Satish Sharma calls for broadband expansion, digital infra push

Jammu: Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Transport, Youth Services & Sports and Information Technology, Satish Sharma, Friday called for expansion of broad band network and giving push to the digital infrastructure across Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister was speaking at a meeting with the Deputy Director General (DDG), National Broadband Mission (NBM), Department of Telecommunications, held to review and accelerate the digital connectivity roadmap across Jammu & Kashmir.
Senior officers from the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India and J&K Information Technology Department also participated in the meeting.
During the detailed deliberations, Satish Sharma underscored the government’s strong commitment towards expanding high-speed internet access, strengthening the digital governance structures and ensuring equitable digital opportunities for all communities across J&K.
The Minister emphasized the need to expedite the rollout of broadband infrastructure across both urban centres and remote rural locations, enabling the citizens to benefit from digital services, e-learning, telemedicine and digital skilling.
Satish Sharma highlighted that improving last-mile access is essential for delivering the seamless digital services, especially in geographically challenging regions. He called for joint efforts between the IT Department and DoT to remove bottlenecks and fast-track implementation.
Reiterating the Government’s focus on ease of doing business, the Minister directed officers to further streamline the RoW facilitation mechanism, ensuring timely permissions for telecom infrastructure providers and smooth execution of projects under the National Broadband Mission.
Satish Sharma stated that developing a resilient, secure, and future-ready digital infrastructure is at the heart of the Government’s transformative vision for Jammu & Kashmir. He added that robust digital connectivity is fundamental for empowering youth, supporting educational institutions, improving public service delivery, and enabling economic growth.
Minister assured full support of the Jammu and Kashnir Government to all initiatives under the National Broadband Mission and stressed coordinated efforts between departments to achieve universal digital access.
The meeting also reviewed existing initiatives and identified areas where collaboration with NBM could significantly enhance digital literacy, digital service delivery, and connectivity in underserved pockets of Jammu and Kashmir.