Indian Connectedness of Online NRI

NRI Online 2006

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Table of Content NRI Online 2006........................................................... 1 Methodology............................................................... 3 Executive Summary ...................................................... 5 Detailed Findings: Non Residential Status..................................................10 Half the online NRI are South Indians in origin .....................12 Online NRI are largely mature males .................................15 Only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘techie’.....................19 West-based online NRI are economically better off ...............22 Gulf-based online NRI are more connected with India ............24 West-based NRI are more 'online' .....................................45 Gulf NRI access Internet more from office, west ones more from homes .....................................................................48 Both surf for Indian content almost equally ........................52 Politics and economy are the most surfed Indian content........54 Gulf ones buy from Indian websites relatively more...............55 Website Preferences for Indian Content.............................59 Offline media preferences for Indian content ......................74 Index.......................................................................78

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NRI Online 2006 The Indian Diaspora is spread across the world ranging from those in the economic superpowers to those in the countries that have just fledgling economies. No matter where they may be living, most Non-resident Indians (NRI) would like to stay connected with their homeland in some or the other way. This desire among the NRI to stay connected with India translates into making them a very ‘high purchasing power’ consumer segment base for most Indian marketers. Whether it is traveling, real estate, financial savings and investments, jewelry, handicrafts, food items or herbal products, NRI or their relatives back home form a significant part of the ‘high value’ Indian consumption. In the last few years Internet has emerged as one of the important mediums for the Non-resident Indians to stay connected with India. NRI are increasingly using the Internet to communicate with people back home, and to maintain the economic, social, political and philanthropic networks with the Indian homeland. Yet there is very little information available on the online connectivity of the NRI with India. To fill this yawning information gap, JuxtConsult, in addition to its annual study on online Indians, decided to track the online NRI as well on an annual basis. This years study, titled the NRI Online 2006 attempts to not only understand the overall connectivity of NRI with India but also the role Internet is playing in facilitating it. The findings of the NRI Online 2006 report from JuxtConsult are based on an online survey conducted with the NRI Diaspora living in various parts of the world. The objective of the study was not to measure how many NRI are online or what proportion come from which regions. It was essentially to check their status and preferences in staying connected with India and their online behavior in doing so. However, the study does highlight the demographic and economic profile of the online NRI, along with their preferred ways to stay connected with India in both online and offline modes. To make the report even more meaningful for Indian marketers, the NRI Diaspora have been grouped into 2 main clusters – Gulf-based NRI and West-based NRI. This has been done to capture the two ‘distinct’ and really big NRI markets and compare and contrast their motivations and usage of Internet to stay connected with India.

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Key Information Areas Covered

Demographic and Economic profile (current region of residence, visa status, gender, age, occupation, family size, monthly household income in US$, vehicle ownership, city of origin in India, native language)

Physical connectivity with India (frequency of travel to India for personal and professional reasons, visit individually or with family)

Communicational connectivity with India (frequency of calling and emailing India for personal and professional reasons)

Informational connectivity (preferred medium to stay connected with India, frequency of usage of media channels and preferred brands/websites to do so –TV, Newspaper, Internet, content areas sought/checked more)

Emotional Connectivity (motivation to stay connected with India, Indian role models)

Financial Connectivity (key financial assets in India, likely financial investments, frequency and preferred modes of financial remittance to India)

Online connectivity

Net Usage Dynamics like years of experience in using Internet, place of regular access, frequency of usage from home and office, type of connection a home, average time spent on the net at home or office, etc.

Website preferences for surfing Indian content like checking news and events in India, online shopping for Indian products, booking travel tickets to India, checking real estate info from India, job search in India, general info search about India, matrimonial search, seeking friendships in India, check Indian cinema, sports, music and fashion contents, etc.

Online Buying from Indian Websites like frequency of buying from these websites, products bought along with average monthly spends, etc.

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Methodology The task of conducting an online survey among the Indian Diaspora spread across the world appeared a tough challenge to begin with. How does one effectively reach all these widely spread out NRI in different countries? Which online vehicles or websites do we consider to be able to reach them noticeably, cast the net wide enough and yet do so in a cost-efficient manner? How does one ensure that the responses collected are representative of the online NRI across different regions of the globe and not reflect just one particular section of NRI in a biased way? After a lot of brainstorming on the possible methods to conduct this online survey, and after considering the pros and cons of these methods in line with out prior experience of conducting such online surveys over last 2 years, we zeroed down on using the ‘contextual search ad’ based survey campaign with Google AdWords. The final choice was a result of two critical advantages the vehicle had in case of this survey: Google AdWords allowed us to undertake a ‘geographically

targeted’ campaign by which we could reach and cover all the key regions of the world specifically and using just one online vehicle, rather than having to go with a big bouquet of websites targeting NRI.

As generic info search is done by almost by all netizens no matter who they are and from where they access the net, using this vehicle would really help us cast an unbiased and a wide enough net on the world-wide-web to capture the NRI population no matter where they are based.

Accordingly, an online survey was conducted between May-June 2006 among the NRI from the various parts of the world. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire segmented into two sections. The questionnaire was pre-tested and timed to take approximately 15-20 minutes for a respondent to complete depending on the speed of comprehension and answering of the questions. The questionnaire was structured and designed to reduce the level of ‘respondent fatigue’ to an extent that was practically possible. In the online questionnaire, a response format of ‘clicking’ a single or multiple options among the various given options was used for most questions. For each of these questions it was also possible for a respondent to answer ‘none’ or ‘any other’. However, wherever the respondents were asked to give preferences for websites or brand names, only a text box was provided for them to type the name on their own (or type ‘none’ if not applicable). This was done to ensure that all such recall and preference responses were solicited ‘unprompted’. Further, to enlist complete and sincere responses, an incentive of a significant cash prize was also announced for one selected respondent to be given at the end of the survey.

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Over 1,630 completed, As the final usable sample collected from the 3 cluster groups of online NRI were different, to ensure that the overall online NRI level information is not biased towards any one specific NRI cluster group, the different sample bases of the 3 groups of online NRI were equalized using response level weights. Unduplicated and usable responses were collected on the India connectedness of the online NRI. Of these about 1,000 NRI also reported their net usage & preference details. The net result was the compilation of the latest, highly authentic information on the online connectedness, Internet habits and website preferences of online NRI. This information was then used for making ‘insightful’ analysis and conclusions as contained in the NRI Online 2006 report. To make the report more meaningful for Indian marketers targeting NRI, the NRI have been grouped into 2 main clusters – gulf-based NRI and the western countries based NRI (west-based NRI). This ensured that we not only capture the two ‘distinct’ and really big NRI markets but also compare and contrast their motivations and usage of Internet to stay connected with India. The final NRI groups with their sample bases used in the report are as follows:

Table 1: Sample Distribution

NRI Groups Country/Region of Current Location Sample Base

West based NRI US, Canada, Central America, Western Europe, Australia

502

Gulf based NRI Middle East 859

Other NRI South Asia, South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, South America 270

Total NRI 1631

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Executive Summary

‘Family connection’ is largely what keeps online NRI hooked to India

By and large two-thirds of the NRI, irrespective of whether they are based in gulf or in the more developed parts of the world feel that what binds them to India is their ‘family’ back home. Gulf ones highlight family connection somewhat more at 72% as against 63% of west-based ones. In fact, only about 1 in 4 online NRI feels connected to India because of patriotic feelings for the home country or towards its culture and heritage. West-based ones do so marginally more at 24% than gulf-based ones at 19%.

Gulf-based online NRI are more connected with India

The gulf-based online NRI not only show higher physical, financial and communicational connectivity with India but higher informational and entertainment-related connectivity as well. Gulf-based online NRI travels to India more frequently for both

personal and professional reasons. 80% of them claim to travel to India at least once in 3 months for personal reasons. In comparison, only 54% of west-based NRI claim to travel to India for personal reasons that frequently.

Gulf-based online NRI also call their family and friends in India more. 92% of them call India at least once a week for personal reasons (80% of west-based NRI also do so).

Gulf-based online NRI email also relatively more frequently for personal reasons. One in 2 out of them (49%) corresponds with people back home on email every day. In comparison, 41% of west-based online NRI email people back home everyday.

Gulf-based online NRI remit money to India more frequently. 9 out of 10 online NRI based in the gulf (87%) remit money to India at least once a month. In comparison, only 1 in 2 west-based NRI (47%) remits money to India at least once a month.

Compared to the west-based NRI they also check information about India more, though they do so relatively more using the ‘offline’ mediums.

