A Coordination committee was on June 26 formed by the Indian government, so as to give a push to the decision to set up a National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN). The NOFN will be set up to provide broadband connectivity to more than two lakh gram panchayats at a cost of Rs. 20,000 crore.
Telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar will be the chairman of the committee and will assess the requirements of various ministers and departments of the central government for a pan-Indian network. The services will be provided to offer government to citizen services down to the panchayat level.
The committee will also have secretaries of health and family welfare, informative technology, higher education, school education and literacy, food and public distribution, panchayati raj and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited as members. The administrator of United States Obligation Fund as the convenor will also be the member of the committee.
The panel was set up after the meeting at the PMO so as to ensure that the backup facility has been created for the NOFN. The network will also enable the government to rollout e-services and e-applications nationally. The cabinet gave the nod for the NOFN last October, which will be rolled out by the state owned Bharat Broadband Network Limited.
