Budget 2018: Govt earmarks Rs 100-bn for telecom infrastructure

500,000 wi-fi hotspots to be set up for rural citizens

In order to provide broadband connectivity to 50 million rural citizens, the government plans to set up 500,000 wi-fi hotspots. The government has earmarked Rs 100 billion in 2018-19 for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure in the country.

Presenting the Union Budget 2018-19 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said task of connecting 100,000 gram panchayats through high-speed optical fiber network has been completed under phase-I of the Bharatnet project.

“This has enabled broadband access to over 200 million (20 crore) rural Indians in about two hundred fifty thousand villages (250,000),” the Finance Minister said.