India had 481 million internet users at the end of 2017, according to a report by industry body Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). It finds that indic content is a major driver for potential users, and up to 70% of current users consume indic content. The report also points to the popularity of audio and video content for entertainment, as 68% of the usage is for such content. Nearly 23% of all non-users consider indic content a key motivator to get online. At the same time, critical services such as banking, search and others have usage at 20% even in urban areas. The report is based on annual survey exercise I-cube (Internet in India) by KANTAR-IMRB, a market research firm. Indic content The report argues that language is one of the most crucial factors in internet penetration, especially in India as 88% of its population is non-English speaking. It establishes that China has the highest number of internet users in the world, driven by its use of mandarin on the internet. While Chinese is the second-most-popular language, Indic content accounts for only 0.1% of all content on the internet. In rural India, 76% current users access the internet in Indic languages, and there is a potential to 732 million new such users. Similarly, urban areas have 160 million potential Indic users. Indic content has mass appeal: it is most popular with users above 45 years, with 78% share. The preference decreases by age, being least popular in the…