West-based online NRI connect more online

Between the two NRI groups, the west-based online NRI rely on Internet relatively more to stay connected with happenings in India. While 2 out of 3 west-based online NRI (64%) prefer to stay updated with happenings in India online, only about 1 in 3 gulf-based online NRI (39%) prefers to do so. In fact, a higher proportion of gulf-based online NRI (48%) prefer to update themselves about Indian happening through the electronic media (TV largely). Only 1 in 5 west-based NRI (19%) prefers electronic media to check happening about India.

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It is not that the gulf-based ones surf the net less regularly than the west-based ones to check Indian content, it is just that they use the offline mediums significantly more to watch or read about India.

Both groups keep a keen eye on India’s economic progress

By and large online NRI are more interested in ‘economic progress’ and ‘political stability’ of the country (India) than anything else. Interestingly, this is in quite in variance to what generally online Indians in India are interested in. Compared to the online NRI, the online Indians show far greater interest in entertainment content (sports, cinema, lifestyle, etc.) And far less in the economic progress and political developments in the country. This contrast is also reflected in the Indian role models that online NRI have as compared to the online Indians. While online Indians see business, sports and cinema celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Dhirubahi Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar or Shah Rukh Khan as the relatively bigger role models in their lives (apart from their parents), the online NRI look up to APJ Abdul Kalam, Mahatma Gandhi and Manmohan Singh as bigger role models than these celebrities. Between the two online NRI groups, while the gulf-based ones seek economic progress and sports content relatively more, the west-based ones seek cinema, fashion and religion/spirituality content relatively more.

Online NRI show high level of keenness to invest in India

Despite very high current ownership of assets in India, a significant proportion of online NRI would like to invest further in India, especially in the physical assets. Though 2 out of 3 online NRI already have bank accounts and houses back in India, almost half the online NRI would still like to invest in a house or land in India in the near future. In comparison only around 1 in 4 online NRI would like to invest in financial assets. Amongst the two groups of online NRI, the gulf-based ones not only show relatively higher current ownership of both physical and financial assets in India, but are also the ones who show relatively higher propensity to make further investments in shares and deposits in India as compared to the west-based ones. The west-based ones show a relatively higher propensity for opening bank accounts in India.

Gulf ones prefer to remit money more through the banking channels

Contrary to the popular perception, when it comes to the mode of remitting the money to India, it is the gulf-based online NRI who trust the banking modes of transferring funds to India relatively more (both online and offline). While only 2 out of 3 west-based online NRI (65%) prefer to remit money through online or offline bank based transfers or transactions, a significantly higher 80% gulf-based online NRI rely on

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such modes of transfer. This higher preference for banking modes by the gulf-based online NRI may have something to do with the fact that they remit money to India more frequently.

West-based NRI are generally the heavier users of the net, but not the heavier users of Indian content on the net

Not only a noticeably higher proportion of west-based online NRI access the net several times a day but also significantly more of them use the net for more than 2 hours a day from home. However, when it comes to the usage of Indian content online at home, almost 20% of each of the west-based and gulf-based online NRI who use the Internet for more than 2 hours a day, also uses the Internet to check Indian content for more than 2 hours a day. The story is no different for usage of Indian content from the offices as well. The gulf-based online NRI are almost as heavy users of the net from office as the west-based ones, and they check Indian content from office somewhat more heavily than the west-based ones.

For entertainment, online NRI connect with Indian music the most

In terms of connectivity with Indian ‘entertainment’, online NRI listen to Indian music the most regularly. Three out of 4 online NRI (75%) listens to Indian music everyday. In comparison, only 35% watch Indian movie everyday, 36% watch Indian sports everyday and 17% check Indian fashion everyday. The gulf-based online NRI follow the Indian sports content significantly more regularly. At the same time, the gulf-based online NRI follow Indian movies, music and fashion also somewhat more regularly than the west-based NRI.

Online NRI are largely mature males

Only 1 in 5 online NRI (19%) is a woman. This is noticeably lower than the proportion women form among online Indians in India (25%). However, this is largely because women form only 12% of gulf-based online NRI. Among the west-based online NRI women form 28% of the online population. Online NRI are also significantly older in age than online Indians in India. While two-third of the online Indians in India (70%) are below 30 years of age, only about one-third online NRI (39%) are below 30 years in age.

Half the online NRI are South Indians in origin

Almost every second online Indian is from South India (54%). North India origin NRI come next at 23%, followed by western regions ones at 19%. This dominance of NRI from South India among the online NRI is because of their very heavy presence in Gulf, where every 2 out of 3 online NRI

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is of South Indian origin. At the same time however, 1 in every 3 west-based online NRI is also from South India (36%).

Only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘Techie’

Though west-based online NRI come relatively more from the IT sector (21%) in comparison to the gulf-based ones (11%), still only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘techie’. This is contrary to the popular perception that almost assumes every second online NRI from the developed countries to be an IT professional.

An equal proportion of gulf-based online NRI are professionally qualified

Though west-based online NRI have higher levels of educations (36% of them being post-graduate or above, against 17% gulf-based ones), proportionately as many online NRI from gulf are professionally qualified as from the western countries. Only 1 in 5 online NRI has a professional education/qualification, irrespective of whether they are west-based or gulf-based. However, gulf-based online NRI work significantly more in the corporate sector. Two out of 3 of them work as corporate employees of various levels. In comparison, only 1 in 3 west-based online NRI works as a corporate employee. In fact, 40% of west-based online NRI come under unemployed/semi-employed categories (students, housewives, and unspecified others).

But gulf-based online NRI have significantly lower incomes

Almost 40% of west-based online NRI have monthly family incomes of over US$ 5,000. In comparison, only 14% gulf-based NRI have such high level of incomes. In fact, almost half of gulf-based online NRI have monthly incomes of less than US$ 2,000. Similarly, while 3 out of 4 west-based online NRI own a car, only 1 in 2 gulf-based online NRI own a car. In all about 58% of online NRI own a car, almost double the proportion of what online Indians in India own (27%). In sum, by and large the online NRI are highly connected with India, both because of their strong ‘family linkages’ back home as well as their high levels of concern about the ‘progress’ of their homeland. In this, the gulf-based online NRI are noticeably more linked to India than the west-based ones and understandably so. The gulf-based online NRI are significantly more the ‘bread earners’ of their families back home. Accordingly their stakes and involvement levels are higher, both emotionally and financially. Further, they are much closer to India both in time and distance. The perceived ‘proximity’ also makes them connect with the homeland with more regularity, be it connecting physically, in communication, or in seeking information and entertainment content about India. Though the west-based online NRI prefer to stay connected with India using the Internet relatively more, and may be classified as the more ‘online NRI’ per se, in effect they connect with India on the net only as regularly as the gulf ones do.

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Detailed Findings

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Non Residential Status Region of residence

In this report, the online NRI have been grouped into 2 main clusters - gulf country based NRI and western countries based NRI. This has been done to capture the two ‘distinct’ and really big NRI markets and compare and contrast their motivations and usage of Internet to stay connected with India. The final NRI groups with their sample bases as reported are: West-based NRI – US, Canada, Central America, Western Europe,

Australia (Sample base – 502) Gulf-based NRI - Middle East (Sample base – 859) Other NRI – South & South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, South

America (Sample base – 270) To report unbiased findings at the overall NRI level, the different sample bases of the 3 groups of NRI were equalized using response level weights.

Chart 1: Region of Current or Permanent Residence

100%

33%

23%

60%

20%

7%

7% 6%

70%

21%17%

6%13%4%7% 2%

2% 2%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-BasedNRI

Gulf-BasedNRI

Other NRI All NRI

Eastern Europe/ Russia

Central, South America/Mexico/ Caribbean

Australia/New Zealand

South East Asia/ Japan/China

Western, SouthernEurope/ Scandinavia

Africa/ South Africa

South Asia

North America/ Canada

Middle East

Base: 1,631

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Visa status

While almost 9 out of 10 gulf-based online NRI (86%) have resident visas with work permit, only 1 in 4 west-based online NRI is has a resident visa with work permit. This difference is largely because almost 1 in 2 online NRI from the western countries (52%) has already acquired a local citizen or has a special residential status like green card.

Chart 2: Visa Status

26%

50%

2%

26% 26%25%12%

25% 21%

86%

54%49%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Resident Visa with work permit

Citizenship / Green Cards

Others

Base: 1,631

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Half the online NRI are South Indians in origin Indian regions they come from

Almost every second online Indian is from South India (54%). North India origin NRI come next at 23%, followed by western regions ones at 19%. This dominance of NRI from South India among online NRI is because of their very heavy presence in Gulf, where every 2 out of 3 NRI is a south Indian origin. South based NRI however make a significant proportion of the western country based online NRI as well. One in every 3 west-based online NRI is also from South India (36%). Here Indians with origin in North take a marginal lead over the south by accounting for 38% of the west-based online NRI. North India origin NRI forms only 10% of the gulf-based online NRI.

