In response to a survey on AI usage among internet users in India conducted between August 2024 and February 2025, nearly half of all respondents considered AI-generated information somewhat accurate. Contrariwise, about 18 percent found AI responses to their queries to be inaccurate. Fact-checking and identifying misinformation have grown increasingly necessary with the growing popularity of AI-assisted online searches.

As reported in a survey on AI usage among internet users in India conducted between August 2024 and February 2025, 66 percent of respondents said they used AI platforms primarily to find information. The next most popular use cases were finding information not available via search engines and summarizing documents.

As indicated by a survey on AI usage in India, ChatGPT was the most popular AI platform used to search for information as of February 2025. Perplexity was the next most popular among Indian internet users, evident in nine percent of the responses. However, a significant share of internet users in India remained wary of AI platforms and chose to look up information using Google and other search engines.

Between January and August 2024, India accounted for 21 percent of the downloads of the top 50 AI apps worldwide. However, this did not translate to high revenue generation since most users in India used the free version of AI platforms. The Latin American region held the next highest share of downloads, followed by Europe during the same period.

Graph and download economic data for Internet users for India (ITNETUSERP2IND) from 1990 to 2022 about internet, India, and persons.

The internet penetration rate in India rose over 55 percent in 2025, from about 14 percent in 2014. Although these figures seem relatively low, it meant that more than half of the population of 1.4 billion people had internet access that year. This also ranked the country second in the world in terms of active internet users. Internet availability and accessibility By 2021, the number of internet connections across the country tripled with urban areas accounting for a higher density of connections than rural regions. Despite incredibly low internet prices, internet usage in India has yet to reach its full potential. Lack of awareness and a tangible gender gap lie at the heart of the matter, with affordable mobile handsets and mobile internet connections presenting only a partial solution. Reliance Jio was the popular choice among Indian internet subscribers, offering them wider coverage at cheap rates. Digital living Home to one of the largest bases of netizens in the world, India is abuzz with internet activities being carried out every moment of every day. From information and research to shopping and entertainment to living in smart homes, Indians have welcomed digital living with open arms. Among these, social media usage was one of the most common reasons for accessing the internet.

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) in India was reported at 55.9 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Internet Usage: Social Media Market Share: All Platforms: Youku data was reported at 0.040 % in 02 May 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.010 % for 01 May 2024. Internet Usage: Social Media Market Share: All Platforms: Youku data is updated daily, averaging 0.000 % from Jan 2024 (Median) to 02 May 2024, with 111 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.200 % in 26 Mar 2024 and a record low of 0.000 % in 30 Apr 2024. Internet Usage: Social Media Market Share: All Platforms: Youku data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statcounter Global Stats. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.SC.IU: Internet Usage: Social Media Market Share.

According to the 2024 Digital Quality of Life index covering 121 countries, India's rank dropped to 60, scoring an average of 0.47 points across five digital aspects. While the country moved up the ranks on the internet affordability and electronic security pillars that year, it saw a decline across the other three aspects that had been its strength in 2023.

India Internet Usage: Search Engine Market Share: Desktop: PrivacyWall data was reported at 0.030 % in 16 May 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.030 % for 15 May 2025. India Internet Usage: Search Engine Market Share: Desktop: PrivacyWall data is updated daily, averaging 0.010 % from Jul 2024 (Median) to 16 May 2025, with 307 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.050 % in 04 May 2025 and a record low of 0.000 % in 12 Mar 2025. India Internet Usage: Search Engine Market Share: Desktop: PrivacyWall data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statcounter Global Stats. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.SC.IU: Internet Usage: Search Engine Market Share.

