The Next Wave in India’s Digital Growth
With around 810 million internet users, India is home to the second-largest internet user base in the world, only second to China. Even though the Internet in urban areas is more than double of that in non-urban India, users outside of urban parts have been growing at a faster pace on a year-on-year basis. From a 15% internet user presence in 2015 to a rise of 32% in 2020. While internet users grew by only 4% in urban India and reached 323 million users in 2020, its digital growth continues with a constant incline with the help of non-urban India, which accounted for a growth of 13% internet users over the past year. With still a large population using the internet rather inactively in non-urban India, there is a huge possibility and scope for growth in the next few years. The growth in digital adoption is spurred by the country’s top telecommunication companies. Together they managed to recruit 4.3 million rural subscribers between the months of June and August 2020.
The Rise of the Non-urban Connected Consumer
- 2016 had 115.06 million rural Internet users which rose up to 327 million by the year 2020
- 2016 hands 17% rural Internet penetration which went up to 32% in 2020
- Back in 2016, 48% people would access the Internet daily and this went up to 90% by 2020
- Earlier in 2020 a mere 20% of the people using Internet had an awareness of its benefits but even this rose up to 80% in 2020
Rural Digitalization is THE Priority Now
Multiple initiatives, both private and public are taking the lead in digitizing rural India and solving the final challenges. The first amongst these is the Government of India which initiated the ‘Digital India Program’ back in 2015 to fill the gap of disparity between urban and rural internet users. The aim was to make sure that government services were made feasible to citizens electronically by modifying and updating online infrastructure and improving internet connectivity. With the help of initiatives like BHIM UPI, Digi Locker, Smart Cities, and Government e-Marketplace, the government is encouraging a new faceless, cashless, and paperless administration. The Bharat Net program took upon itself the task of connecting 2.5 lakh gram panchayats with the help of a fiber-optic network system and has achieved nearly 1,40,000 connections so far.
In 2020, Google declared the $10 billion Google for India Digitization Fund to invest in the country’s digital progress and support local efforts that provide a greater opportunity of connectivity to more users. Google has also joined hands with Reliance Jio to promulgate the Made-for-India smartphone, JioNext, a first-of-its-kind smartphone established on an optimized version of Android called Pragati OS, which was customized to deliver a great smartphone and internet experience to its users in India. Made public in India around Diwali 2021, it will also allow access to a plethora of apps available on the Play Store and comes with assistance for new features, customization options, security updates, and more, which will continue to improve the customer experience over time.
When looking at it from an outside perspective, India’s digital growth isn’t just about the urban or the rural population. It considers India as a whole and it’s about to time the rural areas or paid attention to from communication and digital standpoint. Only when both crowds progress together, will the countries through growth be seen.