Lok Sabha Question No. 995 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-02
Subject: Internet Connectivity
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: KAMLA DEVI PATLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 995 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  MARCH,  2016

## INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

†995. SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  propose  to  provide  total  internet  connectivity  in  the country;
- (b) if so, the details of plan formulated  for rural areas  State-wise including Chhattisgarh; and
- (c) the funds released and spent by each of the States particularly Chhattisgarh for the purpose?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project  was planned, in 2011,  to connect all Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.5 lakh) in the country, including Chhattishgarh, 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  funded  by  the  Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) and initial estimated cost of the project is Rs. 20,100 Crores.  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.

State-wise  plan  of  GPs,  including  Chhattishgarh,  to  be  covered  under  NOFN project is given in the Statement at Annexure-I.

As the project is being executed by single executing agency i.e. BBNL, funds to the tune of Rs. 4075.83 crore have been released to it.

## Annexure-I

State-wise plan of Gram Panchayats (GPs) to be covered under NOFN project

| S.No.   | States/ UTs         | Total No. of Blocks   | No. of Blocks in Phase-I   | No. of Gram Panchayats (GPs)- Phase I   |
|---------|---------------------|-----------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 1.      | Jammu& Kashmir      | 143                   | 22                         | 624                                     |
| 2.      | Himachal Pradesh    | 78                    | 6                          | 283                                     |
| 3.      | Punjab              | 143                   | 66                         | 6128                                    |
| 4.      | Haryana             | 122                   | 122                        | 6090                                    |
| 5.      | Rajasthan           | 246                   | 186                        | 6967                                    |
| 6.      | Chandigarh          | 1                     | 1                          | 12                                      |
| 7.      | Uttarakhand         | 95                    | 28                         | 1767                                    |
| 8.      | UP (West)           | 238                   | 128                        | 8040                                    |
| 9.      | UP (East)           | 568                   | 227                        | 14474                                   |
| 10.     | Bihar               | 534                   | 315                        | 5202                                    |
| 11.     | West Bengal         | 341                   | 273                        | 2713                                    |
| 12.     | Sikkim              | 27                    | 0                          | 0                                       |
| 13.     | Assam               | 238                   | 91                         | 1013                                    |
| 14.     | Jharkhand           | 259                   | 74                         | 1388                                    |
| 15.     | Odisha              | 314                   | 167                        | 3388                                    |
| 16.     | Andaman & Nicobar   | 9                     | 7                          | 69                                      |
| 17.     | Arunachal Pradesh   | 155                   | 26                         | 256                                     |
| 18.     | Nagaland            | 51                    | 36                         | 743                                     |
| 19.     | Manipur             | 41                    | 2                          | 24                                      |
| 20.     | Meghalaya           | 28                    | 15                         | 638                                     |
| 21.     | Tripura             | 44                    | 44                         | 1021                                    |
| 22.     | Mizoram             | 26                    | 6                          | 163                                     |
| 23.     | Madhya Pradesh      | 313                   | 140                        | 10516                                   |
| 24.     | Chattishgarh        | 146                   | 34                         | 2110                                    |
| 25.     | Gujarat             | 223                   | 93                         | 5735                                    |
| 26.     | Maharashtra         | 352                   | 169                        | 12055                                   |
| 27.     | Daman &Diu          | 1                     | 0                          | 0                                       |
| 28.     | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 2                     | 0                          | 0                                       |
| 29.     | Karanataka          | 176                   | 176                        | 5599                                    |
| 30.     | Andhra Pradesh      | 609                   | 0                          | 0                                       |
| 31.     | Telengana           | 443                   | 109                        | 2097                                    |
| 32.     | Tamil Nadu          | 385                   | 0                          | 0                                       |
| 33.     | Kerala              | 152                   | 152                        | 977                                     |
| 34.     | Pudducherry         | 3                     | 3                          | 98                                      |
| 35.     | Lakshadweep         | 9                     | 9                          | 10                                      |
| 36.     | Goa*                | -                     | -                          | -                                       |
|         | Grand Total         | 6515                  | 2727                       | 100200                                  |

*All the GPs of Goa are already connected with Optical Fibre.