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CentralDigital InfrastructureUnder ConstructionDelayed

BharatNet

A national rural broadband programme to connect gram panchayats and villages through optical fibre and related digital infrastructure.

Estimated cost
₹1,39,579 cr
Reported spend
Not available
Announced
25 Oct 2011
Last verified
1 May 2026
Schedule check

Compared with the first announced target

BharatNet has been restructured and extended multiple times beyond the original NOFN/BharatNet target, so it is tracked as delayed.

Delayed
First target
Dec 2016
Current target
Dec 2027
Revised target
Not listed
Public relevance

Gram panchayats, rural households, schools, health centres, local businesses and digital public service users

Timeline

3 events
25 Oct 2011
NOFN approved

The National Optical Fibre Network was approved as the predecessor to BharatNet.

1 Apr 2015
Recast as BharatNet

The programme was renamed/restructured as BharatNet.

4 Aug 2023
Amended programme approved

Cabinet approved an amended BharatNet programme with a larger outlay.

Risk notes

  • Long-running rollout delays
  • Last-mile adoption and maintenance challenges
  • State and implementing-agency coordination risk

Official/public sources

Use these links to inspect the underlying public sources for project details and updates.

Citation quality snapshot
Source mix
2 sources · Government, Other public source
Verification freshness
Fresh

Source-linked record. Review the linked sources before relying on a claim.

Last source review was 46 days ago; still inspect linked sources before relying on any material claim.

Claim coverage check
Cost / funding
Review needed

Cost, funding or spend claims are visible; add/label an official budget, sanction, tender, award, DPR or financial update source.

Schedule / timeline
Review needed

Timeline and target-date claims are visible; add/label a source that specifically supports the first target, current target or revised completion claim.

Current status
Covered

At least one source label or source type appears to support the current project status or update claim.

Linked source labels: Department of Telecommunications: BharatNet updates

Source specificity review needed

Some links are broad homepages, sections, or aggregators. They remain visible for transparency, but should be refreshed to exact releases, tenders, PDFs, dashboard pages or articles before using them as final evidence.

  • medium priority
    BharatNet: official programme portal

    Generic homepage or section URL; prefer the exact project page, release, tender, PDF, order, dashboard view or article URL.

  • medium priority
    Department of Telecommunications: BharatNet updates

    Generic homepage or section URL; prefer the exact project page, release, tender, PDF, order, dashboard view or article URL.

public-sourceBharatNet: official programme portalPublisher/domain: bharatnet.bbnl.nic.inNeeds exact sourcepublic-sourceDepartment of Telecommunications: BharatNet updatesPublisher/domain: dot.gov.inNeeds exact source