Amended BharatNet Program in Maharashtra Gets Rs 10,520 Crore Support Under Five-Way Agreement

Key facts

• Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Department of Telecommunications signed a five-way agreement with the Government of Maharashtra, MahaNet Digital Infrastructure Limited (MDIL), BSNL and Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited (MahaIT) at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, to implement the Amended BharatNet Program in Maharashtra under the State-led model.
• The Government of India approved financial support of Rs 10,520 crore, covering capital expenditure, operation and maintenance for 10 years, and viability gap funding for rural home fibre connections.
• The program covers 28,237 Gram Panchayats, including upgradation of 15,171 Phase I GPs from linear to ring topology, coverage of 12,740 Phase II GPs and 326 newly created GPs, plus on-demand connectivity to 15,799 villages.
• The Union Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Program on 4th August 2023 to upgrade and expand BharatNet into a utilization-driven service delivery model.
• Under the State-led model, MDIL is the implementing agency, BSNL provides technical support and bandwidth, and MahaIT facilitates integration with state e-governance platforms.
• The initiative is expected to facilitate more than nine lakh rural home fibre connections and support digital services such as e-Governance, online education, telemedicine and digital payments.
• Universal Service Obligation Fund was renamed Digital Bharat Nidhi under The Telecommunications Act, 2023; DBN was established under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003, effective 01.04.2002, and is an attached office of the Department of Telecommunications.