(a) whether the Government proposes to provide free Wi-Fi to 48,000 villages in the country and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the steps taken by the Government to promote uptake of the internet in the rural areas through BharatNet project;
(c) the funds sanctioned/spent so far by the Government in this regard, State/UT-wise; and
(d) the views and demands of various States met so far in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS,
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)
(a) & (b) BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2,50,000) in the country. As part of BharatNet project, the Last Mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband access technology, is to be provided in all Gram Panchayats.
In the 1.23 lakh GPs (approx.) of BharatNet Phase-I, the provisioning of Wi-Fi Services has been assigned to Government of Rajasthan, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited(a Special Purpose Vehicle under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology), etc. In the 1407 GPs of BharatNet Phase-II, the provisioning of connectivity over satellite media, along with Wi-Fi services, has been assigned to BSNL.
As of now, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in 45,769 Gram Panchayats (GPs) and out of them, services are being provided in 18,041 GPs. Further, the last mile connectivity is to be provided through Viability Gap Funding (VGF), however, Wi-Fi services, through BharatNet network, are being provided free of cost till March 2020 by CSC e-Governance Services India Limited.
(c) & (d) The details of the State/UT-wise funds sanctioned/spent so far by the Government in this regard are given in Annex-I. The funds are disbursed after achieving the milestones as per the Agreement(s)/MoU signed with the Implementing Agencies.