Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal

 

Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal UPSC: Relevance

• GS 2: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential.

 

National Broadband Mission UPSC: Context

• Recently, Department of Telecommunication of Ministry of Communications has launched the “GatiShakti Sanchar” portal for Centralised Right of Way (RoW) approvals.

Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal: Key points

• It has been launched in line with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.
• The portal has been developed keeping in view the vision areas of the National Broadband Mission, which is majorly about providing broadband infrastructure to every citizen.

 

What is Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal?

• National Broadband Mission (NBM) was set up by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) in 2019 to facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services across the country, especially in rural and remote areas.
• To fulfil this vision, it is imperative that a backbone of infrastructure is created by facilitating smooth and efficient deployment of Digital Communications Infrastructure across the country.
• To ensure that, DoT, is launching the “GatiShakti Sanchar” portal, which will provide a robust mechanism to achieve the goal of “Broadband for All” as envisaged in the National Digital Communication Policy-2.
• The portal shall act as an enabler to the objective of “Ease of doing business” for telecommunications infrastructure works.
• The timely disposal of RoW applications of various Service and Infrastructure providers shall enable speedy infrastructure creation which would be an enabler for timely rollout of 5G Network also.

 

What is Right of Way permissions?

• The portal will enable applicants form various Telecom Service providers (TSPs) as well as Infrastructure providers (IPs) to apply at a common single portal for Right of Way permissions to lay down Optical Fibre Cable and for erecting mobile towers to State/UT Governments and local bodies.
• For effective monitoring of RoW applications across the country, the portal even comes fitted with a potent dashboard showing State and District wise pendency status.
• The portal will smoothen the RoW approval process, which will lead to:
  • Fast laying of more Optical Fiber Cable and thus will accelerate fiberization
  • Increased tower density which will enhance connectivity and improve the quality of various telecom services
  • Increased fiberization of telecom towers, thus ensuring better Broadband speed, across the country.