India on the move: 236 million mobile internet users by 2016

India has officially reached a benchmark of 350 million active internet users, according to a statement released yesterday by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). That’s an increase of over 50 million new users in the past six months.

Of the 350 million, the IAMAI reported that 60 percent accessed the internet through mobile phones. According to the report done in collaboration with KPMG, India is projected to have 236 million mobile internet users by 2016. The number is likely to reach 314 million by 2017.

This is the current landscape as shown in an infographic from We Are Social.

 Facebook is hot

Facebook is the social media site that Indians visit most. Second is Facebook-owned WhatsApp.

The third place for Google+ looks dubious and may be based on unusual ways of interacting with Google+ features, such as giving an app a “+1” in Google Play or signing up to make YouTube comments.

Skewed numbers of urban mobile subscriptions

There are 976 million mobile subscriptions in India. Logically, this would mean that 76% of Indians have mobile subscriptions.

In actuality, however, the numbers are skewed between urban and rural populations.

The surge of mobile subscriptions in urban areas can be attributed to the trend of owning multiple phone numbers.

We Are Social reports that 1 in 7 people in India live in areas without any cellphone reception.

Rural parts of India can’t access internet

The gender divide

Ecommerce numbers remain marginal

Who is the internet for?