Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the budget at a time when in the last week of June, the country’s three major telecom companies Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea increased their tariffs by up to 25 percent. But the government has started taking initiatives to curb this expensive recharge.
The government has approved for consideration a proposal that seeks to give the right to free internet to every citizen of the country, as well as ensure that the facility of internet can be made available to people living in remote areas. The proposal states that no citizen will be liable to pay any fee or expense that may prevent him from accessing internet facilities.
The bill was introduced in December 2023
This bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by CPM MP V Sivadasan in December 2023. According to the Rajya Sabha bulletin, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has informed the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha that the President has recommended consideration of the bill.
Since it is a private bill, there is a provision that when an MP wants to bring a bill that will cost money from the government treasury, then the President’s permission has to be taken for consideration of that bill in Parliament.
What does the bill say?
The bill states that every citizen will have the right to use the internet for free. Along with this, while providing internet to all citizens, the government will also ensure that citizens in backward and remote areas of the country are also provided with internet facilities.
The aim of the bill is to expand the scope of the constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression given to all the citizens of the country by providing free internet to all. The bill also aims to eliminate the digital divide that has occurred in the society.