BharatNet PPP: Post objections on bid criteria, DoT to issue revised tender

“So, one of the issues raised by the companies was the condition of documentation of telecom assets of BharatNet already present on ground and the procedure to be followed. So there will be some changes to that. There will be other changes as well,” the official said.

The PPP model will initially be launched in Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Earlier this year in July, the Union Cabinet had approved a plan to bring in the private sector to complete the pending work on BharatNet, the Central government’s flagship scheme to provide internet connectivity to all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country.

As part of the plan, under a PPP mode, the concessionaire will be selected through a competitive international bidding process and will be responsible for creation, upgradation, operation, maintenance and utilisation of BharatNet. The revised strategy will be followed in 16 states for now. Its implementation under PPP mode is estimated to cost Rs 29,432 crore, of which the government will spend Rs 19,041 crore as viability gap funding.

The Indian Express had in January 2020 reported that with the panchayat internet connectivity scheme floundering at the last mile due to the failure of the implementation agencies, the DoT had been looking to rope in the private sector to complete the pending projects under Phase 1 and 2 of BharatNet.

The PPP model had then been suggested by government think-tank NITI Aayog as well as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology at a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office. According to the then proposed model, the private sector would be invited to bid circle-wise for the BharatNet project, with the selection of the bidder dependent on their quote for viability gap funding.