‘GatiShakti Sanchar Portal’

Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Telecom Minister has launched the “GatiShakti Sanchar” portal on 14^th May 2022. This portal has been launched to speed up and centralize approvals for installations of towers, laying of fibre wires, and boosting of the upcoming 5G rollout.

Why has this portal been developed?

This portal has been developed to align with the National Broadband Mission’s vision areas. The plan of the National Broadband Mission is to provide broadband infrastructure to every Indian citizen along with services, governance, on-demand services, and digital empowerment to the country’s citizens. The portal will be acting as a facilitator to the ease of doing business objectives for infrastructure works in the telecommunications sector.

Which department has launched this portal?

This portal has been launched for Centralised Right of Way (RoW) approvals by the Department of Telecommunication which is under the Ministry of Communications.

How will the GatiShakti Sanchar portal affect the RoW approvals?

This new portal will ease the RoW approvals process for laying down various telecommunications infrastructures by various players, as a unified and centralized approach to permissions is being provided by the portal.

What is the Right of Way rules?

The RoW rules regarding the laying of cables and setting up telecom towers offer a framework for dispute settlements, providing approvals, and facilitating coordination between various agencies and the industry. The RoW rules currently are based on an administrative process, and legal backing is required so as to bring clarity regarding the fee structure, empower local officials, and fixing of accountability.

How will timely disposal of RoW applications help?

Well-timed disposal of the RoW applications of various infrastructure and service providers will help in the speedy creation of infrastructures which would then enable the timely rollout of the 5G Network. The GatiShakti Portal also has a dashboard that can be used for the effective monitoring of RoW applications across the nation.

What are the benefits of smoothening the RoW approval process?

This newly launched portal will help smoothen the RoW approval process which will then help in the fast laying of optical fiber across the country. It will also help in increasing the tower density thus enhancing connectivity and telecom services quality and boosting broadband speed, across India.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2022

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs