Amended BharatNet to boost rural telecom infra across Andhra Pradesh: Jyotiraditya Scindia

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) Amended BharatNet is a $16.9 billion (Rs 139,000 crore) publicly-funded programme which will take OFC fibre and broadband to every single village of this country, including in Andhra Pradesh, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday.

A memorandum of cooperation (MoC) has been signed between Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), the Department of Telecommunications, and Andhra Pradesh government for the expedited implementation of the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) in the state.

“What we are doing, in essence, is the democratisation of technology to every single citizen in our country. What technology has done in our generation is to really provide the capability for individual prowess, talent, ambition, and aspiration to reach the world stage,” said Scindia.

Minister of State Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said the memorandum provides a structured and sustainable framework for swift implementation under the state-led model, combining financial support with accountability.

He noted that the partnership will strengthen last-mile connectivity, expand 4G saturation, and ensure that rural citizens benefit from affordable and dependable digital services.

It establishes a broad framework for collaboration between DBN and the state government to facilitate faster rollout of the Amended BharatNet Programme.

The state government will extend full support for expedited implementation, including facilitation of Right of Way (RoW), infrastructure access, and necessary coordination support.

According to the ministry, funding for the project is intended to be provided majorly by DBN along with contributions from the State Government as per mutually agreed arrangements.

The network created under the programme would be effectively utilised by the state government to maximize socio-economic impact.

The Centre has approved financial support of Rs 2,432 crore for implementation of the programme in Andhra Pradesh.

It is expected to facilitate over five lakh rural home fibre connections with financial support from the government, significantly enhance digital governance, improve delivery of citizen-centric services, and promote online education, digital payments, e-governance, and telemedicine across rural and remote areas of the state.

–IANS

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