As the Centre seeks to link basic entitlements to the internet, the vast majority of the digital have-nots are yet to cross umpteen hurdles to gain access, be it education, affordability, attitude or ICT skills.
In a survey on internet usage done in six low-income and socially-deprived settlements in Pune, 82 per cent of respondents said they do not use it, 41 per cent said they had never heard of it and 59 per cent had heard of it, but were not aware of its use.
The huge age and gender gap was also clearly visible with only 7 per cent in the 34+ age group reporting internet usage, compared with 64 per cent among 16-20-year-olds, and only 16 per cent women users against 58 per cent men, said the study, done during March-July 2014 by the Centre for Communication and Development Studies, supported by Ford Foundation.
“The digital have-nots are often… the poor who do not have the economic capital to buy the infrastructure required to log on to the web,” said the study, calling for policies that are a combination of the “equality of access and equity orientation.”