As of the third quarter of 2024, finding information was the leading reason to use the internet in India, as reported by over ** percent of its internet users. Staying in touch with friends and family was the next leading reason. Indian internet users devoted nearly ***** hours a day to using the internet during the surveyed period. Expanding digital landscape India's internet user base has grown significantly and is expected to reach over *** billion by 2050. This expansion is driven by increased mobile connectivity, with smartphone users nearly matching the total number of internet users. Affordable mobile data and the utility of smartphones have contributed to India's mobile-centric internet access. However, internet penetration varies widely across regions, with Delhi leading at ** percent and Odisha lagging behind. Challenges ahead Despite the large user base, India faces challenges in ensuring equitable internet access. Gender disparities persist, particularly in rural areas, and older adults have lower usage rates due to literacy and technological barriers. India's internet freedom score of ** out of 100 in 2024 indicates a “partly free” status, reflecting government-imposed restrictions and censorship. However, the average monthly data consumption reached **** gigabytes per user in 2023, driven by online education, remote work, and increased streaming content consumption.

The number of internet users in India was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total ***** million users (+***** percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the number of users is estimated to reach *** billion users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of internet users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Depicted is the estimated number of individuals in the country or region at hand, that use the internet. As the datasource clarifies, connection quality and usage frequency are distinct aspects, not taken into account here.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to *** countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of internet users in countries like Nepal and Pakistan.

The India Internet of Things (IoT) market refers to the ecosystem of connected devices, systems, and technologies that communicate and exchange data over the internet. IoT integrates sensors, software, and advanced analytics into physical devices to enable real-time monitoring, automation, and enhanced decision-making. The market spans various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, smart homes, and transportation. The rapid adoption of IoT in India is driven by factors such as the expansion of internet connectivity, the proliferation of affordable smart devices, and government initiatives like "Digital India" and "Smart Cities Mission." The increased demand for automation in industries and the integration of AI and machine learning with IoT solutions have further fueled growth. Additionally, advancements in wireless technologies such as 5G are expected to unlock new possibilities for IoT applications, enhancing scalability, speed, and reliability. Key trends shaping the Indian IoT market include the rise of smart city projects that leverage IoT for urban infrastructure development, smart metering, traffic management, and waste management. IoT applications in agriculture, such as precision farming and automated irrigation systems, are gaining traction to address the challenges of resource optimization. Recent developments include: April 2023: To facilitate new industrial applications and aid in the expansion of the IoT ecosystem, Qualcomm unveiled state-of-the-art IoT technologies. For a variety of IoT use cases, including smart buildings, businesses, retail, and industrial automation, the most recent IoT solutions offer more performance, cutting-edge connectivity, and next-generation processing., November 2022: With the introduction of new Matter-enabled software development kits for Thread SimpleLink and Wi-Fi wireless microcontrollers (MCUs), Texas Instruments (TI) hopes to accelerate the Internet of Things (IoT) industry's adoption of the Matter protocol.. Key drivers for this market are: Rise of smart city projects . Potential restraints include: Lack of standardized protocols and interoperability issues among IoT devices. Notable trends are: Growing demand for decision-making based on data is driving the market growth.

India phone surveyThere are a total of 19 questions in the survey, addressing the following categories:Internet useMobile phone use (smartphones & basic voice/SMS phones)Awareness and use of WikipediaThe 2016 Indian phone survey is a composite of 7 individual regional surveys. The survey covered over 90% of India's geography, gathering over 9000 full responses from a set of 12 languages presented. Here are the main questions this survey was designed to answer. However, analyzing the full data set allows you to conduct more in-depth data explorations and gain meaningful insights beyond the points presented here:What is the actual number of people who use the internet?(Real-world behavior makes this difficult to measure from industry reports, since people might have access to the internet through school, friends, internet cafés, public Wifi, etc.)For internet users: What do people mostly use the internet for?For non-internet users: Why not use the internet?How many people use smartphones?Do people with smartphones use the internet from just Wifi? Or just cellular service?How many people think that they don’t use the internet, but still use Facebook or WhatsApp?How many people have heard of Wikipedia? What do they use it for? How often?If they have heard of Wikipedia, but aren’t using it, why not?

Dataset

This dataset was created by Prachi rikhari

Contents

It contains the following files:

AI Tool Usage by Indian College Students 2025

This unique dataset, collected via a May 2025 survey, captures how 496 Indian college students use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot) in academics. It includes 16 attributes like AI tool usage, trust, impact on grades, and internet access, ideal for education analytics and machine learning.