Table 2: Regional Distribution by Place of Origin in India

Region West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

North 38% 10% 20% 23%

East 6% 3% 4% 5%

South 36% 68% 58% 54%

West 20% 20% 18% 19%

Base: 1,631

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City of origin in India

Kochi and Hyderabad stand out as cities from where gulf-based online NRI originally come more from, while for west based ones it is Hyderabad and Delhi.

Table 3: Top 10 Cities by Place of Origin

City West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Kochi 5% 18% 13% 12%

Others from South India 5% 17% 12% 11%

Hyderabad 10% 7% 10% 9%

Mumbai 6% 11% 7% 8%

Chennai 5% 7% 8% 7%

Delhi 9% 3% 5% 6%

Bangalore 5% 5% 5% 5%

Others from North India 9% 3% 3% 5%

Thiruvananthapuram 2% 7% 6% 5%

Ludhiana 7% 0.1% 2% 3%

Base: 1,631

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Native language

Malayalam tops as the native language of 40% of online gulf NRI’s. It is followed by Urdu, Tamil and Hindi in that order. Among western ones, Punjabi tops at 21%. It is followed by Hindi, Telugu and Gujrati.

Table 4: Top 10 Native Languages

Language West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Malayalam 9% 39% 26% 25%

Hindi 13% 9% 10% 11%

Tamil 8% 10% 10% 10%

Urdu 3% 13% 10% 9%

Punjabi 21% 1% 3% 9%

Telugu 11% 4% 7% 7%

Gujrati 10% 3% 6% 6%

Kannada 5% 4% 3% 4%

Konkani 0.8% 5% 2% 3%

Marathi 3% 2% 2% 2%

Base: 1,631

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Online NRI are largely mature males Gender

Women form 19% of online NRI. This is noticeably lower than the proportion women form among online Indians in India (25%). This may be largely because women form only 12% of gulf NRI. Among the west based NRI they form 28% of the online population, marginally higher than the online Indians in India.

Chart 3: Gender Representation

72%

28%

12%19% 19%

88%81%82%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Male Female

Base: 1,631

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Age distribution

Online NRI are significantly older in age than online Indians in India. While two-third of the online Indians (70%) in India are below 30 years of age, only about one-third online NRI (39%) are below 30 years in age. In fact even among the west-based online NRI, only 1 in 2 (47%) of them are under 30 years of age. Almost 3 out of four gulf-based online NRI are over 30 years of age.

Chart 4: Distribution by Age Group

47%

29%

42%39%

53%

71%

58%61%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

13 to 30 Years Above 30 Years

Base: 1,631

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Marital status

Though western online NRI are relatively younger in age, yet even 2 out of 3 of them (68%) are married. 78% of gulf-based online NRI are also married.

Chart 5: Marital Status

31%

21%

35%29%

68%62%

69%78%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Single Married

Base: 1,631

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Family size

West-based online NRI have proportionately smaller size families. Almost 1 in 3 west-based online NRI (33%) has a family size up to 2 members in the family. In comparison only 18% of gulf-based online NRI have family size of 2 or less.

Chart 6: Size of the Family They Represent

33%

18% 18%23%

68%

77%82% 82%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Members More than 2 Members

Average: 3.2 3.5 3.6 3.4

Base: 1,631

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Only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘techie’ Educational Qualification

Proportionately as many online NRI from gulf are professionally qualified as from the western countries. Only 1 in 5 online NRI has a professional education/qualification, irrespective of whether they are west-based or gulf-based. However, west-based online NRI are otherwise significantly more educated with a much higher proportion of them having post-graduates and plus education levels (36%) than the gulf-based ones (17%).

Table 5: Highest Level of Education

Education West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Up to School 8% 10% 14% 10%

Graduate 33% 48% 37% 39%

Post Graduate 30% 16% 18% 21%

Doctorate 6% 0.7% 2% 3%

Professional Qualification 20% 22% 20% 21%

Base: 1,631

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Occupation

Gulf-based online NRI work significantly more in the corporate sector. Two out of 3 of them work as corporate employees of various levels. In comparison, only 1 in 3 west-based online NRI (31%) work as a corporate employee. West-based online NRI are significantly more self-employed (21%) as against the gulf-based ones (13%). But most importantly, a bulk 40% of west-based online NRI come under unemployed/semi-employed categories (students, housewives, unspecified others) whereas only 17% of gulf-based online NRI come under these unemployed/semi-employed categories.

Chart 7: Occupational Break Up

7%3%

8% 6%

21%

13%

21% 18%

31%

67%

37%45%

40%

17%

33%30%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Businessmen Self Employed ProfessionalsCorporate Executives Others

Base: 1,631

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Functional background

The west-based online NRI come relatively more from the IT sector (21%) in comparison to the gulf-based ones (11%). However, this still means that only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘techie’, against the popular perception which almost assumes every second online NRI from the developed countries to be an IT professional.

Chart 8: Field of Functional/Occupational Background

21%

11% 11%14%

47%53% 53%

32% 30%36%

33%

59%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

IT/Software NON/IT Others

Base: 1,631

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West-based online NRI are economically better off Household Incomes

West-based online NRI earn significantly more than. Almost 4 out of 10 of them have monthly incomes over US$ 5,000. In comparison, only 14% gulf-based online NRI have such high level of incomes. In fact, almost half of the gulf-based online NRI have monthly incomes of less than US$ 2,000. Only a quarter of online western NRI have such low incomes. However, an equal proportion of gulf-based and west-based NRI come from the middle income NRI groups (between US$ 2,000 to US$ 5,000), at 38% each.

Chart 9: Distribution by Monthly Income of the Household

37% 38%34%

36%39%

14%18%

24%

40%

48%49%

25%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Less than US$ 2K US$ 2K - US$ 5K Above US$ 5k

Base: 1,631

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Vehicle ownerships

While 3 out of 4 west-based online NRI (71%) own a car, only 1 in 2 gulf-based online NRI own a car (53%). In all about 58% of online NRI own a car, almost the double of what online Indians in India own (27%).

Chart 10: Most Expensive Vehicle Owned by the Household

50%

9%

72%

53% 58%

23%

16%15%

27% 26%

20%

32%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Four Wheeler Two Wheeler Don’t own either

Base: 1,631

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Gulf-based online NRI are more connected with India Emotional Connectivity

Motivation for Staying Connected with India

Family connection is what essentially keeps online NRI hooked to India. By and large two-thirds of online NRI, irrespective of whether they are bases in gulf or in the more developed parts of the world, feel that what binds them to India is their ‘family’ back home. Gulf ones highlight family connection somewhat more at 72%. At 63%, west-based ones also highlight this connection the most. Only about 1 in 4 online NRI feels connected to India essentially because of patriotic feelings for the home country or towards its culture and heritage. West-based ones do so marginally more at 24% than gulf-based ones at 19%.

Chart 11: Motivation to Stay Connected with India

63% 63%66%

3% 2%5% 3%

72%

24% 22%19%

23%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Family Patriotic Feelings/ Culture & Heritage Property

Base: 1,631

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Indian Role Models

The online NRI look at APJ Abdul Kalam, Mahatma Gandhi and Manmohan Singh as bigger role models than business, sports or cinema celebrities. This is in contrast to role models the online Indians living in India have. Online Indians see business, sports and cinema celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Dhirubahi Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar or Shah Rukh Khan as the bigger role models in their lives (apart from their parents).

Table 6: Top Ten Indian Role Models of Online NRI

Role Models West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

A P J Abdul Kalam 7% 12% 4% 8%

Mahatma Gandhi 6% 5% 9% 7%

Dr Manmohan Singh 4% 4% 3% 4%

Amitabh Bacchan 3% 3% 4% 3%

Father 3% 3% 3% 3%

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi 1% 4% 2% 2%

Sachin Tendulkar 3% 1% 3% 2%

Aishwariya Rai 0.8% 2% 3% 2%

Rajeev Gandhi 0.8% 3% 2% 2%

Mother Teresa 2% 2% 1% 2%

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

26

Physical connectivity

Travel to India for Personal Reasons

Online NRI travel to India more frequently for personal reasons, with almost 2 out 3 of them (69%) visiting India at least once in 3 months for this reason. The high frequency of travel to India is largely driven by the gulf-based online NRI, 80% of whom claim to travel to India that frequently. In comparison, only 54% of west-based NRI claim to travel to India at least once in 3 months for personal reasons. Online NRI travel relatively more with their families when traveling to India for personal reasons. Two out of 3 west-based online NRI (63%) travel with family on such occasions while only 1 in 2 gulf-based online NRI (50%) does so.

