Govt to revitalise AP FiberNet
During a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister approved the crucial integration of AP FiberNet with the national BharatNet programme, specifically under the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP).
The FibreNet project was designed to provide affordable triple play services, which include internet, telephone and IPTV.
Naidu expressed strong dismay at the project's state, which he described as a 'visionary initiative launched between 2014 and 2019'. He directed officials to immediately assess the challenges, financial constraints, and implement necessary corrective steps and new policy directions.
"The system, designed to benefit the public, students, and government departments, was instead exploited for political purposes by the former administration - undermining the very purpose of the initiative," Naidu said. He highlighted a stark decline in connections, noting that while there were 8.70 lakh connections in 2019, the number had plummeted to 4.50 lakh under the YSRCP government.
The Chief Minister also criticised the previous administration's staffing policies. "We managed the organisation effectively with just 130 employees and provided over 8 lakh connections. But the YSRCP government created unauthorized posts to accommodate its party workers, expanding the workforce from 130 to 1,350, misusing public funds," he stated.
Naidu emphasised the need to reintroduce services like virtual classrooms and called for strengthening the fiber network in rural and underserved areas. Pending issues with local cable operators (LCOs) are to be resolved promptly. An EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contractor will be appointed to manage both the AP FiberNet and BharatNet networks. BSNL will serve as the project management agency, in line with ABP guidelines, he added. Officials were instructed to prepare an action plan to fully utilise the network's capabilities, to be presented at the next Cabinet meeting.
Naidu said that from June 2024 to June 2025, Rs. 192.5 crore has been allocated under capital expenditure and Rs. 66.76 crore under operational expenditure. With FiberNet's integration with BharatNet's ABP, the central government is expected to allocate Rs. 1,900 crore to AP FiberNet from 2025 to 2035.
Andhra Pradesh currently leads the nation in village panchayat connectivity, with fibernet services extended to 12,946 panchayats so far. Furthermore, 104 government offices have active fibernet connections. Residential connections are available through five different service packages, and over 21,000 institutions benefit from high-speed broadband. Connectivity has also been extended to 175 telecom towers. The project is currently managed by 442 employees and officers.
To date, 78,355 kilometres of fiber optic cable has been laid across the state, with a government target to expand this to a total of 2 lakh kilometres.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
India–Maldives Ties: 8 key pacts inked in PM Modi-Muizzu meet; UPI, debt relief, fisheries, FTA on table
ANI photo India and the Maldives on Friday exchanged eight important agreements covering debt repayment, fisheries, digital payments, and a new Line of Credit worth Rs 4,850 crore, during PM Narendra Modi's visit to Malé. In the presence of PM Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a stronger economic and maritime partnership. India agreed to ease Maldives' loan repayment burden by 40%, and push digital ties through UPI, RuPay and local currency trade. PM Modi also handed over 3,300 social housing units, vehicles for security forces, and medical aid kits. He and President Muizzu jointly inaugurated infrastructure projects and pledged cooperation on climate, disaster risk, and renewable energy. The visit also marked 60 years of Maldives' independence and India-Maldives diplomatic ties. PM Modi called the agreements a reflection of India's 'Neighbourhood First' approach and long-standing friendship with the island nation.
Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Rahul, Pradhan spar over ‘vacant' reserved varsity teaching posts
After LS Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi flagged vacancies in teaching positions for SC, ST, and OBC categories in central universities Friday and referred to it as a 'planned conspiracy', Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hit out saying the Centre has increased the number of teaching positions in the past 10 years. Citing data presented in response to a question in the RS Wednesday, Gandhi said on X: 'Data presented by the Modi government in Parliament is evidence of the deprivation of Bahujans and institutionalized Manuvad.' Stating that these posts 'are deliberately kept vacant', Gandhi said: 'This is not mere negligence but a well-planned conspiracy—to keep Bahujans out of education, research, and policymaking.' 'In the name of NFS (Not Found Suitable), thousands of qualified SC, ST, OBC candidates are being declared unfit under a Manuvadi mindset, and the government is unwilling to take any accountability. This is completely unacceptable,' he said. Around 80% of posts sanctioned in central universities for professors under the OBC category, 83% in the ST category, and 64% in the SC category remain vacant, the RS was informed. In response, Pradhan said Friday: 'Rahul Gandhi has raised the matter of 'not found suitable.' In 2019, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act was passed. For the first time in independent India, reservation for SC/ST/OBC categories in the posts of assistant prof, associate prof, and prof was ensured through an Act. The Act also says that if a suitable person is not found, the post won't cease to exist or lapse.' 'I would like to ask Rahul Gandhi… in their (Congress) tenure how many posts were converted into 'general' category where candidates were 'not found suitable.' And in Modi's tenure… not even one has been converted,' he said.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Opposition motion in RS to oust Justice Varma was submitted, not admitted
NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha will take up an all-party motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma of Allahabad HC over the cash-in-house controversy. The opposition-sponsored notice for a similar motion in the Rajya Sabha hasn't been admitted. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now RS secretariat, after a mandatory scrutiny, didn't find it to be in "complete compliance with the procedure", sources said. Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar's move to allow the notice is believed to have caused unhappiness within the government. Now that it has been clarified that it was not admitted, it clears the way for LS Speaker Om Birla to choose three members of the probe panel, comprising CJI or an SC judge, an HC chief justice and a jurist, to probe the allegations of corruption against Varma. The RS chairperson would've had an equal say in the matter if RS secretariat ruled otherwise. All parties agree Varma ouster should be a joint call, says Rijiju The decision about Lok Sabha taking up the matter, announced by parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, was followed by 152 members drawn from all political parties signing the motion. The issue is said to be at the core of former RS chairman and ex-Veep Jagdeep Dhankhar's abrupt resignation on Monday. Dhankhar had accepted the motion signed by 63 opposition members against Justice Yashwant Varma despite the decision at all-party meeting on Sunday that process for the removal of the judge should begin in the LS. Dhankhar's action of accepting opposition's notice is said to have set in motion a chain of events, murmurs of a "secret deal" and, crucially, a move by BJP-led coalition to signal their loss of trust in the Chairman, leading to his surprise exist on "health grounds". Rijiju reiterated Friday that there was a unanimous decision of all political parties to move for the removal of Varma, asserting that the Lok Sabha will take up the motion. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The minister said all political parties had agreed that the removal of Justice Varma should be a joint call, adding that the proceedings will be taken up in the Lok Sabha and then moved to the Rajya Sabha, in line with the Judges (Inquiry) Act. "We shouldn't remain in any doubt; proceedings will begin in the Lok Sabha," he said. Section 3, sub-section (2) of the Act says, "If notices of motions for removal of a Judge are given on the same day in both Houses of Parliament, no committee shall be constituted unless the motion has been admitted in both Houses, and where such motion has been admitted in both Houses, the committee shall be constituted jointly by the speaker and the chairman."
