Bharat is keeping step with India on Internet usage and patterns

With 265 million internet users, rural India is not only catching up with cities in terms of the sheer number of netizens, it is also mirroring the time spent, frequency, share of female users and mode of access with its urban cousin.

And, while internet usage might look similar on the surface, the activities which urban and rural users engage in online are different, according to data and insights by leading research firm Kantar, which were exclusively with ET.

Moreover, while urban India is close to reaching saturation levels with around 60% of the population having access to the internet, the headroom for growth in rural areas remains massive, Kantar said.

This could skew the way online companies and developers view India as a market.