Chart 12: Frequency of Visit to India for Personal Reasons

17%11% 9%

81%

54%

73%69%

35%

18%23%

2%8%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once in 3 months Less than once in 3 months

Never traveled to India

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

27

Travel to India for professional reasons

On the other hand, only about 1 in 3 online NRI (39%) travel to India at least once in 3 months for professional reasons. Here again the gulf-based online NRI travel more frequently with 41% of them traveling at least once in 3 months. In comparison, only 27% of west-based NRI travel to India that frequently for professional reasons.

Chart 13: Frequency of Visit to India for Professional Reasons

41% 38%

27%

48%

39%

20% 21% 21% 21%

41%

53%

31%

0%

20%

40%

60%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once in 3 months Less than once in 3 months

Never traveled to India

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

28

Communication connectivity

Phone Calls for Personal Reason

Online NRI call India significantly more for personal reasons than for professional reasons. While 1 in 4 online NRI (28%) calls India for personal reasons at least once a day, another 56% call at least once a week. The gulf-based online NRI call India relatively more frequently, with 92% of them calling India at least once a week for personal reasons (80% of west-based NRI also do so).

Chart 14: Frequency of Calling India for Personal Reasons

59%

46%

19%

8%

23%16%23%

28% 32% 28%

56%

64%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

29

Phone calls for professional reason

In comparison, only 14% online NRI call India at least once a day for professional reasons, with another 20% calling once a week. The online NRI of both the groups call almost equally infrequently to India for professional reasons.

Chart 15: Frequency of Calling India for Professional Reasons

11% 11%21%

14%18%22% 21% 20%

72% 67%59%

66%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-BasedNRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

30

Emailing for personal reason

Almost twice the proportions of online NRI (both gulf-based and west-based) ‘communicate’ with their family, friends and colleagues India on a daily basis using an email rather than a phone. Gulf-based online NRI email relatively more frequently for personal reasons. One in 2 out of them (49%) corresponds with people back home on email every day. In comparison, 41% of west-based online NRI email people back home everyday. Chart 16: Send or Receive E-Mails From/To India for Personal Reasons

27%

17%

27%

48%49%

41%46%

26%

34%32%31%

24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a weekLess than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

31

Emailing for professional reason

Once again both the online NRI groups email for professional reasons significantly less frequently. Only 1 in 2 gulf-based ones (25%) email someone in India for professional reasons, while a marginally lower 21% of west-based online NRI do the same.

Chart 17: Send or Receive E-Mails From/To India for Professional Reasons

21%25% 27%

24%21%

23% 25% 23%

52%47%

53%59%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a weekL h k/N

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

32

Informational connectivity

Medium used for staying updated on India

While 2 out of 3 west-based NRI (64%) prefer to stay updated with happenings in India using the Internet more, only about 1 in 3 gulf-based online NRI (39%) prefers to do so. In fact, a noticeably higher proportion of the gulf-based online NRI (48%) prefer to update themselves about Indian happening through the electronic media (TV largely). Only 1 in 5 west-based NRI (19%) prefers electronic media to check happening about India.

Chart 18: Preferred Medium to Follow Happenings in India

19%

48%

34% 35%

13% 13%

21%16%

49%44%

39%

64%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Internet Eloctronic Media Print Media

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

33

Usage of electronic medium

Two out of 3 online NRI (69%) watch Indian programs on TV daily. While 86% of gulf-based online NRI watch Indian programs on TV daily only 50% of west-based ones do so daily.

Chart 19: Frequency of Watching Indian TV Programs

50%

21%

7%11% 13%

29%

7%

18% 18%

86%72% 69%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

34

Usage of print medium

Two out of 3 online NRI (69%) read Indian newspaper and magazine daily as well. While 81% of gulf-based online NRI read about India in the print medium daily only 60% of the west-based ones do so daily.

Chart 20: Frequency of Reading Indian Newspaper & Magazines

60%66% 69%

22%

13%17% 17%18%

6%

16% 14%

81%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

35

Usage of internet medium

Compared to a significantly higher 2 out of 3 online NRI (69%) relying on the conventional 'offline' mediums to stay in touch with India on a daily basis, only 1 in 2 online NRI (52%) surfs the net on a daily basis to check Indian content. Between the two online NRI groups, the gulf-based ones surf the net as regularly as the west-based ones to check Indian content (56% versus 54% respectively), though they use the offline mediums significantly more than the west-based ones to watch or read about India.

Chart 21: Frequency of Surfing Indian Content on Internet

25% 26% 27% 26%22%

18%

28%

23%

52%

45%

56%54%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

36

Information sought about India

They have a keen eye on India's progress and stability. By and large online NRI are more interested in content about ‘economic progress” in India, followed thereafter about the general happenings in India, including political happenings. Interestingly, this is in quite a variance to what generally online Indians in India are interested in content about India. Compared to the online NRI, the online Indians show far greater interest in entertainment content (sports, cinema, lifestyle, etc.) And far less in the economic progress and political developments in the country.

Table 7: Happenings in India NRI Want to Stay Updated On

Interest Areas West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Economic Progress 58% 63% 53% 58%

General Happenings 57% 57% 44% 53%

Sports 47% 51% 48% 49%

Politics 55% 51% 38% 48%

Cinema 54% 38% 42% 44%

Social Progress 44% 41% 33% 39%

Religion/Spirituality 44% 36% 37% 39%

Lifestyle Trends 30% 26% 32% 29%

Fashion 24% 15% 25% 21%

Social Progress 14% 14% 13% 13%

Others 7% 4% 9% 7%

Base: 1,629

NRI Online 2006

37

Entertainment Connectivity

Indian Movies

Only 1 in 3 online NRI (35%) watch Indian movies on a daily basis. The gulf-based online NRI watch Indian movies relatively more regularly, with 36% of them doing so everyday. In comparison, a lower 29% of the west-based NRI watch Indian movies everyday.

Chart 22: Frequency of Watching Indian Movies

42%38%

40%

31%

22% 24%26%29%

36%39%

35%

40%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

38

Indian sports

Again only 1 in 3 online NRI (36%) watch Indian sports on a daily basis. The gulf-based online NRI follow the Indian sports content significantly more regularly, with 47% of them doing so everyday. In comparison, only 22% of the west-based NRI check Indian sports content everyday.

Chart 23: Frequency of Watching Indian Sports

31% 30% 29%

51%

22%

30%34%36%

40%47%

22%

27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

West-BasedNRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

39

Indian music

However, a significantly higher 3 out of 4 online NRI (75%) listens to Indian music everyday. The gulf-based online NRI listen to Indian music also noticeably more regularly. While 77% of them listen to Indian music on a daily basis, a relatively lower 70% of the west-based NRI listen to Indian music everyday.

Chart 24: Frequency of Listening to Indian Music

14% 13% 15%13%9% 11% 11%

75%76%77%70%

18%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

40

Indian fashion

The proportion of online NRI who check Indian fashion on a daily basis are the least at only 17%. The gulf-based online NRI also follow the Indian fashion trends marginally more regularly than the west-based online NRI. While 16% of gulf-based online NRI follow Indian fashion trend on a daily basis, only a marginally lower 13% of west-based ones also do so.

Chart 25: Frequency of Checking Out Fashion Trends in India

24% 23%

54%

17%23%

16%13%

23%22%

62% 60%65%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a day At least once a week

Less than a week/Never

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

41

Financial connectivity

Current ownerships of assets in India

Almost 2 out of 3 online NRI already have bank accounts and houses back in India (almost 70% have each). One in 2 (51%) also owns some land. Only 1 in 5 (21%) has invested money in shares in India. Among the two groups of online NRI, the gulf-based ones not only show relatively higher current ownership of both physical and financial assets in India.

Table 8: Current Asset Ownerships in India

Assets West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Bank Accounts 70% 75% 66% 70%

House 68% 71% 69% 69%

Land 47% 53% 52% 51%

Deposit 38% 40% 36% 38%

Shares 22% 24% 18% 21%

Others 5% 5% 3% 4%

Base: 1,555

NRI Online 2006

42

Future plans for making financial investments in India

Despite fairly high current ownership of assets in India, a significant proportion of online NRI would like to invest further in India, especially in physical assets. Almost half the online NRI would like to invest in a house or land in India in the near future. In comparison only around 1 in 4 online NRI (between 26% to 30%) would like to invest in financial assets. The gulf-based online NRI show relatively higher propensity to make further investments in shares and deposits in India as compared to the west-based ones. The west-based ones show a relatively higher propensity for opening bank accounts in India.

