To Accelerate Digital Connectivity and Infrastructure meeting held with State IT Ministers and Secretaries

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, organised a high-level Roundtable Conference with State Government IT Ministers and Secretaries on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026. The Roundtable was chaired by Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, along with Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Union Minister of State for Communications & Rural Development, and Shri Amit Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications.

Addressing the meeting, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said, “Telecom may be a Union subject, but digital infrastructure is built on State soil making our States true co-owners in driving National Broadband Mission 2.0. To realize Viksit Bharat @2047, we must act as Team India by accelerating Right of Way approvals to unlock SASCI capital incentives, pushing BharatNet and 4G saturation to the last mile, securing networks through Sanchar Saathi, and scaling Samriddh Gram so that connectivity meaningfully transforms every citizen’s life.”

The Roundtable also reviewed progress under the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) and the 4G Saturation Project. The ABP is aimed at upgrading the existing BharatNet network, creating incremental network infrastructure for new Gram Panchayats (GPs), connecting non-GP villages on demand and providing 1.5 crore fibre internet connections. As of August 2026, 55,780 km of Optical Fibre Cable had been laid and 28,700 Gram Panchayats had been upgraded and connected under ABP.(UPDATED ON 8TH OCT 2026)