Srinagar, Jul 22 (KNO): The Centre informed the Lok Sabha that Rs 240.16 crore has been utilised under the BharatNet project in Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, during the last three financial years (2023-24 to 2025-26) for strengthening broadband connectivity in rural areas.
Replying to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Communications, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that BharatNet has been approved in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats and villages across the country.
The ministry said that an amount of Rs 11,722.26 crore was utilised nationwide against the final budget allocation of Rs 17,000 crore during the three financial years from 2023-24 to 2025-26. Of this, Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, accounted for Rs 240.16 crore in fund utilisation.
The government further informed Parliament that under BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II, 2.14 lakh Gram Panchayats have been connected across the country. It added that the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP), approved on August 4, 2023, aims to upgrade the existing network, extend connectivity to the remaining Gram Panchayats and provide operation and maintenance support for ten years. As of June 2026, 13,494 Gram Panchayats have been upgraded under the programme.
The ministry also said that fibre cables deployed under the Amended BharatNet Programme conform to standards prescribed by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), Department of Telecommunications—(KNO)