Rural–Urban Digital Divide: Evidence From Indian States

ABSTRACT The Indian economy has achieved significant progress in recent years, with the country expected to contribute about 16% of the global growth. However, at the sub‐national level, economic development has been quite disparate over the decades, with widening inequality between the richer western and southern states and other parts of the country. Moreover, the pandemic has revealed sharp inequalities in access to digital technology, especially in regards to school education, finance, and health. In this study, we examine the digital divide in India between rural and urban areas at the sub‐national level. Specifically, our study constructs Digital Infrastructure Index (DII) and Digital Skills Index (DSI) for a sample of 18 Indian states, separately for rural and urban populations within each state. We then measure the rural–urban digital divide for both indices separately. Further, we examine the relationship between the indices and socio‐economic indicators. Our findings suggest that the “Digital India” growth story is far from equitable and that the low‐income states and the rural population deserve greater attention.