India was reported to have had 638,596 villages, of which 593,731 are inhabited according to the last census. Over 9 percent of the inhabited villages, 55,000, are said to lack mobile coverage.
Sinha said that, according to the 2011 Census, there are 55,000 villages that don’t have mobile connectivity. The government, he added, had drawn up a plan to ensure the villages are brought on the mobile telephony network, especially in hilly areas and Left-wing extremism-affected regions.
Congress member Renuka Chowdhury pointed out that mobile towers had been destroyed in Maoist violence. The minister sought details on the matter, and promised to “resolve any such issue”.
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