Broadband for village panchayats, public telephone for all villages: Pilot

Hyderabad, May 25 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology (IT) Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said the Government plans to provide all village panchayats with broadband connectivity by 2012 and village public telephone facility to all the villages by 2011.

"The government plans to connect villages and class rooms of the country with knowledge centers in a big way and has allocated sufficient funds for this purpose," said Pilot.

"India has come a long way in the information technology sector and a mere two percent teledensity during 1995 has risen to over 50 percent by this year," he added.

Reiterating that 40 percent of 560 million mobile phone users in the country have no bank account of their own, Pilot said that the government intends to facilitate mobile banking for such people at their doorsteps.

Pilot further stated that introduction of 3-G and broadband wireless services will enable to harness untapped potentials, which would provide ample opportunity for growth and employment.

"The government is committed to provide ICT services in all languages to remove the digital divide and empower people through ICTs to reap the fullest benefit of technological advancements," he added.

"The government is fully equipped to face any challenge arising from cyber technology," claimed Pilot, adding that the danger from cyber technology is not confined to India alone but this has become a global phenomenon of late. (ANI)