Andhra Pradesh      |                                13481 |                                  12955 |
| 30      | Telangana           |                                12865 |                                  10833 |
| 31      | Odisha              |                                 6798 |                                   6785 |
| 32      | Jharkhand           |                                 4416 |                                   4390 |
| 33      | Himachal Pradesh    |                                 3615 |                                    410 |
| 34      | Ladakh              |                                  193 |                                    193 |
| 35      | Goa                 |                                  191 |                                      0 |
| 36      | Tamil Nadu          |                                12525 |                                  10869 |
| 37      | Andaman &Nicobar    |                                   72 |                                     72 |
| Total   |                     |                               265014 |                                 214904 |

## Annexure referred to in Part (a), (b) & (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 912 for Answer on 04.02.2026.

| Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   | Status of the 4G Saturation Project (as of December 31, 2025)   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No                                                           | State Name                                                      | Tower Planned                                                   | Tower Planned                                                   | Tower Planned                                                   | Village Planned                                                 | On Air                                                          | On Air                                                          | On Air                                                          | Village Covered                                                 |
|                                                                 |                                                                 | New                                                             | Upgrade                                                         | Total                                                           |                                                                 | New                                                             | Upgrade                                                         | Total                                                           |                                                                 |
| 1                                                               | Andhra Pradesh                                                  | 1339                                                            | 7                                                               | 1346                                                            | 2953                                                            | 1236                                                            | 7                                                               | 1243                                                            | 2759                                                            |
| 2                                                               | Rajasthan                                                       | 1341                                                            | 17                                                              | 1358                                                            | 1656                                                            | 1242                                                            | 17                                                              | 1259                                                            | 1528                                                            |
| 3                                                               | Tamil Nadu                                                      | 222                                                             | 35                                                              | 257                                                             | 308                                                             | 220                                                             | 35                                                              | 255                                                             | 297                                                             |
|                                                                 | Total                                                           | 2902                                                            | 59                                                              | 2961                                                            | 4917                                                            | 2698                                                            | 59                                                              | 2757                                                            | 4584                                                            |

## Annexure referred to in Part (h) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 912 for Answer on 04.02.2026.

| Number of BTSs installed in Palghar District   | Number of BTSs installed in Palghar District   | Number of BTSs installed in Palghar District   | Number of BTSs installed in Palghar District   | Number of BTSs installed in Palghar District   | Number of BTSs installed in Palghar District   |
|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                           | 2G                                             | 3G                                             | 4G                                             | 5G                                             | Total BTSs                                     |
| 2021                                           | 79                                             | 1                                              | 670                                            | 0                                              | 750                                            |
| 2022                                           | 71                                             | 0                                              | 438                                            | 152                                            | 661                                            |
| 2023                                           | 81                                             | 0                                              | 289                                            | 1099                                           | 1469                                           |
| 2024                                           | 113                                            | 0                                              | 345                                            | 154                                            | 612                                            |
| 2025                                           | 208                                            | 1                                              | 466                                            | 169                                            | 844                                            |
| Total                                          | 552                                            | 2                                              | 2208                                           | 1574                                           | 4336                                           |

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