A sizeable chunk of rural India still remains out of the loop—especially women, in a time when smartphones are practically glued to everyone’s hands. According to the latest Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025 (CMS-T) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on May 29, nearly 52% of women aged 15 and above in rural areas do not own a mobile phone.
That’s not just a small pocket of people—it’s a significant slice of the country’s female population. The contrast becomes even sharper when you compare it with rural men: around 80.7% of them own a phone. The numbers raise eyebrows, especially considering the steady digital push India has witnessed over the last few years.
In urban areas, things appear better—though not completely equal. About 71.8% of women aged 15 and above own a mobile phone, compared to a higher 90% of men. That’s a nearly 20-point difference. Despite better access and infrastructure in cities, women still lag behind when it comes to owning a basic piece of modern life: a mobile phone.
The NSO defines phone ownership as having a device with an active SIM card that is used for personal purposes. That includes phones given by employers or registered in someone else’s name. But here’s the catch—if a phone is shared, ownership is only counted based on who uses it most. And just owning a SIM card? That doesn’t count.
Interestingly, most mobile phone owners do seem to be holding smartphones, even in rural areas. Among rural male phone owners, 79.2% have smartphones. For rural women, the number is close behind at 75.6%. In urban settings, smartphone penetration is even higher—89.4% among men and 86.2% among women.
So, while access to smartphones isn’t abysmal for those who do own phones, the real concern is that many don’t have any kind of mobile phone to begin with—especially women in rural areas.
One might expect younger folks to be better connected, but the survey paints a mixed picture. Among rural males aged 15 to 24, about 74.8% own a mobile phone. But among their female counterparts, ownership drops steeply to just 51.7%.
That’s nearly one in two rural young women without a phone—at an age where connectivity is often vital for education, job search, and social interaction. Whether it’s family decisions, affordability, or cultural norms behind the numbers, the data leaves room for deeper questions.
