Picture this: More people living in our villages are accessing the internet as compared to those living in the cities, reveals the joint report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen. As per the report, there are 22.7 crore active internet users in rural areas of India, which is about 10% higher than in the areas. The number of internet users in urban areas is 20.5 crore.

Based on the survey of 1,371 cities and 3,628 villages in Jharkhand and Bihar that are primarily rural, the population of internet users has increased by 12 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, which is higher than all the other Indian states. However, internet data is still mostly being consumed in the urban areas. Delhi and Mumbai jointly had the highest internet usage.

As per the IAMAI and Nielsen report, the number of internet users in India has crossed 50-crore for the first time to reach 50.4 crore. In March, 2019, the figure was 45.1 crore that has seen a surge of about 12 per cent. Out of 5.3 crore new users, about 3 crore people are from rural India. Now, only China is ahead of India in terms of the number of internet users with its 85 crore internet users.

According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, the number of internet users in India will increase by 40 per cent by the year 2023 when India will overtake China. According to the report, the data fee in India has dropped by 95 per cent in the past six years, so the number of internet users has steadily increased.

Earlier, in May-June, 2019, Gaon Connection had conducted a survey in rural areas of 19 states during which 80 per cent of the villagers had confirmed that they used the internet for entertainment, news, studies, social media and other things.

However, the figures mentioned in the IAMAI and Nielsen report are of November last year, which were recently published by the IAMAI in a report. This number of internet users has surged even further during the lockdown period. However, there has been no definitive report upon active internet users during the lockdown.

Active internet users are those who access the internet at least once a month. However, the report also says that 70 per cent of these active internet users access the internet every day.

At the same time, there are 90 per cent who use the internet at least once a week. The report ‘Digital in India’ also says that the growth rate of women internet users was observed to be higher than men in the period between March and November. This shows that women are now becoming active participants in the use of the internet.

The report says that about 2.6 crore women users have joined in between March 2019 and November 2019, which is higher than the number of new male users. During March 2019-November 2019, the growth rate of men using the internet was 9 per cent, it was 21 per cent among women.

As per a report by Kantar IMRB ICUBE, in the past one year, the internet has been spearheading towards gender equality. As per the latest data of 2018, 42% of the total internet users in India are women. Even in the case of active users, women are at par with men. As per the report, while men spend 78 minutes every day on Facebook, women spend 77 minutes. The report also says that about 71 crore internet users in India are children between 5 and 11 who do so on their parents’ mobiles or computers.

However, the preferred medium for most users to access the internet is mobile phones. According to the report, the number of such people is more than 50 crore. There are only two crore people who use computers or laptops to access the internet. In India, the internet is accessed more readily on mobile than computers.

“According to a report by Ukla, an internet speed observer, internet speed has increased in India in the third and fourth weeks as compared to the second week of April, 2020. According to this report, broadband speed remained stable worldwide, including India, during the lockdown, but the speed of mobile internet was observed to have increased. India leaves Sri Lanka and the Philippines behind in terms of internet speed.

Cyber expert Rakshit Tandon said that this trend is very good for rural India as the villagers are able to access and communicate with the outside world through the internet. The internet can be effectively used to educate villagers, to keep them safe and aware. However, he also cautions the villagers over its usage.

He said that the relatively less educated population will have to use the internet with caution. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, cybercrime cases are on the rise with time. Tandon draws attention to this side. He said: “All people must use the internet very carefully as per their requirement.”