-: R Muthu Kumar :-
The Indian e-commerce industry has been on an upward growth trajectory.
In FY 2022-23, Government e-marketplace (GeM) registered its highest ever Gross Merchandise Value of $2011 Bn.
The e-commerce trend is gaining major popularity even in tier-2 and tier– 3 cities as they now make up nearly half of all shoppers and contribute three of every five orders for leading e-retail platforms.
The Indian e-commerce market is predicted to grow to a whopping $325 billion, and by the same year the country’s digital economy to reach an astounding $800 billion. With 881 million users, India has the second-largest Internet user base in the world, and by 2030, it is expected to rise to the third position in the online retail industry, according to Invest India.
With a growing digital economy and internet user base, India is poised to become a worldwide e-commerce powerhouse by 2030 and is expected to lead the way in online shopping with 500 million buyers. At present, the e-commerce market in India is valued at $70 billion, which accounts for around 7% of the nation’s overall retail market. The internet penetration has witnessed significant growth, with 52% of the Indian population, approximately 759 million people, accessing the internet in 2022.
One of the primary drivers is the increasing internet penetration, with around 87% of Indian households expected to have internet connections by 2025. However, the duration of internet access through mobiles has seen a 21% rise compared to 2019.
The number of online shoppers in India is projected to increase with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% to 88 million in rural India and 15% to 263 million across urban India between 2019 and 2026. India’s affordability in data prices also plays a pivotal role, with one gigabyte of data costing approximately $0.17 (Rs 13.5), driving the majority of the population online.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as a significant player in digital payments, accounting for $1.5 trillion transactions in 2022. By 2026, 81 per cent of India’s population is expected to have access to smartphones.
Further, social commerce is expected to reach a market size of $ 70 billion by 2030, with small video applications gaining wide appeal.
the size of the digital economy is about $350 billion of which $100 billion is electronics. Digital economy’s share of the national economy is 8-10% and it is set to reach 20% once the economy hits $5 trillion S Krishnan, secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said while delivering the 10th G Ramachandran Endowment Lecture at the Madras School of Economics on ‘Building Economic Resilience Through Technology.
India’s Digital Economy in 2019-20 Rs. 13.6 lakh crore. In 2021-22 it was Rs. 18.2 lakh crore.
China accounts for 60 percent of global electronics production.
India accounts for 3.30 percent, Japan, Korea, and the United States together account for 20 percent. The contribution of countries including USA has come down from 40% to 20%. India is targeting 8% growth in the electronics market overall.
We must also not forgot that purpose of economic growth is for people to make economic gains; not for countries to move up on global ranking lists that make no sense.
We are the 5th largest economy and may become the third- or fourth-largest economy in the next few years. Experts point out that for India to become a developed country by 2047, i.e. a hundred years from its independence, India’s per capita income must be at $13,000 (Rs 10.58 lakh approx). Currently, the per capita income is $2,000 (Rs 1.65 lakh approx).
Growth in the size of the workforce and growth in the productivity are the engines to drive GDP growth. Increasing income for farmers and by becoming competitive in high-potential sectors are the positive ways to improve our GDP per capita.
