Jyotiraditya Scindia: Commitment to Connect ‘Vibrant Villages’ of the Northeast and Remote Areas

Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia while responding to questions in the Lok Sabha yesterday, highlighted the government’s commitment to extend connectivity to all parts of the country, including the remotest areas.

Empowering the First Villages of the Ashtalakshmi States

Addressing connectivity challenges in the Northeast, Union Minister Shri Scindia specifically mentioned remote regions such as Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh. He said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has transformed the mindset from viewing the “last villages” to recognizing them as “India’s first villages” under the Vibrant Village Programme. The government remains fully committed to digitally empowering these regions.

He also spoke about working in coordination with the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh and the Member concerned of Parliament to address environmental and geographical challenges, including those related to wildlife sanctuary and Right of Way (RoW) issues.

Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, while replying to a supplementary question, said that India has achieved near-universal 4G coverage across its villages and is witnessing one of the fastest 5G rollouts globally. He informed that out of nearly 6,40,000 villages in the country, about 6,31,000 villages have been covered with 4G services by both private operators and BSNL. The remaining 10,000 villages are being covered under ongoing 4G saturation projects and are expected to be connected in the coming months.Dr Pemmasani further stated that BSNL has deployed 1,00,000 towers using indigenous technology, particularly in areas where private players find limited techno-commercial viability. The Minister also noted that approximately 5,00,000 villages have already been covered with 5G services, marking one of the fastest 5G rollouts in the world.