Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched development projects worth over ₹60,000 crore in Jharsuguda, Odisha, focused on digital connectivity, infrastructure, and higher education.
During his visit, state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) received a shot in the arm with the Prime Minister commissioning more than 97,500 4G mobile towers built with BSNL’s indigenous technology stack. The towers were built at a cost of about Rs 37,000 crore.
The development marked India’s entry into an exclusive group of countries, including Denmark, Sweden, South Korea and China, which manufacture their own telecom equipment.
According to officials news agency PTI spoke to, the India-made 4G network is cloud-based, energy-efficient, and designed for seamless upgrades to 5G. The rollout, part of BSNL’s silver jubilee celebrations, is aimed at connecting over 26,700 previously unserved villages, including 2,472 in Odisha, and benefit nearly two million new subscribers.
Nation’s Largest Green Telecom Cluster
Many of these towers are solar-powered, making them the country’s largest cluster of green telecom sites.
Modi also laid the foundation for the expansion of eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which will add capacity for 10,000 students over the next four years.
In a major boost to city commute, Modi inaugurated a five-kilometre flyover in Sambalpur, which was built at a cost of Rs 273 crore. The flyover is expected to ease traffic in the city.
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The Prime Minister described the 100 per cent 4G saturation project, implemented under Digital Bharat Nidhi, which the government describes as a transformative step towards bridging India’s digital divide and empowering rural communities. Around 30,000 villages nationwide are set to be connected through this mission-mode project.
This was Modi’s sixth visit to Odisha in 15 months since the BJP came to power in the state in June 2024, and his first trip to Jharsuguda after a gap of seven years. His previous visit to the town was in September 2018, when he inaugurated Odisha’s second commercial airport.
