( CNN ) -- Looking for love is a big business in India , where the art of matchmaking is being transformed with a click of a mouse . One of the biggest online industries in India has been the business of arranging marriages . Sites like Shaadi.com , Jeevansathi and BharatMatrimony have had considerable success in recent years . Gaurav Mishra , director of digital and social media at MSL Group Asia , a communications company , estimated that some 10 % of India 's internet users have used a matrimonial website . He said : `` Online matrimonial sites were one of the earliest ways the internet took off in India after e-mail and job sites . Several of the sites have a couple of million users each . '' India 's online matrimonial industry is expected to bring in $ 63 million a year , according to a 2008 report by the market research firm Em Power . With internet use expected to boom in India in coming years -- internet penetration is currently only around 5 % , according to Mishra , but he said the arrival of 3G services means that many of the country 's 600 million mobile phone users will soon be online -- entrepreneurs are seeking new ways to tap the online matchmaking market . One start-up , Ignighter , set up by three 20-something New Yorkers , is hoping to persuade India that the future of online matchmaking is in group dating . Online dating has n't really taken off in India , mainly because most marriages are arranged and there is little tradition of dating , according to Anupam Saxena , a correspondent for Medianama , which provides news and analysis on India 's digital landscape . Mishra added : `` India is a conservative and traditional society , where people stay with their parents until they 're married and there 's not much room for personal lives . Women in particular find it difficult to openly date . '' The founders of Ignighter hope that Indians will find group dating -- whereby groups of friends arrange to meet other groups -- less risky and more fun and socially acceptable than one-on-one dating . Their move into India was almost accidental . Ignighter was set up by Adam Sachs and his college friends in 2008 . The site was aimed at the New York market , but they began to notice most of their traffic was coming from the other side of the world in Asia . Sachs said : `` At first we ignored it , but over the course of 2010 , India emerged as our number one market . We started concentrating on marketing in India and it really took off . '' Sachs said backers in the United States and India have invested $ 3 million in Ignighter , and that the site now has almost 2 million registered users in India . However , he refused to say how many of these users pay the $ 44.95 monthly fee required to contact other users . `` Up until now dating has been a rarity in India , but culture is changing and our timing just happens to be right , '' said Sachs . `` People are telling us they will go out with a group of friends and meet other friends while they are out . Women are saying that going out in a group makes them feel safer . '' He added that Ignighter is considering dropping the word dating from the site to make it more socially acceptable . `` One challenge we face is that we call ourselves group dating , '' said Sachs . `` There 's a stigma or taboo about the concept of dating that makes people cautious . '' Mishra agreed that going out in groups was more socially acceptable in India than one-on-one dating , but still doubted many women would be willing to post profiles online . He said : `` I think group dating is a good idea because it 's a safer way of dating for Asian markets . However , I do n't see it working in India because I ca n't imagine Indian women doing it in any numbers . '' He said that most profiles on matrimonial sites are created by fathers and brothers , rather than women themselves , and that 80 % of Indian internet users are male . `` If women did go to online dating sites , they would be mobbed so many men they would n't go back , '' said Mishra . Sachs said 40 % of Ignighter 's registered users in India are women . Mishra added that social networking sites such as Facebook and Orkut , a site owned by Google , can be used for `` pseudo-dating . '' Both Facebook and Orkut have 20 million users in India , he said . `` People sometimes use Facebook and Orkut as pseudo-dating sites to browse friends of friends and reach out to them , but mostly they do n't make friends with complete strangers . '' Saxena added that Indians would be reluctant to pay for a group dating site when they can use Facebook for free . He said : `` First of all , credit card penetration is low , especially among the age group for dating sites . Secondly , Indians will be hesitant to pay for something they can get for free on Facebook . '' Sachs is n't deterred . He 's currently in India recruiting staff for an Indian office , which will carry out focus groups to better tailor Ignighter to an Indian market . `` We need to improve the site itself and find out what needs to change for our demographic , '' he said .
Online matrimonial sites are forecast to generate an estimated $ 63 million a year . India has little tradition of dating and online dating sites have not taken off . Comment: