BharatNet Signals Success: 97% Connectivity Achieved Across India

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the BharatNet project has succeeded in providing connectivity to 97% of India's gram panchayats. BharatNet is a massive rural telecom initiative aimed at ensuring broadband access nationwide. Remaining challenges include difficult terrains and left-wing extremism, which hinder 100% project completion.

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced that BharatNet has successfully connected 97% of gram panchayats across India. This rural telecom project is among the largest in the world, targeting non-discriminatory broadband access in every village panchayat.

Scindia highlighted the significant progress made, with 2,15,000 out of a targeted 2,22,000 gram panchayats now connected. However, challenging terrains and left-wing extremism persist as barriers to achieving total coverage.

Addressing these challenges, the government issued a gazette notification on the 'Right of Way' to ease telecom infrastructure deployment. Scindia urged state governments to facilitate this process, ensuring smoother execution of BharatNet, which was green-lit by the Union Cabinet in 2011.

(With inputs from agencies.)