Majority of rural India unaware of net’s existence: study

The high percentage of people in rural India who are not aware of internet underlines the need for better infrastructure, says the report.

GN Bureau | September 28, 2010




India's IT superpower image has received a hit as a report reveals that 84 percent of people in rural India are completely unaware of the existence of the internet.

The study was conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and market research firm IMRB across villages in seven states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh among 15,000 individuals. The data calculated is based on research carried out from July to Sept 2009.

Some of the main highlights of the study:

•    38 percent of the rural population don't feel the need for Internet.
•    31 percent of rural population do not have Internet-access.
•    25 percent have no internet connection and about 22 percent have no electricity.
•    More than 70 percent of the rural population with access to the Internet have it through common service centres (CSCs) and cyber cafes.
•    There is a 26.7 percent rise in the number of 'active' rural internet users in 2009: from 3.3 million in 2008 to 4.2 million in 2009.

Read the release one and release two.

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