Universal access levy collection during the past five years stood at Rs 417.4 billion, says Devusinh Chauhan

The minister of state for communications, Devusinh Chauhan has told the parliament that the government has collected Rs 417.4 billion as universal access levy under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) in the last five years. He also added that Rs 302.13 billion has been disbursed using USOF during the same period.

According to the date of disbursement shared by the minister, 53 per cent of the fund was disbursed for BharatNet project and 47 per cent for other USOF scheme including installation of mobile towers, WiFi, submarine cable among others.

Under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), five per cent of the annual collection under USOF is to be provided for research and development of technology, products and services. The aim is to provide affordable service in the rural and remote areas of the country.