According to the telecom secretary, the government is planning to spend around Rs 330 billion on various broadband projects over the next three years. The various broadband projects include the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) and the Government Users Network (GUN), which is yet to be approved by the cabinet.

The NOFN project aims to provide broadband connectivity to 250,000 gram panchayats in the country by 2017. The cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 210 billion for the project. According to the telecom secretary, the government has already completed the survey of more than 200,000 gram panchayats.

The capital expenditure for GUN has been estimated at Rs 49.42 billion along with an operational expenditure of Rs 24.72 billion per annum. The estimates have been sent to the Expenditure Finance Committee for clearance after which it will be placed before the cabinet for final approval.