India has over 500 million active Internet users: IAMAI

India has a total of 504 million active Internet users (accessed Internet in the last one month), who were five years and above as of November 2019.

Of the total, 433 million are in the age group of 12 and above, and 71 million in the age bracket of 5-11 years, who access the Internet on the devices of family members, according to a study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

Nearly 70 per cent of the active Internet population in India are daily users. Nine out of 10 Internet users in urban India access the Internet at least once a week.

In rural India, 30 million new users accessed the Internet daily, compared to that in March 2019, the study curated by Nielsen and based on IRS data, said.

Close to one-third of the users accessed the Internet for ‘more than one hour’ during Sundays and holidays versus a normal working day. With better connectivity, quality of service and affordability of mobile Internet, rural consumers could spend more time on the Internet in future, it said.

About 26 million new female Internet users were added in November 2019, a 21 per cent rise compared with a 9 per cent increase in male users.

The mobile remains the device of choice for accessing the Internet in both urban and rural areas. Given the affordability of mobile devices and the availability of cheaper data plans, accessing the Internet through a mobile device has become the first choice, the report said.

Digital services

Digital services have assumed importance for the country with the Government actively promoting the vision of a $1-trillion digital economy. The spread of the Internet has been possible due to Government initiatives such as promoting e-governance and the Digital India vision.