BANGALORE: A study today published by Tata Teleservices Limited and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences reveals a clear correlation between mobile phone ownership and both economic and wider measures of social wellbeing. Called The Mobile Multiplier Study, it finds that households in Karnataka that own a mobile phone enjoy 58 percent higher level of economic prosperity compared to non-mobile-owning households in the state. This premium is even more pronounced with respect to urban communities in Karnataka where mobile phone-owning households are 80 percent better off in economic terms.
Nationally, Indian households that own a mobile device enjoy a 62 percent economic prosperity premium compared to those without a mobile. Rural households in India that own a mobile phone appear to be enjoying a 50 percent economic consumption expenditure premium when compared to those who do not own a mobile whereas the incremental premium in urban India stands at 85 percent.
The correlation between mobile phone ownership and prosperity is not limited to purely economic measures. According to the research – which aggregated India’s largest census data covering nearly 100,000 responses – states with higher rates of mobile device per household also tend to enjoy significantly higher levels of social wellbeing based on Human Development (HDI) indices[2], a composite measure of life expectancy, educational attainment, and per capita income, particularly within India’s urban communities.
According to Professor Bino Paul, Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the research provides conclusive evidence of the clear correlation between mobile telephony and wellbeing across India. “In this respect, mobile telephony displays all the characteristics of a genuine public good; its use is associated with economic prosperity (higher consumption) as well as higher life expectancy, literacy levels, educational attainment and overall living standards as captured through HDI; particularly within an urban context,” he opined.
Literacy, an important indicator of societal development, also shares a relationship with mobile ownership, the study said. While the proportion of not-literate households that own a mobile in Karnataka is a little over 50 percent, the ownership shoots up to almost 100 percent for graduate and post graduate households.
Nationally it is observed that mobile ownership touches 80 percent on an average once a household attains secondary education indicating a correlation between mobile ownership and HDI. It can also be observed that mobile ownership increases by 10 percentage points once a household becomes just literate i.e. the head of the family can read and write but as not attended any formal schooling. Furthermore, the probability of owning a mobile is more than 1.5 times in case of a post graduate household compared to a household that is not-literate. On the other hand, the proportion of rural not-literate households owning a mobile is 40 percent whereas it is 20 percent higher in urban not-literate households. The rural-urban divide in terms of mobile ownership narrows down as educational attainment improves amongst Indian households.
“Over the years, it has become evident that the power of mobiles is leapfrogging with the progression of technology and communication. It is thus even more crucial to continue with critical interventions at grassroots level – transcending poverty, race and economics to impact lives of people across the nation. The second wave of mobile revolution in India has already begun, however, it will reach its full potential only if access can be extended even further and deeper. Wider appreciation of the social impact of mobile devices in the country will also galvanize a larger set of content and service providers and fuel a true revolution. These factors once synchronized, will lead to a much greater impact on our society and country for a truly empowered and enabled citizenry,” said Mr. Elango Thambiah, President - Mobility, Tata Teleservices Limited.
There are a significant number of households in the country where the millennial generation is heading the family. It can be said that millennials are the most sophisticated users of technology. They are particularly aware and have access to “new money” and they want to use technology to make the difference. For instance, in Karnataka the proportion of households owning a mobile stands at 72.2 percent where a millennial is head of the family (between 15-34 years of age). These numbers are well over 80 percent in states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Kerala but drop below 50 percent in most north-eastern states including West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa. In fact, the national average of proportion of households headed by a millennial and owning a mobile marginally beats households where the head of the family is a senior citizen. However, in comparison to a millennial, the probability of a household owning a mobile is at least 2.4 times higher when the head of the household is between over 35-60 years of age.
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