Ministry of Communications press release · 20 April 2026 · pibtracker filter

Samriddh Gram Initiative of India Nominated for WSIS Prizes 2026 in Enabling Environment Category

PRID2253892 MinistryMinistry of Communications Released20 April 2026 Reading10 min

Nomination seen as a global recognition of India’s efforts to harness digital infrastructure for driving inclusive growth in rural areas Samriddh Gram Highlights Delivery of Integrated Phygital Services to Rural India Leveraging BharatNet, World’s Largest Rural Broadband Project Posted On: 20 APR 2026 6:50PM by PIB Delhi In a major global recognition of India’s efforts to harness digital infrastructure for driving inclusive growth in rural areas, Samriddh Gram : Integrated Phygital Service Delivery Model Enabled by BharatNet , an initiative of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, has been selected as a nominee for the prestigious WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Prizes 2026 under the Action Line AL C6: Enabling Environment category . Built on the backbone of BharatNet, the Samriddh Gram initiative establishes Samriddhi Kendras as one-stop community hubs delivering integrated “phygital” services that combine physical infrastructure with digital platforms. Through these Kendras, rural citizens gain seamless access to essential services across healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, financial inclusion, and e-commerce. High-speed broadband, FTTH connectivity, and public Wi-Fi enable transformative use cases such as telemedicine, smart classrooms, digital governance services, and technology-enabled agriculture. The initiative demonstrates how telecom infrastructure can move beyond connectivity to become a catalyst for social and economic empowerment. Early outcomes indicate improved access to services, reduced travel time and costs, enhanced digital literacy, and increased livelihood opportunities for rural communities. Designed as a scalable and sustainable model, the project is driven through a community-based entrepreneurial framework, making it replicable across diverse geographies in India and beyond. The public voting phase for WSIS Prizes 2026 is now open. Stakeholders, institutions, and citizens can support the project by registering on WSIS Stocktaking Platform before the last date, i.e. 03 May, 2026. Recently, Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated India’s First Samriddhi Kendra under the Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Initiative at Umri Village in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, marking a key milestone in expanding digital service delivery in rural India. About World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) The WSIS Forum is a globally recognized multi-stakeholder platform focused on advancing digital development and fostering inclusive information societies. It brings together key stakeholders—including governments, industry, academia, civil society, and international organizations—to collaborate on critical digital issues. The WSIS Prizes celebrate innovative ICT-driven projects that contribute to sustainable development worldwide. The WSIS Forum 2026 is scheduled to take place from 6–10 July 2026 in Geneva, featuring discussions on emerging technologies, digital inclusion, cybersecurity, and global digital cooperation. Follow DoT Handles for more: - X - https://x.com/DoT_India Insta- https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ == Fb - https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departmentoftelecom?si=DALnhYkt89U5jAaa **** NJ/ARJ (Release ID: 2253892) Visitor Counter : 1332 Read this release in: Urdu , हिन्दी , Gujarati , Telugu Ministry of Communications Samriddh Gram Initiative of India Nominated for WSIS Prizes 2026 in Enabling Environment Category Nomination seen as a global recognition of India’s efforts to harness digital infrastructure for driving inclusive growth in rural areas Samriddh Gram Highlights Delivery of Integrated Phygital Services to Rural India Leveraging BharatNet, World’s Largest Rural Broadband Project Posted On: 20 APR 2026 6:50PM by PIB Delhi In a major global recognition of India’s efforts to harness digital infrastructure for driving inclusive growth in rural areas, Samriddh Gram : Integrated Phygital Service Delivery Model Enabled by BharatNet , an initiative of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, has been selected as a nominee for the prestigious WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Prizes 2026 under the Action Line AL C6: Enabling Environment category . Built on the backbone of BharatNet, the Samriddh Gram initiative establishes Samriddhi Kendras as one-stop community hubs delivering integrated “phygital” services that combine physical infrastructure with digital platforms. Through these Kendras, rural citizens gain seamless access to essential services across healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, financial inclusion, and e-commerce. High-speed broadband, FTTH connectivity, and public Wi-Fi enable transformative use cases such as telemedicine, smart classrooms, digital governance services, and technology-enabled agriculture. The initiative demonstrates how