Kochi: The UPA Government was committed to
ensuring that every single panchayat in the country had access
to broadband service by 2012, Union Minister Sachin Pilot said
today.
"Internet penetration in India today was eight per cent.
Once every single panchayat has access to broadband, the
government`s functioning will change dramatically," he told
reporters here.
In terms of telecommunication, the mobile revolution had
truly changed the way India was being connected today, he
said, adding "In the month of March, we have added two crore
new mobile connections in India."
Tele-density in big cities like Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai
was in the range of 120 and 140 percent, while in rural India
it was still 23 and 24 percent, he said.
He said there was wide gap between tele-density in rural
and urban areas. To bridge this gap, BSNL and Government PSUs
were leaving no stone unturned to install infrastructure and
mobile towers in the North East, in Kashmir valley, in
tribal areas, in Naxal affected and in border areas, so that
these people were made a part of the information and
communication revolution, he said.
Referring to Kerala, he said 1,268 mobile towers would be
added in the current financial year and for Ernakulam district
alone there would be 167 new mobile towers.
"BSNL has already provided the 3G service and currently
there are 53,000 3G connections in the state.The idea was to
reach out to small towns and villages because private
operators sometimes hesitate in going to non-profitable
areas," he added.
The Congress leader who was here in connection with the
Youth Congress membership drive. He said youth Congress
organisational elections were conducted successfully in Tamil
Nadu, Punjab and Uttarakhand, adding in Tamil Nadu, about 15
lakh people had enrolled as members.
-PTI
