Government Schemes: Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Bharat Net Project

The objective is to provide broadband connectivity to Gram Panchayats through an optical fibre network

• Its aims to provide a minimum bandwidth of 100Mbps to each of the 2.5 lakhs Gram panchayats
• It will facilitate e-governance delivery, e-health, e-education, e-banking, public internet access
• It is the new brand name of NOFN (National Optic Fibre Network) which is being implemented in three phases
• The Universal service obligation Fund is funding it
• It is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle named Bharat Broadband Network limited set up under companies act

Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Sanchar Kaushal Vikas Pratisthan scheme

The objective is to supplement telecom skilled workforce creation for the growth of the telecom sector

• According to the plan, it will train 10,000 people from UP, MP, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab, and Haryana on a pilot basis
• The government will also reward people doing innovative work in the telecom space

DARPAN

The scheme aims to improve the quality of service and achieve "financial inclusion" of the un-banked rural population

• It is a part of the IT modernization project. It intends to provide a low power technology solution to each Branch Postmaster

Tarang Sanchar

It is a web portal which aims for information sharing on mobile towers and Electro-Magnetic Frequency(EMF) emission compliance

• It has been made in public, private partnership mode by the department of telecommunications with industry
• Anyone can request for EMF emission measurement at a location

Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana

The objective is to provide affordable life insurance services to people living in rural areas of the country through the postal network

• In this scheme, at least one village in each of the revenue district of the country will be selected
• All villages under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana would also be covered under the scheme to turn them into Sampoorna Beema Gram

Deen Dayal Sparsh Yojana

It is a pan India scheme launched by the government to increase the collection and study of postal stamps

• SPARSH stands for Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby
• It would award an annual scholarship of INR 6000 to children of Standard VI to IX having a good academic record and also want to pursue Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles.

Cool EMS Service

Cool EMS (Express Mail Service) is a one-way service from Japan to India,

The service allows customers in India to import Japanese food items for personal use, which is allowed under Indian regulations.

• Initially, it was available in Delhi only. Japan Post will carry food items in special cool boxes containing refrigerant to preserve the quality of the food items.