telecom infrastructure can move beyond connectivity to become a catalyst for social and economic empowerment. Early outcomes indicate improved access to services, reduced travel time and costs, enhanced digital literacy, and increased livelihood opportunities for rural communities. Designed as a scalable and sustainable model, the project is driven through a community-based entrepreneurial framework, making it replicable across diverse geographies in India and beyond. The public voting phase for WSIS Prizes 2026 is now open. Stakeholders, institutions, and citizens can support the project by registering on WSIS Stocktaking Platform before the last date, i.e. 03 May, 2026. Recently, Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated India’s First Samriddhi Kendra under the Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Initiative at Umri Village in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, marking a key milestone in expanding digital service delivery in rural India. About World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) The WSIS Forum is a globally recognized multi-stakeholder platform focused on advancing digital development and fostering inclusive information societies. It brings together key stakeholders—including governments, industry, academia, civil society, and international organizations—to collaborate on critical digital issues. The WSIS Prizes celebrate innovative ICT-driven projects that contribute to sustainable development worldwide. The WSIS Forum 2026 is scheduled to take place from 6–10 July 2026 in Geneva, featuring discussions on emerging technologies, digital inclusion, cybersecurity, and global digital cooperation. Follow DoT Handles for more: - X - https://x.com/DoT_India Insta- https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ == Fb - https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departmentoftelecom?si=DALnhYkt89U5jAaa **** NJ/ARJ (Release ID: 2253892) Nomination seen as a global recognition of India’s efforts to harness digital infrastructure for driving inclusive growth in rural areas Samriddh Gram Highlights Delivery of Integrated Phygital Services to Rural India Leveraging BharatNet, World’s Largest Rural Broadband Project" /> In a major global recognition of India’s efforts to harness digital infrastructure for driving inclusive growth in rural areas, Samriddh Gram: Integrated Phygital Service Delivery Model Enabled by BharatNet, an initiative of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, has been selected as a nominee for the prestigious WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Prizes 2026 under the Action Line AL C6: Enabling Environment category. Built on the backbone of BharatNet, the Samriddh Gram initiative establishes Samriddhi Kendras as one-stop community hubs delivering integrated “phygital” services that combine physical infrastructure with digital platforms. Through these Kendras, rural citizens gain seamless access to essential services across healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, financial inclusion, and e-commerce. High-speed broadband, FTTH connectivity, and public Wi-Fi enable transformative use cases such as telemedicine, smart classrooms, digital governance services, and technology-enabled agriculture. The initiative demonstrates how telecom infrastructure can move beyond connectivity to become a catalyst for social and economic empowerment. Early outcomes indicate improved access to services, reduced travel time and costs, enhanced digital literacy, and increased livelihood opportunities for rural communities. Designed as a scalable and sustainable model, the project is driven through a community-based entrepreneurial framework, making it replicable across diverse geographies in India and beyond. The public voting phase for WSIS Prizes 2026 is now open. Stakeholders, institutions, and citizens can support the project by registering on WSIS Stocktaking Platform before the last date, i.e. 03 May, 2026. Recently, Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated India’s First Samriddhi Kendra under the Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Initiative at Umri Village in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, marking a key milestone in expanding digital service delivery in rural India. About World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) The WSIS Forum is a globally recognized multi-stakeholder platform focused on advancing digital development and fostering inclusive information societies. It brings together key stakeholders—including governments, industry, academia, civil society, and international organizations—to collaborate on critical digital issues. The WSIS Prizes celebrate innovative ICT-driven projects that contribute to sustainable development worldwide. The WSIS Forum 2026 is scheduled to take place from 6–10 July 2026 in Geneva, featuring discussions on emerging technologies, digital inclusion, cybersecurity, and global digital cooperation. <table border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:450.8pt"> Follow DoT Handles for more: - X - <a href="https://x.com/DoT_India" target="_blank">https://x.com/DoT_India</a> Insta- <a href="https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/department_of_telecom?igsh=MXUxbHFjd3llZTU0YQ</a>== Fb - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/DoTIndia</a> Youtube: https://youtube.com/@departmentoftelecom?si=DALnhYkt89U5jAaa </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> **** NJ/ARJ " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); return html; } function stripHtml(html) { let tmp = document.createElement("DIV"); tmp.innerHTML = CleanHtml(html); return tmp.textContent || tmp.innerText || ""; } $(document).ready(function () { //for responsive tables $("table").each(function () { if (!