Background: Since India's Independence in 1947, the country has made substantial progress in promoting women's empowerment through improvements in education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. In recent years, digital inclusion has emerged as an important dimension of women's empowerment. Despite rapid digital expansion, only about one-third of Indian women have ever used the internet compared with more than half of men, with wide variation across states and Union Territories. Identifying the socio-economic factors influencing women's internet use is therefore essential for developing effective digital inclusion policies.

Method: This study employs a cross-sectional quantitative research design using secondary data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2023–24. The analysis covers 35 Indian States and Union Territories, with Manipur excluded due to the unavailability of data. Women’s internet use was considered the dependent variable, while women’s educational attainment, mobile phone access, and household electrification were used as explanatory variables. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using PSPP.

Key Results: The overall model was statistically significant (F(3,31) = 10.92, p < .001), explaining 47% of the variation in women's internet use across states (Adjusted R² = .47). Mobile phone ownership was the only individually significant predictor (β = .47, p = .011). Education showed a positive but non-significant association (p = .221), and household electrification showed no significant independent effect (p = .462).

Conclusion: Women's internet use across Indian states is driven primarily by mobile phone access rather than basic infrastructure availability, which has reached near-saturation nationally. Findings support prioritising affordable device access and digital-skills interventions over infrastructure expansion alone.