Agreement Signed between DBN (Digital Bharat Nidhi) - Department of Telecommunications; Government of Maharashtra; MDIL; BSNL & MahaIT for Implementation of Amended BharatNet Program in Maharashtra

1. At a Glance

• Five-party agreement for rolling out the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) in Maharashtra under the State-led model. The parties are Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) of DoT, the Government of Maharashtra, MahaNet Digital Infrastructure Limited (MDIL), BSNL and Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited (MahaIT) [1].
• Scope: 28,237 Gram Panchayats (GPs) plus on-demand connectivity to 15,799 villages, with ₹10,520 crore of central financial support [1].
• Why it matters for UPSC: It touches rural digital infrastructure, cooperative federalism (Centre funds, State implements), the conversion of USOF into DBN under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, and last-mile delivery of e-governance, telemedicine and digital payments [1][2].

2. Why in the News

• 1 Oct 2026: The agreement was signed at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi for ABP implementation in Maharashtra under the State-led model [1].
• Headline figures: ₹10,520 crore of GoI support; 28,237 GPs; 15,799 villages on demand; 9 lakh+ rural home fibre connections expected [1].
• It is part of a series of similar State-led ABP agreements: Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand [3][4][5][6].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2011: Launched as the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) [2].
• 25.02.2012: Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 as the SPV that executes the project [2][7].
• 2015: NOFN was renamed BharatNet [2].
• 30.04.2016: The Telecom Commission approved implementation in three phases [2]:
• Phase I: about 1 lakh GPs using existing infrastructure; completed December 2017 [2].
• Phase II: about 1.5 lakh more GPs using optical fibre, radio and satellite, in collaboration with States and private entities [2].

• Phase III: future-proofing the network (5G integration, more bandwidth, last-mile connectivity) [2].

• Phase I + II cost: The Cabinet approved ₹42,068 crore (excluding taxes). ₹39,825 crore had been disbursed by 31.12.2023 [2].

• 4 Aug 2023: The Union Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Program. Its aim is to upgrade, consolidate and expand the network to all GPs and to villages on demand [1].
• Outlay: ₹1,39,579 crore [2][7].

• Coverage: 2.64 lakh GPs in ring topology and about 3.8 lakh non-GP villages on demand [2][7].

• Telecommunications Act, 2023: The USOF (set up under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003, effective 01.04.2002) became the Digital Bharat Nidhi [1].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Programme	Amended BharatNet Program (ABP); Cabinet approval 4 Aug 2023 [1]
National outlay	₹1,39,579 crore [2]
National target	2.64 lakh GPs (ring); about 3.8 lakh non-GP villages on demand [7]
Key ABP features	Block-to-GP ring topology; IP-MPLS routers at Blocks and GPs; 10-year O&M; power backup; Remote Fibre Monitoring System (RFMS) [2]
PMA	BSNL is the single Project Management Agency for O&M of the entire network [2]
Funding body	Digital Bharat Nidhi, the successor to USOF [1][2]
DBN status	Attached office of DoT, Ministry of Communications [1]
DBN legal basis	USOF created under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 (w.e.f. 01.04.2002); renamed DBN under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1]
Maharashtra implementing agency	MahaNet Digital Infrastructure Limited (MDIL) [1]
Maharashtra GP scope	28,237 in total [1]: • 15,171 Phase I GPs upgraded from linear to ring topology • 12,740 Phase II GPs • 326 newly created GPs
Villages (on demand)	15,799 [1]
GoI support (Maharashtra)	₹10,520 crore [1]
Home fibre connections expected	9 lakh+ [1]
Venue / date	Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, 1 Oct 2026 [1]
Officials present	Shyamal Misra (Administrator, DBN); Virendra Singh (Secretary, Dept of Electronics, IT & AI, GoM); Buveneswari S. (MD, MahaIT); Papa Sudhakara Rao (Director-EB, BSNL); Dinesh Kumar Garg (DDG, ABP Implementation-I, DoT) [1]
Other DBN schemes	BharatNet; 4G Saturation; mobile services in Aspirational Districts, LWE areas, Himalayan & Border areas, Islands, and the North East [1]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• ₹10,520 crore of central capital goes into rural fibre in Maharashtra. More than 9 lakh FTTH connections could open up rural markets for broadband [1].
• BharatNet works as an open-access network. Bandwidth and dark fibre are leased to telecom operators, ISPs, cable operators and content providers, so it is a shared public utility rather than a retail service [2].
• Linking GPs to digital payments and commerce supports rural entrepreneurship and financial inclusion [1][2].

