Context: The Kerala Cabinet has approved a Rs 1,548-crore fiber-optic network project.

To be completed by December 2020, the project seeks to fulfil the government’s aim of making internet access a ‘citizen’s right’.

About the fiber- optic network project:

• Objective: To provide free high-speed internet connection to around 2 million families in the state.
• Aims to provide free high-speed internet to over 20 lakh below poverty line (BPL) households.
• It is a collaborative initiative of the state’s power utility Kerala State Electricity Board and Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd.
• Internet service providers and cable television operators can also join the optic-fibre network project to provide their services. 
• As many as 30,000 government offices and schools would be linked through the high-speed network, said the state government.

Significance:

The project is expected to help the country’s IT industry and open major opportunities in the fields of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and startups. It is also expected to help in better management of the transport sector.