Railways has successfully completed the work of providing free public Wi-Fi at 5500 stations across the country. The Wi-Fi is being provided under the brand name of RailWire and is one of the largest Wi-Fi networks in the world.
Key Points
Indian Railways mandated RailTel, a Miniratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways, to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi at the Railway stations for the digital inclusion.
It was started in January 2016 from Mumbai Central station.
RailTel has partnered with Google, Tata Trust, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for the project and also got funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (Department of Telecommunications).
Significance
Bridges the digital divide between rural and urban India.
Students can utilise their waiting time to download study materials.
Vendors can use the service for digital payment transactions.
Daily passengers can use their time in learning new skills and net-surfing.
