Agreement Signed between DBN (Digital Bharat Nidhi); Government of Andhra Pradesh; APBIL; BSNL & APSFL for Implementation of Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) in Andhra Pradesh

📌 Summary:

• Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under Department of Telecommunications signed agreement with Government of Andhra Pradesh, APBIL, BSNL and APSFL for implementing the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) under State-led model
• Government of India has approved financial support of ₹2,432 crore for ABP rollout in Andhra Pradesh
• Scope: 13,426 Gram Panchayats covered — 1,692 Phase-I GPs to be upgraded from linear to ring topology for network resilience; 11,254 Phase-II GPs; 480 newly created GPs
• Additional 3,942 villages to receive on-demand last-mile connectivity
• Programme to enable 5+ lakh rural home fibre connections; supports e-Governance, online education, telemedicine, digital payments, citizen services in rural and remote areas
• State-led model leverages State agency execution capacity for faster, region-specific rollout

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — Indian Economy (Digital Economy, Infrastructure). Bridges rural-urban digital divide; critical for digital governance, last-mile DPI delivery, and inclusive growth.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Financial outlay: ₹2,432 crore for Andhra Pradesh ABP
• Coverage: 13,426 Gram Panchayats; 3,942 additional villages
• Implementation parties: DBN (DoT), Andhra Pradesh Govt, APBIL, BSNL, APSFL
• Topology upgrade: linear → ring (1,692 Phase-I GPs)
• Target: 5+ lakh rural home fibre connections

🔑 Key Term: Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) — Successor fund to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF); created under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 for funding rural and remote-area telecom infrastructure.