Internet apps added Rs1.4 lakh crore to India’s GDP in 2015-16 : study

Internet apps added Rs 1.4 lakh crore to India's GDP in 2015-16, according to a study released yesterday, adding the figure will grow to Rs18 lakh crore by 2020.

The study, titled Estimating the value of new generation internet based Application Services in India, looked at 19 telecom circles (India has 22) which are contiguous with state boundaries.

The study, conducted by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) and the Broadband India Forum, says nearly half of the contribution of the internet to the economy would be due to apps.

Union minister of communications Manoj Sinha, who released the study, said since data would drive the industry more than voice, the ministry had also initiated a move to relook at the current Telecom Policy through public consultation.

''The internet economy could contribute up to $537.4 billion to India's GDP in 2020, of which a minimum of $270.9 billion could be attributed to apps,'' says the study, used various economic analyses and logical regression models to isolate and calculate the impact of apps on the Indian economy.

''Since not all Internet usage is app based, we moderate the estimate using assumptions on contribution of apps to the Internet economy in India,'' it says.

The study estimated the internet's contribution to grow to nearly 16 per cent of India's GDP by 2020, which translated to Rs 36 trillion ($534 billion), with half of this coming from internet-based apps.

''As per the study, a 17 pe cent 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 per cent in 2015-16,'' the report said.