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The South Asian market with 127 million consumers of local-language content

India's internet penetration will get a huge boost with the proliferation of local language content in the country, as much of the rural areas are yet to experience the web, according to a report by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).

In a report published in conjunction with IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau), IAMAI said that 127 million of India's 269 million internet users consume content in local (non-English) languages. Of these 127 million, 81 million are based in rural parts of the country. With local language content, internet user base will rise 39%, according to estimates, of which 75% growth will come from rural areas and 16% from urban regions.

IAMAI has called for an increase in websites and apps in all content in local languages for better access to the masses, since 88% of India's 1.32 billion citizens do not speak English. It also recommended that corporates should rollout holistic local language solutions, including website, digital media, call centers, analytics, logistics and outbound communications, aimed at local language users.

Companies like Samsung, Micromax etc already have smartphones that offer content and apps in local languages, and some even translate English content to local languages.

The industry body predicts that the "next couple of years will see higher spend on creating local language content and local language advertisements; which shall result in opening up of new consumer market segments." It also says online ad spending on local language content will rise from the 5% in June 2015 to 30% in 2020.



Source: http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/127-mn-internet-users-consumer-internet-content-in-non-english-language-iamai/48347665

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