TechnoDomains.net

India’s transition into an IT society has been in the making for quite some time. But it is only in the last year or two that Internet penetration has taken off with sizable, exponential growth–and it’s only getting better.

A couple of quick Google searches will reveal numbers that are downright mind-boggling. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google’s country head in India has stated that national Internet usage will reach 300 million by 2014, a dramatic climb from its present 100 million. As if this isn’t staggering enough, that number is estimated to reach 600 million by the year 2017 according to Subho Ray, the president of the Internet and Mobile Association of India. “The 600 million target is realistic if the government follows through with its ambitious plans to put in place the infrastructure for Internet usage”, he states in an interview with Dawn.com. It’s good to know these words seem to have weight coming from credible sources and are not, as we have somewhat grown accustomed to from some gossip-hungry online media outlets, unfounded babble.

Domain name investment opportunities in India are many, and they are promising. In terms of registration numbers, I’ve had a hard time finding credible numbers on just many .in domain names have been registered. Not even HosterStats.com have begun publishing these figures. Based on this, I would say we can rest assure that the numbers do not amount to more than a couple of million or so–not a lot considering a population constituted by 1,2 billion people. What this means is for the shrewd investor is that some premium, or as-good-as premium domains under the .in extension are still available–domains that most probably will sell for 4-5 digits in just a few years if domain registration begins correlating to the amount of people acquiring Internet connections. And why would it not? It has in virtually every other country.

Looking to the drawbacks .in investments, there is of course the fact that English is just one among a multitude of languages spoken in India. This being the case, one can expect non-English keyword domains to decrease the market value of what would otherwise have been an even more profitable venture. Furthermore, .in domains are still somewhat expensive at most registrars (I’m paying about $17/year each at NameCheap.com.) This necessitates great carefulness and prudence in selecting only what will be the biggest future golden nuggets and not frivolously investing in names lacking even the least in potential.

Personally I will try to snag as many valuable .in’s as possible before the serious land rush gets under way, and make no mistake about it–it is coming. I advise you, my fellow readers, to get in on the action as well. At least now you have good list of pros and cons to factor in before deciding.