(a) whether the National Knowledge Network Programme (NKNP) is being implemented across the country;
(b) If so, the details thereof, State-wise and the available length of connectivity of Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) as on date; and
(c) The funds allocated / released / utilised so far alongwith the physical targets achieved. State-wise?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SACHIN PILOT)
(a): Yes, Sir. The Government of India has approved the establishment of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) in March 2010 to be implemented by NIC over a period of 10
years.
(b) and (c): The NKN project does not envisage lying of OFC cable; instead it uses the bandwidth provided by National Long Distance providers (NLDs) like RailTel, Power-Grid, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for Delhi and Mumbai.
As on 30th April links to about 774 institutions have been provisioned, out of which links to 739 Institutions have been commissioned and made operational. This includes 221 links to institutions under National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT), which have been migrated to NKN. About 52 virtual classrooms have been setup. State wise list of number of Institutions is at annexure.
Total funds allocated so far is Rs. 2434 cr. out of which an amount of Rs. 2074 cr. have been released so far.
NKN is a single network spanning the country connecting various institutions of higher learning and National
R&D labs. NKN consists of components like national backbone, data centers, model projects etc. There is no
state-wise allocation.