Social

• Targeted services include e-governance, online education, telemedicine, digital payments and citizen-centric services in rural and remote areas [1].
• Covering villages on demand pushes the network beyond GP headquarters to habitations that are still underserved, which narrows the urban–rural digital divide [1][2].
• Complementary scheme: PMGDISHA for digital literacy, with 6.39 crore people trained by 31.03.2024 [2].

Scientific / Technological

• Linear to ring topology for the 15,171 Phase I GPs: a ring gives a redundant path, so a single fibre cut does not isolate a GP [1][2].
• Other technical features: IP-MPLS routing, RFMS for fault detection, and power backup, all aimed at network uptime. Gujarat's rollout committed to 98% uptime [2][3].

Ethical / Governance (Federalism)

• Under the State-led model, the Centre funds through DBN, a State SPV (MDIL) executes, a State IT body (MahaIT) participates, and BSNL acts as PMA. This is a working example of cooperative federalism [1][2].
• Including 326 newly created GPs keeps the network in step with changes in panchayat boundaries [1].

Administrative

• Multiple agencies (DBN, GoM, MDIL, BSNL, MahaIT) raise coordination and accountability risks across execution and O&M.
• The 10-year O&M commitment tackles BharatNet's long-standing weakness: GPs that were "service-ready" but whose links were not working [2].
• Earlier phases ran over time. Phase II was still "ongoing" as of April 2025, which is why execution milestones matter [2].

Legal / Constitutional

• DBN's statutory base moved from the Indian Telegraph Act framework to the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1].
• The project supports Gram Panchayat e-governance, in line with Part IX (Panchayats) devolution objectives [2].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• Gujarat: first of eight States under the State-led model to get ABP approval. A quadripartite agreement was signed with GoG, BSNL and GFGNL; ₹5,631 crore in-principle approval for capex plus 10-year O&M; all 14,654 GPs with 98% uptime [3].
• Andhra Pradesh: agreement signed with GoAP, APBIL, BSNL and APSFL [6].
• Chhattisgarh: agreement signed with GoCG, CSBIL, BSNL and CHiPS; ₹3,942 crore GoI support [5].
• Jharkhand: agreement signed with GoJ, JDICL, BSNL and JCNL; ₹1,684 crore GoI support [4].
• 1 Oct 2026, Maharashtra: five-party agreement; ₹10,520 crore, the largest of the State allocations covered in these notes [1][3][4][5].
• Status as of 19 Mar 2025: 2,18,347 GPs service-ready nationally and 12,21,014 FTTH connections commissioned [2].

7. Prelims Hooks

• ABP was approved by the Union Cabinet on 4 August 2023 [1].
• The national ABP outlay is ₹1,39,579 crore [2].
• ABP targets 2.64 lakh GPs in ring topology, plus non-GP villages on demand [2].
• BSNL is the single Project Management Agency (PMA) for O&M under ABP [2].
• ABP includes 10-year O&M, IP-MPLS and a Remote Fibre Monitoring System (RFMS) [2].
• The Maharashtra implementing SPV is MahaNet Digital Infrastructure Limited (MDIL) [1].
• Maharashtra scope: 28,237 GPs and 15,799 villages on demand [1].
• Maharashtra GoI support: ₹10,520 crore [1].
• 15,171 Maharashtra Phase I GPs are being upgraded from linear to ring topology [1].
• DBN is an attached office of DoT, Ministry of Communications [1].
• DBN replaced USOF under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. USOF had been set up under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003, w.e.f. 01.04.2002 [1].
• BharatNet began as NOFN in 2011 and was renamed BharatNet in 2015 [2].
• BBNL was incorporated on 25.02.2012 [2].
• BharatNet Phase I (1 lakh GPs) was completed in December 2017 [2].
• Gujarat was the first State to get ABP approval under the State-led model [3].

8. What the CAG Found Just Before This Agreement Was Signed

• The fibre was laid, but most of it does not work
• By November 2025, 96.70% of targeted GPs were declared 'service-ready' [8].
• But only 33.20% of those service-ready GPs were actually working [8].

• So 'service-ready' means the cable reached the GP, not that the GP gets internet.

• Things got worse after an early peak

• Working GPs rose to 59.63% by March 2021 [8].
• The figure then fell to 27.22% by December 2023 [8].

• This happened after the O&M (operation and maintenance, meaning the repair and upkeep work) contract with CSC ended in 2022 and was handed back to BSNL [8].

• Broken cables take weeks to repair

• Fibre cuts cause about 48% of all downtime [8].
• MTTR (Mean Time to Restore, meaning the average days taken to fix a fault) for fibre faults was 17 days [8].

• Many cuts come from other government digging work, such as Jal Jeevan Mission pipelines. DoT itself admitted this [8].

• Very little of the built capacity is used

• Only 17.91% of available bandwidth was used [8].
• Big private telecom companies stopped using BharatNet because of poor service quality [8].

