Every Panchayat To Be Linked To Broadband Network

The government plans to connect every panchayat to a broadband network in the next three years and expects to reach 40 percent rural tele-density in the next five years.

The initiative is part of its target to improve infrastructure in the villages under its Bharat Nirman (Build India) programme.

Announcing the government’s plans at a joint sitting of the new parliament, President Pratibha Patil said today, “The rural telecommunication target will be set at reaching 40 percent rural tele-density in the next five years.”

She added that the government envisaged “expanding broadband coverage to connect every panchayat to a broadband network in three years.”

Patil said, “The scheme for common service centres or e-kiosks will be suitably re-positioned to be a network of panchayat-level Bharat Nirman Common Service Centres to provide government services to citizens in rural areas.”

The president also said new targets would be set up for rural electrification, irrigation projects and road connectivity in the rural areas. (IANS)