The achievers were felicitated by the Department of Telecommunication.

January 30, 2018

Government has achieved a significant milestone under the BharatNet by completing Phase-1 of the project by connecting over one lakh Gram Panchayats (GP) across the country with high speed optical fiber network as per the declared deadline of 31 Dec 2017. BharatNet network built under Phase 1 envisages delivery of high-speed broadband services in over 2.5 lakh villages benefitting more than 200 million rural Indians.

Union Minister for Communications Shri Manoj Sinha said that the vision and the mission of the project is to connect India to realize the goal of Prime Minister’s Digital India by bridging the digital divide. Describing the BharatNet as the world’s largest rural broadband project created on the mantra of Create, Collaborate and Conquer, Shri Sinha said that the project will generate massive employment opportunities both direct and indirect in the country in days to come.

He underlined the need to complete the 2nd phase of the BharatNet well before the target of March, 2019 to usher in a rural digital revolution by connecting 2 lakh and 50,000 Gram Panchayats with broadband network. The Minister asked the officials to include and enforce the clause of financial incentive for speedy execution of Phase-2 of the project and said that the infrastructure created under BharatNet will be a national asset, accessible on a non-discriminatory basis to the service providers. The project aims to provide affordable broadband services to citizens and institutions in rural and remote areas, in partnership with States and the private sector.