(a) whether there is any severe shortage of SIM Cards to meet
the demands of BSNL mobile phones in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the details of the steps
taken by the Government to address the problem;
(c) the total number of the mobile phone connections up to 30-
06-2004 given by the BSNL, State-wise;
(d) the target fixed for the year 2004-05, State-wise; and
(e) the details of the strategy being implemented to achieve
the target?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)
(a) & (b): The SIM cards are made available in adequate
quantities commensurate with the available capacity. There
have been capacity constraints in many parts of the country
resulting in limited release of SIMs for new mobile
connections. However BSNL is already in the process of
expanding the present network capacity of around 6 million on
date to around 9 million.
(c) & (d): The details of cellular mobile connections and
target set for 2004-05 state-wise are given in the Annexure.
(e) BSNL has further expansion plans to raise the countrywide
capacity of mobile network to 23 million by December 2005.
Annexure
The total number of mobile phone connections and target fixed for the year 2004-05:
S.No. Name of LSA Mobile Target 2004-05 connections as on 30-06-2004
1. Andaman & Nicobar 6598 6900
2. Andhra Pradesh 581564 459700
3. Assam 49668 168600
4. Bihar 168732 278300
5. Chhattisgarh 32440 67400 6. Gujarat 482602 563000
7 Haryana 220885 247000
8. Himachal Pradesh 89340 89200
9. Jammu & Kashmir 45962 49100 10. Jharkhand 105541 112000 11. Karnataka 350193 346400 12. Kerala 413821 428000 13. Madhya Pradesh 124161 202200 14. Maharashtra 610471 719500 15. North East-I (Meghalaya, 15560 93300 Mizoram, Tripura) 16. North East-II (Arunachal 14430 Include in NE-I Pradesh, Nagaland Manipur) 17. Orissa 187105 225200 18. Punjab 304101 429000 19. Rajasthan 274341 412700 20. Tamil Nadu 581017 639300 21. Uttar Pradesh 728537 767600 22. Uttranchal 108975 109900 23. West Bengal 297756 585700
Total 5793800 7000000