# CAG says BharatNet fell short of bridging digital divide 2026-08-14T04:45:22+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The government's rural broadband project BharatNet has failed to bridge the digital divide, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in a report tabled in Parliament on August 12. While 96.70% of targeted gram panchayats have network infrastructure as of November 2025, only 33.20% of service-ready GPs were operational. The CAG found fibre faults caused 48% of downtime, with repairs taking an average of 17 days. Expenditure on the project stood at Rs 39,888 crore against an approved budget of Rs 42,068 crore. The CAG noted that financial oversight was weak, and BSNL under the CPSU-led model diverted Rs 2,001.43 crore for other purposes, since recouped. Only six states achieved 100% service-ready status, with delays of two to six years. ## Coverage - telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com Tags: audit, BharatNet, BSNL, CAG, digital divide, rural broadband Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/cag-says-bharatnet-fell-short-of-bridging-digital-divide/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/cag-says-bharatnet-fell-short-of-bridging-digital-divide/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.