Table 9: Plans for Future Financial Investments in India

Assets West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

House 49% 48% 49% 49%

Land 46% 48% 43% 46%

Shares 28% 37% 25% 30%

Deposit 29% 32% 27% 29%

Bank Accounts 28% 21% 28% 26%

Others 4% 5% 3% 4%

Base: 1,531

NRI Online 2006

43

Remitting money to India

Almost 2 out of 3 online NRI remitting money to India at least once a month. Significantly more gulf-based online NRI remit money to India with higher frequency than the west-based ones. Nine out of 10 online NRI based in the gulf (87%) remit money to India at least once a month. In comparison, only 1 in 2 west-based NRI (47%) remits money to India at least once a month.

Chart 26: Frequency of Remitting Money to India

21%

8%13% 14%

32%

5%

22% 20%

66%65%

87%

47%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a month Once in 3 months

Once in less than 3 months

Base: 1,631

NRI Online 2006

44

Preferred mode of remitting money

When it comes to the mode of remitting money to India, contrary to the popular perception, it is the gulf-based online NRI who trust the banking modes of transferring funds to India relatively more (both online and offline banking modes). While only 2 out of 3 west-based online NRI (65%) prefer to remit money through online or offline bank based transfers or transactions, a significantly higher 80% gulf-based online NRI rely on such modes of transfer. This higher preference for banking modes by the gulf-based online NRI may have something to do with the fact that they remit money to India much more frequently.

Chart 27: Preferred Mode of Remitting Money to India

36%

27%

37%33% 32%

29%

19%25% 24%

38%43%

39%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Online Transactions Offline Transactions Cash Transactions

Base: 1,631

On the whole, all this data clearly suggests that the gulf-based online NRI not only show higher physical, financial and communication connectivity with India but also more informational and entertainment-related connectivity as well. It is only in emotional connectivity that the west-based online NRI are almost equally glued to India.

NRI Online 2006

45

West-based NRI are more 'online' Online connectivity

Regularity of internet usage

Almost 2 out of 3 online NRI (69%) log on to the net several times a day. In fact, 9 out of 10 online NRI (92%) use the net on a daily basis. Though fairly high proportions of both group of online NRI use the Internet daily (97% and 94% respectively), a noticeably higher proportion of west-based online NRI (80%) access the net several times a day. Only 71% of gulf-based ones access it several times a day.

Chart 28: Frequency of Using Internet

80%

57%

69%

2% 2%8%

3%

71%

17% 23%

28%23%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Several times a day Once a day Once a week or less

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

46

Experience in internet usage

Eight out of 10 online NRI (80%) have experience of 2 or more years in using the net. With 87% of them using the net already for 2 years or more, the gulf-based online NRI are marginally more experienced net users than the west-based ones, only 84% of whom have that level of net usage experience. This could be largely because the west-based online NRI have a significantly higher proportion of students and non-working users in their base, while gulf-based online NRI are mostly the working ones.

Chart 29: Years of Experience in Using Internet

16% 13%

34%

20%

84% 87%

66%

80%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Years More than 2 Years

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

47

Internet users per family

Over 40% of all NRI have more than 2 members in the household using the Internet. This means that on an average, there are 2.5 Internet users per NRI household. This is significantly higher than the average Internet users per household of 1.7 among the online Indians living in India. Only 1 out of 3 gulf-based online NRI (33%) come from a household that has more than 2 members in the household using the net. In comparison 45% of west-based online NRI come from such households. As a result of this, west-based NRI shows noticeably higher net users per household at an average of 2.6. In comparison, the gulf-based online NRI have only 2.2 users per household.

Chart 30: Number of Family Member Using the Internet

59%55%

67%

52%41%45%

33%

48%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Members More than 2 Members

Average: 2.6 2.2 2.7 2.5

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

48

Gulf NRI access Internet more from office, west ones more from homes Place of access

Almost 2 out of 3 online NRI (67%) use the net from home, with an almost equal proportion also using it from offices. At 90%, the west-based online NRI also access the net significantly more from homes. In comparison, only 58% of the gulf-based online NRI access the net from homes. The story is almost the reverse when it comes to net usage from office. While the gulf-based ones access the net significantly more from offices at 82%, only 57% of the west-based ones access it from the office. Further, whether based in the gulf or in the west, online NRI use the net mainly from home or office. Very few of them access the net from cyber cafes. Only 4% of west-based online NRI and 14% of gulf-based ones access the net from cyber cafes. On the whole, though both the groups access the net from distinct places, the fact remains that both the groups access the net equally regularly.

Chart 31: Place of Accessing Internet

4%14%

19%12%

69%

57%

82%

60%67%

90%

58% 59%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Office Home Cyber-Café

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

49

Type on connection at home

The reason why gulf-based online NRI access the net more from office and less from homes is clear from the fact that not only 1 in 4 of them does not have an internet connection at home, but also another 2 out of 4 have only a regular dial up connection. So effectively, only 1 in 4 gulf-based online NRI has a broadband connection at home. In sharp contrast to this, 3 out of 4 west-based online NRI (77%) using the net from home have broadband access from home. This may be facilitating higher home-based Internet usage among them. On the whole, only 1 in 2 online NRI (48%) who use the Internet from home has a broadband connection at home. Interestingly, this is marginally lower than the proportion of online Indians using the Internet from home with broadband access (52%).

Chart 32: Type of Internet Connection at Home

77%

26%

42%48%

25%25%

6%

18%28%

47%

11%

30%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

No Internet at Home Regular dial up connection

Broadband Connection

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

50

Duration of net usage from home

Almost 3 out of 4 online NRI (76%) are light to medium users of the Internet from homes. Only 1 in 4 of them uses the net for more than 2 hours a day. West-based NRI are the relatively heavier users of the net. A significantly higher 35% of them use the net on an average for more than 2 hours a day from home. In comparison, only 14% of the gulf-based ones use the net for more than 2 hours a day from home.

Chart 33: Time Spent on Internet at Home

65%

86%79% 76%

35%

14%21% 24%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Hours More than 2 Hours

Base: 838

NRI Online 2006

51

Duration of net usage from office

Almost 2 out of 3 online NRI (64%) are also light to medium users of the Internet from offices. However, with 1 in 3 of them using the net for more than 2 hours a day from office, online NRI are relatively heavier users of the net from office than from homes. Gulf-based online NRI are almost as heavy users of the net from office as the west-based ones (37% to 39% of both groups' NRI use the net for more than 2 hours a day on an average from the office).

Chart 34: Time Spent on Internet at Office

63% 61%

69%64%

37% 39%

31%36%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Hours More than 2 Hours

Base: 781

NRI Online 2006

52

Both surf for Indian content almost equally Duration of surfing Indian content from home

When it comes to the surfing Indian content on the net from home, only 7% of the west-based online NRI do so for more than 2 hours a day, while 3% of the gulf-based ones surf it for those durations. In other words, almost 20% each of the west-based and gulf-based online NRI (or 1 in 5 of them) who use the Internet to check Indian content from home do so for more than 2 hours a day on an average.

Chart 35: Time Spent on Internet at Home to Check Indian Content

90%94%

7%3%

10%6%

93% 98%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Hours More than 2 Hours

Base: 830

NRI Online 2006

53

Duration of surfing Indian content from office

The story is no different for usage of Indian content from the offices as well. While only 4% of the west-based online NRI who access the net from office check Indian content online for more than 2 hours a day from there, a marginally higher 8% of the gulf-based ones use it for those durations from office. In other words, while only 10% of the west-based online NRI who use the Internet to check Indian content from office do so for more than 2 hours a day, a noticeably higher 20% of the gulf-based online NRI who use the Internet to check Indian content from office do so for more than 2 hours a day.

Chart 36: Time Spent on Internet at Office to Check Indian Content

92% 93%

4%8% 8% 7%

97%92%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

West-Based

NRI

Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Upto 2 Hours More than 2 Hours

Base: 720

NRI Online 2006

54

Politics and economy are the most surfed Indian content Indian content surfed online

Irrespective of whether they are based in gulf or in the more developed parts of the world, all online NRI check the political and economic development of the country much more than anything else on the net. Thereafter, Indian sports content is checked relatively more by the gulf-based ones on the net, while Indian cinema and music content is checked relatively more by the west-based ones. Gulf-based online NRI also check health and fitness related Indian content also relatively more on the net, while west-based ones check religious and spirituality and cultural heritage content relatively more.

