India News | Govt Allocates Additional Rs 19,041 Cr for Broadband Connectivity in Villages Under BharatNet

New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) The government on Monday allocated an additional Rs 19,041 crore to provide broadband connectivity in all villages under the BharatNet project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 15, 2020 announced that all villages will be connected with broadband in 1,000 days.

Additional Rs 19,041 crore is being provided so that the commitment that in 1,000 days from 2020 all villages will have broadband connectivity is fulfilled, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while announcing stimulus measures for various sectors.

"Total outlay for this Bharatnet project goes up to Rs 61,109 crore," she added.

She further said Rs 42,068 crore has been already utilised for reaching 1,56,223 gram panchayats that are now ready for broadband services as of May 31.

"Now with this additional Rs 19,041 crore we should be able to complete the rest," Sitharaman said.

Under the BharatNet project, the government initially targeted to cover all 2.52 lakh gram panchayats with high-speed broadband services.

The Prime Minister later announced expansion of the project to cover all villages as well.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)