Universal connectivity and Digital India initiatives reaching to all areas, including tier-2/3 cities and villages
Under the Digital India Initiative, the government has taken several initiatives to connect not only Metros but also tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well as rural and remote areas.
As of March 2024, out of a total Internet Subscribers of 954.40 million in India, there are 398.35 million Rural Internet Subscribers. Further, as of April 2024, out of 6,44,131 villages in the country (villages data as per Registrar General of India), 6,12,952 villages are having 3G/4G mobile connectivity. Thus, 95.15 % villages are having access to internet.
The total internet subscribers in the country have increased from 251.59 million as on March 2014 to 954.40 million in March 2024 at Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.26%.
Last 10 year have seen a vast expansion of telecom network covering all corners of Bharat including tier-2/3 cities and villages:
| 31st March 2014 | 31st March 2024 | % increase | |
| Definition of Broadband | >= 512 Kbps | >= 2 Mbps | 300 |
| India ranking in avg Internet Download Speed [Ookla speed test] | 130 | 16 | Improved by 114 ranks |
| Average Download Speed (Mbps) [Ookla speed test] | 4.18 | 105.85 | 2432.29 |
| Internet Subscribers (in mn) | 251.59 | 954.40 | 279.34 |
| Total Subscribers (in mn) | 933 | 1199.28 | 28.54 |
| Urban Tele-density | 145.78% | 133.72% | -8.27 |
| Rural Tele-density | 43.96% | 59.19% | 34.64 |
| Overall Tele-density | 75.23% | 85.69% | 13.90 |
| Average Data Cost/GB (in Rs) | 268.97 | 9.18 | -96.58 |
| Average Data consumption (in GB) | 0.26 | 20.27 | 7696 |
With BharatNet project, it is aimed to connect all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country with Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connectivity, so as to provide broadband services to the rural households. Out of total 2.22 lakh Gram Panchayats envisaged under the two phases BharatNet, 2.13 lakh Gram Panchayats have been made service ready. Also, the Amended BharatNet Program aims to provide Optical Fibre connectivity to 42,000 uncovered GPs & remaining 3.84 lakh villages on demand basis and to provide 1.5 crore Rural Home Fibre connections.
A total of 35,680 uncovered villages/habitations in the country are being covered under the ongoing USOF Schemes. All these villages/habitations are located in rural, remote, inaccessible areas and are in difficult terrain like hilly area, dense forest, etc. Under different USOF Funded schemes around 9,000 uncovered villages have been covered with 4G connectivity by expenditure of about 11,000 crore.
Government has also taken various other initiatives to enhance internet connectivity in the country. These include:
- Amended licensing conditions in August 2022 to facilitate installation of mobile towers in border areas.
- Issuance of Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules 2016 and amendment rules from time to time for faster and easier rollout of telecom infrastructure.
- The Right of Way (RoW) permissions for the installation of mobile towers have been facilitated in border areas by launch of Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal for faster RoW approvals.
Under Digital India Initiative, various technology-led startups and innovation schemes like Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0), Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS), domain specific Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) have been undertaken with a total funding outlay of around Rs 800 crore in the country including tier-2 and tier-3 cities. In addition, Government had launched India BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Promotion Scheme (IBPS) & North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS) by setting up of 246 units of BPO operations across 27 States/UTs of the country distributed across 104 small cities/towns.