• Of one lakh GPs given Wi-Fi hotspots, only 766 had active hotspots [9].

• Even the money is not being spent

• BharatNet funds have been underused since 2022-23 [9].
• In 2025-26, spending at the revised stage was 75% lower than the budget [9].
• Yet ₹20,000 crore is allocated for 2026-27 [9]. Allocation is not the problem. The ability to spend it well is.

9. Maharashtra's Own Track Record Is Weak

• The 15,171 GPs being 'upgraded' are the ones that failed before
• In Phase I, BSNL built Maharashtra's network [8].
• From March 2023 to July 2024, average GP availability in Maharashtra was only about one-fifth, going by CAG's chart. The target was 98% [8].

• So the ₹10,520 crore is partly paying to fix a network that is already paid for but not working [1][8].

• Ring topology was already tried in Maharashtra, and it did not save the network

• In Phase II, ring topology was used in only four States: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana [8].
• CAG's chart shows Maharashtra's Phase-II GP availability at about zero for June 2023–July 2024 [8].
• Telangana, another ring State, was also near the bottom [8].

• The lesson: a better design on paper does not give uptime by itself.

• The Centre cannot see what is happening in Maharashtra

• A NOC (Network Operations Centre) is the control room that watches the network live.
• By November 2025, only five State NOCs were linked to the Central NOC: Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana and Tamil Nadu [8].
• Maharashtra is not on that list. DBN is paying ₹10,520 crore for a network it cannot yet monitor directly [1][8].

10. What Gujarat and Punjab Did Differently

• Only two States met the 95% uptime benchmark: Gujarat and Punjab [8]
• Gujarat's GP availability ranged from 52.79% to 98.71% [8].
• Punjab's ranged from 95.95% to 99.33% [8].

• In the CPSU-led (Central PSU-run) model, the average was just 11.84% [8].

• Gujarat fixed the boring things: power and digging

• It moved Block equipment out of BSNL exchanges into separate shelters with their own electricity, air-conditioning and batteries [8].
• It installed State Electricity Board meters at GPs so the power supply stayed stable [8].
• It asked sarpanches to stop avoidable power cuts at GP offices [8].

• Field teams used the 'Call Before You Dig' app, so other departments stopped cutting the fibre [8].

• Punjab and Bihar tied the builder to the repairs

• The same Project Implementing Agency that built the network also had to maintain it for seven years [8].

• They kept GIS maps (digital maps showing exactly where the cable runs), so faults could be found fast [8].

• Why this matters for Maharashtra

• Power faults are 64.29% of all fault tickets [8].
• Maharashtra should copy Gujarat's power and dig-coordination steps, not just the ring design.

11. The Hard Question: Why Give BSNL the Whole Job?

• The case for BSNL as the single PMA (Project Management Agency, the one body in charge)
• Earlier, too many agencies ran BharatNet: BBNL, BSNL, RailTel, PGCIL, CSC and State agencies. Nobody owned the failures [8].
• CAG itself says merging BBNL into BSNL is an admission of those governance gaps [8].

• Under ABP, one agency is answerable for strict SLAs (Service Level Agreements, meaning written uptime promises with penalties) [2][8].

• The case against

• The CPSU-led model, mostly run by BSNL, had the worst uptime of all three models [8].
• In 2019, the Telecom Commission (now the Digital Communications Commission) itself said BSNL's weak village-level presence slowed fault repair [8].
• BSNL diverted ₹2,001.43 crore of BharatNet money to other uses. It was later returned [8].

• TRAI has flagged a conflict of interest: BSNL both runs the network and competes with private operators who rent it [8].

• An honest answer

• The critics are right that BSNL's record is poor.
• But ABP adds safeguards the old system lacked: Utilisation Certificates are now required, and the State SPV (MDIL) stays in the agreement [1][8].
• The single-agency model can work only if CAG's governance fixes are adopted (see the next section). Without them, it repeats the CPSU-led model on a bigger scale.

12. Will Villagers Actually Buy the 9 Lakh Connections?

• Past FTTH demand was largely government, and it vanished when free access ended
• FTTH means Fibre To The Home, a fibre cable right up to the user.
• FTTH connections jumped from 34,981 (March 2020) to 4,94,241 (March 2021). In that year, government agencies were given free internet [8].
• 61.7% of those users were government agencies [8].

• When the free offer ended, connections fell to 2,29,144 (March 2022) [8].

• Headline FTTH numbers are hard to verify on the ground

• BharatNet reported 9.66 lakh FTTH connections by March 2024 [8].
• But when CAG checked 131 GPs in person, it found no FTTH connections in any of them [8].

• So Maharashtra's '9 lakh+' target should be counted as working, paying connections, not as connections 'commissioned' on paper [1].

