In more than two lakh Gramme Panchayats nationwide, the government has installed optical fibre connections under Bharat Net. IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded to supplementary questions during Lok Sabha Question Hour by stating that the Universal Service Obligation Fund is being used to lay the optical fibre. The government, he stated, is striving to bring 4G service to rural areas that do not currently have it. 40 thousand villages that are now without 4G service have been approved to receive 4G towers, according to Mr. Vaishnaw.