Lucknow: Building on the pledge of Swadeshi and Atmanirbhar Bharat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the country’s first Swadeshi 4G network to the nation on Saturday from Jharsuguda, Odisha. The launch of the services is not just a technical service opening, but a historic milestone in fulfilling the vision of Digital India and Make in India.
Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, India will become the fifth country in the world to develop and deploy a fully Swadeshi 4G telecom stack. Meanwhile, with the proactive efforts of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh will receive special benefits from this groundbreaking achievement. The grand event in Odisha will also be broadcasted live at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan (IGP) in Lucknow, where CM Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary will witness this momentous occasion.
It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always described Swadeshi products as the backbone of Atmanirbhar Bharat, while CM Yogi Adityanath has emphasised that ‘Swadeshi’ is not merely an option but the foundation of a strong new India.
Giving shape to this vision, BSNL’s initiative will be a special gift to the state of Uttar Pradesh. On this occasion, PM Modi will inaugurate 97,500 mobile towers and 443 Swadeshi towers across the country, at a cost of about Rs 37,000 crore. With this revolutionary step, more than 24,000 people from 240 villages in UP, who previously had no access to the network, will gain high-speed digital connectivity for the first time.
This ambitious initiative will extend digital services not only to remote areas across the country but also to Uttar Pradesh’s border and backward regions, where, until now, there has been no mobile connectivity at all or people have been limited to only 2G networks.
BSNL’s Chief General Manager (UP East) Arun Kumar Garg said, “BSNL has so far established 4G services at 6,659 locations in Uttar Pradesh. Out of these, 142 sites were sanctioned through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), of which work has been completed on 141. The UP government provided Gram Sabha land free of cost for technological advancement. The 4G network will now also reach Border Out Posts (BOPs) and Border Intelligence Posts (BIPs). In UP, 68 sites have been sanctioned for SSB along the India-Nepal border, strengthening national security. In addition, 2G services in left-wing extremism-affected districts of Chandauli, Mirzapur, and Sonbhadra are being upgraded to 4 G. Out of 78 locations in these areas, work on 25 has been completed.”
He further said that BSNL, C-DoT, Tejas, and TCS have together developed this Swadeshi 4G technology in a record 22 months, which can be easily upgraded to 5G through software. This step has connected over 26,700 previously unserved villages across the country, including those in UP, benefiting more than 20 lakh new subscribers. Uttar Pradesh has made significant contributions to this development, with a particular focus on border and backward areas. With this initiative, India has now become the fifth country in the world to develop and implement a fully Swadeshi 4G telecom stack.
Out of BSNL’s 92,600 4G towers, 18,900 towers have been installed under the Digital Bharat Nidhi. This expansion is a major step toward achieving Digital India and an Atmanirbhar Bharat, as well as BSNL’s remarkable comeback.
The Chief General Manager also noted that, for the first time in 18 years, BSNL has recorded profits in two consecutive quarters. In the third quarter of FY 2024–25, the profit was Rs 2,262 crore, and in the fourth quarter, Rs 280 crore. The company’s total annual loss reduced by 58% to Rs 2,247 crore, compared to Rs 5,370 crore in FY24. Operating revenue increased by 7.8% to Rs 20,841 crore. EBITDA more than doubled to Rs 5,396 crore, and margins improved to 23.01%. These achievements demonstrate that the government’s revival package and strategic investments have given BSNL the financial strength it needs.
At the press conference held in Lucknow, along with CGM UP East Arun Kumar Garg, CGM UP West Arun Kumar Singh, PGM S&M New Delhi Deepak Garg, DDG DoT New Delhi Rajesh Kumar Soni, and Additional DG UP East Virender Kumar were also present.
