NIC to launch NGBN project to connect all villages

Chennai, Jan 13 (UNI) The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will launch a Rs 1500 crore 'National Gigabit Backbone Network' (NGBN) project to connect all the villages in India by optic fibre cable network, Union IT and Communications Minister Dayanadhi Maran said today.

Briefing mediapersons after a meeting with the Indo-Japan Information Technology Forum Joint Working Group here, he said the project launched with the Japanese government's assistance would connect all the remote villages in the country by optic fibre cable network for better communication.

He said India would seek Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan for implementing the proposed project.

Mr Maran said during the meeting his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga assured all help and assistance to the project.

''If everything goes well, the project will be started in the coming months in a phased manner'', he said and added that ''this National Gigabit Backbone Network project will help thousands of villages to improve the IT communication level''.

He said the Tamil Nadu government would also seek help from Japan to set up future IT projects.

During the meeting, the Tamil Nadu government made a detailed presentation to showcase the vast potential available in the IT sector and to woo Japanese investments into the state.

UNI