India Web users to hit 150M by end-2012

India's Internet user base is expected to reach 150 million by the end of 2012, driven mainly by the country's youths and increased mobile broadband access.

The Press Trust of India (PTI), citing a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB), said Wednesday that by December this year, there would be 105 million users in the country's urban spaces and 45 million users in rural areas.

As of June this year, the numbers were 99 million users in urban areas and 38 million in rural areas, it said.

Out of the total 137 million who claimed to use the Internet, 111 million were active users. The report defined active users as those who have used the Web at least once within the last month, whereas the remaining are those who claimed to have used the Internet at least once.

According to the report, the growth rate of active users was 19 percent--which was higher than the other camp of users--and is an indication of how "deeply" Internet use has seeped into the Indian people's consciousness.

Much of this growth continues to be driven by youths, as school-going kids, college students and young men accounted for 70 percent of all active Web users in urban areas. Increased mobile broadband access has also helped multiply the frequency of Internet use.

These two factors helped push the number of users who access the Web daily from 28 percent in 2011 to 54 percent this year, the report noted.