Content

1. Satellite Internet in India
2. PMAY-G: Empowering Rural India through Housing for All

Satellite Internet in India

What is Satellite Internet?

• Definition: Internet connectivity delivered through satellites in orbit (Geostationary, Medium Earth, Low Earth).
• Why needed in India?
  • Over 1 billion internet users, but rural penetration only ~46/100 people.
  • Remote, hilly, border, and island regions remain underserved.
  • Terrestrial solutions (fiber, towers) are costly/unviable in such areas.

Relevance :

• GS 2 (Governance): Digital inclusion, service delivery in remote regions, role of DoT, TRAI, IN-SPACe, and Telecom Act 2023.
• GS 3 (Science & Technology): Satellite communication technology, LEO/MEO transition, orbital debris, cybersecurity.
• GS 3 (Economy): Broadband penetration, MSMEs, startups, e-commerce, rural economy growth.

Institutional & Policy Ecosystem

• Space Sector Reforms (2020): Opened private participation.
• Indian Space Policy 2023: Enabled NGEs to participate across the space value chain.
• DoT: Grants Unified Licence authorisations; empowered by Telecom Act 2023 for spectrum/security.
• TRAI (2025 recommendations): Satellite spectrum allocation for 5 years (extendable by 2 years).
• IN-SPACe: Promotes, authorises, supervises private satellite internet activities; bridge between ISRO & private sector.
• NSIL: ISRO’s commercial arm, operating 15 communication satellites, demand-driven missions (GSAT-24, GSAT-20, GSAT-N3 upcoming).

Technological Transition

• Traditional: Dependence on ISRO’s GSAT (GEO-based).
• Shift: LEO (400–2000 km) → low latency, high bandwidth; MEO (8,000–20,000 km) → wider coverage, moderate latency.
• Spectrum Bands: S, C, Extended C, Ku, Ka.
• High-Throughput Satellites (HTS): GSAT-19, GSAT-29, GSAT-11, GSAT-N2 → use spot-beam tech for faster speeds and high capacity.

Industry Developments

• Private Entry:
  • Starlink licensed in June 2025.
  • Jio Satellite & OneWeb licensed earlier.
  • 10 satellite operators applied for authorisation.
     
• FDI Liberalisation: Up to 100% FDI permitted, automatic/government routes.
• Market Potential: Rising demand for affordable broadband in rural/remote India + enterprise solutions (aviation, shipping, defence).

Government Initiatives to Expand Connectivity

• Digital Bharat Nidhi (ex-USOF): Funds rural connectivity projects (4G saturation).
• Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP):
  • Islands: BSNL satellite augmentation (Andaman: 2 → 4 Gbps; Lakshadweep: 318 Mbps → 1.71 Gbps).
  • North-East: 2,485 towers, 3,389 villages covered (till June 2025).
• National Broadband Mission (NBM 2.0): Extend broadband to 1.7 lakh villages.
• BharatNet: 2.14 lakh Gram Panchayats connected (Phase II includes satellite component via BBNL & BSNL).
• PM-WANI: 3.73 lakh public Wi-Fi hotspots installed (as of Sept 2025).
• MoES GIS-DSS: Uses internet for impact-based weather warnings and disaster risk mitigation.

Applications of Satellite Internet

• Social: Rural education, telemedicine, digital payments, online governance.
• Economic: MSMEs, startups, e-commerce penetration in rural India.
• Strategic: Defence networks, secure communications in border regions, disaster recovery.
• Technological: Aviation, shipping, autonomous vehicles, IoT, remote sensing synergy.

Challenges & Concerns

• Regulatory: Spectrum pricing, licensing clarity, security risks.
• Cost: User affordability vs. high equipment cost (antennas, receivers).
• Competition: Balancing private foreign operators (Starlink) with indigenous capacity.
• Cybersecurity: Data interception risks in satellite links.
• Space Traffic Management: Rising LEO constellations → orbital debris, collision risk.

Strategic & Geoeconomic Significance

• Digital Inclusion: Bridges rural-urban digital divide.
• Viksit Bharat 2047 Vision: Equitable access to high-speed internet as a driver of development.
• Global Positioning: India emerges as both a market hub and technology provider.
• Self-reliance: ISRO-NSIL + private sector synergy reduces dependence on foreign constellations.
• Strategic Autonomy: Secure satcom strengthens defence and disaster preparedness.

Way Forward

• Short-term (till 2030):
  • Expand LEO/MEO networks in partnership with private players.
  • Integrate satellite internet into BharatNet/PM-WANI.
• Medium-term (2030–2040):
  • Build indigenous LEO constellations (to compete with Starlink/OneWeb).
  • Enhance cybersecurity & orbital debris management protocols.
• Long-term (towards 2047):
  • Global leadership in affordable satellite broadband.
  • Export capacity to Global South (Africa, ASEAN).
  • Position India as a digital infrastructure power complementing its space leadership.