Columns

• Student_Name: Anonymized student name.
• College_Name: College attended.
• Stream: Academic discipline (e.g., Engineering, Arts).
• Year_of_Study: Year of study (1–4).
• AI_Tools_Used: Tools used (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini).
• Daily_Usage_Hours: Hours spent daily on AI tools.
• Use_Cases: Purposes (e.g., Assignments, Exam Prep).
• Trust_in_AI_Tools: Trust level (1–5).
• Impact_on_Grades: Grade impact (-3 to +3).
• Do_Professors_Allow_Use: Professor approval (Yes/No).
• Preferred_AI_Tool: Preferred tool.
• Awareness_Level: AI awareness (1–10).
• Willing_to_Pay_for_Access: Willingness to pay (Yes/No).
• State: Indian state.
• Device_Used: Device (e.g., Laptop, Mobile).
• Internet_Access: Access quality (Poor/Medium/High).

Use Cases

• Predict academic performance using AI tool usage.
• Analyze trust in AI across streams or regions.
• Cluster students by usage patterns.
• Study digital divide via Internet_Access.

Source: Collected via Google Forms survey in May 2025, ensuring diverse representation across India. Note: First dataset of its kind on Kaggle!

In 2022, India had a rank of 87 out of 120 countries for internet usage. Internet usage, according to research, involved measuring the size of the connected population, in terms of Internet and mobile connectivity. In terms of sub-indices, gender gap, both for internet and mobile access ranked lowest that year.

India Internet Statistics: Number of Subscribers: West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corp Limited data was reported at 30.000 Unit in Dec 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 30.000 Unit for Sep 2018. India Internet Statistics: Number of Subscribers: West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corp Limited data is updated quarterly, averaging 52.000 Unit from Mar 2003 (Median) to Dec 2018, with 62 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,756.000 Unit in Dec 2005 and a record low of 10.000 Unit in Mar 2003. India Internet Statistics: Number of Subscribers: West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corp Limited data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Transportation, Post and Telecom Sector – Table IN.TE041: Internet Statistics: Number of Subscribers: by Company.

Dataset of the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of 4,916 valid Statements of Working (Form 27) corresponding to 3,126 patents pertaining to mobile technology in India. Released under the Creative Commons-Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 (CC-BY-SA 4.0) License as a part of the Pervasive Technologies project at the Centre for Internet and Society, India.

For the detailed methodology used for this study, refer to Methodology: Statements of Working (Form 27) of Indian Mobile Device Patents.

For information on how to read this dataset, refer to the section "Detailed legend and process of logging the results" in the methodology.

A paper titled "Patent Working Requirements and Complex Products" authored by Prof. Jorge Contreras and Rohini Lakshané, first published in July 2017 presents an analysis of the dataset.

The patents chosen to be included in this dataset are a subset of the patents found in another study by the same authors, Patents and Mobile Devices in India: An Empirical Survey.

Data is provided AS-IS, without warranty as to accuracy or completeness.

All uses of the accompanying data and modifications and derivatives thereof must contain the following attribution: "Data provided by Jorge L. Contreras and Rohini Lakshané (2017)"

A large portion of young India with access to the internet constituted Facebook usage in the country. About 74 million men and over 23 million women between ages 18 and 24 were users of the social media platform.

Social media and young India 

 With over 1.3 billion people, India was estimated to be home to a population with a median age of 28.2 years in 2020. No other country has that many young people. This was also reflected in internet penetration and therefore, social media usage. Almost 71 percent of Indians between 18 and 34 years old used Facebook alone. Most young adults spent between one and two hours on social media, which means it was a significant part of their day.

  The world’s largest election and its social media impact  

In April and May 2019, India held a general election which had between 80 and 100 million first-time voters, i.e. between 18 and 21 years old, as part of the 900 million registered voters. The connection between politics and social media use has become crystal clear in the time leading up to the election. Social media campaigns aside, the impact of fake news, not just via Facebook but also with WhatsApp, were and continue to be discussed with some hope for effective solutions to combat it. The composition of the population along with the regional, socio-economic and communal or cultural challenges make this a problem incredibly vast and complex, requiring some amount of accountability on all levels.