A Phone in Every Hand – Smartphone Proliferation in India
In 2008 or so, smartphone technology first appeared in India. Smartphones were prohibitively expensive for most people living in rural areas, and the uneducated were unable to use them properly. But in a little over a decade, it has changed the lives of every Indian person, regardless of where they live or their socioeconomic standing. This rapid shift represented a paradigm shift in the way rural residents of India communicated and lived, and its effects were far-reaching and long-lasting.
In November 2019, the Internet & Mobile Association of India reported that 227 million people in rural India used the internet, which is 10% more than the 205 million people who did so in metropolitan areas. Many new possibilities for improving people’s quality of life have arisen as a result of this. Why have people in rural India adopted new technologies so quickly, and how have these advancements helped them connect with the rest of the world?
Smartphones’ prohibitively high prices were a barrier to entry for the rural market in India; to overcome this, firms like Redmi and Samsung began offering their products for as little as 5,000 INR. As a result, Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) replaced loans as the favored method of financing smartphone purchases, especially among the poor. For low-income families, access to a smartphone may be a game changer, and non-profits are stepping up to fill the void by giving them out for free. This resulted in people living in remote areas eventually gaining access to touchscreen devices through a variety of means.
People’s access to cellphones and information about world events owes a great deal to the widespread improvement of internet connectivity, particularly in rural regions, and the advent of cheaper data plans. As of the end of 2018, the number of internet users in urban India increased by roughly 22.15 percent, while the number of users in rural India increased by a whopping 55.91 percent. Reliance Jio, a major player in the Indian telecoms market, released a 39-rupee recharge plan in 2021. This bundle gave me 14 days of free data and unlimited calling. In addition, Microsoft and the Indian ISP AirJaldi have joined together to bring low-cost Internet connectivity to underserved areas of the country. During the period of the coronavirus epidemic, when many daily activities were moved from an offline to an internet setup, these types of internet services were even more important. Smartphones with video calling capabilities have made it easier for people living in rural areas to stay in touch with loved ones who are city dwellers, especially during the many lockdowns that have taken place.
Women Autonomy
Women in rural India have benefited greatly from the increased access to cellphones because of the independence and autonomy it has given them. A large portion of the estimated 200 million illiterate women in rural India may now take advantage of smartphone technology and apps that allow them to communicate through the use of audio and visuals rather than text.
Health During Pregnancy
Birth-related fatalities in India were 190 per 100,000 in 2013, according to World Bank data. There is a shortage of adequate resources for rural women. An NGO named Sahayog Foundation created a smartphone-based application called “My Health, My Voice” to better the delivery of healthcare in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. Helping expectant mothers locate free public health care is the primary goal of an IVR system accessible through mobile device. Pregnant women can contact the dedicated helplines in their language of choice to report any problems they are experiencing.
Highlighting Entrepreneurship
Obstacles, such as illiteracy, family duties, geographical isolation, and a lack of knowledge about business practices, are common for women entrepreneurs in rural areas. As a result of the accessibility and affordability of smartphones, rural women are able to break free of traditional gender roles, find their voices, and support their families. Several groups, such as the Self-Employed Women’s Association and the Foundation for Occupation Development, have provided training and support for rural entrepreneurs by helping them use smartphones for business management.
Many farmers have taken their own lives due to years of crop failure and mounting debt. The widespread availability of smartphones has drastically reduced the frequency with which such incidents occur. Information about seed planting, crop protection, soil fertility, and other agricultural practices that were previously unavailable to farmers in rural areas is now widely available. Storage facilities can be better organized with the use of data on the frequency of rainfall as well as other weather-related destructions. Farmers can also benefit from smartphones because of the increased access to market information and direct customer service they provide. Agriculture-focused information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives, such as Mobile Harvest, are methods developed to help farmers improve their skills in the field by giving them access to instructional materials and advice.
Not only have certain people benefited from the widespread availability of mobile devices in rural places, but many more have benefited overall. For instance, phone calls between urban stores and wholesalers eliminate the need for the retailers to physically travel huge distances in search of supplies. If the store has any concerns about the products being delivered, the rural wholesaler can offer photos to ease those concerns.
Mobile Finance
Since many rural residents now have cellphones, internet banking and payments have gained popularity. The ability to conduct business is now simpler for people living in remote areas. The government’s UPI (universal payment interface) and enterprises like Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, and the BHIM app also had significant impacts on the digitization of cash activities for rural residents. It is no longer necessary for workers in rural areas to travel to urban areas just to use banking services; instead, they can have their wages direct-deposited into bank accounts and send money home to their relatives via online transfers. The villagers now have the option to pay their utility bills and cell phone bills online. As e-commerce gains popularity, people in rural areas are given access to resources that were once reserved for those living in major cities.
Inference
Since its 2010 and 2017 launch, Instagram and TikTok, respectively, have attracted tens of thousands of Indian users. It’s nice to see that some folks from smaller towns have started taking over the lip-syncing and dance routines on these sites. Having access to these kind of forums has liberated rural Indian women from silence. Some of them, especially those with large followings on Instagram, Likee, MX TakaTak, and Bigo Live, have even become minor celebrities in the entertainment industry. Social media is seen as a way to make money in addition to a way to gain fame by garnering a large following.
Growing smartphone penetration in less-urbanized areas has spurred rapid growth, opened up vast new possibilities, and stoked a desire for more sophisticated tools. Even if India is just getting started digitizing its rural areas, it is astounding to watch the instantaneous changes that smartphones have made.
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