New Delhi: The Minister of state for Communication and Rural Development Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasan on Wednesday informed parliament that the total number of mobile subscriptions in the country stands at 11.52 crore.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha the Minister Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasan said that out of 6,44,131 villages in the country, around 6,23,622 villages now have mobile coverage.
He also said that the mobile coverage for inhabited uncovered villages is provided by the government and the telecom service providers (TSPs) in a phased manner.
The minister also said that the government is implementing various schemes and projects under Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) for the expansion of telecom connectivity through the installation of mobile towers in rural, remote, and hilly areas of the country.
Last week, the government informed that mobile network coverage in rural India has reached nearly 97 per cent and at least 6,14,564 villages are covered with 4G mobile connectivity.
In a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Dr Pemmasani said that under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 4,543 particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) habitations were identified as mobile uncovered and out of these, 1,136 PVTG habitations have been covered with mobile connectivity.
In the meantime, 5G services are now available in 779 districts out of 783 districts in the country (as of October 31). Further, more than 4.6 lakh 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed in the country, informed the minister.