Courtesy - The Island
by S Venkat Narayan
by Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, November 19: The number of Internet users in India crossed the 100-million mark in September this year, according to the latest report of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Internet use in the country incrased by 13 per cent over last year.
This makes India the country with the third largest internet usage in the world after China (485 million) and the United States (245 million). Japan holds the fourth spot with 99.2 million internet users, and Brazil the fifth with 75.9 million.
The total number of "claimed" internet users in this country of 1,234 million people now stands at 112 million. The number of mobile phones in India has already crossed the 900-million mark and is fast racing to hit the one-billion or 1,000-million mark.
This is a clear indication that, after pulling off a revolution by achieving the fastest growth of mobile phones in the world, India is now set to witness another revolution in the technology space.
"Claimed users" are those who say they have accessed the internet to get some specific information including, for example, checking results of examinations.
The IAMAI study was conducted in association with research company IMRB. It says that, with the affordability of internet-friendly devices increasing, the number of internet users is expected to reach 121 million by the end of this December.
Says IAMAI President Subho Ray: "A 100 million internet users is considered a critical landmark for the country. With this, internet use in India is expected to enter a critical period of growth. There is a strong possibility of the country becoming the largest internet user in the world in this decade."
The numbers assume importance because the Indian government has for long been trying to make internet accessible to the masses.
Early this year, Information Technology (IT) and Communications Minister Kapil Sibal had said his ministry would bring out a policy on rolling out mobile governance and electronic service delivery bill as part of its e(electronic)-governance initiatives.
There is also a growing population of of about nine per cent, at present, that accesses the internet on mobile devices, not laptops or desktops. However, mobiles are still supplementary devices to access internet, says Ray.
The report also points out that the urban-rural digital divide is increasingly blurring. Of the 121 million estimated internet users, 92 million are from urban areas, and the rest from rural parts.
The data also highlights the success of the government’s IT initiatives. The usage of internet from common service centres in the country has also gone up. Nearly 148 people have accessed the net from every one broadband connection in common service centres in villages.
Common access points like cyber cafes continue to be important, though there has been a fall in access from these centres.
The study says that around 37 per cent of users access the internet from home, 23 per cent from cyber cafes, 22 per cent from office, nine per cent from mobile devices, and the rest from schools and other centres.
