Amended BharatNet Program Operationalises in Gujarat under State-Led Model

Amended BharatNet Program Operationalises in Gujarat under State-Led Model

The Government of India through Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), today signed a quadripartite Agreement with Government of Gujrat, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Gujarat Fibre Grid Network Limited (GFGNL) under the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP). The agreement was signed in presence of Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom), GoI, Shri Pankaj Joshi, Chief Secretary, Gujarat, Shri Niraj Verma, Administrator, Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), DoT and Ms. Mona K. Khandhar, Principal Secretary, DST Gujarat at Gandhinagar, The Agreement enables handing over of all the BharatNet works, activities and responsibilities including all related and incidental matters in Gujarat to GFGNL and enables GFGNL to undertake Amended BharatNet Program schemes.

This agreement marks a major milestone in Gujarat’s ongoing strides in rural digital infrastructure and comes after the state received in-principle approval of ₹5631 crore for capital expenditure and 10 years of operations and maintenance. Gujarat holds the distinction of being the first among eight states in the country undertaking BharatNet under State-led model and to secure approval for the Amended BharatNet Program.

Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the DBN and state government aims to achieve more than 98% service uptime even in the remotest parts of Gujarat through upgraded and future-ready digital connectivity infrastructure.