Economic Survey 2023: Bharat logs in 200% growth in internet users, India trails at 158% rise

Microsoft stopped supporting its very first web browser, Internet Explorer, from June 15, 2022. (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

Rural India seems to have outgrown its urban cousin when it comes to growth in internet subscription, finds the Economic Survey 2023.

There has been a 200 percent increase in rural internet subscriptions, as against 158 percent in urban areas, between 2015 and 2021, said the Survey released on January 31. The government said that this was a great success in bridging the rural-urban divide.

The Survey said that  the increase in rural internet subscriptions also played a major role as a "shock absorber" in rural India during the Covid-19 pandemic when both businesses and consumer demands were impacted.

The government pointed out graphically that in 2018, the difference in the growth between rural and urban internet subscribers at licensed service areas (LSA) was negative, which meant that the increase in urban subscribers was more than the increase in rural internet subscribers in 2018.

For instance, Himachal Pradesh was at the lowest at -200 percent rural 'growth' over urban. This difference, drastically improved in 2019, the Economic Survey showed, with the share jumping to 100 percent for the state and, on the average, around 50 percent for other states.

A positive percentage indicates that there more number of new rural internet subscribers than their urban counterpart.

The year 2020, with the pandemic ravaging the world, too showed a more or less positive difference in rural growth. However, states like Uttar Pradesh recorded negative growth, the graph showed. In 2021, the difference has again hovered between o and 5 percent across states.

"We have added more internet subscribers in rural areas in the last three years (2019-21) than in their urban counterparts (95.76 million vis-à-vis 92.81 million in rural and urban areas respectively)," the Survey said.

"The steep transition from a negative gap in 2018 for most LSAs to above 50 percent in positive territory for a majority of LSAs in 2019 reflects the demand side growth in digital services, which was backed by the availability of budget smartphones and affordable data usage. The difference has been positive since then," the Economic Survey said.