India focuses on rural digital connectivity, broadband expansion, says Minister Pemmasani

India is expanding rural digital connectivity through BharatNet and Samriddh Gram Centres to improve access to healthcare, education, banking and public services, Union Minister Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said during an interaction with Indian community leaders in Qatar.

Dubai: India is focusing on extending digital access to rural areas to enhance connectivity as part of country’s initiative to improve digital inclusion and support access to online public services, education and financial systems and support remote working culture, according to union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani.

Speaking with Indian community leaders in Qatar on Wednesday evening at a reception, the minister explained that India’s digital strategy aimed to make technology accessible and affordable in the growth engine.

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The mister, who was himself NRI, is in Qatar to participate at International Telecommunication union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26), despite hectic busy schedule visiting minister patiently meeting with Telugu community leaders.

Dr. Pemmasani urged the Indian Diaspora to connect not only digitally back home but physically also whenever they visit India. He told Telugu community members that the flagship project of Fiber Grid in Andhra Pradesh has been supported.

He said that many cellular towers in the country were dysfunctional and facing maintenance issues that hampered the connectivity and his ministry is focusing on functioning of towers that were raised from 20,000 to 50,000 and planning to fully operational 2,70,000 towers in the next two years.

The minister said that India has continued to expand rural broadband infrastructure through projects linked to BharatNet. He outlined the role of Samriddh Gram Centres in providing access to healthcare services, agricultural advice, banking support and government documentation for rural communities.

Dr. Pemmasani said that the Narendra Modi government continued to expand rural broadband infrastructure through projects linked to BharatNet with the investment of $15 billion as part of broader efforts to close service gaps between urban and rural areas.

Earlier in the day, during the ITU conference, Dr. Pemmasani noted that 2.2 billion people globally remain offline, reinforcing the need for expanded connectivity infrastructure in developing economies. “Cyber threats do not respect borders, and neither should our cooperation. Learning from each other’s best practices makes all of us stronger”, he added.