The AfterAccess surveys revealed that 65% of Indians between the ages of 15 and 65 did not know what the Internet was, and that 81% claimed not to use it.
It was also revealed that women in India were 57% less likely to use the internet, than men. This gap was the highest after Bangladesh and Rwanda (both 62%):
These findings were released in the report “AfterAccess: ICT access and use in Asia and the Global South” in New Delhi, today.
The presentation of the results by CEO Helani Galpaya was followed by a panel discussion which included:
- Rajan Matthews, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India
- Shri N Sivasailam, Special Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications
- Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER
- Amba Kak, Public Policy Advisor, Mozilla Corp (India)
- Helani Galpaya, CEO, LIRNEasia
Event panel: Rajan Matthews (Director General, COAI), Shri N Sivasailam (Special Secretary, DOT, Ministry of Communications), Rajat Kathuria (Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER), Amba Kak (Public Policy Advisor, Mozilla Corp India), Helani Galpaya (CEO, LIRNEasia).
“It is possible to act on this data and develop policies,” said Special Secretary Sivasailam, “I am pleased that we have a baseline for the first time ever.”
Other key findings from the India report:
- 61% of Indians aged 15-65 are mobile phone owners
- There is a 22% gap between urban and rural populations in mobile ownership, the largest gap among the Asian countries studied
- Just 28% of these phones are smartphones, 16% feature phones, and the majority (55%) are basic phones, therefore have no internet capability
- 65% still don’t know what the Internet is; 81% claim not to use it
- Just 15% use social media
- 9% of Indian social media users report being bullied online; 7% report being faced with inappropriate or offensive material
- India performs best among Asian countries on platform use; mostly e-commerce, transport and ticket/appointment platforms are being used.
The press release for the event is available here
The full slideset presented at the event is available here
The report released at the event is available here
The updated AfterAccess report is available here
A report of the media coverage from this event is available here
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