By end of this year, one in every 10 persons in India, would be an internet user, making the country the third largest internet market in the world, after china and US. Internet penetration in India is set to touch 10% by December 2011, with about 121 million people accessing internet at least once a week. The internet explosion opens up a potential market for online business, consumers and retailers. India is adding internet users at the rate of almost 5-7 million internet users a month, and at the current rate would surpass US in less than two years which has about 245 million internet users.According to a survey conducted by IMRB and the IAMAI, India’s internet population reached about 121 million by September 2011. By December about 9 million more users would be added, catapulting India into the world’s top market for internet based business.
The large base of internet users in India, come on a base of just 14.7 million connections and 11.87 broadband connections, indicating that most people use internet on a shared basis, either in offices or cyber cafes. Number of broadband users is however only about 11.8 million or 10% of the total internet population. An average unlimited broadband plan costing about `750 per month in India, which has a monthly per capita income of `2810 per month at constant prices.
