⇒ The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, accorded approval for revised implementation strategy of BharatNet through Public Private Partnership mode in 16 States of the country. BharatNet will now extend upto all inhabited villages beyond Gram Panchayats.
The revised strategy also includes creation, upgradation, operation, maintenance and utilization of BharatNet.
The estimated maximum viability gap funding support upto Rs 19,041 crores approved for implementation of BharatNet under PPP Model in 16 States.
These 16 states are:
Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
An estimated 3.61 lakh villages including Gram Panchayats will be covered under this.
The Cabinet also accorded in principle approval for extending BharatNet to cover all inhabited villages in the remaining States and UTs.