India will soon have 500 million smartphones

India could be home to 500 million smartphones very soon, with proliferation of telecom network and emergence of new business models said Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. "India is changing and evolving for good every second. The government is connecting 2,50,000 gram panchayats with optical fibre and very soon India will be home to 500 million smartphones. These initiatives are bringing people together for mutual growth," Prasad said at the Mindmine Summit. At present, there are about 400 million Internet users in the country and most of them are accessing the service through their phones. As per market research firm IDC, smartphone shipment in India in a single quarter of 2015 was about 28 million.