According to the Internet in India Report 2025 prepared by IAMAI and Kantar, India’s active internet user base will cross 950 million and reach 958 million in 2025. The report attributes this growth to expanded rural connectivity, increased consumption of short videos, and increased use of AI-enabled features. The year-over-year growth rate is estimated to be around 8%, and 44% of users have used AI-enabled features such as voice search, image-based search, chatbots, and AI filters.
The main driver of this expansion is rural India, which has approximately 548 million active internet users. Rural users now account for more than 57% of active internet users and are growing significantly faster than urban users, indicating a changing landscape where digital adoption is accelerating.
Consumption of short videos is emerging as a major engagement trend. By 2025, approximately 61% of internet users, or 588 million users, will be using short videos, with rural users slightly outnumbering urban users. Use of AI features is reported to be highest among young adults, with 57% of users aged 15-24 and 52% of users aged 25-44 reporting having used an AI feature in the past year.
The report also addresses changes in online commerce behavior. 230 million urban users, or about 56% of the urban active internet base, shopped online in the past year, with traditional e-commerce platforms as well as quick commerce and social commerce growing.
Multi-device internet usage is also on the rise. India has 193 million multi-device users (about 20% of active internet users), up from 165 million in 2024. Multi-device usage in urban areas is reported to be 31%, compared to 12% in rural areas. Shared device access remains common. 18% of internet users use someone else’s mobile device to access the internet, and nearly 80% of these shared device users are in rural areas.
The report estimates that despite growth, 38% of India’s population (approximately 579 million people) remains inactive internet users, but this proportion has declined over time, indicating continued scope for growth.
