ACC names Shyamal Misra as new administrator of Digital Bharat Nidhi

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Shyamal Misra as the administrator of the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Department of Telecommunications. Misra is a 1996-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Haryana cadre.

He takes over from Niraj Verma, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, who had been serving as the administrator of the fund since November 22, 2023.

DBN, earlier known as the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), is a central government fund that levies a 5 per cent charge on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of telecom operators. The proceeds are used to support equitable broadband expansion, including initiatives such as the 4G saturation programme and the BharatNet project, particularly in rural and remote areas.