Table 10: Indian Content Sought Online More

Contents West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Politics 72% 71% 65% 70%

Business / Economy 60% 63% 63% 62%

Sports 51% 62% 60% 58%

Music & Cinema 57% 45% 53% 52%

Science / Technology 38% 38% 41% 39%

Stocks / Shares / Interest Rates 33% 38% 32% 35%

Traveling / Tourism 30% 34% 32% 32%

Relationship / Friendship 27% 30% 35% 31%

Culture / Heritage 33% 24% 36% 31%

Spirituality / Religion 33% 27% 28% 29%

Health / Fitness 20% 33% 29% 27%

Picture Gallery / Video Gallery 25% 24% 27% 25%

Astrology 26% 24% 24% 25%

Food and Recipes 31% 21% 22% 25%

Cartoon / Jokes 23% 19% 28% 23%

Personality / Celebrity Interviews 22% 23% 23% 23%

Glamour / Fashion / Lifestyle 19% 21% 28% 22%

Community Building 16% 10% 17% 14%

Charity / Donations 10% 9% 12% 10%

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

55

Gulf ones buy from Indian websites relatively more Online buying

Almost 6 out of 10 online NRI (59%) buy from the Internet. While only 1 in 2 gulf-based online NRI (50%) has ever bought online, 3 out of 4 west-based online NRI (73%) have bought online. West-based ones are the more regular online shoppers as well. Against only 24% of the gulf-based online NRI shopping online at least once a month, an almost double that proportion of west-based online NRI (42%) shop online that frequently.

Chart 37: Frequency of Buying Online

29%31%31%

26% 26% 28%27%

45%41%42%

24%

50%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a month Once in Less than a month

Never shopped online

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

56

Online buying for Indian products or services

Almost 4 out of 10 online NRI (44%) buy from an Indian website. As 59% of all online NRI buy online, clearly there are about 15% online NRI who buy online but do not buy from an Indian website. This means that 3 out of 4 online NRI (75%) who buy online also buys from an Indian website. While only 1 in 2 west-based online NRI (49%) has ever shopped from an Indian website, 40% of the gulf-based ones have also shopped from Indian websites. So proportionately more gulf-based online NRI who buy online buy from the Indian websites. That is, 82% of gulf-based NRI who buy online also buy from an Indian websites, while only 70% of west-based NRI who buy online also buys from an Indian website. However in terms of the frequency of buying from Indian websites, less than 2 out of 10 online NRI from each of the groups are really the regular online NRI buyers from these Indian websites. West-based ones buy marginally more regularly from Indian websites, with 18% of them buying at least once a month from these websites.

Chart 38: Frequency of Buying Online on Indian Websites

19% 16%

33%28%

22%28%

49%

60%56%

18%13%

60%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

At least once a month Once in Less than a month

Never shopped online

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

57

Average spends on Indian websites

Online NRI from both the groups show almost an equal proportion of heavy online spenders buying from the Indian websites. Only 5% from each of the groups spend on an average more than US$ 500 a month with these websites. However, a noticeably higher 45% of west-based online NRI are light to medium spenders on these websites (as against only 35% of the gulf-based ones).

Chart 39: Average Monthly Spends When Buying from Indian Websites

58%

45%

35%

27%

36%

5% 8% 6%

65%

50%

60%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Never Shop Online Upto $500 More than $500

Base: 975

NRI Online 2006

58

Popular items bought from Indian websites

Air tickets are the most bought items online from the Indian websites for both groups of online NRI. Almost half the online shopping NRI from both the groups who shop from Indian websites buy air tickets online. The other popularly bought online products from the Indian websites are CD and DVDs, books and magazines, gifts and travel and tour packages. Between the two groups, the products that the west-based online NRI buy relatively more from Indian websites are CD and dvds, gifts for relatives in India, Indian spices and food, jewelry and handicraft items. On the other hand, the items that the gulf-based online NRI buy relatively more from these websites are only books and magazines.

Table 11: Products Or Services Bought from Indian Websites

Products West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Air ticket 44% 47% 42% 45%

CDs & DVDs 36% 23% 36% 31%

Books & Magazines 26% 34% 31% 31%

Gifts for relatives in India 34% 22% 19% 25%

Travel / Tour Packages 21% 22% 19% 20%

Clothes / Shoes / Fashion accessories 18% 14% 16% 16%

Indian Spices / Food Items 17% 6% 16% 13%

Jewellery 12% 8% 14% 11%

Toys / Games 8% 9% 14% 10%

Indian Festival Gifts for Self 11% 8% 11% 10%

Ayurvedic Products / Medicine 11% 8% 10% 10%

Herbal Beauty products 7% 7% 14% 9%

Perfumes 7% 5% 12% 8%

Handicraft items 10% 4% 9% 8%

Furniture / Fixtures 5% 2% 4% 4%

Base: 939

NRI Online 2006

59

Website Preferences for Indian Content Most visited Indian website

At the overall level, online NRI from both the groups visit the website of Rediff and Times of India the most for checking content about India. Gulf-based ones visit Yahoo significantly more than the west-based ones.

Table 12: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website Overall

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Rediff 13% 12% 5% 11%

Timesofindia 11% 10% 10% 10%

Yahoo 4% 10% 12% 9%

Google 7% 4% 12% 7%

Indiatimes 5% 7% 7% 6%

Kerala 2% 4% 10% 5%

Deepika 3% 6% 5% 5%

NDTV 3% 7% 3% 5%

Sify 5% 4% 4% 4%

Samachar 8% 2% 3% 4%

Base: 860

NRI Online 2006

60

Info search on India

Google is the clear favorite among both the groups of online NRI when it comes to searching information about India in general.

Table 13: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Info on India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Google 25% 27% 27% 26%

Yahoo 7% 9% 13% 9%

Rediff 8% 7% 5% 7%

Timesofindia 8% 8% 4% 7%

Indiainfo 4% 5% 4% 5%

India 4% 4% 4% 4%

Indiatimes 3% 4% 4% 4%

Malayammanorama 2% 5% 3% 4%

Kerala 0.9% 4% 3% 3%

Hinduonnet 3% 2% 3% 2%

Base: 777

NRI Online 2006

61

News on India

The website of Times of India clearly leads among both the groups of online NRI when it comes to checking news and events happening in India. Samachar.com is relatively more popular among the west-based online NRI, while Deepika and Yahoo is relatively more popular among the gulf-based ones. Table 14: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Checking News on

India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Timesofindia 12% 15% 12% 13%

Rediff 7% 8% 4% 7%

Yahoo 4% 7% 10% 6%

Thehindu 7% 3% 8% 6%

Deepika 3% 8% 7% 6%

NDTV 4% 7% 6% 6%

Google 6% 3% 7% 5%

Indiatimes 4% 5% 3% 4%

Sify 3% 2% 5% 3%

Samachar 7% 2% 0.9% 3%

Base: 761

NRI Online 2006

62

Job search in India

Naukri is the clear leader for job search in India for both the groups of online NRI. Monster is relatively more popular among the west-based online NRI than it is with the gulf-based ones, while Timesjobs is relatively more popular among the gulf-based ones.

Table 15: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Jobs in India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Naukri 37% 39% 24% 34%

Monster 19% 9% 10% 12%

Yahoo 4% 6% 9% 6%

Google 5% 5% 9% 6%

Timesjobs 2% 7% 5% 5%

Jobs 4% 6% 3% 4%

Jobsindia 0.5% 2% 6% 3%

Rediff 2% 2% 2% 2%

Timesofindia 3% 2% 0.9% 2%

Jobsahead 1% 2% 2% 2%

Base: 761

NRI Online 2006

63

Online friendship in India

Yahoo is the clear leader among all groups of online NRI for seeking online friendships back home. Table 16: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Making Friendships

in India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Yahoo 33% 38% 30% 34%

Google 8% 6% 7% 7%

MSN 6% 7% 6% 7%

Rediff 6% 9% 3% 6%

Fropper 2% 1% 6% 3%

Friendfinder 2% 4% 3% 3%

Friends 1% 4% 4% 3%

India 3% 1% 5% 3%

Indiatimes 2% 4% 3% 3%

Kerala 0.0% 4% 4% 3%

Base: 620

NRI Online 2006

64

Matrimony

Shaadi is the most preferred one by all online NRI when it comes to matrimonial search. Bharatmatrimony is relatively less popular among the west-based online NRI than it is among the gulf-based ones. This is largely because of the higher south Indian population base in the gulf. Table 17: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Matrimonial Search

in India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Shaadi 49% 56% 35% 48%

Bharatmatrimony 17% 25% 22% 22%

Matrimony 4% 3% 11% 6%

Yahoo 3% 3% 9% 5%

Jeevansathi 2% 4% 5% 3%

Indianmatrimony 4% 2% 5% 3%

Google 2% 0.8% 4% 2%

Sify 2% 0.4% 2% 1%

Rediff 2% 1% 0.0% 1%

MSN 0.5% 0.4% 3% 1%

Base: 758

NRI Online 2006

65

Travel ticket bookings to India

While the website of Air India is the overwhelming favorite with the online NRI based in the gulf to book tickets for India, for the ones based in the west it is Makemytrip that leads the pack.

