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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 537
ANSWERED ON 22ND JULY, 2026
IMPLEMENTATION OF BHARATNET PROJECT
537. SHRI SHASHANK MANI:
Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:
(a) the current status of implementation of the BharatNet Project including the number of Gram
Panchayats connected and made service-ready, State-wise;
(b) the details of funds allocated, released and utilised under the project during the last three
years; and
(c) the measures taken to ensure last-mile broadband connectivity and affordable internet access
in rural and remote areas and the measures taken to ensure last-mile broadband connectivity and
affordable internet access in rural and remote areas?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)
(a) Under BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II, 2.14 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) had been
connected. Government of India has approved the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) on
04.08.2023 for upgradation of all GPs in ring topology. As of June 2026, 13,494 GPs have been
upgraded under ABP. The State-wise details are enclosed at Annexure-I.
(b) During the last three financial years (2023–24 to 2025–26), an amount of ₹11,722.26 crore
has been disbursed under the BharatNet Program against a total allocation of ₹17,000 crore.
(c) Under the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP), Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections are
being provided across the States/Union Territories through the BharatNet Udyami (BNU) model,
with subsidy support from the Government of India.
1Annexure-I
Connected GPs
Upgraded GPs Under ABP
S. No. State Under BharatNet
(June 2026)
Phase-I & II
1 Andaman & Nicobar 72 62
2 Andhra Pradesh 12,955 0
3 Arunachal Pradesh 1,124 3
4 Assam 1,507 0
5 Bihar 8,340 1,200
6 Chhattisgarh 9,695 0
7 DNH and DD 38 5
8 Goa 0 0
9 Gujarat 14,320 0
10 Haryana 6,082 0
11 Himachal Pradesh 410 739
12 Jammu & Kashmir 1,101 295
13 Jharkhand 4,390 0
14 Karnataka 6,084 344
15 Kerala 978 7
16 Ladakh 193 2
18 Madhya Pradesh 17,850 1,728
19 Maharashtra 24,575 0
20 Manipur 1,475 3
21 Meghalaya 698 0
22 Mizoram 540 0
23 Nagaland 236 16
24 Odisha 6,785 0
25 Puducherry 98 109
26 Punjab 12,680 3,069
27 Rajasthan 8,776 0
28 Sikkim 35 0
29 Tamil Nadu 10,886 0
30 Telangana 10,833 0
31 Tripura 740 0
32 Uttar Pradesh 46,746 4,010
33 Uttarakhand 1,993 1,507
34 West Bengal 2,677 395
Total 2,14,912 13,494
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