There were 3.3 million active internet users in rural India as on March 2008 according to the ongoing I-Cube 2008 jointly undertaken by IMRB International and Internet and Mobile Association of India.

I-Cube which traditionally mapped internet users in urban India has for the first time covered rural India in the survey and the results seems to be encouraging, especially since 5.5 million people actually claimed that they used internet and some point in time.

Since rural India was mapped for the first time, the year on year growth of internet users in rural India could not be estimated this time.

Commenting on the research findings, IAMAI president, Dr Subho Ray mentioned “given the various government and private sector efforts to connect rural Indians, this was the right time to take the survey to rural India and find out the state of affairs there”. “In fact, penetration of internet in rural India is directly related to the activities of the government and NGOs” he added.

Given the various government and private sector initiatives to connect rural India, especially the government-led National e-Governance Programme, it was important to bring rural India under the vortex of the survey. Rural India is soon going to figure prominently in the business plan of internet companies. The survey was, therefore, timely.

According to the Survey, in rural India, the proportion of population, literacy and internet penetration appears to be as shown in the illustration below:

Given the high levels of literacy in rural India and very low levels of English speaking population, the survey made a clear case of content and applications in local languages in order to ensure higher and faster adoption of internet in rural India.

Commenting on the study Mr. Mohan Krishnan, Senior Vice President BIRD, a specialized unit of IMRB International said “The rural market holds tremendous potential for any media. However, for Internet to flourish in rural India, the applications need to be in vernacular languages, preferably with Text to Speech capabilities. It would be better if visual symbols, graphics and rich media applications are used. The key question is whether we have the right infrastructure to support these applications.”

Since this was the first survey of rural internet users, IMRB used an elaborate and comprehensive methodology. First, clusters of states were created based on population density, per capita income and levels of literacy and then households were classified [SEC] on the basis of educational qualifications, occupation of the chief wage earner and type of the household into four categories R1, R2, R3 and R4. Out of all the districts in the state, a sample of 6 districts were covered which were representatives of the population of a particular state. 6 villages were selected from each state based on six of the population and rural respondents from 6 villages across each selected district were interviewed.

About IAMAI
www.iamai.in

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act, 1896. Its mandate is to expand and enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors. It is dedicated to presenting a unified voice of the businesses it represents to the government, investors, consumers and other stakeholders. The association addresses the issues, concerns and challenges of the Internet and Mobile economy and takes a leading role in its development.

For further queries please contact: Mr. Mehul Gupta AVP, Tel: +91-11-4657 0328 /9810375413 or write to mehul@iamai.in

About IMRB International
www.imrbint.com

Established in 1971, IMRB International is a pioneer in market research. A member of the Kantar Group, WPP's information, insight and consulting division. IMRB's footprint extends across 11 countries - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and London.

With over 1200 full time staff, IMRB provides high quality conceptualization, strategic thinking, execution and interpretation skills. IMRB International is the only research company in India that offers such a wide range of research based services to its clients. IMRB International's specialized areas includes consumer market research both quantitative and qualitative, industrial market research, business to business market research, social and rural market research, media research, retail research, and consumer panels.

For further queries please contact: Ms. Seema Saini Head-Corporate Communications Tel: +91-22-2423 35 26 /9820626170 Fax: +91-22-2432 48 70 or write to seema.saini@imrbint.com