New Delhi is witnessing a digital revolution, and at its heart lies the BharatNet project, one of the world’s largest government-led connectivity initiatives. Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, highlighted this transformative effort during a question hour in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Scindia emphasized that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, BharatNet is playing a pivotal role in closing the digital divide and extending broadband access to rural India. Over the past eleven years, the country has seen unprecedented growth in mobile and broadband connectivity, marking a historic digital transformation.
The minister detailed how BharatNet deploys optical fiber cables (OFC) to connect gram panchayats. Out of 2.56 lakh gram panchayats nationwide, approximately 2.14 lakh have been brought online under Phases I and II, with an estimated cost of Rs 42,000 crore.
Mobile subscribers have surged from 93 crore in 2014 to 1.2 billion today, with penetration rising from 75% to 92%. Internet users have jumped from 25 crore to over 1 billion, with penetration increasing from 20% to 71.8%. Broadband subscribers now exceed 1 billion, up from 6 crore, and average fixed broadband speed stands at 61.55 Mbps.
Looking ahead, Scindia outlined the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0, launched on April 1, 2025. Targets for 2030 include boosting national average fixed broadband download speed to 100 Mbps. By December 2025, 42,000 villages achieved 95% uptime with OFC connectivity, with plans to extend this to 2.7 lakh villages by 2030. Rural internet subscribers per 100 population currently at 47.16 aim to reach 60 by the decade’s end.
This ambitious push not only democratizes digital access but also empowers rural economies, education, and governance, ensuring no Indian is left behind in the digital age.