Parliament Question: BharatNet Project

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2922 ANSWERED ON 17TH DECEMBER, 2025 BHARATNET PROJECT †2922. SHRI NALIN SOREN:

SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) the present status of implementation of BharatNet Project in Jharkhand along with the number of Gram Panchayats (GP) and villages connected so far thereunder;

(b) the details of the progress made under the BharatNet Phase-II and State-led model under BharatNet project;

(c) the details of fiber rollout plan, Wi-Fi hotspots operation and service promptness in connected gram panchayats along with the active broadband use by households and institutions, State-wise;

(d) whether the Government has assessed the impact of BharatNet on governance, education, telemedicine, agriculture and digital payment etc. sectors in rural areas;

(e) if so, the outcome thereof;

(f) the eligibility criteria, incentives and implementation status of BharatNet Udyami initiative to enable home fiber connection in rural areas;

(g) the details of pilot scheme introduced under BharatNet Udyami initiative; and

(h) the details of target achieved/achievement made so far thereunder? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) & (b) In Jharkhand, 4,390 GPs have been made service-ready under BharatNet as of

30.11.2025, out of which 1,686 GPs have been made service-ready in Phase-II, which includes 1,672 GPs covered under the State-led model and 14 GPs covered by satellite.

(c) Total number of service ready Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country is 2,14,904 as on Nov- 2025 Wi-Fi service is supported by equipment installed at many GPs. The State/UT-wise status of FTTH connections provided under BharatNet is attached at Annexure-I.

(d) & (e) Yes, BSNL conducted a third-party audit during March–April 2024 to assess the implementation of a pilot project for implementation of 5 lakh FTTH connections in rural areas through the BharatNet network. The audit findings indicated satisfactory coverage of FTTH services across various States/UTs through OLT installed by BNU partners.

1(f) BNU could be a village level entrepreneur, Internet Service Provider, Self Help Group

(SHG), etc. BharatNet Udyamis (BNUs) will be used for providing and maintaining last-mile connectivity from village to household. BNUs will be given a one-time financial incentive for activating new home fibre connections. To incentivize continuity of services, BNUs will also receive a share of the monthly revenue. As on 08.12.2025, total 7,52,161 connections provided by BNUs have been working.

(g) & (h) A pilot project for rolling out of 5 Lakh FTTH connections by BSNL using BharatNet through BharatNet Udyamies (BNUs) was approved with financial subsidy from DBN. The target under the pilot is achieved on 01.05.2024.

2Annexure-I Utilization of BharatNet project (as of Nov,2025) S. No. State Total FTTH connection 1 Andaman & Nicobar 9122 2 Andhra Pradesh 51734 3 Arunachal Pradesh 22 4 Assam 6317 5 Bihar 46764 6 Chandigarh 1 7 Chhattisgarh 14498 8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 222 9 Gujarat 110665 10 Haryana 169931 11 Himachal Pradesh 4248 12 Jammu & Kashmir 10460 13 Jharkhand 28089 14 Karnataka 59813 15 Kerala 237913 16 Madhya Pradesh 64893 17 Maharashtra 31098 18 Manipur 4911 19 Meghalaya 167 20 Mizoram 65 21 Nagaland 152 22 Odisha 11748 23 Puducherry 4476 24 Punjab 260125 25 Rajasthan 56462 26 Sikkim 46 27 Tamil Nadu 805 28 Telangana 26203 29 Tripura 1543 30 Uttar Pradesh 94144 31 Uttarakhand 23750 32 West Bengal 62380 Total 1392767 ***** 3