New Delhi, April 21: With an aim to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country, more than 2.18 lakh GPs have been made service ready (as on March 19) under the BharatNet project in the country, the government said on Monday.
As of March 25, the optical fibre cable (OFC) length has increased to 42.13 lakh route km while 6,92,676 Km of OFC has been laid (as of January 1, 2025). About 12,21,014 fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections are commissioned and 1,04,574 Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed, according to the Ministry of Communications.
The BharatNet project initially aimed to connect approximately 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country. While phase I, focused on laying optical fibre cables to connect 1 lakh Gram Panchayats by utilising existing infrastructure, was completed in December 2017, phase 2 and 3 are currently ongoing to expand coverage to an additional 1.5 lakh Gram Panchayats using optical fibre, radio, and satellite technologies.
Phase 3 aims at future-proofing the network by integrating 5G technologies, increasing bandwidth capacity, and ensuring robust last-mile connectivity. Approved in August 2023, the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) is a design improvement aiming for Optical Fibre (OF) connectivity to 2.64 lakh GPs in ring topology (a network design where connected devices form a circular data channel) and OF connectivity to the remaining non-GP villages on demand. It includes features like IP-MPLS (Internet Protocol Multi-Protocol Label Switching) network with routers at Blocks and GPs, operation and maintenance for 10 years, power backup, and Remote Fibre Monitoring System (RFMS). The cost allocated is Rs 1,39,579 crore.
According to the ministry, to ensure digital literacy in rural households, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) has helped train over 6.39 crore individuals by March 31, 2024.
National Broadband Mission 2.0 was launched on January 17, 2025 and key initiatives include the centralised Right of Way (RoW) Portal GatiShakti Sanchar. BharatNet is primarily funded through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), which is a fund that replaced the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
The total funding for BharatNet (Phase-I and Phase-II) approved by the Cabinet is Rs 42,068 crore. As of 31.12.2023, a total of Rs 39,825 crore have been disbursed under the BharatNet Project since its inception.
IANS