Tremendous potential for growth of internet adoption in India, says report

With an estimated 432 million Internet users in December 2016, India is the second largest online market, ranked only behind China. And, reports suggest that this number is expected to reach 500 million by June 2018.

According to a report published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar IMRB, Internet users in India in December 2017 was estimated to be 481 million with 35 percent overall Internet penetration of the total population.

While in Urban India, the Internet user base has grown by 7 percent from October 2015 to October 2016 to reach an estimated 263 million, it is further expected to grow to reach user base in a range of 275-285 million by June 2017.

While in urban India, the Internet user base grew by 7 percent from October 2015 to October 2016 to reach an estimated 263 million, it is expected to grow to reach user base in a range of 275-285 million by June 2017. In comparison, the Internet user base in rural areas has grown at the rate of 22 percent during the same period to reach an estimated 157 million. The numbers are expected to reach in the range of 170-180 million by June 2017.

Among urban internet users in India, close to 51 percent of users use the Internet on a daily basis while 90 percent only access the internet once a month, according to the report. But, rural India isn’t far behind from their counterpart. An estimated 48 percent or around 78 million of the users access the internet daily in India while 83 percent, or around 140 million access the internet once a month.

While most users in urban areas use the internet primarily for online communications and social networking, rural India opts for entertainment as their main driver of internet consumption. To no one’s surprise, the mobile is the most used device for internet access in both areas. On the contrary, almost 77 percent of urban users and 92 percent of rural users use the mobile as the primary device.

“Lack awareness of benefits of internet” is the main category of reasons for not using Internet among the non-users in Urban India. 76 percent of the non-users of Internet in Urban India are not aware of internet followed by 3 percent who need to learn PC, points out the report.