A largely young population, a fast-growing economy and a timely digital revolution are some of the factors that are fuelling India’s transformation. Presently, a third of the country’s population is between the ages of 18 and 34. This alone calls for tremendous purchasing power and influence on the economy.
With the typical young Indian spending a third of the day online, it is no surprise that they are overwhelmingly adopting OTTs, gaming apps, and podcasts. Millions are learning poker game rules and downloading poker apps to test their skills. They are also inspiring OTT platforms to gamify content and driving the industry to adopt distinct digital marketing strategies.
The aforementioned digital revolution is well and truly underway in India.
Digital Revolution and India
Let us not forget that Digital India is also a concept launched by the Government of India. It is envisaged as a program that would establish a better connection between the citizens and the government through e-services, transparently and cost-effectively. Considering that 60% of the country lives in rural locations, the adoption of digital technology is an assured way of achieving these goals.
With the building of digital infrastructure and technological advancements, the growing internet penetration and the low cost of data usage have made the digital revolution more total. The implementation of the India Stack meant that the basic foundations of a digital nation, like Aadhaar and digital payments, were firmly established.
The Tell-Tale Signs of Revolution
The signs of a digital transformation in the country are for everyone to see. Digital governance, which was the core aim of the Digital India program, is looked after by the National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). National public digital platforms such as DigiLocker, UMANG, Rapid Assessment System, OpenForge, API Setu, Poshan Tracker, National AI Portal, MyScheme, India Stack Global, GeM etc., have been put to use in digital governance.
The Pradhan Mantri Grameen Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDisha) is the world’s largest digital literacy program. This program provides essential digital skills, like marketing, e-commerce, finance, and cybersecurity, to rural communities. With more than 4.38 lakh PMGDisha training centres in India, over 47 million people have been trained to join the digital economy.
Thanks to Digital India, the infrastructure required for a digital revolution was created at a much faster pace. As the population got more tech-savvy, smartphone penetration increased, and the internet became more accessible and affordable, peripheral developments were brewing up. One such periphery is the Indian gaming industry.
Digital India Kicks Up the Gaming Storm
Digitised India has begun to add an astounding number of new gamers into the gaming industry. Estimated to be as high as 568 million, Indian gamers are the second-largest national gaming community in the world, next only to China. They proved to be second to none in game downloads, clocking 9.5 billion downloads in 2023.
The exponential growth of gaming in India is also reflected in the estimates suggested by various studies and research. According to a study by Mordor Intelligence, the Indian gaming industry was already a $2.2 billion market by 2023. By 2028, it is estimated to grow to $8.6 billion. The impressive growth will be thanks to the impressive estimated CAGR of 27.4%.
This will represent growth across all the leading gaming categories. Mobile gaming is already a popular favourite among 90% of Indian gamers. This is evident from the growing popularity of real money games, as more and more people are learning rummy and poker game rules. As a result, there are millions of active players on popular poker platforms like Pocket52.
Reducing gaming laptop prices is one of the reasons why PC gaming could also be making a comeback. Zero-cost EMIs on white goods mean that console devices and PCs will be easier to buy for Indian gamers.
E-sports is another area where the influence of the digital revolution will be visible. Initiatives like the launch of a gaming Centre of Excellence (COE) will provide a state-of-the-art facility for a complete e-sports ecosystem. Events like the Gaming, Animation and Visual Effects (GAFX) conference and the ESL India Premiership highlight the rising influence of e-sports in the Indian gaming landscape.
A Digital Future
Digitisation in India is preparing the ground for emerging technologies to shape the next phases of the revolution. The government has announced missions like ‘Make AI in India’ and ‘Make AI Work in India’, indicating that artificial intelligence will be a key tech driver for India in the future. Blockchain technology is being adopted for governance activities like document verification, KYC authentication, healthcare, etc. Similarly, the Internet of Things is set to be prominent in a variety of governance functions, like pollution sensors, urban management, agriculture, etc.
Notably, these technologies are emerging as key drivers of change in the gaming industry as well. Blockchain gaming and cloud gaming are already reshaping the gaming landscape in India and across the world. India is undergoing a dynamic digital revolution, and this wind of change is blowing across the gaming industry too.
