100 million broadband connections in three years

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Transforming India: Reaching the bottom of the pyramid,’ organised as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of C-DOT in Bangalore, Pitroda said current broadband connections stood at six million and a quantum jump could be achieved using the existing fibre optic cable network of the railways, the Gas Authority of India and the telecom sector.

The network, once established, would help in taking e-governance, health services, public delivery system to the grassroots, besides education through Internet to eradicate illiteracy. The Centre also planned to network 600,000 gram seva kendras in panchayats by 2012.