Odisha has an overall teledensity of about 80% and rural teledensity of about 50%. Out of 51,313 villages, more than 10,000 do not have mobile coverage. But that is changing, thanks to the continuous efforts made by the state government to push BharatNet project to bring high-speed broadband facility across all the gram panchayats.
Under phase-I of this project, basic infrastructure for connectivity like pipelines and wires have been laid in 3,676 gram panchayats out of a total 3,860 gram panchayats of 100 blocks in 18 districts. According to a senior government official, the point-to-point testing have been completed across 3,676 gram panchayats and fibre-based internet connectivity have been operationalised in 84 gram panchayats.
“As far as fibre penetration is concerned, in the first phase, we have completed around 3,676 panchayats and the rest of the panchayats will be covered in the next couple of months. We are confident that by the end of this financial year, all the panchayats will be connected, including the tribal areas,” said CJ Venugopal, principal secretary, electronics & IT department, Odisha.
National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project, presently known as BharatNet project, is spearheaded by the department of telecom of the central government with an objective to provide high-speed broadband facility upto 100 Mbps at all gram panchayats by way of laying optical fibre cable (OFC). Phase one of this project in Odisha is being implemented under the CPSU model through underground OFC laying.
In the second phase of this project, the state government is mulling to take broadband internet connectivity to the village level with the view that this will enhance inclusiveness in the state.
The phase II, covering 2,945 gram panchayats, would be executed under State Level Model on Aerial OFC to be laid along the 33 KV, 11 KV and LT electrical lines from block to gram panchayat by Odisha Power Transmission Corp Ltd (OPTCL). This phase is targeted to be completed by March 31, 2019.
“Once we have the fibre-grid in place, we will be creating more data centres which will be demand-driven. A state-level policy on this is being framed. In addition, we are looking at increasing the investment in the state, especially from BPOs, ITeS and ESDS sectors. To promote this, we have developed IT parks and incentives are being offered to companies,” said Venugopal.
Odisha has been very successful in some of the e-governance initiatives, such as the integration of the paperless office system. Today, all the government offices and secretariats are paperless. Similarly, state endeavour of e-registration is on the right track. All land records details such as registration, updating and mutation are being done online. Also, the new concept of e-municipality in which municipal services are being provided through online portals and mobile applications have significantly picked up in the last couple of years. On the administration level, the state has an integrated HRMS (Human Resources Management System) for managing employee engagement.
According to senior officials, technology intervention has become a force multiplier for government organisations. “The improvement that you notice in government to citizen interaction has been possible primarily due to technology,” said Venugopal.
