Parliament Question: Internet Access and Digital Infrastructure in Gram Panchayats

GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRYOF PANCHAYATIRAJ LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 3854 ANSWEREDON 12.08.2025 INTERNETACCESSANDDIGITALINFRASTRUCTUREINGRAMPANCHAYATS 3854.SHRIKULDEEPINDORA: Will the Minister of PANCHAYATIRAJ be pleased to State: (a) whether the Government has assessed the current status of broadband and in digital connectivityinGram Panchayats inthe country; (b if so, the details thereof including the number and proportion of Gram Panchayats havingfunctionalinternet accessanddigitalinfrastructure, State-wise; (c) whether e-Gram Swaraj portal is fully implemented in all Panchayats and integrated with othermajordatabases; (d) if not, the reasons therefor and the expected time by which it is likely to be fully integrated;and (e) whether the Government has allocated resources for maintenance, training and technical support to ensure effective use of digital Governance tools at the panchayat level and if so, the detailsthereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FORPANCHAYATIRAJ (PROF.S.P.SINGH BAGHEL) (a) & (b) The Government is committed to strengthening digital connectivity in rural areas as part of its vision of Digital India. Accordingly, the current status of broadband and digital infrastructure at the Gram Panchayat level is beingregularly monitored in coordinationwith the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) andrespective StateGovernments. 1To accelerate broadband access, the BharatNet project is being implemented by DoT in a phased manner to provide high-speed internet connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) and Traditional Local Bodies (TLBs) across the country. As per information available on BharatNet UNMS Dashboard on 07.08.2025,out of a totalof 2.69lakh GPs/TLBs, over 2.18lakh Service- ReadyPointshave beenmade underthe BharatNet project. Further, to enhance digital infrastructure, the Union Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Programme on 04.08.2023. This includes upgradation of the existing networks under Phase-I and Phase-II of BharatNet and extending connectivity to the remaining uncovered GPs. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been nominated as the Project Management Agency for this initiative. State/UT-wise details of service-ready Gram Panchayats are provided at Annexure-I, while district-wise data is publicly available on the BharatNet portal (https://bbnl.nic.in). To facilitate ease of access for Panchayats, an interface has also been made available on the eGramSwaraj portal to apply for Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections in service-readyareas. Additionally, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj monitors Panchayat-level digital activity through the eGramSwaraj platform. In FY 2024–25, over 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats uploaded their Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs), and more than ₹61,000 crore was transferred through the eGramSwaraj–PFMS interface. For FY 2025–26, 2.46 lakh GPs have already uploaded their GPDPs, and around 2.05 lakh GPs have facilitated the transfer of over ₹19,000 crore using the same platform.These developmentsreflect the Government’scontinued efforts toward improving last-mile digital access and strengthening digital governance at the grassrootslevel. (c)& (d) The eGramSwaraj portal has been made operational for all Gram Panchayats across the country to bring transparency and accountability in Panchayat functioning by enabling online planning, budgeting, accounting, and payment. States have been advised to ensure entry of data on the portal. As of now, the majority of Panchayats are actively using the platform for various activities related to Panchayat functioning. In FY 2024-25, a total of 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country uploaded their Gram Panchayat Development Plans 2(GPDPs), and 2.53 lakh Gram Panchayats (State wise details in Annexure -II) have transferred over₹61,000crorethroughthe eGramSwaraj-PFMSinterface. The portal has also been integrated with other key platforms such as the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for real-time financial transactions, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for procurement, BharatNet/BSNL for internet connectivity tracking, and databases of otherMinistries for sharing scheme beneficiaryinformation. The Ministry is collaboratingwith StateGovernments toimprove data entryand platform adoption under the e-Panchayat MMP. Enhancements are continually made based on user feedback, including functionality upgrades in e-GramSwaraj and capacity-building efforts for Panchayat officials. While all States are working towards implementing the e-Panchayat MMP based on their available resources, varying levels of preparedness among Panchayats