It has been over two decades since the cabinet cleared the BharatNet project, earlier known as National Optical Fibre Network. However, progress of the programme has been slow. While the government had set the target of connecting 100,000 gram panchayats by 2013, it took another four years to achieve this target in December 2017. Progress under the current administration has improved, but the government has again missed its targets.
On December 30, 2018, the prime minister had laid the foundation for the 2,312-kilometers long submarine optical fibre cable project connecting Chennai - Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI).
Broadband connectivity to villages has been lagging, with delay in laying of an optical fibre network up to gram panchayats
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is learnt to have approached Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for additional funds to carry out schemes committed under Universal Services Obligation fund scheme.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Thursday quashed the markets regulator Sebi's order imposing a fine of Rs 7 crore on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the dark-fibre case. Additionally, the tribunal has set aside a fine of Rs 5 crore levied by Sebi on the exchange's former official Anand Subramanian. Further, it has partly set aside the regulator's order against former MD and CEO of NSE Chitra Ramkrishna, ex-official Ravi Varanasi and a few stock brokers, among others.
UP East tops number of rural internet users; Urban internet subscriber base stands at 231 million, rural at 112 million
IMD is preparing a concept paper on narrowing its grid resolution from 22 sq km to 10 sq km.
Capital markets regulator Sebi has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Jayant Bhusare, who was one of the executive of Sampark Infotainment, in a case pertaining to the irregularities in the NSE's 'Dark Fibre' case. He has been directed to pay the fine within 45 days, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in its order. On Tuesday, the regulator had levied a fine totaling Rs 44 crore on 18 entities, including NSE, Sampark, certain brokers and their respective past and present employees in the same matter.
In the third infrastructure sharing agreement between firms run by brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries' telecom arm has agreed to use Reliance Communication Ltd's intra-city fibre network to roll out 4G services.
According to sources in the know, Anil Ambani-led RCom will be providing all infrastructure - towers, fibre, backhaul as well as its national and international long distance facilities-- to RIL's high-speed broadband services.
After record rains wreaked havoc in Jammu and Kashmir over the past two days, the death toll in related incidents rose to 41, most of them victims of the landslide on a Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route, while there was some let-up in the showers on Wednesday, allowing relief efforts to pick up pace.
Relentless heavy rain led to a landslide on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hill on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least five people and injuring 14, officials said.
Kavach 3.2 version is being installed on approved high-density routes, the railway officials said, adding that upgrading and installation of the latest version on new routes will go on simultaneously to cover a wider railway network in a shorter period.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country needs to focus on imparting skills to its young population in order to compete with China, apart from bringing revolutionary changes in agriculture and energy sectors.
A DoT panel has suggested completely opening up the telecom sector to foreign direct investment, a move which is expected to bring in fresh funds into the industry that is facing a financial crisis.
'The next decade will be even more transformative,' says Prime Minister Modi. 'We are moving from digital governance to global digital leadership.'
The government expects to realise Rs 35,100 crore from the partial sale of Bharatnet fibre assets and around 13,500 mobile towers owned by state-run telecom firms as part of its national monetisation pipeline released on Monday. Government think tank Niti Aayog has valued over 2.86 lakh kilometre of optical fibre assets laid by BBNL and BSNL under rural broadband project Bharatnet at Rs 26,300 crore, according to the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) document. According to the document, BSNL's 13,567 mobile tower assets and MTNL's 1,350 towers have been valued at Rs 8,800 crore.
Sebi has imposed a penalty totalling Rs 44 crore on 18 entities, including the National Stock Exchange, its business development officer Ravi Varanasi, former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna and her adviser Subramanian Anand along with certain stock brokers in the 'dark fibre' case.
Ambani says nation on the cusp of a digital revolution
Other than Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal, call centres would come up in Assam, Manipur, Tripura.
Seeks clarification on a few issues such as enhancement of entry fee and performance bank guarantee from telecom regulator
The world's biggest social network Facebook wants to connect more people to internet in India which accounts for the third largest online user base globally after China and the US but has a very low internet penetration growth rate.
Fast paced growth in computer literacy and greater use of data on mobiles will help India's Internet economy grow to $200 billion or 5 per cent of the GDP by 2020.
After 5 yrs, firm's offer to set up private satellites for digital push has seen some interest from Isro
India is ranked below Bhutan and Sri Lanka in terms of broadband penetration, says TRAI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a Rs 100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy. PM Gati Shakti targets to cut logistic costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turnaround time, Modi said at a function to launch the plan. The plan aims to lend more power and speed to projects by connecting all concerned departments on one platform, he said, adding the infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state governments will be designed and executed with a common vision.
What will it take to get India's poor broadband penetration to be seen as a problem and not as a condition, thus enabling real, serious e-commerce to take off in India?
.jpg)
Though the party's pre-poll promises include increasing the focus on technology, this isn't a new idea.
Resignations of Anil Ambani and four other directors were conveyed to the CoC of RCom in its meeting on November 20 and were unanimously rejected.
He made a reference to the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in June this year. "What our jawans can do, what the country can do, the world has seen in Ladakh," he said.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to make this decade a "techade" for India and the push for 5G, semiconductors and transformation through digital services is going to boost the technology sector in the country, industry players said on Monday. Modi, in his speech on the 76th Independence Day, touched upon all-round development of technology in the country, from 5G to push for electronic chips, laying of optical fibre cable (OFC) network across villages and enablement of digital entrepreneurship in villages through Common Services Centres, making the present decade as "techade" for India. Homegrown mobile devices maker Lava International's Chairman and Managing Director Hari Om Rai said electronics and technology sectors create about $4 trillion of revenue.
"Those who ruled for decades since Independence believed Dispur was too distant from Delhi. 'Dilli ab door nahi aapke darwaaze par hai' (Delhi is not far now, it stands at your doorstep," he told a massive gathering.
The development comes a day after RCom posted a consolidated loss of Rs 30,142 crore for July-September 2019 due to provisioning for liabilities after the Supreme Court ruling on statutory dues.
India and Saudi Arabia on Monday decided to expedite implementation of the $50 billion West Coast refinery project, and identified energy, defence, semiconductor and space as areas for intensified cooperation during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees India as a "bright spot" in the global economy and as per the World Bank, India is in a better position to deal with the global headwinds than many other countries. This is because of India's strong "macroeconomic fundamentals", Modi said while virtually addressing the inaugural function of the 7th edition of Invest Madhya Pradesh-Global Investors Summit in Indore. In the past eight years, the government has increased the speed of reforms and removed many hurdles in the way of investments.
Railway Budget is the first indicator of possibly better days
Ailing telecom operator Vodafone Idea has flagged the industry's "unsustainable financial duress" in its latest annual report and hoped that the government would provide the necessary support to address "all structural issues" faced by the sector. In the chairman's letter to shareholders, Himanshu Kapania cited persistent challenges in the operating environment, amid "unsustainable pricing" and "hyper-competition" during FY21. Kapania expressed hope that government will support efforts to generate reasonable returns on massive investments.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Monday announced a Rs 2 lakh crore investment in deploying fifth-generation or 5G telephony with rollout in metro cities by Diwali. Jio, the nation's largest telecom operator, has deployed standalone 5G stack rather than upgrading the existing 4G network, to offer ultra-high speed internet, he said at Reliance Industries' 45th AGM.
The mission - unveiled by Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad -- will enable strengthening of technological infrastructure for education, health, entrepreneurship and development.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances