India to have 900 million active internet users by 2025, says report

Mumbai: The number of active Internet users in India is expected to increase by 45% in the next five years and touch 900 million by 2025 from around 622 million in 2020, according to the IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE 2020 report. The report defines an active user as someone who has accessed the Internet at least once in the past month.

This increase will be driven by higher adoption in rural India, which has clocked a 13% growth to 299 million internet users over the past year, or 31% of India’s rural population, the report said. Small towns currently account for almost two out of every five active internet users in the country. That said, rural India is still far behind when it comes to digital infrastructure and purchasing power, the report noted.

“By 2025, there will be more internet users in rural India than in urban India. Given this, the digital ecosystem will need to evolve to address the specific needs of this emerging demography. Vernacular, voice and video will emerge as game-changers for the digital ecosystem over the next few years,” said Biswapriya Bhattacharjee, executive vice president, Insights Division, Kantar.

The number of internet users in urban India rose by 4% to 323 million in 2020, accounting for 67% of the urban population. The top nine cities account for 33% of active internet users in urban India.

At a state level, Maharashtra has the highest internet penetration, followed by Goa and Kerala, while Bihar has the lowest, followed by Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

The report noted that the increase in active Internet users has slowed over the years and is currently the lowest in four years. Nine in 10 active users access the Internet daily, and spend an average of 107 minutes on it per day, it noted. Urban Internet users spend about 17% more time per day online than active users in rural India.

Gender divide

The ratio of male to female active Internet users is almost the same in rural and urban India. About 57% of active Internet users in urban India are men and 43% are women. In rural India, 58% of active Internet users are men and 42% are women.

Because they are relatively cheap and have low-cost tariff plans, mobile devices remain the device of choice for accessing the Internet in both urban and rural areas. About 17% of India’s active users access the Internet using a personal computer while 6% access it through tablets, streaming devices, smart speakers, and smart televisions.

What do Indians use the Internet for?

About 96% of users access the internet for entertainment, while 90% use it for communication and 82% to access social media platforms. About 45% have made some form of online transaction and 28% regularly shop online. That said, both these activities are far more common in urban India. Other key activities include video streaming, gaming and learning.