IoT to grow rapidly in India by 2020: Report

IoT units are expected to grow 31 fold to reach 1.9 billion by 2020

Internet of Things (IoT) units in India are expected to see a rapid 31-fold growth to reach 1.9 billion by 2020, Deloitte predicted on Monday, adding that the market value of IoT is expected to reach $9 billion by 2020.

IoT is going to be the next big thing for operators as India will rapidly grow into a hub for IoT solutions.

"With advances in reliability, accuracy and technology of advanced tech measures such as biometric authentication, digitisation will gain popularity in various business applications," the company said in a statement.

Even with over 750 million cards in circulation and significant growth, mobile-based and digital payments will eclipse physical card payments.

"The emergence of new tech trends will help transform the digital economy in 2017 and will help operators in identifying new revenue generating opportunities, enhance customer experience, and improve operational efficiencies," the company added.

According to the report, innovative payment channels adopted by traditional and new age companies coupled with government-backed systems such as Aadhaar Enabled Payments Systems (AEPS) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will have a positive impact on mobile and digital payments.

The company also predicted that technology industry in India may witness an earlier arrival of 5G in India.

Television advertising is likely to have double-digit growth in 2017.

"This could be due to macroeconomic factors, the introduction of GST (goods and services tax) and other reforms. Demonetisation has hit the media industry hard. The companies had to limit their advertisement spends in the third quarter which is their peak advertising season. The effects of demonetisation may get carried forward to the next quarter as well," the company noted.