There was a time where there was nothing like the Internet; something unimaginable to the young demographic. Having to go through a dictionary whenever you need to understand the meaning of a word, going through those big dusty encyclopedias when you are curious about a topic, having to make mixed tapes instead of Spotify playlists?
How the human race survived without the internet is difficult to stomach for those who have seen the rise of the internet. So much so that imagining life without it is difficult to say the least.
The Internet has made our lives a lot easier. Finding information, ordering food online and getting it delivered to your doorstep, online shopping, online classes, digital payments and online banking life seems like a cakewalk now considering how far we have come.
Speaking about online shopping, online shopping is addictive and the statistics prove that India has around 185 million annual shoppers and the number is going to only increase and is set to reach 425 million annual shoppers.
GenZ & Millennials’ thrust to Internet Boom
GenZ, and millennials who are the major part of our working population are tech-savvy and know their way around the internet and upcoming technologies pretty well. Looking at all of this, it is obvious that India’s ‘E-conomy’ is booming.
India’s internet economy is all set to reach a record high of $1 trillion by 2030 according to the report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company. India is in its digital decade, thanks to more Indians transacting online and the growth of digital businesses.
The contribution of the Internet economy to the GDP, which is around 4-5%, is set to double to nearly 12-13% in 2030. Only 13% of Indians live in metro cities so the key thrust is expected to come from Tier 2+ locations.
Health tech and InsureTech which is currently valued at less than $2 billion is set to demonstrate the largest expansion going as high as 9-15x. While on the other end, Software-as-a-service(SAAS) will continue its momentum for digital exports. All of this is possible by the widespread availability of Internet connections at cheap prices.
According to the findings of the World Bank, nearly 1.06% increase in state GDP is acquired for every 10% increase in the number of Internet subscribers in India. There is a remarkable growth rate of 43% in the usage of online payments and digital banking in India till now. This reflects that we are on the right track to achieve the Digital India goal.
5G & Digital Payments Push
India had 759 million active users as of 2022 out of which 399 million are from rural areas which means the internet connectivity in rural areas is getting a boost. And, the recent developments in 5G will increase the internet connectivity, making the Internet accessible even to the country’s most remote areas.
5G will also usher in Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR) which will have direct effects on agriculture, healthcare, education, disaster management. We will also see a significant rise in devices powered by the Internet of Things(IOT). The rise of Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine learning has been significant globally.
Emerging Tech gives fillip to Indian Economy
The way we work is changing rapidly, more productivity, profits and all round development is made possible with the advancements in the technologies like AI and machine learning. For India, AI and machine learning is set to contribute approx. $967 billion by 2035 and approximately 450-500 billion by 2025 as more businesses adopt AI and Machine learning in their businesses.
The future of the Internet economy seems bright. With technologies expanding so much, there is only a thin line between what we used to see in sci-fi movies and reality.
With Apple’s vision pro to AI, machine-learning and human-like robots making way, it would be interesting to see how we go from here as humanity.
More than anything it is great to see how India has transcended with the adoption of emerging tech – be it with India stack or rapid developments in 5G. India’s bold vision of becoming a 5 trillion economy is not as far as one thinks if we go in the same momentum as we are now.
(Author: Karishma Chandnani is a Content Writing Intern at TechDoQuest. She offers refreshing & youthful perspective to the topics she writes about)