Technology adoption in India

Observations from my recent trip to South India (August 2015)

Some observations on tech adoption in India from our recent trip (state of Tamilnadu mostly and a short trip to Bangalore) —

• almost everyone has a mobile phone, many with dual-SIM card option
• increasing share of smartphones (still not a majority though)
• nearly all of the smartphones are Android based, very few iPhones
• WhatsApp is the default text based communication app (no wonder they hit 900 million monthly active users this month)
• India is also responsible for Facebook hitting 1 billion daily active users last month (I wasn’t one of them, ironically)
• Google Maps is reasonably accurate and widely used (#3 above)
• so many consumer startups based on home delivery of stuff, particularly in metros like Chennai and Bangalore
• easy to discover good places to eat and take-out (search and apps) and amazing cinema theaters (yes I watched this epic movie Baahubali in India) :)
• better road infrastructure and facilities along the highways, but cars are the new 2-wheelers causing massive traffic issues in big cities (Bangalore gotta be the worst)
• Ola is very popular (like Uber here in the US) and better than hiring auto-rickshaw
• Flipkart is installed by default on new phones and going strong (cash on delivery is unique innovation that suits Indian market)

I believe India is at a point where technology adoption is kind of equalizing compared to the western nations (subject to infrastructure constraints still) and there is a tremendous growth opportunity in almost all sectors given the scale of # of people and impact.

IMO, migrating to the west should mostly be a lifestyle decision and not due to lack of opportunity for the qualified. It feels like an exciting place for the next Sundar or Satya in the making!