Over 90 per cent of the NRIs surveyed by online research firm Juxtconsult said they access the web daily. Of these, two-thirds access the internet from home. Two-thirds access internet from office.
This percentage is more among Gulf-based NRIs. The survey cites searching for general news about India as the top online activity followed by Indian sports and music. Friendship, dating and matrimony managed to grab the attention of only about 12 per cent of NRIs.
Family remained the main motivation for NRIs, especially in the Gulf countries, to stay connected with India. This is evident from the fact that almost half of these online shoppers spend more than $500 (around Rs 20,000) per month on shopping for gifts items for relatives in India, books and magazines and Indian movies and music CD/DVD online.
Business and economic news along with financial information from India including quotes, rates, etc., also find their place in the top 10 online activities. An obvious addition in the list was Indian cinema followed by NRIs searching for jobs in India.
The study shows that almost 3 out of 4 online NRIs remit money to India, the percentage is highest among the Gulf NRI which is reflective of the fact that half of the employed online NRI work in the corporate sector.
However, two-thirds of the total respondents still use offline methods of remitting money to India.
The survey covered the activity of NRIs from various parts of the world between February-March, 2008. Responses were collected using geographically-targeted
