Mark Zuckerburg, Anil Ambani launch Internet.org app in India

Internet.org, a global partnership between technology leaders, non-profit organisations and experts working on bringing the internet to those who do not have it, has been launched in India.

Facebook and Reliance Communications (RCom) launched Internet.org in India on Tuesday, 10 February, and have brought a service that the social media giant says will help the billion plus population in "accessing affordable internet."

Internet.org is a Mark Zuckerberg-led initiative under which free internet will be provided to mobile phone users in developing countries, where his company partners with telecom service providers.

India is the sixth destination to have received the service, after African countries like Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

In India, Internet.org will connect RCom subscribers to free internet across 33 websites and services. Access to news, sports, educational, informational and health and welfare websites and services will be available free of cost to RCom subscribers.

The Internet.org app is only available on the Android platform as of now.

Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on his social network account: "We just launched Internet.org in India -- giving people in six Indian states access to free basic internet services for health, education, jobs and communication.

"Over the last year we've rolled out Internet.org free basic services to countries with more than 150 million people total across Africa and Latin America. More than 6 million people are already connected to the internet who previously weren't, and we've started hearing incredible stories about how the internet is changing lives and communities."

"But to continue connecting the world, we have to connect India. More than a billion people in India don't have access to the internet. That means they can't enjoy the same opportunities many of us take for granted, and the entire world is robbed of their ideas and creativity."

According to Zuckerberg, people on the Reliance network in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Telangana will now have free data access to more than three dozen services.