Important Facts For Prelims
Broadband Readiness Index (BRI)
- 17 Jul 2019
- 2 min read
Recently the Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) for Indian States and Union Territories (UT).
- This BRI will appraise the condition of the underlying digital infrastructure and related factors at the State/UT level.
- It will help the states to make choices for investment allocations in ICT programmes.
- The index will encourage the spirit of competitive federalism, as states will learn from each other and jointly participate in achieving the overall objective of digital inclusion and development in India.
- The BRI was recommended by National Digital Communication Policy (NDCP) 2018
- NCDP acknowledged the need for building a robust digital communications infrastructure leveraging existing assets of the broadcasting and power sectors including collaborative models involving state, local bodies and the private sector.
- The BRI consists of two parts.
- First part will focus on infrastructure development
- Second part will consist of demand-side parameters such as the percentage of households using computers/ laptops with an internet connection, the percentage of households with fixed broadband connection etc.
- The primary survey of BRI will be conducted annually until 2022. which will form the basis of the new digital communication policy in 2022.
