The implementation of the government?s Digital India progamme may entail higher investment on account of escalation in the costs of the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project. The cost of the NOFN project is expected to increase from an original estimated cost of Rs 201 billion to Rs 280 billion. The increase in costs is due to the laying of cables over 100,000 km, in addition to the originally estimated 500,000 km.
A recent survey conducted for the NOFN project has highlighted that the fibre cable connectivity requirement will be 2.20 km per gram panchayat, instead of 2 km per gram panchayat as per earlier estimates. Moreover, some recent optic fibre cable procurement tenders have also indicated an increase in the cable costs.
Earlier in August 2014, the government had cleared Rs 1,130 billion for the Digital India initiative. The NOFN project aims to provide broadband connectivity to 250,000 gram panchayats and will also support the delivery of government services to the citizens under the Digital India initiative from 2019. The project is being financed through the Universal Services Obligation Fund.
