Under the Digital India Initiative, the government has implemented various measures to connect not only metropolitan areas but also tier-2 and tier-3 cities, as well as rural and remote regions. As of March 2024, India has a total of 954.40 million internet subscribers, with 398.35 million residing in rural areas. Additionally, by April 2024, out of 6,44,131 villages in the country (data from the Registrar General of India), 6,12,952 villages have 3G/4G mobile connectivity, resulting in 95.15% of villages having internet access. The number of internet subscribers has surged from 251.59 million in March 2014 to 954.40 million in March 2024, with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.26%.
BharatNet Project
The BharatNet project aims to connect all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country with Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connectivity to provide broadband services to rural households. Of the 2.22 lakh Gram Panchayats targeted under the two phases of BharatNet, 2.13 lakh have been made service-ready. The Amended BharatNet Program plans to provide OFC connectivity to 42,000 uncovered GPs and the remaining 3.84 lakh villages on a demand basis, along with 1.5 crore rural home fibre connections.
USOF Schemes
Under the ongoing Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) Schemes, 35,680 uncovered villages/habitations in rural, remote, and difficult terrains are being connected. Approximately 9,000 uncovered villages have been provided with 4G connectivity, costing about Rs 11,000 crore.
Additional Government Initiatives
The government has also undertaken several initiatives to enhance internet connectivity:
– Amended licensing conditions in August 2022 to facilitate mobile tower installation in border areas.
– Issuance and periodic amendments of the Indian Telegraph Right of Way (RoW) Rules 2016 for faster and easier telecom infrastructure rollout.
– Launch of the Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal for expedited RoW approvals for mobile tower installations in border areas.
Support for Startups and Innovation
Various technology-led startup and innovation schemes under the Digital India Initiative have been launched, including Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0), Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS), domain-specific Centres of Excellence (CoEs), and the Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS), with a total funding outlay of around Rs 800 crore, benefiting tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Furthermore, the government has launched the India BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Promotion Scheme (IBPS) and the North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS), establishing 246 BPO units across 27 States/UTs, distributed across 104 small cities/towns.
