DBN, NABARD partner to boost broadband-led rural digitisation

The Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to accelerate rural digitisation through BharatNet, India’s flagship rural broadband programme.

Signed in the presence of senior officials from DoT, NABARD, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the agreement aims to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to rural institutions and enterprises across the country. This collaboration targets institutions supported by NABARD—such as Primary Agriculture Co-operative Credit Societies and rural banks—by integrating digital governance, services, and economy enablement.

Why this Partnership Matters

This MoU marks a strategic convergence of rural financial development and digital infrastructure. BharatNet, regarded as one of the largest rural broadband initiatives globally, has so far connected 2,14,323 Gram Panchayats out of the targeted 2.5 lakh, according to data available as of 13 January 2025. Nearly 6.92 lakh km of optical fibre cable has been laid, enabling more than 12.2 lakh Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections and the installation of over 1.04 lakh Wi-Fi hotspots across India’s villages.

These infrastructure milestones lay the foundation for digital service delivery in rural areas, where institutions like Primary Agriculture Co-operative Credit Societies, often the first touchpoints of financial inclusion, are now poised to access high-speed broadband. The NABARD-DBN collaboration seeks to make this connectivity meaningful by embedding it with digital governance, agricultural intelligence, e-health, and financial services.

What the MoU Covers

To operationalise this digital transformation in rural areas, the DBN-NABARD partnership lays out a framework that combines infrastructure, information, and institutional reach. The agreement outlines multiple collaborative areas where both organisations will work jointly to ensure that connectivity translates into tangible services for rural users.

Under the MoU, NABARD will share reference data—including geo-coordinates and contact details—of rural institutions it supports, while DBN will provide details of BharatNet Points of Presence in Gram Panchayats, which will serve as nodes for extending high-speed broadband to these institutions. In addition, both DBN and NABARD have agreed to exchange digital content in audio, video, and text formats to disseminate information about various government schemes, projects, and services.

A key part of the agreement also involves the integration of digital platforms. Both DBN and NABARD will share data and functionalities of their citizen-facing portals, e-governance interfaces, and digital service delivery channels to ensure wider accessibility and interoperability. The two institutions also plan to undertake joint awareness and capacity-building initiatives targeting start-ups, entrepreneurs, and rural development institutions to boost digital readiness on the ground.

Further, the partnership aims to promote the digital economy in rural areas by making BharatNet’s high-speed connectivity more accessible and relevant to local needs. NABARD will play an enabling role by encouraging the inclusion of ICT infrastructure—including broadband access—within its ongoing and future development schemes. This approach is expected to deepen the impact of connectivity by embedding it into the functional architecture of rural development programmes.

DBN’s Expanding Role in Digital Inclusion

Formerly known as the Universal Service Obligation Fund or USOF, the Digital Bharat Nidhi was redefined under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, with an expanded mandate to support access and delivery of telecommunication services in underserved and remote areas, including select urban pockets. The fund now backs a range of government-led digital inclusion projects.

Among the ongoing initiatives financed by DBN are the 4G Saturation Project to connect uncovered villages (Rs 26,300 crore), mobile connectivity in Left Wing Extremism affected and aspirational districts (Rs 13,179 crore), and telecom infrastructure development in the North East, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep (Rs 4,050 crore).

These projects complement other government-led reforms to fast-track telecom expansion, such as spectrum auction rationalisation, easier Right of Way permissions, and faster deployment of 5G infrastructure. As of March 2025, India has installed over 4.69 lakh 5G Base Transceiver Stations, covering 99.6% of districts, with nearly 2.95 lakh BTSs commissioned in the past year alone.

By aligning digital infrastructure with rural financing and institutional development, the NABARD-DBN MoU represents a significant step toward the government’s goal of inclusive digital empowerment.