India is on track to surpass half a billion mobile subscribers by the end of the year, according to a new GSMA study.

The new report, ‘The Mobile Economy: India 2015’, finds that 13 percent of the world's mobile subscribers reside in India and that subscriber growth is forecast to outperform the regional and global averages over the coming years as the country cements its position as the world's second-largest mobile market behind China, according to a press release about the report.  

The study also highlights how the Indian mobile industry is rapidly migrating to new mobile broadband networks, services and devices, and becoming a key enabler of the government's 'Digital India' initiative aimed at providing broadband connectivity to all.

"India is a unique mobile market and one where the mobile ecosystem is playing a hugely influential role in transforming the lives of its citizens, and driving economic growth," said Alex Sinclair, acting director general and chief technology officer at the GSMA. "The market is now rapidly migrating to mobile broadband technology, which is providing a platform for India to transform into a digitally empowered society and connect many millions of unconnected citizens to the internet over the coming years."

India had 453 million unique mobile subscribers at the end of 2014. It is forecast to surpass 500 million by the end of this year and add a further 250 million subscribers by 2020 to reach 734 million, accounting for almost half of all the subscriber growth expected in the Asia Pacific region over this period. This strong growth is linked to India's relatively low mobile subscriber penetration rate, which stood at 36 percent of the population at the end of 2014, compared to a 50 percent global average. The subscriber penetration rate in India is forecast to reach 54 per cent by 2020 as many millions more are connected by mobile, according to the press release.