Out of a total of 6,44,131 villages in the country, around 6,22,840 villages have mobile coverage, and out of these, 6,14,564 are covered with 4G mobile connectivity as of 30 September, 202, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Thursday.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) Mission of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 4,543 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) habitations were identified as mobile uncovered and out of these 1,136 PVTG habitations have been covered with mobile connectivity.

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”The Government is implementing various schemes/projects under Digital Bharat Nidhi for expansion of telecom connectivity through installation of mobile towers in rural, remote, and hilly areas of the country including PVTG habitations. As of 31.10.2024, 1,018 mobile towers under various Digital Bharat Nidhi funded mobile projects have been sanctioned to provide 4G coverage to PVTG habitations with an estimated expenditure of Rs 1,014 Crore,” the minister said.