55,669 of country’s villages still lack mobile telephony services!
25 Dec 2015 4:09 AM IST
As many as 55,669 villages are still without mobile telephony services, the government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the current level of rural and urban tele-density stood at 48.79 per cent and 152.36 per cent, respectively, at the end of September.
“5,41,939 villages out of total 5,97,608 villages in the country are already covered with mobile services, leaving only 55,669 villages ie. 9.31 per cent without coverage,” the Minister said during Question Hour.
There are 5,97,608 inhabited villages. Asserting that the government’s endeavour is to ensure telecom connectivity, Prasad said that since demand for telecom services is price sensitive, the level of tele-density is also determined by the purchasing ability of the consumers.
“The increase in rural tele-density has gathered momentum in recent times but the wide gap between rural and urban tele- density can be explained by the difference in purchasing power of rural and urban consumers,” he said.
The National Telecom Policy has the set the objectives of increasing rural tele-density to 70 per cent by 2017 and 100 per cent by 2020.
Several measures are being taken to improve telecommunication services, Prasad said, adding “2,199 mobile towers are being set up in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states with a total estimated cost of Rs 3,567.58 crore.”
Telecom sector’s share in GDP up marginally to 1.94% in FY15
Contribution of telecom sector revenue to gross domestic product (GDP) increased marginally to 1.94 per cent in 2014-15, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. As per data shared by Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, revenue generated by the telecom sector in 2014-15 increased to Rs 2,42,900 crore, accounting for 1.94 per cent of total GDP, compared to previous fiscal’s figure of Rs 2,19,553 crore (1.93 per cent of the GDP). However, the ratio of revenue size and its contribution in terms of percentage to the GDP varies every year due to variation in the growth of economy, the Minister said in a written reply to a question. In 2011-12, the telecom sector accounted for 2.1 per cent of GDP with revenue of Rs 1,85,930 crore, while in the next year it stood at Rs 2,07,498 crore (2.07 per cent of GDP). Talking about the steps taken for growth of the sector, Prasad said the government has formulated a comprehensive action plan which aims to address the issues facing the industry. “These issues are broadly classified as related to policy strategies, broadband strategy, telecom infrastructure development, licensing and regulatory issues, management of spectrum, and strategy for revival of public sector undertakings,” Prasad said.
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