Amended BharatNet: ₹3,189 Crore Pact for 12,769 Telangana Panchayats

Rural Telangana is set for a broadband upgrade. On 6 November 2026, Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) signed an agreement at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, to carry out the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) in Telangana under the State-led model. The Centre has sanctioned ₹3,189 crore for the work.

Who signed

Four parties signed alongside DBN-DoT: the Government of Telangana, the Telangana Rural Internet Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TRIICL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Telangana Fiber Grid Corporation Limited (T-Fiber). TRIICL is the implementing agency in the State. The signing took place in the presence of Shyamal Misra, Administrator of Digital Bharat Nidhi, with officers of the Telangana IT, Electronics and Communications Department, BSNL and DoT.

Scope in Telangana

Ring topology gives a panchayat a second path for traffic, so a single fibre cut does not take it offline. With Central subsidy support, the project expects to provide about three lakh home fibre connections in villages. Better connectivity is meant to carry e-Governance, online education, telemedicine, digital payments and other citizen services to remote areas.

Background of the programme

The Union Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Program on 4 August 2023. Its aim is to upgrade, consolidate and extend the existing BharatNet network so that every Gram Panchayat, and villages on demand, gets reliable and future-ready broadband.

About Digital Bharat Nidhi

DBN is the new name of the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The fund was set up under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003, with effect from 1 April 2002, and was renamed Digital Bharat Nidhi under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. It is an attached office of DoT in the Ministry of Communications and pays for telecom access in under-served rural, remote and urban areas. Besides BharatNet, it funds the 4G Saturation Project and mobile services in Aspirational Districts, Left Wing Extremism areas, Himalayan and border areas, islands and the North East.