Digital Bharat Nidhi

Union Government notified Draft Rules to operationalize Digital Bharat Nidhi

  • Created under – Telecommunication Act, 2023
  • Will replace the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) created under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
  • USOF – A pool of funds generated by a Universal Access Levy through the license fee charged on licensee of DoT at 5% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue.
  • Balance of Credit under DBN is non-lapsable at the end of financial year.
  • Objectives – Promoting access to and delivery of telecommunication services in underserved rural, remote and urban areas, support research and development of telecommunication services, technologies, etc.
  • Transfer of funds –
    • According to the Telecom Act, telecom companies’ contributions to the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) are first credited to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI).
    • The Centre will transfer the collected funds to the DBN periodically.
  • Funds from the DBN will be used to –
    • Promote telecommunication services in underserved rural, remote, and urban areas.
    • Fund research and development of telecom services, technologies, and products.
    • Support pilot projects and provide consultancy and advisory assistance to improve connectivity.
    • Introduce new telecom services, technologies, and products.
  • Appointment of Administrators – Centre will appoint an “administrator” to select “DBN implementers” through bidding or applications.
  • Telecom services on an open and non-discriminatory basis – DBN implementers receiving funding must share and provide telecom networks and services on an open and non-discriminatory basis.

Source: The Indian Express


Previous Year Question

With reference to ‘National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It is an organ of NITI Aayog.
2. It has a corpus of 4, 00,000 crore at present.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2017 Prelims]

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (d)
Explanation:

Statement 1 is not correct. ‘National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’ was set up under SEBI.
Statement 2 is not correct. It has a corpus of 40000 crore.


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