Maharashtra assembly session begins with full recital of 'Vande Mataram'
Nagpur (PTI): Members of the Maharashtra assembly on Monday recited the full version of 'Vande Mataram' on the opening day of the legislature's winter session here, marking the 150th anniversary of the national song.
The House proceedings began with the customary recital of the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram, followed by 'Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha', the official state song.
Speaker Rahul Narwekar said, "It is a tradition of the legislature to recite the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram on the first day of every session. However, as this year marks 150 years since its composition, the House will recite the entire song."
The legislators then recited the full song.
Notably, the Lok Sabha has listed 'Discussion on the 150th anniversary of national song Vande Mataram' on Monday and allocated 10 hours for the debate.
The debate in Parliament is part of the year-long celebrations on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, a poem written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and set to tune by Jadunath Bhattacharya.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hit out at the Congress, accusing it of removing key stanzas from the song in 1937 and sowing the seeds of partition.
On November 7, Modi launched year-long celebrations to commemorate the 150th year of Vande Mataram, aimed especially at youth and students to deepen awareness of the song's significance.
During the assembly session, Narwekar also announced the names Chainsukh Sancheti, Kishor Patil, Rahul Patil, Uttamrao Jankar, Ramdas Masram, Sameer Kunawar and Saroj Ahire as presiding officers. They will chair proceedings in the speaker's absence.
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India’s internet user base crosses 950 million in 2025: IAMAI report
Bengaluru (PTI): India’s internet user base crossed 950 million in 2025, driven largely by rapid growth in rural connectivity, rising short-video consumption, and increasing adoption of AI, according to a report released by IAMAI on Thursday.
The report also revealed that rural India accounts for 57 per cent of India’s active internet users, i.e, approximately 548 million active users.
The ‘Internet in India Report 2025,’ jointly prepared by Internet and Mobile Association of India and KANTAR, which highlights these trends, was released at the India Digital Summit in the presence of Manjula N, Secretary to the Government, Department of Electronics, IT/BT and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka.
According to the report, India now has 958 million Active Internet Users (AIU), marking an approximate 8 per cent year‑on‑year growth, reinforcing India’s position as one of the world’s largest and fastest‑evolving digital markets.
It also reveals that 44 per cent of users have engaged with AI‑enabled features such as voice search, image‑based search, chatbots, and AI filters.
"This growth of internet users continues to be led decisively by rural India, which is now home to approximately 548 million active internet users," the report said.
Rural regions now account for over 57 per cent of India’s active internet users and are growing at nearly four times the pace of urban India, signalling a structural shift in where and how digital adoption is expanding, it added.
The report highlighted that artificial intelligence has reached mass adoption in India, with 44 per cent of users engaging with AI-enabled features such as voice search, image-based search, chatbots, and AI filters.
"Usage is highest among younger audiences, with 57 per cent of users aged 15-24 years and 52 per cent of those aged 25-44 years reporting AI usage in the past year," it added.
The report further revealed that short-video consumption has emerged as a key growth driver within this expanding user base.
It noted that in 2025, 588 million (61 per cent) internet users consumed short-video content, with rural users marginally outnumbering urban users. Adoption is strongest among younger audiences, cementing their role as a key driver of digital engagement.
In the statement, citing the report, IAMAI said that quick commerce is leading a fundamental shift in how Indians shop online, with social commerce close behind, as the e‑commerce ecosystem expands beyond traditional online marketplaces.
Among urban users, 230 million people (56 per cent of the urban active internet base) shopped online in the past year, with quick commerce and social commerce gaining prominence alongside established marketplaces, it added.
IAMAI also noted that multi-device usage is on the rise, with India now having 193 million multi-device internet users, representing 20 per cent of all active internet users, up from 165 million in 2024.
"Urban adoption stands at 31 per cent, while rural India is catching up at 12 per cent. Shared device usage continues to be a key enabler of digital access: 18 per cent of internet users go online through someone else’s mobile device, and nearly 80 per cent of these users are based in rural areas," the report stated.
It also revealed that despite strong momentum, 38 per cent of India’s population—about 579 million people—remains non-active internet users.
"However, this proportion has been steadily declining year after year, signalling substantial headroom for the continued expansion of India’s digital economy," it said.
The 2025 edition of the Internet in India report is based on a sample of nearly 100,000 consumers across more than 400 towns and over 1,000 villages, it added.
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