JOIN USIn the next two years, the number of Internet users in the country is estimated to go up to 50 crore from the existing 30 crore, the Union Telecom and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Thursday.
The IT minister who was on an official visit to Odisha was laying the foundation for a new post office in the state capital. Similarly, he said, the number of mobile phone users in the country was also expected to grow in the coming years. At present, the country has 98 crore mobile phone users.
Postal services
Stating that his government is aiming to strengthen postal services in the country, Prasad said in the last year since the NDA government came to power, the number of postal ATMs had gone up from only four to 115.
The minister also said speed post, the courier service of the department of post, was performing much better than private courier service providers. “The CAG which had conducted a review in eight states has given a report stating that the speed post is performing much better than private courier service providers,” he said.
Prasad also spoke about the digital India campaign recently launched by the prime minister and said it would empower and enrich the poor.
“People in smaller businesses and trades would be immensely benefited from the digital India campaign”, he said. Later, the minister launched the government-run BSNL’s Wi-Fi facility in the temple town of Puri which is currently celebrating Nabakalebara festival of the Jagannath temple.
Efforts are on to introduce the facility in all the tourist hotspots across the country, Prasad said adding the facility had already been introduced in160 such tourist destinations.