The number of Internet users in India is expected to reach 402
million by December 2015, registering a growth of 49% over last year,
according to a report ‘Internet in India 2015’, jointly published by the
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB
International, today. While Internet in India took more than a decade to
move from 10 million to 100 million and 3 years from 100 to 200
million, it took only a year to move from 300 to 400 million users.
Clearly, Internet is main stream in India today. And the large internet
users base is definitely a good news for the overall growth of the
digital industry.
Overall Internet Users
In October 2015, there were 375 million internet users in
India. Currently, India has the third largest internet users’ base in
the word but it is estimated that by December, India will overtake the
US as the second largest Internet users’ base in the world. China
currently leads with more than 600 million internet users. This makes
India the second largest internet user’s base in the world behind China,
but is ranked first as the largest internet users in a free market
democratic setup.
According to the report, 71% male and 29% female are Internet users
in India. The Internet usage among males has been growing at a rate of
50% while it is growing at 46% for female users. However, in Urban
India, the ratio between male to female Internet users is 62:38.
Significantly, Internet users among females are growing at a rate of 39%
compared to 28% among males.
Among the Rural Internet users, 88% are males. The Internet users
among females are growing at 61% and 79% among males. 75% of the rural
internet users belong to the age group of 18-30 years. Another 11% are
in the age group of <18 years, while 8% belong to 31-45 years age
group.
Further, the report finds that 32% of the users are College Going
Students followed by 26% Young Men. Among the female Internet users, the
highest growth has been among the Non-Working women. This segment has
grown by 97% over last year. This is followed by School going girls (36%
growth) and College going girls (26% growth).
Significantly, there has been a huge spurt in the number of people
accessing internet on a daily basis in Urban India. As on October 2015,
69% of Users are using Internet on a daily basis. This daily user base
has gone up by 60% from last year. However, the high frequency usage is
not restricted to only the youth and the College going students; this
habit of accessing the Internet daily can be seen among other
demographic segments as well including Older Men and Non-Working Women.
75% of the Working Women access Internet daily. 37% of the male internet
users are daily users whereas only 23% of the female internet users are
accessing internet daily. 75% of internet users among both genders
access internet at least once a week.
The findings of the report further reveal that in Urban India, Mobile
Internet user base has grown at a rate of 65% over last year to reach
197 million in October 2015. The Mobile Internet Users have surged to 80
million by October 2015 growing at 99% over last year. The user base of
Mobile Internet users in Rural India is expected to reach 87 million by
December 2015 and 109 million by June 2016.
Interestingly, the report also reveals that out of all the Internet
non-users surveyed in the 35 cities as part of this study, 11.4 million
Non-Users are willing to access the Internet in the next one year and
over 2/3rd of them intend to do so through mobile phones.
Kenny Ye, MD, UCWeb India, Alibaba
Mobile Business Group said, “I am
personally very ecstatic about this development as it not only depicts a boom of
the Indian IT industry but also the but Indian economy as a whole. This
growth coincides with the rise in mobile internet user base and dovetails with
the Government’s Digital India program, as many people in India are still
internet mobile-only users with limited exposure to the internet. UC Browser's
cloud technology is easy to use even on a budget phone. In addition, UC
Browser's easy access to local content and services allows users enjoy
the internet even though they have no experience For 2015, India is set to post
a staggering 65% rise in mobile internet users and continues to remain a very
important market for UC Browser.
In the past 12-18
months, UC Browser, India's No.1 mobile browser with over 54% market share (according
to StatCounter) has seen strong traction coming in from tier-2 and 3 cities
like Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur and even Allahabad. It is our
endeavour to pave way for early adoption of mobile internet in hitherto
Internet non-user markets. Going forward, UC Browser will continue with its
localisation efforts for India market and synergistic tie-ups with local
content service providers. India is our most important market outside of home
turf, China, and we remain deeply committed to it.”
About IAMAI
The Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] is a young and
vibrant association with ambitions of representing the entire gamut of
digital businesses in India. It was established in 2004 by the leading
online publishers, but in the last ten years has come to effectively
address the challenges facing the digital and online industry including
mobile content and services, online publishing, mobile advertising,
online advertising, ecommerce and mobile & digital payments among
others.
Ten years after its establishment, the association is still the only
professional industry body representing the online and mobile VAS
industry in India. The association is registered under the Societies Act
and is a recognized charity in Maharashtra. With a membership of 160
plus Indian and MNC companies, offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru,
the association is well placed to work towards charting a growth path
for the digital industry in India.
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