New Delhi: In a major boost to rural connectivity, the Centre in partnership with the Gujarat government, on Tuesday, took a big step towards providing high-speed internet access to villages across the state.
With a goal of more than 98 per cent service uptime, the amended BharatNet programme will ensure that even the most remote parts of Gujarat have access to reliable digital platforms, helping to improve education, healthcare, livelihoods, and overall quality of life.
A quadripartite agreement was signed in Gandhinagar between the Indian government’s Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), the Gujarat government, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), and Gujarat Fibre Grid Network Limited (GFGNL).
This agreement hands over all BharatNet-related responsibilities in Gujarat to GFGNL and allows the agency to implement the updated scheme under the Amended BharatNet Programme.
This partnership marks a significant milestone for Gujarat, which is the first among eight states to adopt the BharatNet project under the state-led model.
The state has already received in-principle approval of Rs 5,631 crore for capital expenditure and 10 years of maintenance support for the project.
The project aims to connect all 14,654 gram panchayats and non-gram panchayat villages across Gujarat with fast, stable internet.
By building a future-ready digital infrastructure, the initiative is expected to support local communities through improved access to digital services.
Government departments will be able to connect with citizens more directly, delivering services tailored to the needs of farmers, women, students and entrepreneurs.
The network will also open doors for innovation.
With fibre connectivity reaching mobile towers, field offices, families and financial businesses, the programme will boost mobile signals, enable real-time governance, offer household broadband, and support rural fintech and startups.
Under the broader Amended BharatNet Programme, the government plans to provide optical fibre connectivity to 2.64 lakh gram panchayats and about 3.8 lakh non-gram panchayat villages across the country.
The Union Cabinet had approved the scheme on August 4, 2023, with a total programme cost of Rs 1.39 lakh crore.
BSNL will serve as the project management agency, with professional partners executing the work under the “Design, Build, Operate, and Maintain model”.
The project will ensure high-speed internet with a minimum download speed of 25 Mbps for each Fiber-to-the-Home user.
Over the next five years, 1.5 crore rural homes, institutions and enterprises across the country are expected to benefit from this massive digital transformation.
(IANS)
