National Broadband Mission: Tamil Nadu leads with rollout in over 10,000 Gram Panchayats

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) The National Broadband Mission (NBM) has helped bridged the digital divide in rural areas in the country and Tamil Nadu leads in broadband rollout with over 10,000 Gram Panchayats now service-ready, the government has said.

The National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 starts from April 1 and builds upon the strengths and experiences gained from the NBM 1.0 and aims to propel India into a new era of digital transformation and global competitiveness, said Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Minister of State for Communications And Rural Development, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

To improve broadband connectivity in rural areas, the government launched the Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal on May 14, 2022, thus streamlining Right of Way (RoW) permissions for Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) laying and telecom tower installation.

The Telecommunications Act, 2023, and the Telecommunications (Right of Way) Rules 2024 with effect from 1st January 2025, further streamlined RoW processes.

Further, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is ensuring stable broadband connectivity in rural areas and bridging the digital divide with funding from Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), said the minister.

Key initiatives include the Amended Bharat Net project which provides broadband to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages (on demand).

It also offers schemes for high-speed internet and mobile services (including 4G) in remote areas, such as the North-East, Islands, LWE (Left-Wing Extremism)-affected regions, Aspirational Districts, and border villages.

Submarine optical fibre cables were laid between Chennai and Andaman and Nicobar and Kochi and Lakshadweep for faster internet connectivity, the minister informed.

Under the state-led model in Tamil Nadu, the cost of work awarded is Rs 1,544.44 crore (exclusive of taxes), out of which Rs 1,093.74 crore has been utilised (up to February 28).

As of February 24, 10,298 GPs out of 12524 have been made service-ready and 53,511 route kilometres of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) have been laid under the BharatNet Project in Tamil Nadu, according to the minister.