Lok Sabha Question No. 4212 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Limited Digital Infrastructure in Western Uttar Pradesh
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Zia Ur Rehman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4212

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 18.03.2026

## LIMITED DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH

## 4212. SHRI ZIA UR REHMAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware of limited digital infrastructure, cyber awareness and ITbased employment opportunities in Western Uttar Pradesh;
- (b) if so, the details of steps taken to promote digital inclusion and IT skill development in the region;
- (c) whether similar challenges exist across the country; and
- (d) if so, the details of national measures undertaken to strengthen digital governance and the IT ecosystem?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (d): In line with Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision to democratize technology and empower citizens, the Government of India launched the Digital India programme in July 2015.

Through this programme, Government has bridged the digital divide using multi-pronged strategy:

- Increasing access to internet,
- Making internet affordable,
- Providing digital public infrastructure
- Enhancing the digital literacy

These efforts have collectively enabled wider access to digital services and opportunities, thereby fostering  inclusive  and  equitable  digital  growth  across  the  country.  It  can  be  seen  from  the following statistics:

| #                                                       | 2014-15     | 2024-25    | Remarks                                              |
|---------------------------------------------------------|-------------|------------|------------------------------------------------------|
| Total broadband subscribers                             | 25 Cr       | 103 Cr     | 400% increase in subscribers                         |
| Total numbers of Mobile Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) | 7.9 Lakh    | 29.50 lakh | an increase of about 273%                            |
| villages covered with mobile connectivity (2G/3G/4G)    | ~ 5.27 lakh | 6.35 lakh  | an increase of about 20.5% (near-universal coverage) |

| Total optical fiber laid                        | 358 kms   | 6,92,676 Kms   | OFC laid increased by about 1,935 times   |
|-------------------------------------------------|-----------|----------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Average monthly data consumption per subscriber | 61.66 MB  | ~ 25.25 GB     | Data consumption increased by ~ 419 times |
| Cost of data per Gb                             | Rs 269    | ~ Rs 7.9       | 97% reduction in cost                     |

Digital India program has brought fundamental change in the people's lives:

- More  than  143  Cr  Aadhar  numbers  have  been  issued  providing  digital  identity  to  Indian residents
- Aadhar was critical in developing the unified payment interface system. India's UPI is now the world's largest digital payment system with more than 46 Cr users and 685 banks. UPI powers 81% of India's digital payments and nearly 49% of global real -time digital payments
- Using Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile (JAM) Trinity, subsidies and benefits worth Rs. 49.82 lakh crore have been transferred directly to the citizens
- DigiLocker has provided digital access to authentic digital documents from original issuer for the common citizen. Currently, 67 crore users are registered on the platform. More than 967 crore documents have been issued using DigiLocker
- Common Services Centres -(CSCs) offer government and business services in digital mode thereby enhancing last-mile connectivity in rural areas through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). Over 800 services are being delivered through CSCs.

As on 31 st  January 2026, a total of 1,24,394 Common Services Centre (CSCs) were functional in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The details of CSCs functional in the State of Uttar Pradesh can be seen at Annexure-I.

## Promoting Digital Literacy:

The  Government  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  provide  skilling/upskilling  to  youth.  These initiatives aim to develop industry-ready manpower in emerging and advanced technology domains across the country.

PMGDISHA: Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was launched in 2017 to ensure digital literacy. The scheme concluded on 31 st  March 2024. The scheme was one of the world's largest digital literacy initiatives. Against the target of training 6 Cr people, more than 6.39 Crore persons were trained nationwide.

FutureSkills  Prime: FutureSkills  PRIME  program  is  a  collaborative  initiative  of  MeitY  and National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) aimed at making India a cutting-edge digital talent nation. Under the programme, so far, more than 27.53+ lakh candidates have registered on the portal, out of which there have been 17.24+ lakh candidates enrolled/trained in various courses.

National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT): NIELIT provides digital  literacy  courses  such  as  Awareness  in  Computer  Concept  (ACC),  Course  on  Computer Concepts (CCC) etc. NIELIT has trained 43 lakh+ candidates under various courses, including digital literacy and cyber security awareness. Training is delivered through a wide network of 56 NIELIT Centres and 9000+ Accredited Training Partners/Facilitation Centres.

