The Evolving Landscape of Digital Inclusion in India

Dibyasree Ganguly Garima Agarwal Aparajita Bharti Harshita Vaddadi Sonakshi Chaudhry Pallavi Choudhuri Sonalde Desai

India’s digital expansion over the past decade has been unprecedented. The country’s internet user base grew from roughly 198 million in 2015 to more than 1.03 billion by 2025, driven by affordable smartphones, low-cost mobile data, and rapid expansion in digital infrastructure. Drawing on nationally representative data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS-III), this report highlights a layered and evolving hierarchy of digital participation in India. It argues that India’s next digital challenge is not merely expanding connectivity, but ensuring meaningful and equitable participation in the digital economy. As digital technologies increasingly mediate access to education, employment, finance, welfare, and social opportunity, this report takes a step towards answering the key policy question of whether digital transformation will reduce, or reproduce, existing social and economic inequalities.