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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 20
ANSWERED ON 29TH JANUARY, 2026
UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO INTERNET
20 SHRI A. A. RAHIM:
Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Ministry has conducted any national-level survey or assessment to identify the
number of households that do not have access to internet connectivity and if so, the details thereof,
State-wise and rural-urban area-wise;
(b) whether gaps in digital infrastructure and affordability have been identified as major causes
of such digital exclusion; and
(c) the measures proposed to ensure universal access to reliable and affordable internet services
across under-served regions?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)
(a) The Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom (CMS:T) was conducted by National
Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), during
January-March 2025, as a part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). This survey
inter-alia collected data on various aspects of mobile and internet usage at both household and
individual levels. The State wise and rural-urban distribution of households without internet access
is given in Annexure-1.
(b) & (c) The Government has undertaken several measures to ensure universal access to
reliable and affordable internet services across underserved regions through funding from Digital
Bharat Nidhi (DBN). In particular, various projects and initiatives, such as the Amended BharatNet
Program to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats; the Comprehensive Telecom
Development Plan for mobile connectivity in the North Eastern region, Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, and Lakshadweep; Schemes for providing mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)
affected areas and border villages; and the Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Project to ensure faster
rollout of fixed-line broadband/Internet access, mobile services (4G/5G), and other high-speed data
services in the islands.
1Annexure-1
Annexure referred to reply to part (a) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question no. 20 answered on
29th January 2026 regarding “Universal Access to Internet’’
Percentage of households without internet facility within household premises
State/ UT Rural Urban Overall
Andhra Pradesh 26.7 14.6 22.3
Arunachal Pradesh 26.7 9 22.2
Assam 9.7 5.6 9.1
Bihar 12.3 7.1 11.7
Chhattisgarh 17.2 8.6 15.4
Delhi 5.2 2.6 2.6
Goa 15.5 4.7 9.2
Gujarat 14.4 7 10.5
Haryana 7.5 9.4 8.4
Himachal Pradesh 8.6 1.3 7
Jharkhand 16.6 8.4 14.8
Karnataka 13.7 7.9 10.9
Kerala 10.4 6.4 8.3
Madhya Pradesh 17.3 11.4 15.4
Maharashtra 15.3 5.2 10.4
Manipur 3.2 1.2 2.6
Meghalaya 9.8 4.6 8.8
Mizoram 5.3 0.8 3.2
Nagaland 11.8 11.2 11.6
Odisha 24.8 8.6 22
Punjab 12.5 8.3 10.6
Rajasthan 17.2 4.6 13.2
Sikkim 3.5 - 2.4
Tamil Nadu 28.2 13.4 21.1
Telangana 23.9 5.3 15.1
Tripura 21 12.1 18.8
Uttarakhand 10.4 6 8.5
Uttar Pradesh 14.9 11 13.9
West Bengal 18.5 10.9 16
A & N Islands 9 3.4 6.3
Chandigarh - - -
Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu 18.6 0.8 5.3
Jammu & Kashmir 7.5 6.6 7.3
Ladakh - - -
Lakshadweep - - -
Puducherry 21.9 16.5 18.1
All-India 16.7 8.4 13.7
Note: (-) indicates no sample observation
For the purpose of CMS:T, access to internet facility within the household premises, as on date of
survey, for any selected household was collected considering both wired and wireless internet
connections. If any member of the household is using mobile network internet data, the household is
considered to have access to internet facility within the household premises.
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