Ranchi, September 10, 2026: Jharkhand has taken a major step towards strengthening digital connectivity in rural and underserved areas of the state with the signing of the Project Implementation and Support Agreement for the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) – BharatNet Phase III.
The agreement was signed between the Government of India’s Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), the Government of Jharkhand and Jharkhand Digital Infrastructure Corporation Limited (JDICL). DBN Administrator Shyamal Mishra represented the Government of India, while Pooja Singhal, Secretary, Department of Information Technology, and Madhavi Mishra, Director, Government of Jharkhand, signed the agreement on behalf of the state government.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the programme is being implemented in collaboration with the Government of India to expand reliable and high-speed broadband connectivity across rural areas of Jharkhand.
The BharatNet Phase III programme will cover 260 blocks, 4,395 Gram Panchayats and 26,777 non-GP villages. It aims to strengthen digital infrastructure and provide broadband services to rural households, government institutions and other users.
As part of the programme, 4,387 existing Gram Panchayats will be upgraded to Ring Topology, while 8 new Gram Panchayats will be connected through Ring Topology. The project also envisages providing 4,39,049 FTTH connections over a period of five years.
High-speed broadband connectivity will also be extended to Gram Panchayats and non-GP villages on a demand basis. Middle-mile infrastructure will be created and upgraded to improve network capacity and reliability.
A State Network Operations Centre (SNOC) will be established and operated in Jharkhand. BSNL will provide Project Management Consultancy support to JDICL for implementation of the programme.
The expanded fibre-based broadband network is expected to improve access to e-governance, education, healthcare, digital services and other online facilities for people in rural and underserved areas of the state. It will also strengthen digital service delivery by government institutions.
The Amended BharatNet Programme represents an important Centre-State collaboration aimed at strengthening Jharkhand’s digital infrastructure and ensuring that the benefits of high-speed broadband connectivity reach rural communities across the state.
