DBN, GFGNL, and BSNL Sign Addendum for Rs.5,629 Crore BharatNet Rollout in Gujarat

 DBN, GFGNL, and BSNL Sign Addendum for Rs.5,629 Crore BharatNet Rollout in Gujarat

• Who: Digital Bharat Nidhi [DBN] under DoT + Govt of Gujarat + Gujarat Fibre Grid Network Ltd [GFGNL] + BSNL.
• What: Addendum for Amended BharatNet Programme [ABP] in Gujarat under State-led model.
• Outlay: Rs 5,629 Crore.
• Venue: Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Signatories: P. Bharathi [Secy, Dept of Science & Tech, GoG] and Dinesh Kumar Garg [DDG, ABP Implementation-I, DoT].
• Implementation: GFGNL across 14,287 Gram Panchayats, 5 lakh+ rural home fibre connections, 3,895 villages on demand basis.
• About BharatNet: Launched as NOFN in 2011, renamed BharatNet in 2015. Aims to connect ∼2.5 lakh GPs with high-speed broadband.
• About DBN: Earlier called USOF [Universal Service Obligation Fund].
• UPSC Relevance: GS3 - Infrastructure, Digital India, Rural Development.