BharatNet falls short of goal to bridge digital divide due to deficiency in planning, rollout: CAG
New Delhi: The government’s rural high-speed broadband project BharatNet fell short of its broader objective to bridge the digital divide, mainly due to deficiencies in planning and execution, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said on Thursday.
In an official statement on ‘Performance Audit on BharatNet’ of its second phase tabled in Parliament on August 12, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said the network infrastructure has been largely deployed, covering over 96.70% (November 2025) of targeted GPs. However, the same could not be translated into efficient operation, utilisation and revenue generation.
