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Budget 2022: 5G & rural broadband BharatNet to boost overall internet connectivity
Mumbai: Giving a boost to the country’s Digital India ambitions, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while announcing the union budget 2022 on 1 February said that 5G telecom services will be introduced in India in FY2022-23. Spectrum auctions are likely to be held soon to facilitate the roll-out of 5G by private telecom companies. Design-led initiatives for 5G and other technologies will henceforth be included in the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, added Sitharaman.
Among other big announcements impacting telecom/internet connectivity, BharatNet broadband is expected to be ready by 2025. Contracts for laying optical fibres in all villages will be awarded under the project through public-private partnerships in 2022, 2023. “Our vision is that all villages and their residents should have the same access to e-services as urban areas,” stated Sitharaman while adding that five per cent of the annual collections Universal Service Obligation Fund will be allocated to enable affordable broadband and mobile penetration in rural and remote areas.
The government’s flagship rural broadband connectivity program, BharatNet aims to bring broadband to 361,000 villages across 16 states, including 1.37 lakh gram panchayats. by acting as a middle-mile network allowing Internet service providers (ISPs), local cable operators, MSOs and other agencies to use its bandwidth and incremental fibre.
According to the economic survey released on 31 January 2022, as on September 2021, 5.46 lakh km Optical Fiber Cable has been laid, a total of 1.73 lakh Gram Panchayats (GP) have been connected by Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) and 1.59 lakh Gram Panchayats are service ready on OFC under the BharatNet project. In addition, 4173 GPs have been connected over satellite media. Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed at 1.04 lakh Gram Panchayats of which services are being provided at 0.64 lakh, catering to more than 16.17 lakh subscribers with a data usage to the tune of 5670.42 TB per month
The survey further revealed that internet penetration in the country is growing steadily with internet subscribers increasing from 302.33 million in March 2015 to 833.71 million in June 2021. While 67.2 percent of internet subscribers had narrowband connections and 32.8 percent had broadband connections in 2015, the composition had reversed by June 2021 with only 4 percent of subscribers having narrowband and 96 percent with broadband connections. As of September 2021, around 161 villages out of 354 villages have been covered with mobile service.
Here is what the industry experts had to say:
Elara Capital’s Karan Taurani noted, “Push towards affordable and high speed fixed broadband internet will boost digital content consumption and smart TV penetration into rural and smaller towns. It will also lead to shifting of eyeballs from TV to digital at a much rapid pace in smaller towns too, just like it has happened in metros.” This will help enable strong user and consumption growth for the B2C-led internet and new-age companies, which in turn will lead to a rapid shift from traditional to digital. According to him, this could have a positive impact on overall advertising, as internet companies now account for a sizable share of ad spends in India.
However, Taurani rued the absence of initiatives to protect the interests of traditional media despite the negative impact of Covid. “There was no relaxation on the license fees or royalty for radio industry, no financial grant or tax benefit for the traditional media which has seen a sharp decline over last two years and still struggles to get back to pre Covid levels, and no reduction in GST for cinema ticket prices, despite cinema being one of the most impacted medium during the pandemic,” he said.
Welcoming the push for internet connectivity, Logicserve Digital founder and CEO Prasad Shejale said, 5G spectrum auctions will finally make the dream of a tech-savvy India a reality, further boosting the country’s digital infrastructure. Additionally, the launch of a design-led manufacturing scheme for the 5G ecosystem as part of the PLI scheme will ensure affordable broadband and mobile communication even in far-flung areas. The availability of high-speed internet connectivity in urban as well as rural areas will encourage marketers to experiment with blockchain, AR, VR. The overall budget is future tech-enabled and balanced.”
“Media consumption is in for a disruption like never before. 5G is going to change the way digital functions and is going to just accelerate the metaverse and Web3 adoption,” added White Rivers Media CEO and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi.
