The recently released report from KPMG titled “India’s Digital Future: India’s Media and Entertainment Report 2019” has covered various topics that would interest internet entrepreneurs in India.
To begin with some basic numbers – India has a population of 1.3 billion with a teledensity of 91% with 1.7 billion mobile connections and 700 million unique subscribers.
| Digital User Base in India | March 2018 | March 2019 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total internet subscribers (mn) | 494 | 637 | 29% |
| Internet subscribers per 100 population | 38 | 48 | |
| Broadband internet subscribers | 413 | 563 | 37% |
| % of total internet subscribers | 84% | 88% | |
| Mobile wireless subscribers (mn) | 472 | 614 | 30% |
| % of total internet subscribers | 96% | 96% | |
| Source: TRAI performance indicators (via India's Digital Future by KMPG) | |||
The quality of broadband internet access has to improve in India. Yes, there are a lot more options today but if you want stable connectivity you need underground cables instead of the overhead cables. One has to wait for mid-2020 to see how JioFiber pans out. Airtel vFiber is not available in most localities in Bengaluru, thanks to they not getting permission to dig the already beaten up roads.
| Urban Vs Rural Internet Access in India | March 2018 | March 2019 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban Internet Users (mn) | 348 | 410 | 18% |
| Rural Internet Users (mn) | 146 | 227 | 56% |
| Source: TRAI performance indicators (via India's Digital Future by KMPG) | |||
The largest growth of internet users will come from rural India, not urban India. But are digital publishers catering to rural internet users? Do urban publishers understand what rural users want? Googling to come up with a non-urban digital strategy is the worst route to take.
Voice Search On The Rise in India
One of the main reasons language users in India did not use the internet in the early days was input in Indic was complex. Over the last couple of years, voice support on Google & other platforms has surged the usage of the internet amongst Indian language users.
| Country | Percentage of Internet Users using Voice Search & Voice Commands |
|---|---|
| India | 51% |
| China | 49% |
| Indonesia | 45% |
| Global Average | 39% |
| Source: TRAI performance indicators (via India's Digital Future by KMPG) | |
Various startups in India are doing an amazing job by combining voice and Indian language support in their product. Take a look at GetVokal, Vernacular.ai & others.
Indian Languages in Digital India
The consumption of Indian languages has increased drastically, thanks to online videos and OTT (Amazon, Hotstar, Zee5 etc). Many of us understand multiple Indian languages but cannot read in that language. Hence, the consumption of audio/video in Indian languages has surged.
Time has come to go far deeper to research the patronization of Indic in the digital space. Have these language videos helped people improve their skills? Have they found better employment? Are they earning more money? Has telemedicine helped patients interact with doctors in bigger cities in their native language (instead of commuting all the way to the bigger city – a huge cost)?
The consumption of online videos which talk about how a particular celebrity’s son is spending his holidays, which ice-cream he is eating, is not what exactly India needs.
Conclusion
The two reports referred in this post has very useful information. KPMG’s report has covered Indian language in a separate chapter, a good move. We have heard for decades local language, local content, videos in regional languages are needed.
According to KPMG India, by 2024 digital advertising will be the largest source of advertising in India. It is time there are some reports focussed on Indic alone. And reports need to focus on revenue opportunities in Indic space.
The best way to come up with a good research report for Indian languages is to take up good Use Cases and show how it has changed people’s lives after they accessed digital content in Indic.
Also see,
- KPMG’s report on Media and Entertainment 2019
- The Evolving Indian Media Market: Succeeding Through Localisation: Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper University of Oxford
- Vernacular Is NOW, Not The Future – A $300 Bn Opportunity Today: Redseer report
- China digital consumer trends in 2019 – McKinsey
- What does India really need – broadband penetration or speed?
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