Indian rural network to get $3.4 Billion investment from the government

When you have someone considered as Indian Telecom’s father advising the Prime Minister of India on Public Infrastructure and Innovation, you expect good things to happen or at least be announced.

Sam Pitroda speaking at the Institute of Studies, Singapore gave a brief roadmap of the project. Connecting villages through internet and telephony will bolster India’s infrastructure and provide the much needed bridge between technology and users.

According to Sam Pitroda the investment for the project will come from the $1.3 Billion collected from private telecom operators and the accumulated amount of $5 Billion as part of the Universal Service Fund. The telecommunication infrastructure in the remote areas of India can open a new market for service providers and needless to say improve the scientific temper of India.

During Microsoft’s Tech Ed India conference at Hyderabad earlier this year, Sam Pitroda emphasized the need to invest resources towards the upliftment of India as a whole. He made an observation that struck a chord, paraphrasing what he said, “If India can be the backend for the Western world, why can’t rural India be the backbone for the metropolitan India.”

While Sam Pitroda did not divulge on a definitive roadmap he said that the Cabinet will be soon getting details about the investment.

PS: Thanks to Aditya Sengupta (@Sengupta) for helping me the currency conversions