BharatNet, India's Public Broadband Network, To Invite Foreign Bids To Connect Over 3 Lakh Villages

The project will be split into nine packages, each of corresponding to one or more telecom circles, with no investor receiving more than four packages

New Delhi: India will shortly issue a request for worldwide bids for bringing broadband connectivity to 361,000 villages across 16 states through a public-private partnership with government funding. 

On Wednesday, the Union cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a new BharatNet implementation strategy based on a public-private partnership model. BharatNet will now cover all inhabited villages in the states beyond village panchayats. According to the government, the updated strategy calls for the concessionaire to build, upgrade, operate, maintain, and use BharatNet, which would be chosen through a competitive international bidding procedure. 

EXPLAINED | What Is BharatNet Programme? World's Largest Broadband Network To Connect Rural India

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, while sharing details of the plan, said that the project will be split into nine packages, each of corresponding to one or more telecom circles, with no investor receiving more than four packages. 

Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh will be the covered states under the project. 

"It will also enable online education, telemedicine, skill development, e-commerce, and other applications of broadband. It is expected that revenue will be generated from different sources including proliferation of broadband connections to individuals and institutions, sale of dark fibre, Fiberization of mobile towers, e-commerce etc," a government statement said.

The Rs 6.28 trillion economic package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday has gotten an approval nod from the Union cabinet, which includes Rs19,041 crore in viability gap assistance for the village broadband connectivity scheme.  

The economic package provides much-needed assistance in the construction of new healthcare facilities, the restoration of tourism, the expansion of exports, and the creation of jobs. In addition to increasing liquidity, the initiatives include risk insurance for merchandise and project exports, increased healthcare spending, funding for rural digital connectivity, finance for power utilities, and assistance to enterprises hiring new employees.