Table 18: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Booking Travel Tickets to India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Airindia 9% 38% 16% 23%

Yahoo 4% 8% 13% 8%

Makemytrip 14% 5% 4% 7%

Indianairlines 4% 8% 7% 6%

Indiatimes 4% 5% 7% 5%

Google 6% 2% 9% 5%

Travelguru 5% 3% 4% 4%

Emirates 0.5% 2% 9% 4%

Rediff 4% 5% 0.0% 3%

Jetairways 3% 2% 2% 2%

Base: 687

NRI Online 2006

66

Online shopping from India

Ebay just manages to go past Indiatimes to emerge as the most preferred website for shopping for Indian products and services. While Ebay is relatively more popular among the west-based online NRI, among the gulf-based ones it is Indiatimes. Table 19: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Shopping of Indian

Products and Services

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Ebay 20% 15% 14% 16%

Indiatimes 15% 17% 12% 15%

Rediff 13% 14% 10% 13%

Yahoo 5% 12% 13% 10%

Sify 5% 5% 6% 5%

Google 3% 5% 8% 5%

MSN 2% 4% 5% 4%

Onlineshopping 4% 2% 4% 3%

Shopping 2% 3% 3% 3%

Amazon 4% 1% 0.0% 2%

Base: 594

NRI Online 2006

67

Real estate Info in India

It is a combination of generic portals and some specialized real estate websites that compete closely for online NRI's attention to check for real estate information from India. There is a clear indication here that no real estate specific websites has really been able to make a mark among the online NRI in any significant way.

Table 20: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Checking Real Estate Info in India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Google 13% 5% 13% 10%

Yahoo 6% 7% 15% 9%

Realestate 8% 5% 7% 7%

Rediff 7% 7% 3% 6%

Keralarealestate 2% 7% 8% 6%

Timesofindia 4% 7% 7% 6%

Manoramaonline 2% 8% 6% 6%

Sulekha 8% 4% 3% 5%

Indiarealestate 2% 6% 4% 4%

Indiatimes 2% 4% 3% 3%

Base: 619

NRI Online 2006

68

Indian cinema content

Bollywood.com leads marginally over the popular generic portals when it comes to checking of Indian cinema content by the online NRI.

Table 21: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Indian Cinema Content

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Bollywood 10% 8% 9% 9%

Google 6% 5% 11% 7%

Yahoo 4% 7% 9% 7%

Rediff 5% 9% 4% 6%

Timesofindia 6% 6% 5% 6%

Malayammanorma 2% 7% 7% 5%

Indiatimes 3% 7% 5% 5%

Sify 4% 4% 4% 4%

Cinema 5% 3% 4% 4%

Indiafm 5% 5% 1% 4%

Base: 626

NRI Online 2006

69

Indian sports content

Cricinfo is a noticeable leader in the category of Indian sports content.

Table 22: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Indian Sports Content

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Cricinfo 16% 15% 11% 14%

Yahoo 6% 8% 10% 8%

Rediff 8% 8% 7% 8%

Timesofindia 6% 8% 7% 7%

Sports 4% 5% 5% 5%

Google 6% 3% 6% 5%

NDTV 3% 6% 6% 5%

Indiatimes 2% 5% 4% 4%

Sify 2% 5% 4% 4%

Manoramaonline 0.5% 4% 7% 4%

Base: 730

NRI Online 2006

70

Indian music

Raaga leads the pack of online Indian music websites. However, Raaga is far more popular among the online NRI from the west than it is with the gulf-based online NRI. Among the gulf-based ones, Yahoo and Indiatimes are also almost equally popular for downloading Indian music. Table 23: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Downloading Indian

Music

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Raaga 28% 14% 10% 17%

Musicindiaonline 16% 8% 8% 11%

Yahoo 2% 12% 16% 10%

Indiatimes 6% 10% 12% 9%

Google 5% 5% 7% 5%

Indiatimes 4% 4% 6% 5%

Manoramaonline 1% 6% 6% 4%

Rediff 4% 5% 2% 4%

Smashit 6% 2% 3% 4%

Hindimusic 3% 4% 3% 3%

Base: 630

NRI Online 2006

71

Indian fashion

Indiafashion is the noticeable leader in the Indian fashion category.

Table 24: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Checking Fashion Trends in India

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Indiafashion 15% 19% 16% 17%

Yahoo 6% 8% 14% 9%

Rediff 12% 11% 3% 9%

Google 11% 7% 9% 9%

Timesofindia 8% 7% 7% 7%

Indiatimes 3% 8% 9% 7%

Fashion 5% 8% 3% 6%

Femina 3% 4% 4% 4%

Manoramaonline 0.6% 5% 4% 4%

Sify 4% 4% 1% 3%

Base: 584

NRI Online 2006

72

Online games

For downloading games Yahoo is the overwhelming favorite among all the online NRI.

Table 25: Top 10 Most Preferred Website for Downloading Games

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Yahoo 26% 36% 34% 32%

Indiatimes 8% 11% 14% 11%

Games 9% 9% 6% 8%

Google 10% 5% 10% 8%

MSN 3% 4% 9% 5%

Rediff 6% 5% 0.0% 4%

Miniclip 3% 3% 3% 3%

Sify 7% 1% 1% 3%

Indiagames 5% 2% 1% 3%

Download 3% 3% 1% 2%

Base: 546

NRI Online 2006

73

Emailing

Yahoo again leads the pack by a big margin when it comes to the preference of online NRI for using an email id. Hotmail and Gmail follow here as distant second and third.

Table 26: Most Preferred Website for Emailing

Websites West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Yahoo 44% 39% 49% 44%

Hotmail 17% 19% 15% 17%

Gmail 10% 11% 10% 11%

Rediff 8% 9% 7% 8%

Indiatimes 4% 5% 1% 4%

Sify 1% 2% 2% 2%

VSNL 0.4% 0.2% 0.7% 0.4%

Others 16% 15% 14% 15%

Base: 942

NRI Online 2006

74

Offline media preferences for Indian content Indian TV channels

Asianet comes out as the most popular TV channel overall among the online NRI primarily because of its very high popularity among the gulf-based online NRI at 27%. Zee TV is relatively more popular among the west-based online NRI at 19%. Star Plus and Sun TV are also fairly popular TV channels among both the groups of online NRI to come clause third and fourth.

Table 27: Top 10 Most Preferred TV Channel from India

TV Channels West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Asianet 4% 27% 20% 18%

Zee TV 19% 16% 11% 15%

Star Plus 14% 16% 16% 15%

Sun 14% 9% 10% 11%

Sony 12% 5% 12% 9%

Sahara 4% 7% 7% 6%

NDTV 3% 5% 4% 4%

Doordarshan 3% 3% 6% 4%

Kairali 1% 5% 5% 3%

ETV 3% 2% 2% 2%

Base: 869

NRI Online 2006

75

Indian TV news channels

NDTV comes out as the most popular TV news channel overall among the online NRI primarily because of its relatively higher popularity among the gulf-based online NRI (18%). Among the west-based online NRI, it is Zee news which is relatively more popular at 19%, followed closely by Aaj Tak at 17%.

Table 28: Top 10 Most Preferred TV News Channel from India

News Channels West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

NDTV 15% 18% 19% 17%

Zee News 19% 10% 14% 14%

Asianet 4% 18% 15% 13%

Aajtak 17% 9% 7% 11%

Star News 7% 11% 12% 10%

DD News 3% 6% 4% 4%

Sahara 2% 6% 2% 4%

Sun News 4% 3% 2% 3%

Kairali 0.0% 5% 3% 3%

ETV 4% 0.9% 2% 2%

Base: 869

NRI Online 2006

76

Indian newspapers

Among the newspapers, Times of India is the clear leader with both the groups of online NRI. Expectedly, Malayalam Manorama is also fairly popular among the gulf-based online NRI. After ToI, Hindu is also equally popular newspaper among both the groups of online NRI.

Table 29: Top 10 Most Preferred Newspaper from India

Newspapers West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

Times of India 25% 33% 23% 28%

The Hindu 13% 13% 23% 16%

Malayala Manorama 5% 15% 8% 10%

Indian Express 9% 7% 8% 8%

Deepika 2% 8% 5% 5%

Dinamalar 3% 3% 3% 3%

Tribune 7% 0.4% 0.8% 3%

Deccan Chronical 5% 2% 0.8% 3%

Mathrubhumi 0.4% 2% 5% 2%

Siasat 3% 0.7% 4% 2%

Base: 866

NRI Online 2006

77

Indian magazines

India Today is the overwhelming favorite magazine among all the online NRI. While Vanitha and The Week are also fairly popular among the gulf-based online NRI, surprisingly Stardust emerges as the second most popular magazine among the west-based online NRI.