## Cyber awareness:

The Government has institutionalised a nationwide integrated and coordinated system to strengthen cybersecurity and digital resilience in public infrastructure which, inter alia, includes:

- National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) under the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) to ensure coordination amongst different agencies.
- The  Indian  Computer  Emergency  Response  Team  (CERT-In)  is  designated  as  the  national agency for responding to cyber security incidents under the provisions of section 70B of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.
- National  Cyber  Coordination  Centre  (NCCC),  implemented  by  CERT-In,  examines  the cyberspace  to  detect cyber  security threats. It  shares  the  information  with  concerned organizations, state governments and stakeholder agencies for taking action.
- Cyber Swachhta Kendra (CSK) is the Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre and helps to detect malicious programs and provides free tools to remove the same. It also provides cyber security tips and best practices for citizens and organisations.
- Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has established Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) to deal with cybercrimes in a coordinated and effective manner.
- The Government has established National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for protection of critical information infrastructure in the country under the provisions of section 70A of the IT Act, 2000.
- CERT-In  works  with  other  agencies  involved  in  ensuring  cybersecurity  including  Telecom Security Operations Centre (TSOC), Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), etc.
- Computer Security Incident Response Team in Finance sector (CSIRT-Fin) under CERT-In is operational since May 2020 to coordinate cyber incident response in the banking and financial sector.
- 'Information  Security  Education  and  Awareness  (ISEA)'  project  is  being  implemented  by MeitY  for  strengthening  human  resources  in  the  area  of  Information  Security  and  creating general awareness. Awareness material on various aspects of cyber hygiene & cyber security are disseminated through portals such as www.staysafeonline.in,www.infosecawareness.in and www.csk.gov.in.

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ANNEXURE-I DISTRICT WISE FUNCTIONAL CSCs IN UTTAR PRADESH

| District Name       | Total functional CSCs   |
|---------------------|-------------------------|
| Agra                | 1,720                   |
| Aligarh             | 1,531                   |
| Ambedkar Nagar      | 1,391                   |
| Amethi              | 1,583                   |
| Amroha              | 1,633                   |
| Auraiya             | 1,163                   |
| Ayodhya             | 1,573                   |
| Azamgarh            | 2,491                   |
| Baghpat             | 778                     |
| Bahraich            | 2,094                   |
| Ballia              | 1,559                   |
| Balrampur           | 1,197                   |
| Banda               | 963                     |
| Barabanki           | 2,102                   |
| Bareilly            | 3,131                   |
| Basti               | 1,995                   |
| Bhadohi             | 952                     |
| Bijnor              | 2,601                   |
| Budaun              | 2,020                   |
| Bulandshahr         | 2,435                   |
| Chandauli           | 1,277                   |
| Chitrakoot          | 579                     |
| Deoria              | 2,241                   |
| Etah                | 1,303                   |
| Etawah              | 1,202                   |
| Farrukhabad         | 1,352                   |
| Fatehpur            | 1,309                   |
| Firozabad           | 1,846                   |
| Gautam Buddha Nagar | 872                     |
| Ghaziabad           | 1,423                   |
| Ghazipur            | 1,699                   |
| Gonda               | 2,271                   |
| Gorakhpur           | 2,494                   |
| Hamirpur            | 764                     |
| Hapur               | 850                     |
| Hardoi              | 2,297                   |
| Hathras             | 1,131                   |
| Jalaun              | 1,103                   |
| Jaunpur             | 2,224                   |

| Jhansi            | 967      |
|-------------------|----------|
| Kannauj           | 888      |
| Kanpur Dehat      | 1,351    |
| Kanpur Nagar      | 1,683    |
| Kasganj           | 1,105    |
| Kaushambi         | 1,242    |
| Kheri             | 2,060    |
| Kushi Nagar       | 2,444    |
| Lalitpur          | 830      |
| Lucknow           | 2,753    |
| Maharajganj       | 2,262    |
| Mahoba            | 706      |
| Mainpuri          | 1,438    |
| Mathura           | 1,156    |
| Mau               | 1,256    |
| Meerut            | 1,764    |
| Mirzapur          | 1,447    |
| Moradabad         | 2,978    |
| Muzaffarnagar     | 1,393    |
| Pilibhit          | 2,037    |
| Pratapgarh        | 2,424    |
| Prayagraj         | 3,228    |
| Rae Bareli        | 1,776    |
| Rampur            | 2,121    |
| Saharanpur        | 2,653    |
| Sambhal           | 1,811    |
| Sant Kabeer Nagar | 1,223    |
| Shahjahanpur      | 2,069    |
| Shamli            | 886      |
| Shravasti         | 695      |
| Siddharth Nagar   | 2,023    |
| Sitapur           | 2,028    |
| Sonbhadra         | 1,317    |
| Sultanpur         | 1,409    |
| Unnao             | 1,919    |
| Varanasi          | 1,903    |
| Total             |          |
|                   | 1,24,394 |

Source:

CSC e-Governance Services India Limited

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