When Digital India launched in 2015, most villages had no broadband. BharatNet — the successor to the National Optical Fibre Network — set out to fix that by laying government-owned optical fibre to every gram panchayat (village council). Phase I connected over 1 lakh panchayats by December 2017.
BharatNet · Rural Broadband
BharatNet · Rural Broadband
BharatNet is one of the world's largest rural-connectivity projects: laying optical fibre to India's gram panchayats so villages get the same broadband backbone as cities. About 2.15 lakh gram panchayats — nearly 97% of the 2.22 lakh targeted in its first two phases — were connected by January 2026. The counter shows that rollout.
2.15 lakh
Gram panchayats connected
42 lakh km
Optical fibre laid (2025)
100 cr+
Broadband connections (2025)
Gram panchayats connected
| Year | Gram panchayats connected |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.10 lakh |
| 2015 | 0.30 lakh |
| 2016 | 0.60 lakh |
| 2017 | 1.00 lakh |
| 2018 | 1.15 lakh |
| 2019 | 1.30 lakh |
| 2020 | 1.50 lakh |
| 2021 | 1.70 lakh |
| 2022 | 1.90 lakh |
| 2023 | 2.05 lakh |
| 2024 | 2.10 lakh |
| 2025 | 2.14 lakh |
| 2026 | 2.15 lakh |
2014
0.00lakh
Gram panchayats connected
20142026
Since 2014
Added
+2.05 lakh
2014
0.10 lakh
2026
2.15 lakh
Why it matters Fibre to the village is the backbone under Digital India — it powers rural e-governance, telemedicine, online education, banking and markets. Without it, UPI and Aadhaar can't reach the last mile. It turns connectivity into opportunity.
- ~2.15 lakh gram panchayats connected by January 2026, nearly 97% of the 2.22 lakh targeted (Phases I & II, ~Rs 42,000 crore).
- Optical fibre grew from ~19 lakh route-km (2019) to ~42 lakh route-km (2025).
- BharatNet Phase III (2026) aims to connect all remaining panchayats and ~6.25 lakh villages by 2028.
- India's broadband connections crossed 100 crore in late 2025, from ~13 crore a decade earlier.
History
Notable milestone
By January 2026, about 2.15 lakh gram panchayats — nearly 97% of the 2.22 lakh targeted — were connected, backed by close to 7 lakh km of optical fibre. In a parallel milestone, India's total broadband connections crossed 100 crore (1 billion) in November 2025 — up from just ~13 crore a decade earlier.
How it works
BharatNet reuses existing fibre of public undertakings like BSNL, RailTel and PowerGrid, and lays incremental fibre to bridge the last gap to each panchayat. From there, local operators and Wi-Fi (PM-WANI hotspots) extend service to homes, schools and Common Service Centres. Remote and border panchayats are linked by satellite where fibre can't reach.
Outlook
Cheap data made India a digital nation — costs fell from about Rs 269 per GB in 2014 to Rs 8–10 today, among the lowest on earth. BharatNet's fibre is the wholesale backbone under that: it carries the UPI payments, telemedicine, e-governance and online classes that now reach deep into rural India.
By the numbers
~2.15 lakh gram panchayats connected (January 2026), nearly 97% of the 2.22 lakh targeted. ~42 lakh route-km of optical fibre nationwide (2025). Rs 42,000 crore spent across Phases I & II. 100 crore+ broadband connections (2025). Phase III: ~Rs 1.5 lakh crore, all villages by 2028. Sources: DoT, BBNL, PIB.
Data current to: as of January 2026
Source: Dept of Telecom via PIB — gram panchayats connected under BharatNet phases I and II (lakh), 2014 to January 2026. PIB: around 2.15 lakh gram panchayats — nearly 97% of the more than 2.22 lakh targeted — connected as of January 2026, with close to 7 lakh km of optical fibre (linked). A separate count of panchayats and traditional local bodies made service-ready stood at over 2.18 lakh of 2.69 lakh in April 2026. · link