Gujarat has brought broadband connectivity to all village bodies so that 'every household can avail the advantages of information technology.

Each of the 13,693 village panchayats in the state is now connected to the worldwide web at a speed of 256 kbps. This was accomplished in two years, with an expenditure of Rs.1.50 billion for installing computers, tying up with Internet service providers and training villagers, particularly local body officials.

With this, Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala, said that Gujarat villages would become "e-gram-vishwa-gram" since the connectivity would make education, telemedicine, veterinary services and market linkage in agriculture production easily accessible to the masses.

He said through e-connectivity, village councils would be provided with facilities such as internet, video conferencing and multi-casting. In addition, all village bodies will be able to communicate with one another with the help of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

IANS