INTERNET

IN RURAL INDIA

Acknowledgement

All figures and findings presented in this report is based on a research conducted by Internet and Mobile Association of India and market research firm IMRB. The report was released in June 2012

Rural India : Population

• India’s total population : 1.21 billion • Rural area is home to 69% of India’s population*

833 million

*Source: 2011 Census of India's Provisional Population

Rural India : Internet Access

• 38 million(4.6%) of rural India has accessed the internet at least once in their life

• 31 million have accessed the internet once in the past one month

38 million

Rural India : Mobile Internet users

• 3.6 million(12%) access the internet using a mobile phone• This figure has grown 7.2 times in the past 2 years • Low prices of handsets, better battery life, cheaper data

charges and improved network infrastructure in the rural areas have tremendously increased mobile penetration

• Most of the new internet users have started their internet journey on mobile phones

Grown from 0.5 million in 2010 to 3.6 million in 2012

3.6 million

Where is rural India accessing the internet from?

Point of accessing internet in rural areas

• Community Service Centres and Cyber cafes are primary points of access due to availability of infrastructure

• Reducing distance of reaching a CSC is helping easier access

• Reducing cost (Rs. 12/ hour) is also encouraging increased user and usage

• Home access indicates deeper penetration of PCs in rural homes

• Mobile phones are the shining stars in the rural internet blockbusters -

What is rural India doing online?

Purpose of Internet access

Entertainment

90%• Majority of users have used it primarily as a source of entertainment • Access music, videos and photos

Awareness

Communication

80%Awareness

• Majority are using e-mails to communicate

On line services

67%Awareness

• Used primarily for education and on line job sites

• Majority look for information regarding schools, universities and exam centres

• Bio data preparation and printing is also popular among job aspirants

E commerce

65%Awareness • While awareness of online ticketing is high,

usage is not perhaps due to the complexity of purchase

• Purchase of mobile downloads such as ringtones and apps are higher as its easier to purchase

• According to a report by E-bay rural India exporting natural diaonds, ethnic wear, temporary tattoos , crystals and importing smart phones, wrist watches, GPS holders, solar energy panels and laptops online

Social networking

60%Awareness • Social media is also becoming popular in the

rural areas with 39% respondents claiming to have used one or the other social networking site

• Voice based social media platform such as goonj allow people to call into a number. They can leave or listen to messages left by others

• 90% community generated content such as folk songs, poems, announcements about job fairs and local functions and updates on locally relevant information such as agriculture, health and financial products

Online finance

38%Awareness • While awareness of services such as online

banking and payment of utility bills is relatively high, usership at 13% is low due to infrastructural availability and knowledge

While mobile penetration in India is 39%Why is internet penetration only 4.6%?

Barrier: Language

• Regional language content is slowly picking up pace while most of the content available online is in English. As most receive education in vernacular languages in Rural India, language is one of the key barriers. Since entertainment is one of the few contents which is available in vernacular, it is one of the most popular activities onlineAs more and more content is available in vernacular languages and more information and news is available regarding local areas – other services on internet will become popular

Barrier : Lack of means and infrastructure

• With improvement in infrastructure and affordability, specially through mobile – penetration will increase rapidly in the near future.

Conclusion

India’s potential lies in online rural population

• Rural India’s income which is currently at $572 billion is estimated to rise to $ 1.8 trillion by 2020. The future potential lies not in the metros but in Rural wallets.

• Mobile internet will be the key marketing tool of the future to reach the rural millions• Communicating in vernacular languages online will help activate the dormant masses • The potential to tap into the market lies in understanding the early online behaviourial

and usage patterns of the rural netizens– What kind of content are they likely to consume or reject – Since most of rural India will be initiated into the online space via mobile, what’s

the kind of UX required to make it easy for them to access and stay engaged

Bright Angles works at the intersection of people,

technology and brands to create marketing

strategies for the digital age. We harness the power

of consumer insight to provide solutions to the

digital challenges of your business.

If you are keen to tap into insights about netizens

who call rural India their home, please write to us at:

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