BANGALORE: India will build a broadband highway connecting 2.5 lakh panchayats across the country in the next three years to provide a host of public services, union Communications and Information Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
"Prime minister Narendra Modi has set a target of providing broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh local bodies (spread over six lakh villages) across the country over the next three years, with 50,000 this (fiscal) year and one lakh each over the next two years," Prasad said at a meeting here with IT industry honchos.
Asserting that the Modi government would be known for building a broadband highway much as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was known for building highways connecting metros and cities across India, Prasad said the prime minister wanted to change India through the instrument of information technology.
"The prime minister shared his vision of using ICT (information and communication technology) at a meeting with my ministry recently where presentations were made to him.
"He wants Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) in cities and towns and broadband connectivity in every school across the country," Prasad said.
Lamenting that broadband connectivity in India was less than even in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, Prasad appealed to the IT industry to help the government in achieving the target of providing broadband connectivity to the local bodies.
