The Internet user base in India is set to cross 900 million this year, propelled by the growing use of Indic languages for digital content, according to a report by IAMAI and Kantar.

The ‘Internet in India Report 2024,’ released yesterday, reveals that the number of active Internet users in India reached 886 million in 2024, a robust 8 per cent year-on-year growth, a PTI report from New Delhi stated.

“The Internet user base in India is set to surpass 900 million by 2025, driven by the growing use of Indic languages for digital content,” according to the report.

Rural India, with 488 million users, leads this growth and now accounts for 55 per cent of the total Internet population.

The report underpins the increasing role of Indic language in shaping Internet consumption patterns. Nearly all Internet users (98 per cent) accessed content in Indic languages, with Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam emerging as the most popular due to their extensive availability.

Over half (about 57 per cent) of urban Internet users prefer consuming content in regional languages, underscoring the growing demand for local language content across platforms.

The report highlights that the digital gender gap in India is steadily narrowing, with 47 per cent of all Internet users in the country being women, so far the highest.

Female Internet users now form a significant portion of shared device users in rural India at about 58 per cent. This marks substantial progress in making digital access more inclusive and equitable over the years, the report said.

(Main image is ChatGPT generated and is representational)