New Delhi: Digital advertising spends in India in local languages is expected to reach Rs1.79 billion (Dh104 million) while the overall spend on the same platform will be to the tune of Rs35.75 billion by the end of this year, a study said.

According to a finding by internet and Mobile Association of India and IMRB International, with the increasing availability of digital content in the local language, this share is expected to reach nearly 30 per cent of the overall digital advertising spends by 2020.

It said an increased use of content on the internet based on local language will lead to a growth of 39 per cent in the current user base and rural India will be the primary driver of the projected growth contributing 75 to the surge in internet users while urban centres will register a growth of 16 per cent.

The finding said the local language user base in India is growing at a rate of 47 per cent every year and will reach 127 million users by June 2015.

Under the prevalent scenario, 81 million internet users from a base of 188 million users in urban centres use local language on the web while 46 million from 81 million users in rural India do the same, the study said.

As per the study, communication, social networking and entertainment are some of the primary reasons people access the internet — the urban populace prefers internet access for communication needs while internet users in upcountry locations use internet primarily for entertainment.