Digital Bharat Nidhi Signs Agreement with Tamil Nadu and TANFINET for BharatNet Use under Amended BharatNet Program

Key facts

• Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Department of Telecommunications signed a Utilisation Agreement with the Government of Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation (TANFINET) for use of the BharatNet network in Tamil Nadu under the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP), at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi on 30 October 2026.
• The agreement covers Government of India financial subsidy support for over 5 lakh rural home fibre connections in Tamil Nadu and on-demand connectivity to 4,767 villages.
• The Union Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Program on 4 August 2023 to upgrade, consolidate and expand BharatNet for broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats and villages on demand.
• Digital Bharat Nidhi, the erstwhile Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), was established under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 effective 01.04.2002, and renamed DBN under The Telecommunications Act, 2023; it is an attached office of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.