$(this).closest(".table-responsive").length) { $(this).wrap(" "); } }); var width = $(window).width(); if (width $(document).ready(function () { var width = $(window).width(); if (width @media print { .sticky-social, .sticky-social_mb, .pull-right, #printPDF { display: none !important; } } .f_vl { padding-right: 30px; font-size: 17px; cursor: pointer; } .log_oo { // width: 20%; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .log_oo img { width: 150px; /*width: 100%; height: auto;*/ } .sticky-social_mb { position: fixed; bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 100%; } .social_mb { list-style: none; display: flex; width: 100%; margin-bottom: -8px; } .social_mb a { padding: 8px 0px; font-size: 30px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; width: 20% !important; text-align: center; } .section1 { position: relative; padding: 10px 0px; width: 100%; } .sticky-social { position: fixed; top: 20px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; } .social { list-style: none; } .social a li { padding: 8px 12px; font-size: 25px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; } .social a li:hover { margin-right: -30px; box-shadow: 2px 5px 10px grey; } .social a li:hover .fa { margin-left: 20px; } .fb_b { /* background-color: rgb(59, 89, 152);*/ background-color: rgba(65,103,178,255); } .twitter_r { /* background-color: rgb(29, 161, 242);*/ background-color: #000000; } .whatsapp_r { /* background-color: rgb(77, 194, 71);*/ background-color: rgba(13,191,67,255); } .fa-envelope_r { /* background-color: rgb(219, 68, 55);*/ background-color: #e2123d; } .fa-linkedin_r { background-color: rgb(0, 119, 181); } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 767px) { p span img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } p img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } h2 { font-size: 20px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } h3 { font-size: 18px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } } /* === Film Roll Badge Styling(IFFI2025 countdown) === */ .film-roll-badge { position: absolute; top:82%; right: 20px; width: 230px; height: 70px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 18px, #6e2b8b 18px, #6e2b8b 36px ); border-top: 8px solid #9a2375; border-bottom: 8px solid #9a2375; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); animation: moveFilm 8s linear infinite; z-index: 10; } /* film sprocket holes */ .film-roll-badge::before, .film-roll-badge::after { content: ""; position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 10px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 10px, #fff 10px, #fff 20px ); left: 0; z-index: 2; } .film-roll-badge::before { top: -4px; } .film-roll-badge::after { bottom: -4px; } .film-roll-inner { position: relative; height: 100%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; animation: flicker 2s infinite ease-in-out; } .countdown-text { font-size: 1.3rem; font-weight: 700; color: #fff; text-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4), 0 0 10px #000; white-space: nowrap; } /* === Animations === */ @keyframes moveFilm { 0% { background-position: 0 0; } 100% { background-position: 120px 0; } } @keyframes flicker { 0%, 100% { opacity: 1; } 50% { opacity: 0.9; } 25% { opacity: 0.95; } 75% { opacity: 0.85; } } /* === Responsive Adjustments === */ @media (max-width: 1500px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 68%; right: 18px; /* width: 220px; */ height: 65px; font-size: 0.85rem; } .press-section { margin-top: 35px; } } @media (max-width: 992px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 52%; right: 10px; width: 200px; height: 60px; } } @media (max-width: 768px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 56%; right: 10px; width: 124px; height: 55px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.9rem; } } @media (max-width: 576px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 59%; right: 5px; /* width: 160px; */ height: 50px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.85rem; } } const festivalStart = new Date("2025-11-20T00:00:00").getTime(); const festivalEnd = new Date("2025-11-28T23:59:59").getTime(); const countdownElement = document.getElementById("countdown"); const interval = setInterval(() => { const now = new Date().getTime(); // BEFORE FESTIVAL — show days + hours left if (now = festivalStart && now el.style.width = "350px"); clearInterval(interval); } }, 1000); //

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Samriddh Gram Initiative of India Nominated for WSIS Prizes 2026 in Enabling Environment Category

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