Parliament Question: Reviewed Progress of BharatNet Connectivity

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1682 ANSWERED ON 10TH DECEMBER, 2025 REVIEWED PROGRESS OF BHARATNET CONNECTIVITY

1682. SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has reviewed the progress of BharatNet Phase II and other Digital India connectivity initiatives in Karnataka and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the review has identified gaps in last-mile fibre connectivity or public Wi-Fi coverage in urban areas such as Bengaluru and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether additional approvals or funds have been sanctioned to address these gaps under BharatNet, PM-WANI or related schemes;

(d) the progress made so far in implementing these enhancements in Karnataka; and

(e) whether Bengaluru is included in the current rollout timeline and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages beyond GPs on demand basis across the country. A total of 6,084 GPs are service-ready out of 6,086 GPs in Karnataka.

(b) & (c) The Government has approved the PM-WANI framework, which allows Public Data Offices (PDOs) to set up Wi-Fi hotspots, under the aggregation of Public Data Office Aggregators

(PDOAs), thus encouraging local entrepreneurs to participate in the digital transformation process.

(d) & (e) There are 21,834 PM-WANI hotspots in Karnataka of which 11,692 PM-WANI hotspots are available in Bengaluru. Under BharatNet, 59,916 FTTH connections have been provided in Karnataka, out of which 1,695 are in Bengaluru.

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