PMAY-G: Empowering Rural India through Housing for All

Background

• Launch: 1st April 2016, successor to Indira Awaas Yojana.
• Objective: “Housing for All” in rural areas by providing pucca houses with basic facilities.
• Minimum unit size: 25 sq. m including hygienic cooking space.
• Assistance amount: ₹1.20 lakh (plains) and ₹1.30 lakh (hilly/NE/Himalayan states).
• Funding pattern:
  • 60:40 (Centre: State) in plains.
  • 90:10 in NE & Himalayan states.
  • 100% central funding in UTs without legislature.

Relevance :

• GS 2 (Governance): Welfare delivery, DBT, Aadhaar integration, transparency (AwaasSoft, geo-tagging, social audits).
• GS 3 (Economy): Employment generation, rural construction sector multiplier, skill development (rural masons).
• GS 1 (Society): Social empowerment, dignity, women ownership, equity for SC/ST and PwD.
• GS 2 (Social Justice): Inclusive development, convergence with SBM, MGNREGS, LPG, electricity.

Scale and Progress

• Cumulative target: 4.95 crore houses (2016–29).
• Allocation (till Aug 2025): 4.12 crore houses.
• Sanctioned: 3.85 crore houses.
• Completed: 2.82 crore houses (68% completion rate).
• FY 2024–25 performance: 84.37 lakh target → 64.7 lakh sanctioned.
• Employment impact: 568 crore person-days generated (2016–25).

Beneficiary Identification & Inclusion

• Primary data base: SECC 2011 housing deprivation indicators.
• Verification: Gram Sabha scrutiny + appellate mechanism.
• Inclusion of left-out households: Awaas+ survey (2018–19) and Awaas+ 2024 app-based survey.
• Equity norms:
  • 60% SC/ST households.
  • Priority for landless.
  • 5% for Persons with Disabilities (as per RPwD Act 2016).

Beyond Housing – Convergence & Socio-economic Linkages

• Livelihoods: 90–95 person-days of MGNREGS work per house (≈₹27,000).
• Skill development: 2.97 lakh trained rural masons (some employed abroad).
• Sanitation: Toilet construction (₹12,000 under SBM-G).
• Amenities: Access to piped drinking water, LPG, electricity via convergence.
• Local economy multiplier: Boost to construction material supply chains and transport.

Technology-Driven Implementation

• Digital backbone: AwaasSoft MIS + AwaasApp for monitoring progress.
• Transparency tools:
  • Geo-tagged & time-stamped photographs of construction stages.
  • Aadhaar-based DBT via PFMS (100% ABPS compliance).
  • AI/ML fraud detection, e-KYC, face authentication, liveness detection.
• Accountability:
  • Social audit in every Gram Panchayat (annual).
  • Multi-level grievance redressal (CPGRAMS, e-ticketing, district appellate).

Innovations for Inclusivity & Quality

• House design typologies: Region-specific, disaster-resilient, culturally appropriate, available in 3D via app.
• Landless module: Tracking land allotment for beneficiaries.
• Employment multiplier: ~201 person-days (skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled) generated per house.

Institutional & Administrative Mechanisms

• Ministry of Rural Development: Nodal body for PMAY-G.
• State governments & Gram Sabhas: Execution and beneficiary verification.
• Monitoring: Central dashboards, micro-level reviews, real-time analytic dashboards.
• Acceleration strategies: Priority to incomplete houses, fund release linked to progress, regular reviews at ministerial level.

Broader Impacts

• Social: Provides dignity, security, and women empowerment (houses often in women’s names).
• Economic: Stimulates rural economy, employment, skilling.
• Health: Safe housing reduces vulnerability to diseases, natural disasters.
• Environment: Push towards disaster-resilient designs, convergence with clean energy.
• Governance: Transparent, tech-enabled model as a benchmark for other welfare schemes.

Challenges Ahead

• Land availability for landless beneficiaries.
• Ensuring timely fund release & construction completion.
• Maintaining quality across states with diverse geo-climatic conditions.
• Continuous updating of beneficiary lists beyond SECC 2011.
• Digital literacy & accessibility for beneficiaries in remote areas.

Comprehensive Significance

• Poverty Alleviation: Moves households from kutcha to pucca housing, breaking poverty cycles.
• Rural Prosperity Catalyst: Housing → dignity → sanitation → jobs → social inclusion.
• Model for Welfare Delivery: Combines DBT, convergence, technology, and accountability.
• Viksit Bharat 2047 Vision: Strengthening rural foundations by ensuring every household has secure housing by 2029.