Centre to provide internet, broadband connectivity to two lakh Gram Panchayats by March 2020

By S M Last updated Nov 21, 2019

**EDS: TV GRAB** New Delhi: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. (LSTV/PTI Photo)(PTI11_20_2019_000058B)

Centre has set a target to provide internet and broadband connectivity to two lakh Gram Panchayats by March next year.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said a total of over 1,28,000 Gram Panchayats have been made Service Ready till 7th of this month.

The Minister said, BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband and internet connectivity to all 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats in the country.

Mr Prasad said, as of now, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in around 45,000 Gram Panchayats and services are being provided in over 16,000 Gram Panchayats. The Minister said, the internet is being currently accessed mainly through mobile wireless 2G, 3G and 4G technologies which at present cover more than 95 per cent population of the country.