38 Million Rural Indians Use Internet

Bangalore: The change in technology is accepted worldwide and so is the internet. India has stepped into the genre of modernity long time ago and is improving with time. The usage of internet is huge in urban India but rural India is also developing at a fast pace on the information track.

According to a report on 'Internet in Rural India' published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, rural India houses about 38 million claimed internet users and 31 million active internet users, reports Shelley Singh of ET Bureau.

In rural India, the penetration of claimed internet users rose to 4.6 percent in 2012 compared to 2.6 percent in 2010. Alternatively, the penetration of active internet users rose to 3.7 percent in 2012 compared to 2.13 percent in 2010.

As the rate of internet users is gaining popularity across rural India, it is estimated that the number of claimed internet users are likely to increase to 45 million by December this year, said the report. In such a condition, the government’s aim is to provide broadband connectivity to nearly 250,000 villages, which will get an ultimate thrust.

In this context, Subho Ray, president of IAMAI commented that "This is just the tip of the iceberg. In the next two years, a combination of affordable smart phones, optic fibre backbone and local language content is likely to beat projections of internet growth in rural areas," reports Economic Times.

The report also added that the usage of mobile phone is a significant tool that brings internet access to rural India’s doorstep. Since June 2012, nearly 3.6 million mobile internet users are there in India, leading to a growth of 7.2 times compared to 0.5 million back in 2010.

In rural India, the other two important source of access for internet are Community Service Centres (CSC) and cyber cafes, as 57.7 percent users’ access to internet using these common sources. And, about 12 percent users access internet through their mobile phones.

The prime factor that drives internet users to use internet in rural India is nothing but entertainment. The maximum percentage of rural users use internet only for entertainment (75 percent), whereas, 56 percent rural users access for communication purpose that includes music, videos and photos for entertainment.

Also, there are good number of users who access internet to gain information on education. Almost 81 percent of claimed internet users look for information related to school or university and exam centres.