• Dark fibre sits idle because of slow decisions

• Dark fibre is laid cable that is not yet switched on, and it can be rented to operators.
• CAG found that operators wanted it, but State agencies had no policy or delayed their decisions [8].
• This matters for MDIL, which is exactly such a State agency [1].

13. What Each Agency Must Do Next

• DBN: pay for uptime, not for cable laid
• CAG recommends payments tied to milestones like GIS mapping, acceptance testing and uptime, as in the private-led model [8].

• Partner incentives should be linked to uptime above 95% [8].

• DoT and GoM: link Maharashtra's NOC to the Central NOC first

• CAG asks for State and Central NOCs to be joined into one monitoring system [8].

• Real-time GP-level dashboards on usage and uptime should follow [8].

• BSNL: run BharatNet as a separate unit

• CAG wants a dedicated BharatNet division inside BSNL with its own leadership, separate accounts and independent directors [8].

• It also wants BharatNet's infrastructure role legally separated from BSNL's retail business, to answer TRAI's conflict-of-interest concern [8].

• GoM and MDIL: create demand, not just supply

• Make health, education and agriculture departments anchor tenants (fixed, guaranteed customers who rent capacity) [8].
• Offer cheaper tiered prices for first-time users [8].

• Use NGOs, SHGs and CSCs for last-mile service, and train local youth under the BharatNet Udyami model for repair work [8].

• Every department that digs: coordinate

• Fibre cuts from other projects cause most downtime [8].
• Maharashtra should make 'Call Before You Dig' mandatory for its road, water and power works, as Gujarat did [8].

14. Anchors for Answers

• Data: Only 33.20% of service-ready GPs were working (Nov 2025); 17.91% of bandwidth was used; fibre faults took 17 days on average to fix [8]
• Data: Only 766 of one lakh GP Wi-Fi hotspots were active; BharatNet spending in 2025-26 was 75% below the budget [9]
• Report/Committee: CAG Report No. 19 of 2026, Performance Audit on BharatNet (submitted under Article 151) [8]
• Law/Case: Telecommunications Act, 2023 (USOF renamed DBN) [1]; DBN is funded by the Universal Service Levy, 5% of telecom operators' AGR [8]
• Comparison: Gujarat (State-led) and Punjab (Private-led) were the only States to cross 95% uptime. They did it with independent power for equipment, 'Call Before You Dig' and builder-run O&M [8]
• Scheme: BharatNet Udyami Model (Aug 2023), which uses local entrepreneurs for FTTH on revenue-sharing with BSNL. It is key to making Maharashtra's 9 lakh+ connections real [8]

15. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: Government policies and interventions; issues in federal structure (Centre–State programme delivery); e-governance.
• GS-III: Infrastructure (telecom/digital); inclusive growth; science & technology in everyday life.
• Possible questions: 1. BharatNet has been called the world's largest rural broadband programme, yet last-mile utilisation remains uneven. Examine how the Amended BharatNet Program seeks to address the design and O&M weaknesses of earlier phases. 2. Discuss the State-led model of BharatNet implementation as an instance of cooperative federalism. What are its advantages and risks? 3. The conversion of USOF into Digital Bharat Nidhi signals a shift from 'access' to 'meaningful connectivity'. Critically analyse.

16. Related Topics to Study Next

• Telecommunications Act, 2023: the statutory basis of DBN; it replaced the Telegraph Act framework.
• National Broadband Mission 2.0 (launched 17 Jan 2025) and the GatiShakti Sanchar RoW portal: complementary infrastructure push [2].
• 4G Saturation Project: a parallel DBN scheme for mobile coverage [1].
• PMGDISHA: the demand-side digital literacy partner to BharatNet supply [2].
• CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd (CSC-SPV): provides last-mile Wi-Fi and FTTH in GPs [2].
• DBN–NABARD MoU: rural digital economy and services integration [2].
• Digital India and the e-Panchayat agenda: the service layer that runs on BharatNet.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• DBN ≠ a new fund from scratch. It is the renamed USOF, originally set up under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003 (w.e.f. 2002, not 2003). It was renamed under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1].
• BBNL vs BSNL. BBNL (2012) is the BharatNet SPV. BSNL is the PMA for O&M under ABP. Do not swap them [2].
• NOFN year: launched 2011, renamed 2015. The phases were approved by the Telecom Commission on 30.04.2016, not by the Cabinet [2].
• ABP cost: ₹1,39,579 crore is the national ABP outlay. ₹42,068 crore is the Phase I + II approval. ₹10,520 crore is Maharashtra only [1][2].
• First State-led ABP State: Gujarat, not Maharashtra [3]. The Maharashtra agreement has five parties; Gujarat's was quadripartite [1][3].