Targeting 50 crore internet subscribers in 6-7 months: Prasad

BSNL, the other state-owned telecom service provider, has already reversed its loss making trend by reporting operating profit of Rs. 672 crores in 2014-15.

Trai sees a maximum of Rs 800 crore in annual payout.

According to Prasad, mobile penetration in the country now stands at 100 crore and data penetration at 40 crore.

MTNL is also laying Optical fiber which aims to provide high speed broadband connectivity to 1 lakh homes across Mumbai.

So far, the telecom firm has provided 500 hotspots in 200 places.

Prasad famous that BSNL had recorded lack of Rs 8,000 crore on the time he took over because the minister.

India Post notched a revenue of Rs.11,636 crore past year, with the post and parcel related services accounting for 42 percent while the rest was generated by savings bank activities, he said, adding the India Post Payment Bank would be launched by March 2017 to extend access to formal banking in rural areas.

Announcing the road map for improving connectivity in Maharashtra, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said four (4) lakh connections under Next Generation Network (NGN) will be made available in Maharashtra during the Financial Year 2016-17. However, he noted that it was the responsibility of the companies to also provide good quality services including maintenance and infrastructure. “They have done some good work. they need to do more”, he said.

He also noted that his government is pushing electronic manufacturing in big way. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hopes the initiative will help the administration reach its goal of having 50 crore internet users within the next 6 to 7 months.

“Digital India will transform the country and is more for people like chaiwallas and paanwallas so that they can enhance their skills”, Prasad said. The government also plans to make “digital village” across the country, by linking all schemes with technology, the minister said. “We have identified 48,000 seats and allocated them to cities which are digitally weak”, he said.