Simply 18% web customers know find out how to report e-crimes

These tendencies are from the Complete Modular Survey: Telecom (CMS: Telecom), performed throughout 34,950 households in January-March 2025 by the Nationwide Statistics Workplace (NSO). NSO printed the outcomes of this survey on Might 29. NSO had final collected knowledge on cell phone and web use in a model of this survey – the Complete Annual Modular Survey (CAMS) — performed in July 2022-June 2023, which surveyed 3,02,086 households, and in addition requested questions on different topics, similar to schooling and monetary inclusion. The 2022-23 spherical, nonetheless, didn’t ask some questions on ICT expertise – similar to capacity to make a presentation or report cyber-crimes – that the 2025 spherical did. Due to this fact, it’s not potential to say if extra folks have these expertise now. Equally, inter-state comparisons usually are not potential utilizing the information from the newest spherical as a result of the decreased pattern measurement can not signify states.

Knowledge from the 2025 CMS exhibits that 85.7% folks of age 15 years and above used a cell phone no less than as soon as within the three months previous the survey, a proportion much like 2022-23. Nevertheless, this quantity has elevated by 3.7 proportion factors for the 15-24 age group to 97%. Which means the younger are adopting cell phones sooner than the older age group. The youthful age group additionally used smartphones (97% of cellular customers) greater than the older one (83% of cellular customers).

Younger folks additionally used the web extra. 94% within the 15-24 age group reported web use previously three months in comparison with 70% amongst these 15 and above. Nevertheless, age didn’t change the frequency of web use a lot; round 90% web customers throughout age teams used it each day. Folks additionally principally used the web utilizing a telephone and cellular knowledge: 98% in rural areas and 87% in city areas.

With the broad adoption of smartphones and the web, the proportion utilizing on-line banking transactions has additionally grown: from 37.8% in 2022-23 to 48.9% in 2025. For the 15-24 age group, this quantity has elevated from 37.5% in 2022-23 to 68% in 2025. Over 80% throughout age teams used solely the Unified Fee Interface (UPI) for such transactions.

The deed penetration of cell phones and web has, nonetheless, not knowledgeable folks about in search of redressal for cyber-crimes, a development cyber-criminals may be banking on. For instance, cyber-criminals compelled a 55-year previous retired trainer to switch ₹56 lakh utilizing a “digital arrest” on WhatsApp calls from April 1-28 this 12 months earlier than police was knowledgeable, HT reported on Might 4. These anecdotal incidents might maintain for a bigger group of individuals because the 2025 CMS suggests most individuals are certainly unaware about strategies of in search of redressal from cyber-crimes. Solely 17.7% (26.3% within the 15-24 age group) reported the flexibility to “complain about cybercrime/ report cyber fraud within the cybercrime reporting portal”.

Equally, ICT expertise that could be helpful at work or in schooling are but to succeed in even the younger. Solely 33% reported the flexibility to make an digital presentation and solely 24% may make a phrase doc within the 15-24 age group. Alternatively, virtually half of the age group may ship emails and virtually three-fourths stated that they had the flexibility to repeat and paste knowledge and paperwork.

One other constructive information from the survey is that the gender hole in cellular and web utilization is reducing, though largely among the many younger and extra for sending messages than for on-line transactions. For instance, the gender hole in cell phone use decreased to 1.7 proportion factors in favour of males within the 15-24 age group in 2025 in comparison with 4.2 proportion factors in 2022-23. For the 15 and above age group, the hole was round 12 proportion factors in each rounds. For on-line transactions, the hole remained round 20 proportion factors throughout each rounds and age teams. Equally, the gender hole in cellular possession – when an individual has a telephone for private use – was 20 and 28 proportion factors for the youthful and older age teams. This knowledge was not accessible for the 2022-23 spherical.