The recent study conducted by New Delhi-based International Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER) entitled ‘Estimating the Value of New Generation Internet based Application Services in India‘ has revealed that Internet-based applications holds a potential of contributing to around Rs 18 lakh crores to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2020.
The study has been released by telecom minister Manoj Sinha in New Delhi, estimated the internet’s contribution to grow to nearly 16% of India’s GDP by 2020.
“As per the study, a 17% increase in the total internet traffic in India in 2015-16 contributed to an increase of Rs7 lakh crore (7 trillion) in GDP of which at least Rs 1.4 lakh crores (Rs. 1.4 trillion ) was due to internet-based app services. This puts the internet’s contribution to India’s GDP at about 5.6% in 2015-16,” read the report.
With the current pace of growth, Internet apps’ impact on India will be double than global impact. The survey also showed that a 10% increase in total internet traffic and mobile internet traffic led to an increase in India’s GDP by 3.3% and 1.3% respectively as against the global average of 1.3% and 0.7%.
“Internet apps and services are disrupting traditional industries. Regulation, globally, is evolving to strike the right balance between protecting consumer/business interests and encouraging the ecosystem to innovate further,” added T.V. Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum.
The study was released in the presence of senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Niti Aayog at an event in the capital.
“India needs to chart its own course from a policy/regulation perspective considering the significant higher impact on its economy. It needs to resist the temptation to follow global precedence or come up with defining laws without active stakeholder discussion,” Ramachandran added.
The study also brought forward the need to invest in e-governance app-ecosystem, encourage development of vernacular content, accelerate the growth of Startup programmes, and build awareness among consumers, disentangle regulatory needs, and develop a systematic approach to regulations.
“Interestingly, we found that the ecosystem’s contribution went beyond just economic into social areas such as mainstreaming the differently abled and enabling women safety, among others,” said Dr Kathuria.