INDIA WILL OVERTAKE US IN INTERNET USAGE BY 2014

Rural India has witnessed a growth of 58% of active Internet users since June 2012.

The number of Internet users in India has reached 205 million in October this year and by June 2014, India will have 243 million internet users, at which point of time, it is expected to overtake the US as the second largest Internet base in the world, cites a report in the Internet and Mobile association of India.

According to the report, the number of internet users in urban India was 137 Million in October and is estimated to touch 141 Million by December 2013.

Interestingly, rural India has witnessed a growth of 58% of active Internet users since June 2012. China takes the first spot with 300 million users, while the US takes the second spot with 207 million connected people.

In the report it is also mentioned that Mumbai with 12 million internet users has emerged as the top most city in the country , followed by Delhi with 8.1 million internet users and Hyderabad with 4.7 million internet users.

Kolkata, however, registered the highest growth of internet users among all the top cities in India.

Mr. Rajan Anandan, Chairman, IAMAI, said, "The Internet in India took more than a decade to move from 10 million to 100 million and only 3 years from 100 to 200 million. From here on, we can hope to develop a robust Internet ecosystem with a multitude of local and global players and a thriving Internet economy. Internet is now, clearly, mainstream in India".

This data clearly indicates that the web is growing more and more powerful everyday. With social media, news websites and live streaming are now a new way of life. Movies, television even your world news is on your desktops, laptops and smartphones. Mobile phones have given a major boost to the usage of internet in this country. It won't be surprising to see the internet as the new superpower in mainstream media in the years to come.

reference: Tasneem Akolawala