Regional languages critical in Indian internet usage

A study commissioned by The Times in India reports that producing content in diverse regional languages is becoming more important as the Internet spreads beyond metropolitan areas into widespread rural communities, thanks mainly to smartphone propagation.

The study found that regional language users will account for 75 percent of the country’s internet user base by 2021, driven by low priced 3G and 4G.

Access to high speed internet connectivity is no longer restricted to metro cities, which is causing a massive shift in online content consumption patterns, according to the Times Internet study ‘The Changing Lingual Face of Digital India’.

The regional language user base in India has grown at a compounded rate of 41 percent between 2011 and 2016 to reach 234 million. This is expected to grow by 18 percent CAGR to reach 536 million by 2021 against English which may grow at 3 percent CAGR to reach 199 million by 2021.

The Times Internet study surveyed over 90 million people and noted the rapid shift of digital users towards regional content consumption, as more than half of those are non-English readers.

More than two thirds of Hindi readers also read English, it observed.

“Regional languages have surpassed English with a 66 percent share in overall content consumption,” researchers observed. .

Across all regional languages, news as a genre sees the highest content consumption at 67 percent, followed by sports at 17 percent and entertainment at 16 percent.

Among female users, Gujarati language has the highest online content consumption at 44.78 percent.

The study found that content consumption in regional languages among younger audiences is fast growing, with consumption among Indians in the 25-34 age group being the highest.

Related and similar