The Uttar Pradesh government has launched Project GANGA (Government Assisted Network for Growth and Advancement) to deploy a comprehensive, fiber-based broadband network in rural areas. Implemented via a ‘no-profit, no-loss’ public-private partnership with OneOTT Intertainment Limited, the project aims to bridge the rural-urban digital divide.
Core Objectives and Targets
- Connectivity: Aims to provide “Ganga Fiber” access to 20 lakh households, eventually covering all 57,000 Gram Panchayats. Priority is assigned to border districts like Shravasti, Bahraich, and Balrampur.
- Entrepreneurship: Focuses on creating 1 lakh jobs by training 8,000–10,000 local youths as Digital Service Providers (DSPs) at the Nyaya Panchayat level.
- Service Delivery: Acts as an infrastructure backbone for telemedicine, e-governance (DBT, Gram Sachivalaya), smart agriculture, and digital education.
- Inclusive Growth: Mandates that 50% of beneficiaries and DSPs be women, leveraging existing frameworks like the BC Sakhi scheme.
- Financial Support: DSPs can access interest-free, collateral-free loans of up to ₹5 lakh under the CM Yuva Scheme to establish infrastructure.
IASPOINT Booster Facts
- Constitutional Linkage: Supports Article 40 (Organization of village panchayats) by empowering local bodies with digital tools.
- Governance: The initiative aligns with the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure established by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992.
- State Pioneer: Uttar Pradesh is the first state to deploy this specific ‘no-profit, no-loss’ corporate-partnership model for village broadband.
- National Synergy: Complements the central BharatNet project under the Digital India umbrella.