have resulted inStatesbeingat different stages of adoption. (e) Yes, Sir. Under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP), the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has taken several initiatives to strengthen digital governance at the Panchayat level. While no direct funds are provided to the States under e-Panchayat MMP, resources are allocated through the National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) for central-level support. These include activities related to the development, maintenance, and enhancement of e-Panchayatapplicationssuch aseGramSwaraj. In addition, financial assistance is provided to States/UTs under the centrally sponsored scheme of RevampedRashtriya Gram SwarajAbhiyan (RGSA). Under RGSA, support isextendedfor:  Capacitybuildingandtraining of Panchayatfunctionariesone-Governance tools;  Technical manpower for handholdingandfield-levelICT support;  Provisionof ITinfrastructure andinternetconnectivityat Panchayat offices;  Workshops andIEC activitiestopromote digitaladoptionamongPanchayats. These measures are aimed at empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions to effectively use digital platformsfor planning,monitoring, accounting,andoverallgovernance functions. *** 3Annexure-I Annexure-Ireferred toinreplytopart(a) &(b)oftheLok SabhaUnstarredQuestionNo. 3854 answered on 12.08.2025 regarding ‘Internet Access and Digital Infrastructure in GramPanchayats’. Statewise detailsservice ready pointsforproviding Broadband connections. S.No. States/Uts Total no.of GPs No. of Service Ready Points* ANDAMANANDNICOBAR 70 81 1 ISLANDS 2 ANDHRAPRADESH 13327 12972 3 ARUNACHALPRADESH 2108 1145 4 ASSAM 2665 1634 5 BIHAR 8054 8860 6 CHHATTISGARH 11623 9759 7 GOA 191 0 8 GUJARAT 14674 14563 9 HARYANA 6225 6204 10 HIMACHALPRADESH 3615 416 11 JAMMUANDKASHMIR 4291 1115 12 JHARKHAND 4345 4649 13 KARNATAKA 5948 6251 14 KERALA 941 1130 15 LADAKH 193 193 16 LAKSHADWEEP 10 9 17 MADHYAPRADESH 23011 18106 18 MAHARASHTRA 27952 24778 19 MANIPUR 3812 1485 20 MEGHALAYA 6838 697 21 MIZORAM 843 539 22 NAGALAND 1315 236 23 ODISHA 6794 7099 24 PUDUCHERRY 108 101 25 PUNJAB 13236 12807 26 RAJASTHAN 11193 8997 27 SIKKIM 199 54 28 TAMILNADU 12525 10298 29 TELANGANA 12860 10926 THEDADRAANDNAGAR 42 41 HAVELIANDDAMANAND 30 DIU 4S.No. States/Uts Total no.of GPs No. of Service Ready Points* 31 TRIPURA 1194 772 32 UTTARPRADESH 57691 47451 33 UTTARAKHAND 7788 2021 34 WESTBENGAL 3339 2958 Total 269020 218347 * The datais sourced from the BharatNet UNMS Dashboard, andsome Gram Panchayats may have multiple service-ready points. 5Annexure-II Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) & (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3854 answered on 12.08.2025 regarding ‘InternetAccess andDigital Infrastructure inGramPanchayats’. Adoptionof eGramSwarajat GramPanchayat levelduringFY2024-25 S.No StateName 6 forebmuN latoT egalliV & stayahcnaP tnelaviuqE egalliV tayahcnaP draobno egalliV & stayahcnaP htiW tnelaviuqE tnemyaP enilnO forebmuN latoT kcolB & stayahcnaP tnelaviuqE tayahcnaP kcolB draobno kcolB htiW stayahcnaP tnemyaP enilnO forebmuN latoT stayahcnaP aliZ tnelaviuqE& tayahcnaP aliZ draobno stayahcnaP aliZ enilnO htiW tnemyaP 1 ANDHRAPRADESH 13328 13320 13002 660 660 645 13 13 13 ARUNACHAL 2 2108 2108 426 0 0 0 27 26 11 PRADESH 3 ASSAM 2662 2197 2183 191 191 191 30 29 27 4 BIHAR 8054 8054 8046 534 534 531 38 38 38 5 CHHATTISGARH 11701 11684 11540 146 146 146 33 33 27 6 GOA 191 191 97 0 0 0 2 2 2 7 GUJARAT 14656 14645 14006 248 248 248 33 33 33 8 HARYANA 6226 6226 5980 143 143 134 22 22 22 9 HIMACHALPRADESH 3615 3615 3557 81 81 81 12 12 12 10 JHARKHAND 4345 4345 4335 264 264 263 24 24 24 11 KARNATAKA 5954 5954 5942 238 232 127 31 31 29 12 KERALA 941 941 941 152 152 152 14 14 14 13 MADHYAPRADESH 23011 23011 22987 313 313 311 52 52 52 14 MAHARASHTRA 27955 27940 27025 351 351 312 34 34 34 15 MANIPUR 3812 161 125 0 0 0 12 6 4 16 MEGHALAYA 6817 0 0 2241 0 0 3 3 0 17 MIZORAM 842 842 832 0 0 0 0 0 0S.No StateName 7 forebmuN latoT egalliV & stayahcnaP tnelaviuqE egalliV tayahcnaP draobno egalliV & stayahcnaP htiW tnelaviuqE tnemyaP enilnO forebmuN latoT kcolB & stayahcnaP tnelaviuqE tayahcnaP kcolB draobno kcolB htiW stayahcnaP tnemyaP enilnO forebmuN latoT stayahcnaP aliZ tnelaviuqE& tayahcnaP aliZ draobno stayahcnaP aliZ enilnO htiW tnemyaP 18 NAGALAND 1289 977 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 ODISHA 6794 6794 6794 314 314 314 30 30 30 20 PUNJAB 13237 13234 10240 153 151 123 23 22 19 21 RAJASTHAN 11222 11219 10905 361 353 351 33 33 33 22 SIKKIM 199 199 195 0 0 0 6 6 6 23 TAMILNADU 12525 12525 12520 388 388 388 36 36 36 24 TELANGANA 12991 12768 12648 572 540 514 32 32 32 25 TRIPURA 1194 1194 1175 75 75 75 9 9 9 26 UTTARAKHAND 7795 7795 7757 95 95 95 13 13 13 27 UTTAR PRADESH 57691 57691 57638 826 826 819 75 75 75 28 WESTBENGAL 3339 3339 3339 345 345 345 22 21 21 Total 264494 252969 244235 8691 6402 6165 659 649 616