India to have 500 million internet users by June this year: Experts

Mobile phones will soon become the preferred device for online shopping by 2020.

India will have an estimated 702 million smartphones in use by 2020 (Pradeep Gaur/Mint)

India's internet user base will hit 500 million by June this year and by 2020, the country will have more than 700 million smartphone users, according to the industry experts.

Mobile phones will emerge as the preferred device for online shopping by 2020, accounting for 70 per cent of total online shopping, said the experts at the seventh edition of the India Internet Day in Delhi held on Thursday.

The conference was organised by TiE Delhi-NCR, the world's largest network of successful entrepreneurs and professionals -- attended by over 500 Internet enthusiasts from across the nation.

"With the seventh edition of India Internet Day, we kept a sharp focus on how the entrepreneurs should tap into the emerging user base that hails from the corners of the country," said Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi-NCR.

"We also focused on the nuances that the startups need to keep in mind to reach out to the next 300 million users," she added.

According to Dilip Asbe, Managing Director, CEO, the National payment Council of India (NPCI), Unified Payments Interface (UPI) clocked 178.05 million transactions worth ₹24,172.6 crore in March this year.