CHANDIGARH: In consonance with the Union Government's policy of dismantling the Urban-Rural divide, Reliance Communications (RCOM), the telecom service provider, has rolled out a massive Rural Direct Exchange Project that connects rural India with the rest of the world.

The agreement signed with the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) in 2005 for subsidy support toward Rural Household Direct Exchange Lines (RDEL) in specified Short Distance Charging Areas (SDCAs) for a period of two years entitles the company to receive subsidies for providing telephone connection to every subscriber.

Under the Project 1685 SDCAs have been covered giving connections to over three million people (including RCOM's 1.1 million and BSNL's over 0.9 million and TataTeleservices' over 0.9 million new subscribers) during 2005-08.

Encouraged by its conspicuous success, the government has extended the scheme by one more year from 2005-07 to 2007-2008.