DIGITAL BHARAT NIDHI

Universal Service obligation Fund

With effect from 01.04.2002 Section 92A, 92B, 92C and 92D were inserted by the Act 8 of 2004 in Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.  Section 92A provides for the creation of Universal Service Obligation Fund (‘Fund’ for short).  The obligation of the fund is to provide telegraph services to the people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. This fund shall be under the control of the Central Government.  Any sums paid for the grant of a licence under this subsection shall include such sum attributable to the Universal Service Obligation as may be determined by the Central Government shall be credited in this fund.  This amount shall first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India, and the Central Government may, if Parliament by appropriation made by law in this behalf so provides, credit such proceeds to the Fund from time to time for being utilized exclusively for meeting the Universal Service Obligation.   The Central Government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, credit by way of grants and loans such sums of money as that Government may consider necessary in the Fund.

Administration of the fund

The Central Government shall have the power to administer the Fund in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under this Act.  The Fund shall be utilized exclusively for meeting the Universal Service Obligation. The Central Government shall be responsible for the co-ordination and ensuring timely utilization and release of sums in accordance with the criteria as may be prescribed by rules made under this Act.

Functions of the fund

The following are the functions of the fund-

• To formulate and execute USOF projects or schemes;
• To monitor the implementation of USOF projects or schemes;
• To ensure adherence to USOF guidelines;
• To design an intelligent subsidy support model for reducing or closing the viability gap;
• To determine desirable subsidy level, structure and disbursement schedule;
• To leverage innovative and emerging new technologies;
• To standardize practices and documentation of USOF projects;
• To collaborate and liaison with international organizations.

Projects under USOF

• Bharat net project - The  Bharat Net project, one of the flagship schemes of the Government of India, was launched to provide broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakhs Gram Panchayats in the country. The project was designed to provide non-discriminatory access to the network to all the telecom service providers to enable the launch of various digital services such as e-health, e-education, e-governance, etc in rural areas.
• Uncovered villages project - The scheme was planned for provisioning of mobile services in 354 uncovered villages in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and other priority areas by installing 354 mobile towers at a cost of Rs 336.89 crore. An agreement was signed on 28.04.2020 with implementing agency Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited.  Certain villages were exempted later due to prior coverage, leaving only 309 villages to be covered as a part of the project.
• Projects for islands - Comprehensive Telecom Development Project (CTDP) for islands aims to provide connectivity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep via Submarine Optical Fiber Cable and Bandwidth Augmentation to the Island groups.  The project of connecting Chennai with Port Blair and other islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, viz., Swaraj Deep (Havelock), Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman (Hutbay), Kamorta, Car Nicobar & Great Nicobar (Campbell Bay) through 2313 km long Submarine Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) was approved on 21.09.2016. The project was commissioned during August 2020 and September 2020. 
• Project for North Eastern Region - The Government approved a proposal to implement a Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for the North-Eastern Region. The project aims at providing mobile coverage to the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• Left wing extremism areas - The scheme aims to connect all rural and far-flung villages in the Left Wing Extremism  zones ensuring proper delivery of citizen services and empowered security forces.
• Other projects - Projects were approved to harness new digital technologies and platforms to unlock productivity and reach unserved and underserved markets, leading to economic growth and development and ensuring access to next-generation services for its citizens.

Digital Bharat Nidhi

Chapter V of the Telecommunication Act, 2023 (‘Act’ for short) provides for the creation of Digital Bharat Nidhi.  The Universal Service Obligation Fund created under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, shall, from the appointed day, be the 'Digital Bharat Nidhi', under the control of the Central Government, and shall be used to discharge functions as set forth in the Act.

Credit to Digital Bharat Nidhi

Any amount payable by the person who gets assignment for providing telecommunication service etc. shall be credited to this fund.  All amounts payable under licences granted prior to the appointed day towards the Universal Service Obligation shall be deemed to be the amounts payable towards the Digital Bharat Nidhi.

The sums of money received towards the Digital Bharat Nidhishall first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India, and the Central Government may, if Parliament by appropriation made by law in this behalf so provides, credit such proceeds to the Digital Bharat Nidhifrom time to time for being utilized.

Objectives

The fund shall be utilized for meeting any or all the following objectives-

• to support universal service through promoting access to and delivery of telecommunication services in underserved rural, remote and urban areas;
• to support research and development of telecommunication services, technologies, and products;
• to support pilot projects, consultancy assistance and advisory support towards provision of service;
• to support the introduction of telecommunication services, technologies and products.

Administration

The Central Government will make rules in regard to the administration of Digital Bharat Nidhi.

Reference:

www.usof.gov.in.