At a time when Digital India is being discussed, a UN study shows that Indians’ access to information technology has improved, its overall position on a global index has actually dropped.
The UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has ranked India 131 out of 167 nations in its Measuring the Information Society Report for 2014, which was recently released. This position is six places below India’s rank in 2010, when the last report was report was released.
India’s south Asian neighbours were ranked lower, with Pakistan at 143, Bangladesh at 144 and Afghanistan at 156.
Improvement in connectivity
In 2014, the number of households which owned a computer doubled from the number in 2010, while households with internet rose by three times during the same period.
| Growth in access to Indians from 2014 to 2010 in % | 2014 | 2010 |
| Computer | 13 | 6 |
| Internet access | 15 | 4.2 |
| Mobile phone | 75 | 61 |
The number of cell phone users in India grew by more than 10% bringing mobile connectivity up to 75 % for the total population.
According to the report globally 3.2 billion people or 43.4% have access to the internet, while mobile-cellular subscriptions have touched 7.1 billion worldwide.
The report also states that the Asia-Pacific region is the most diverse in terms of ICT development, reflecting the stark differences in uneven economic prosperity.