Table 30: Most Preferred Magazine from India

Magazines West-Based NRI Gulf-Based NRI Other NRI All NRI

India Today 30% 32% 32% 32%

The Week 6% 8% 11% 8%

Star Dust 8% 5% 7% 7%

Outlook 4% 6% 5% 5%

Vanita 1% 9% 2% 4%

Femina 5% 3% 4% 4%

Film Fare 3% 5% 2% 4%

Kumudam 2% 3% 4% 3%

Times 4% 1% 3% 3%

Sport Star 2% 2% 3% 2%

Base: 755

NRI Online 2006

78

Index

NRI Online 2006

79

Index: Charts Chart 1: Region of Current or Permanent Residence ..............10 Chart 2: Visa Status .....................................................11 Chart 3: Gender Representation ......................................15 Chart 4: Distribution by Age Group ...................................16 Chart 5: Marital Status..................................................17 Chart 6: Size of the Family They Represent.........................18 Chart 7: Occupational Break Up.......................................20 Chart 8: Field of Functional/Occupational Background ...........21 Chart 9: Distribution by Monthly Income of the Household.......22 Chart 10: Most Expensive Vehicle Owned by the Household .....23 Chart 11: Motivation to Stay Connected with India ................24 Chart 12: Frequency of Visit to India for Personal Reasons.......26 Chart 13: Frequency of Visit to India for Professional Reasons ..27 Chart 14: Frequency of Calling India for Personal Reasons .......28 Chart 15: Frequency of Calling India for Professional Reasons...29 Chart 16: Send or Receive E-Mails From/To India for Personal Reasons....................................................................30 Chart 17: Send Or Receive E-Mails From/To India for Professional Reasons....................................................................31 Chart 18: Preferred Medium to Follow Happenings in India ......32 Chart 19: Frequency of Watching Indian TV Programs ............33 Chart 20: Frequency of Reading Indian Newspaper & Magazines 34 Chart 21: Frequency of Surfing Indian Content on Internet ......35 Chart 22: Frequency of Watching Indian Movies....................37 Chart 23: Frequency of Watching Indian Sports ....................38 Chart 24: Frequency of Listening to Indian Music ..................39 Chart 25: Frequency of Checking Out Fashion Trends in India ...40 Chart 26: Frequency of Remitting Money to India .................43 Chart 27: Preferred Mode of Remitting Money to India ...........44 Chart 28: Frequency of Using Internet ...............................45 Chart 29: Years of Experience in Using Internet ...................46 Chart 30: Number of Family Member Using the Internet..........47 Chart 31: Place of Accessing Internet................................48 Chart 32: Type of Internet Connection at Home ...................49 Chart 33: Time Spent on Internet at Home .........................50 Chart 34: Time Spent on Internet at Office .........................51 Chart 35: Time Spent on Internet at Home to Check Indian Content ...................................................................52 Chart 36: Time Spent on Internet at Office to Check Indian Content ...................................................................53 Chart 37: Frequency of Buying Online ...............................55 Chart 38: Frequency of Buying Online on Indian Websites........56 Chart 39: Average Monthly Spends When Buying from Indian Websites ..................................................................57

NRI Online 2006

80

Index: Tables Table 1: Sample Distribution ........................................... 4 Table 2: Regional Distribution by Place of Origin in India ........12 Table 3: Top 10 Cities by Place of Origin............................13 Table 4: Top 10 Native Languages ....................................14 Table 5: Highest Level of Education..................................19 Table 6: Top Ten Indian Role Models of Online NRI................25 Table 7: Happenings in India NRI Want to Stay Updated On......36 Table 8: Current Asset Ownerships in India .........................41 Table 9: Plans for Future Financial Investments in India .........42 Table 10: Indian Content Sought Online More ......................54 Table 11: Products Or Services Bought from Indian Websites....58 Table 12: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website Overall .........59 Table 13: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Info on India ..............................................................60 Table 14: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Checking News on India ............................................................61 Table 15: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Jobs in India ..............................................................62 Table 16: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Making Friendships in India......................................................63 Table 17: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Matrimonial Search in India ...........................................................64 Table 18: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Booking Travel Tickets to India..................................................65 Table 19: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Online Shopping of Indian Products and Services ...........................66 Table 20: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Checking Real Estate Info in India ................................................67 Table 21: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Indian Cinema Content .................................................68 Table 22: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Searching Indian Sports Content...................................................69 Table 23: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Downloading Indian Music ..............................................................70 Table 24: Top 10 Most Preferred Indian Website for Checking Fashion Trends in India .................................................71 Table 25: Top 10 Most Preferred Website for Downloading Games.............................................................................72 Table 26: Most Preferred Website for Emailing ....................73 Table 27: Top 10 Most Preferred TV Channel from India .........74 Table 28: Top 10 Most Preferred TV News Channel from India ..75 Table 29: Top 10 Most Preferred Newspaper from India ..........76 Table 30: Most Preferred Magazine from India .....................77

NRI Online 2006

81

Index: Detailed Table of Content

NRI Online 2006........................................................... 1 Key Information Areas Covered.................................... 2

Methodology............................................................... 3 Executive Summary ...................................................... 5

‘Family connection’ is largely what keeps online NRI hooked to India ............................................................ 5

Gulf-based online NRI are more connected with India......... 5 West-based online NRI connect more online .................... 5 Both groups keep a keen eye on India’s economic progress .. 6 Online NRI show high level of keenness to invest in India..... 6 Gulf ones prefer to remit money more through the banking

channels........................................................... 6 West-based NRI are generally the heavier users of the net,

but not the heavier users of Indian content on the net ... 7 For entertainment, online NRI connect with Indian music the

most ............................................................... 7 Online NRI are largely mature males ............................. 7 Half the online NRI are South Indians in origin.................. 7 Only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘Techie’................. 8 An equal proportion of gulf-based online NRI are

professionally qualified......................................... 8 But gulf-based online NRI have significantly lower incomes .. 8

Non Residential Status..................................................10 Region of residence.................................................10 Visa status............................................................11

Half the online NRI are South Indians in origin .....................12 Indian regions they come from ...................................12 City of origin in India ...............................................13 Native language .....................................................14

Online NRI are largely mature males .................................15 Gender ................................................................15 Age distribution .....................................................16 Marital status ........................................................17 Family size ...........................................................18

Only 1 in 5 west-based online NRI is a ‘techie’.....................19 Educational Qualification..........................................19 Occupation ...........................................................20 Functional background .............................................21

NRI Online 2006

82

West-based online NRI are economically better off ...............22 Household Incomes .................................................22 Vehicle ownerships .................................................23

Gulf-based online NRI are more connected with India ............24 Emotional Connectivity ............................................24

Motivation for Staying Connected with India 24 Indian Role Models 25

Physical connectivity ...............................................26 Travel to India for Personal Reasons 26 Travel to India for professional reasons 27

Communication connectivity......................................28 Phone Calls for Personal Reason 28 Phone calls for professional reason 29 Emailing for personal reason 30 Emailing for professional reason 31

Informational connectivity ........................................32 Medium used for staying updated on India 32 Usage of electronic medium 33 Usage of internet medium 35

Information sought about India ...................................36 Entertainment Connectivity .......................................37

Indian Movies 37 Indian sports 38 Indian music 39 Indian fashion 40

Financial connectivity ..............................................41 Current ownerships of assets in India 41 Future plans for making financial investments in India 42 Remitting money to India 43 Preferred mode of remitting money 44

West-based NRI are more 'online' .....................................45 Online connectivity .................................................45

Regularity of internet usage 45 Experience in internet usage 46 Internet users per family 47

Gulf NRI access Internet more from office, west ones more from homes .....................................................................48

Place of access 48 Type on connection at home 49 Duration of net usage from home 50 Duration of net usage from office 51

Both surf for Indian content almost equally ........................52 Duration of surfing Indian content from home 52

NRI Online 2006

83

Duration of surfing Indian content from office 53 Politics and economy are the most surfed Indian content........54

Indian content surfed online 54 Gulf ones buy from Indian websites relatively more...............55

Online buying 55 Online buying for Indian products or services 56 Average spends on Indian websites 57 Popular items bought from Indian websites 58

Website Preferences for Indian Content.............................59 Most visited Indian website........................................59 Info search on India.................................................60 News on India........................................................61 Job search in India..................................................62 Online friendship in India ..........................................63 Matrimony ............................................................64 Travel ticket bookings to India ...................................65 Online shopping from India........................................66 Real estate Info in India ...........................................67 Indian cinema content .............................................68 Indian sports content...............................................69 Indian music .........................................................70 Indian fashion........................................................71 Online games ........................................................72 Emailing ..............................................................73

Offline media preferences for Indian content ......................74 Indian TV channels..................................................74 Indian TV news channels...........................................75 Indian newspapers ..................................................76 Indian magazines....................................................77

Index.......................................................................78