New Delhi, March 24: The government is working to provide optical fibre connection to 6.5 lakh villages, Minister of Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday adding that the country was kept going by the Information Technology mobile infrastructure during the lockdown.

During the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Prasad said it is the commitment of the prime minister that communication infrastructure of the country must improve. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connecting Chennai And Port Blair, Says 'It is a Symbol of Our Commitment to Ease of Living'.

"This is the communication strategy of the Modi government to provide optical fibre connection to 6.5 lakh villages...The country was kept going by the Information Technology mobile infrastructure during COVID-19 lockdown period," he said.

The minister noted that the government liberalised  work-from-home and today work-from-home has become 'work-from-anywhere'. "As far as school education is concerned, most of the school education went digital...Most of the schools continued because of digital education being encouraged," he said.

Prasad, however admitted that there was a scope for improvement. Replying to a question by BJP member Sanjay Jaiswal, Prasad said the National Broadband Mission (NBM) was launched on December 17, 2019 with a vision to enable fast track growth of digital communications infrastructure, bridge the digital divide for digital empowerment and inclusion, and provide affordable and universal access to broadband for all.

It is envisaged that the expenditure of the government through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) is likely to be Rs 70,000 crore under NBM. The mission envisages covering all districts/states of the country including all districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, he added.