In Bihar, 4/5 women have never used the internet

 Data from the NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY reveals the extent of the digital divide in      India .

For the first time ever, a government survey in India asked its people if they have ever used the internet. The question was part of the fifth National Family Health Survey, the data for which were recently released. The survey was conducted last year.

Bihar reported the lowest percentage of women who said they had (20.6%), Sikkim the highest (76.7%). Among men, Meghalaya had the lowest (42.1%) and Goa (82.9%) had the highest.

The new National Family Health Survey data are partial – they contain results from 22 states only, with big states such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan missing. Thus it is not possible to fully decode the survey data just yet. The results discussed in this story are from this first phase alone, and show wide variations in internet access among men and women, between states, and in urban and rural areas.

However, since the Covid-19 pandemic steamrolled through the world, large chunks of work, education and medical consultation have all moved online for millions and this trend might continue. The Indian government, for its part, has its own digital ambition to get more Indians online.

In this light, the data for this particular survey question are important. Access to the internet is also important for the government’s own schemes and public delivery of services such as the government’s app for farmers to hire tractors and get information on the weather.

As of 2019, there were 718.75 million internet or broadband users in India, up 19% from 2018, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.