Kolkata, Delhi most IT-savvy cities: TCS survey

Kolkata has emerged as the metropolitan city with the highest number of students using the internet for information access, as well as the highest mobile and personal computer penetration among students.

According to a survey conducted by India's largest IT solutions provider, Tata Consultancy Services, around 90 per cent of Kolkata students have mobile phones and 76 per cent have a home PC, beating the national average.

Delhi is not far behind. The study says a large section of the affluent Delhi children are net-savvy and tech-friendly and also have deep pockets. The city has the country's largest number of students accessing internet from schools at 31 per cent.

Among Delhi school students, 67 ranked a search engine as their number one source of information, with TV and newspapers coming far behind. Also, 99 per cent of Delhi's children have access to mobile phones and 72 per cent have digital cameras. And 28 per cent of Delhi students get over Rs1,000 a month as pocket money.

PC penetration at home was highest in Bangalore and Delhi. Chennai topped the metros in internet use from home, while cybercafes seem to be the primary access points in smaller cities.

This is among the largest youth surveys in India, and was conducted across 14,000 high school children between 12-18 years of age in 12 cities during 2008-09. The objective was to figure out what's on the mind of the country's affluent youth in metros and mini-metros.