Question : USOF

(a) the year-wise details of the funds released by the Government under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during the last five years;

(b) the details of works carried out in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with the funds released under USOF during the last five years;

(c) whether the Government has any plan to sanction more mobile towers for the villages/settlements not covered in Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh Parliamentary constituencies during the financial year 2022-23;

(d) if so, the details thereof; and

(e) if not, the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS
(SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

(a) The year-wise details of the funds released from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) during the last five years in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are given in Annexure-I.

(b) In Rajasthan, total 8,696 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made Service Ready under BharatNet project. Further, 1,589 Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) rural exchanges under USOF schemes during the last five years. Further, 30 villages under “Border areas & other priority areas scheme” and 195 villages under “502 Aspirational District villages scheme” have been included for providing mobile coverage in Rajasthan.

In Uttar Pradesh, total 31,342 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made Service Ready under BharatNet project, 1,964 Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed at BSNL’s rural exchanges and 78 towers have been installed under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas scheme (Phase-I) during the last five years. Further, 8 villages under “Border areas & other priority areas scheme”, 22 villages under “502 Aspirational District villages scheme” and 42 towers under “LWE Phase-II scheme” have been included for providing mobile coverage in Uttar Pradesh.

(c) to (e) Mobile services are provided in a phased manner by the Government and Telecom Services Provider (TSPs) in the uncovered villages of the country. As of now, installation of mobile towers has not been approved under any USOF scheme in Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh Parliamentary Constituencies during the Financial year 2022-23.