Specialised task force for AVGC
The M&E industry will also benefit from setting up a specialised task force for the promotion of Animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) industry, as well as the expansion of the ‘One class, one TV channel’ program of PM eVIDYA from 12 to 200 TV channels proposed under the budget.
Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, “The holistic focus on broad-based economic recovery in the Union Budget, with a huge emphasis on job creation and digital ecosystem of the country, is positive for India Inc. at large. The steps announced to build domestic capacity for the Animation, Visual-Effects, Gaming, and Comics segment will certainly help enhance capabilities, enabling the Country to compete more effectively at a global stage. An extension in the credit line guarantee scheme is also a welcome move, which will provide some much-needed relief to the relevant sectors which were impacted due to the pandemic.”
According to vernacular audio platform Khabri’s co-founder and CEO Pulkit Sharma, regional languages will be empowered through the program, which enables all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1 to 12. “These digital initiatives will provide for a more conducive environment for the adoption of tech-based learning and which will directly route to empowering youth from real Bharat,” he said.
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Induction cooktop demand spikes 30× amid LPG supply concerns
Supply worries linked to West Asia tensions push households and restaurants to turn to electric cooking alternatives
MUMBAI: As geopolitical tensions in West Asia ripple through global energy supply chains, the familiar blue flame in Indian kitchens is facing an unexpected challenger: electricity.
What began as concerns over the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has quickly evolved into a technology-driven shift in cooking habits. Households across India are increasingly turning to induction cooktops and other electric appliances, initially as a backup but now, for many, a necessity.
A sudden surge in demand
Recent data from quick-commerce and grocery platform BigBasket highlights the scale of the shift. According to Seshu Kumar Tirumala, the company’s chief buying and merchandising officer, demand for induction cooktops has risen dramatically.
“Induction cooktops have seen a significant surge in demand, recording a fivefold jump on 10 March and a thirtyfold spike on 11 March,” Tirumala said.
The increase stands out sharply when compared with broader kitchen appliance trends. Most appliance categories are growing within 10 per cent of their typical demand levels, while induction cooktops have witnessed explosive growth as households rush to secure an alternative cooking option.
Major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart have reported rising searches and orders for induction stoves. Quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit and Zepto have also witnessed stock shortages in major metropolitan areas including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What was once considered a convenient appliance for hostels, small kitchens or occasional use has suddenly become an essential addition in many homes.
A crisis thousands of miles away
The trigger for this shift lies far beyond India’s kitchens.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of India’s LPG imports pass through this narrow waterway, making the country particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
The ripple effects have been swift.
India currently meets roughly 60 per cent of its LPG demand through imports, and tightening global supply has already begun to affect domestic availability and prices.
Earlier this month, the price of domestic LPG cylinders increased by Rs 60, while commercial cylinders rose by more than Rs 114.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government has also extended the mandatory waiting period between domestic refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Restaurants feel the pressure
The strain is not limited to households. Restaurants, hotels and roadside eateries are also grappling with supply constraints as commercial LPG availability tightens under restrictions imposed through the Essential Commodities Act.
In cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, restaurant associations report that commercial LPG availability has dropped by as much as 75 per cent, forcing many establishments to rethink their kitchen operations.
Some restaurants have reduced menu offerings, while others are rapidly installing high-efficiency induction systems, creating hybrid kitchens where electricity now shares the workload with gas.
For smaller eateries and roadside dhabas, the shift is less about sustainability and more about survival.
A potential structural shift
The government has maintained that there is no nationwide LPG crisis and has directed refineries to increase production to stabilise supply.
Nevertheless, the developments of March 2026 may already be triggering a longer-term behavioural shift.
For decades, LPG has been the backbone of cooking in Indian households. However, recent disruptions have highlighted the risks of relying on a single fuel source.
Increasingly, households appear to be hedging against uncertainty by adopting electric cooking options to guard against price volatility and delivery delays.
If the current trend continues, the induction cooktop, once viewed as a niche appliance, could emerge as a quiet symbol of India’s evolving kitchen economy.
