Part of Modi’s Digital India Initiative.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The BJP government is planning to set up public Wi-Fi hotspots in 25 cities that have population above 10 lakh by the end of June 2015; a major step forward in fulfilling the Digital India initiative of the prime minister Narendra Modi.
According to official sources, “Government has plans to empanel 3-4 Wi-Fi service provider for speedy roll out of Wi-Fi hotspots across top 25 cities in the country by June 2015. The services will be available at select public places within these cities.â€
They also added that “Wi-Fi spots will also lower traffic burden on telecom networks.â€
The Digital India initiative of the BJP Government aims at connecting more than a million people to the World Wide Web by enabling public Wi-Fi services across major cities and tourist destinations in India by December 2015.
The Department of Telecom and Ministry of Urban Development that are working together for this mission have given the telecom companies three months’ time after acceptance of the purchase order to complete the work.
The Central government has also extended full support for the telecom companies in resolving issues with the local authorities in setting up of free Wi-Fi hotspots.
According to the official announcement of the ministry, the government is also planning to set up free Wi-Fi access in 25 archaeological monuments such as Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort, Qutub Complex in Delhi, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri Sravasti and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram, Vaishali-Kohua in Bihar, Martand Temple and Leh Palace in Jammu and Kashmir, Konark Temple in Odisha, Rani-ki Vav in Gujarat, Khajuraho and Mandu in Madhya Pradesh and Rang Ghar in Assam