Image: Shutterstock[br] By 2030, a billion Indians will have access to the internet, about 839 million will be regular smartphone users and over 500 million will access digital content in regional languages, according to KPMG India’s Media and Entertainment Report 2019, titled ‘India’s Digital Future’. In the next decade, not only will the number of internet users double, but there will also be greater upward mobility.
The report segments the country’s digital user base into four categories: Digital Sophisticates, primarily English and Hindi language speakers with an annual income over $70,000 (approximately ₹50 lakh) who will consume global, urbane and paywall-driven content Digital Enthusiasts, who will earn between $8,500 (₹6.08 lakh) and $70,000 (₹50 lakh), and will lead smartphone usage, streaming services and demand for regional content Digital Mainstream category, the $4,000 (₹2.87 lakh) to $8,500 (₹6.08 lakh) income group, who will consume free online or OTT-driven content on their smartphones in Hindi or regional languages and Fringe Users, who will have sporadic digital access due to poor connectivity or irregular income.Digital Enthusiasts will become the single largest digital user group in India in the next decade due to rising income, easy availability of high-speed internet and confidence in going online. Comprising millennials (between 35 and 50 years in 2030) and generation-Z (25-35 years in 2030) who will be new entrants to the workforce, this category will “help shift the Indian digital story from one of passive consumption to deeper engagement and transactions”, says the report.
