how the Narendra Modi government pursued BharatNet to connect India at the grassroots level

In order to understand how the Narendra Modi government pursued BharatNet to connect India at the grassroots level, one needs to compare the work with that of the previous UPA government. BharatNet was previously known as National Optical Fibre Network (#NOFN). The Sonia Gandhi led #UPA government approved the project in 2011.

📆 Under the UPA Government – Till May 31, 2014, the work of providing broadband was started in 4,918 GPs (Gram Panchayats) and only 358 km Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) was laid & only 59 GPs were made service ready.

📆 Under the NDA Government – As on November 12, 2018, greater push resulted into the laying of 2,92,304 km Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) covering 1,20,061 Gram Panchayats .

How Things have Changed After #BharatNet ?

BharatNet infrastructure is not resting idle. See some examples where it is already helping the common people.

● CSCs (Common Service Centre) have installed Wi-Fi Hotspots at 6,000 GPs wherein services are regularly used by 1 Million+ users, consuming 38,000 GB of data each month from this network.

● Wi-Fi Hotspots has been installed at another 24,000+ GPs by CSCs where services are to be initiated shortly.

● Wi-Fi Network setup by BSNL at 1,742 GPs being used by 60,000+ users (monthly consumption being around 25,000 GB)

● In order to ensure 100% utilization of the BharatNet infrastructure, the government decided in May 2018 that 5 Wi-Fi Access Points would be setup at each GP. Of these, 3 Access Points shall be installed to provide connectivity to Key Government Development Institutions in rural areas (viz. 4.5 Lakh Schools, 1.8 Lakh Healthcare Centres, 1.3 Lakh Post Offices, 10,000 Police Stations), and 2 additional Access Points shall be installed at public places for wider public access.

● 13,513 FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) connections provided across 18 States - measures being taken for expedited scale up.

● State Wide Area Networks extended to around 3,400 GPs on BharatNet. SWAN Integration (Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Puducherry).

BharatNet Phase-II is planned to connect the remaining 1,50,000 GPs,using an optimal mix of media, by 31 Mar, 2019.  Provision has been made for Last Mile Connectivity in all 2,50,000 GPs (Ph-I 1 Lac + Ph-II 1.5 Lac) through viability gap funding.