BharatNet:India's Ambitious Internet Project Remains Unfinished
The Indian government's vision to connect every village with broadband through the BharatNet program has been a cornerstone of its digital empowerment strategy. Despite launching in 2011 with a lofty goal of providing internet access to rural India, BharatNet remains far from complete. By January 2025, only 1.99 lakh out of 6.5 lakh villages, or just 30.4%, had broadband access. This article examines the reasons behind the persistent delays, inefficiencies, and underperformance of BharatNet, focusing on funding, infrastructure issues, and the impact on critical sectors like education, healthcare, and governance.
The Vision and Evolution of BharatNet
BharatNet’s roots trace back to the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) initiative, which began in 2011. The government aimed to connect all gram panchayats (village councils) via fiber-optic cables. In 2012, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) was established to oversee the project. The original target was to extend internet connectivity to every gram panchayat by 2017, offering affordable broadband ranging from 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps. However, BharatNet’s progress has been slow, and several deadlines—2014, 2015, 2019, and 2023—have been missed.
The BharatNet initiative is divided into three phases:
Phase I (2011–2014) aimed to connect 100,000 gram panchayats by 2014 but achieved only 58 connections by that deadline.
Phase II (2015–2023) expanded the target to an additional 150,000 gram panchayats but reached only 2.13 lakh gram panchayats by the extended deadline of August 2023.
Phase III (2023–2025) focuses on connecting the remaining villages using public-private partnerships and innovative approaches. The goal is to achieve full coverage by 2025, but experts are skeptical.
Infrastructure Issues and Project Execution
One of the core challenges BharatNet faces is infrastructure development. BBNL initially planned to partner with telecom providers like BSNL to lay fiber optics to gram panchayats, leaving last-mile connectivity (bringing the internet to individual households) to local contractors. However, rural areas lacked the necessary telecom providers, shifting the project’s focus from middle-mile connectivity to last-mile delivery.
According to a 2024 study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), despite building an extensive network, only 1.19% of the available bandwidth was being used in rural areas. Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections reached only 2% of rural households by February 2023, and only 6% of the installed WiFi hotspots were active.
Common Service Centres (CSCs), responsible for maintaining the BharatNet infrastructure, struggled to function effectively, further hampering the project's success. Additionally, there was no dedicated funding for maintaining the infrastructure, affecting the quality and consistency of services. The government later approved the Amended BharatNet Program, ensuring 10 years of operation and maintenance through a Centralised Network Operating Centre (CNOC) and payments based on Service Quality Agreements (SLAs).
Underutilization of Funding
BharatNet’s primary source of funding is the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), now known as the Digital Bharat Nidhi. Despite accumulating a corpus of ₹171,588.7 crore, only about half had been spent by August 2023. This underutilization is attributed to the inability of states to efficiently absorb and execute the funds. Outsourcing to public sector units like BSNL and frequent project scope changes have further delayed progress.
Deepak Maheshwari, a Senior Policy Advisor at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), noted that the real challenge lies in the state's limited capacity to execute such a large-scale project. Issues like limited power supply in rural areas, right-of-way disputes, and contractor inefficiencies have further compounded the problem.
Challenges in Critical Sectors: Education, Healthcare, and Governance
The delays in BharatNet’s rollout have significantly impacted critical sectors such as education, healthcare, and e-governance. As per government data, only 24% of government schools had internet access by 2024. This lack of connectivity left rural students particularly disadvantaged during the Covid-19 pandemic when education shifted online.
In the healthcare sector, unreliable internet access has slowed the implementation of digital health initiatives like telemedicine and electronic medical records under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. In states like Haryana, health workers still rely on both paper-based and digital records due to inconsistent internet availability, leading to increased workloads and delays in delivering healthcare services.
E-governance has also suffered. Many marginalized communities struggle to access essential services due to inadequate Aadhaar centers and poor infrastructure. For example, in many tribal areas, non-institutional births make it difficult to obtain Aadhaar enrollment, which is required for accessing public services. The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) also faces challenges as workers lose wages due to poor connectivity for attendance recording.
Regional Inequality and Accountability
One of BharatNet’s biggest hurdles is regional inequality. While some regions are making progress, others, particularly the northeastern states, lag far behind. As of 2023, less than 60% of gram panchayats in the northeast were service-ready, compared to the national average of 79%.
The lack of a robust monitoring and accountability mechanism has further delayed the project. Although BharatNet mentions third-party assessments, there are no publicly available audit reports to verify the project's effectiveness or track its progress.
The Way Forward: What Needs to Change
For BharatNet to succeed, several key issues need to be addressed. First, better coordination between state governments, public sector units, and private contractors is essential. Second, more focus should be placed on ensuring last-mile connectivity, which is crucial for delivering internet access directly to homes in rural areas. This will require partnerships with village-level entrepreneurs and a public-private partnership (PPP) model that incentivizes local engagement.
Improved planning and execution mechanisms are critical. Instead of annual budget allocations, a more stable three-to-five-year funding model could provide the necessary stability for long-term infrastructure projects. Moreover, greater attention should be given to raising awareness and improving digital literacy among rural populations. The success of BharatNet depends not just on providing internet access but also on ensuring that rural communities can utilize digital services effectively.
Conclusion
The BharatNet project, despite its ambitious vision, has been plagued by delays, funding issues, and inadequate infrastructure. As a result, critical sectors like education, healthcare, and e-governance have been adversely affected, particularly in rural and marginalized communities. However, with better planning, funding stability, and increased focus on last-mile connectivity, BharatNet can still achieve its goal of bringing digital empowerment to India’s villages. The project remains a work in progress, but with concerted efforts and strategic reforms, the dream of a digitally connected rural India can become a reality.
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