Internet usage surged 49% in 2015 so far: Ravi Shankar Prasad

KOLKATA: Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has that said internet usage during the current year registered a strong 49% growth, and the number of rural mobile internet users is slated to hit 87 million by the month-end.

According to him, the phenomenal growth in internet use in rural India is surprising in the backdrop of fact that the eight metros together showed a growth of 31% during the year. He was speaking at a telecom workshop in Delhi Monday.

Prasad urged administrators across levels to collectively promote “inclusiveness through digitization from major cities to muffasil towns” in step with the Narendra Modi government’s Digital India goals.

He said the Centre’s initiative of setting up BPOs in small towns was a major step in this direction and states needed to take advantage. “The private sector has responded well with 1,25,000 seats being requested against expression of interest (EoIs) floated for 48,000 seats only."

As many as 1,25,000 rural post offices, he said, were being given the role of CSCs or `common service centres’ to get seamless service to rural population. The post offices would also be engaged in payment banking & e-commerce activity.