Discuss the significance of the State-Led Model in the implementation of the Amended BharatNet Programme. How does it differ from earlier phases of BharatNet?

Approved by the Union Cabinet in August 2023 and financed through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (successor to the Universal Service Obligation Fund), the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) seeks optical-fibre connectivity to about 2.64 lakh Gram Panchayats on ring topology and demand-driven links to roughly 3.8 lakh non-GP villages [3]. Its State-Led Model, now extended to Jharkhand, marks a shift from centralised execution to cooperative delivery.

Significance of the State-Led Model

• Cooperative federalism in infrastructure: the state government becomes a co-owner of rollout rather than a recipient, as in the Jharkhand agreement among DBN–DoT, the state government, JDICL, BSNL and JCNL [4].
• State SPVs as delivery vehicles: dedicated companies such as APSFL in Andhra Pradesh or Jharkhand's JCNL leverage local right-of-way clearances, land records and district administration [1].
• Shared accountability: multi-signatory agreements distribute obligations across Centre, state and PSU, addressing the execution delays and idle-fibre problem of earlier phases.
• Convergence with state e-governance: fibre integrates with state data networks, CSCs and DBT delivery — critical in Jharkhand's tribal and LWE-affected blocks, where connectivity underpins telemedicine, e-education and welfare access.
• Operational continuity: the model funds not merely laying fibre but ten-year operation and maintenance, correcting the "build-and-abandon" weakness [3].

Departure from earlier phases

• Phase-I relied largely on central agencies (BBNL/BSNL) with states as passive beneficiaries; Phase-II under this model makes eight states — Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana — implementing partners [3].
• Funding now flows through the statutory Digital Bharat Nidhi under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, not the erstwhile USOF.
• Technology upgrade: ring topology with MPLS replaces vulnerable point-to-point links, improving redundancy [3].
• Emphasis shifts from kilometres of fibre laid to usable last-mile bandwidth, with Gujarat's operationalisation demonstrating the template [2].

Rural broadband is today an enabler of rights — to education, health and entitlements. If states sustain utilisation alongside creation, the State-Led Model can convert BharatNet from a connectivity project into the backbone of inclusive digital governance envisaged under Digital India.