The Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface scheme which is also known as PM-WANI scheme was launched by the Government of India and approved for its establishment by the Union Cabinet in December 2020. This scheme is an initiative taken up by the Prime Minister and the present government to make internet connections available throughout the country of India, and only in urban areas but also the rural areas. The aim is to improve the accessibility of the internet even in the remotest villages in the country. According to the Prime Minister, this scheme will serve a lot of purposes including ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘ease of living’ as well.

The operations and establishment of the entire scheme will start soon and it will take place through the Public Data Offices (PDOs). The other instruments through which the process would be implemented are Public Data Aggregator, App Provider, and Central Registry. The internet would be provided by either the PDOs or would be leased from various other Internet Service Providers. Moreover, an application would be launched where the list of beneficiaries would be registered. This would be monitored by the Central registry which would be managed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT). The scheme of PM WANI has got an intention and planning to boost the Digital India initiative through its successful implementation.

Features

  1. The application process for the PM WANI scheme will be rolled out soon. The updated information about the application can be procured from the official website of the Department of Telecommunications. The scheme has been recently approved and hence information related to applications is still being worked out in the government departments.
  2. The scheme is going to be implemented in a way that will not only benefit internet users through its connectivity but also help in the economic growth of small business owners and unemployed youth. With this process, even a vegetable seller or a tea vendor can create a data center for the distribution of internet facilities. Moreover, the people who would be responsible for running data centers would not be required to keep a license. This will help in employment in the rural sectors. Then again, around 1 crore of data centers is supposed to be established for the implementation of the scheme.
  3. The PM WANI scheme is aimed at the digitalization of India and hence, plans to give the necessary infrastructure to the Digital India initiative. Accessibility to the internet will open doorways for opportunities and growth of people in the country. It will encourage computer literacy in the urban and rural areas which will lead to the exploration of newer ways of development, including academic or skill education.
  4. This scheme is being rolled out to provide internet connections everywhere in India. The connectivity in practice would be through Submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) which would be laid from one city to the other and also in between villages. The internet connection can be used by everyone as no money is required for its usage as a payment. Hence the scheme enables the underprivileged with the tool of technology for future growth.