March 12, 2024, | Delhi: Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), signed a tripartite MoU with Prasar Bharati (under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiative of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry) to proliferate affordable and accessible digital services across the country. The objective of the MoU is to bundle broadband services with OTT and an e-commerce platform for rural India riding on BharatNet infrastructure under the USOF.
USOF has been instrumental in enabling high-speed broadband and mobile connections across Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages in the country. This MoU will enable the bundled Prasar Bharati OTT as a service, including linear channels, Live TV, and on-demand content, among the end consumers while USOF will ensure efficient and highspeed broadband services in rural and remote areas. The national public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, with unparalleled legacy content, consumer reach, and brand recall, will source and produce content that will run on its OTT platform. In addition, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a leading player in digital infrastructure, will provide the technical expertise and necessary framework to enable digital commerce in products & services. This will be expanded to cover more services like education, health, training, credit, insurance, and agriculture amongst others.
The Hon’ble PM’s vision and Hon’ble MoC’s unwavering commitment to foster a conducive environment for digital innovation underpins this truly unique collaboration synergizing connectivity, content, and commerce to empower rural India.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Dr, Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom), Sh. Niraj Verma, Administrator, USOF, Sh. T. Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC, Sh. A.K. Jha, ADG, Platforms, Prasar Bharati and Sh. Sunil Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary, DoT.