In recent years, whenever large-scale violence erupts in India, the government often shuts down internet connectivity, as it did in Kashmir a few months back. The aim is to contain rumours and mobilisation, but the internet blackout also results in massive losses.
A new report has made the alarming claim that India lost over Rs 6,458 crore in business due to internet shutdowns over the past year or so.
As per the Brookings Institution report, India had more days of internet shutdown than Iraq or Pakistan, which is nothing to be proud of for a country that hopes to see itself amongst global super powers.
According to the last recorded figures, the number of shutdowns have increased more than two-fold from 14 in 2015 to 30 in 2016. Kashmir was the worst-hit region in the country.
An internet shutdown is defined as a government-imposed restriction to access the internet in a region for a duration of time.
As things stand, the situation doesn’t look to be improving anytime soon. But surely the government would understand the impact on the economy and think of alternatives.
The Software Freedom Law Centre’s (SFLC) Internet Shutdown tracker manages to go back in time and give everyone access to data related to internet bans in India since 2013.
Globally, there have been more than 700 days of internet shutdowns, and sadly, India ranks among the top 5 countries in this list.
The shutdowns in 2015-16 cost Indian businesses an estimated $968 million. As the pace of shutdowns increases, the costs will mount, particularly given the new emphasis on transactions by internet payment systems linked to Aadhaar.Mishi Choudhary, President and Executive Director, SFLC
Interestingly, the Brookings report indicates that any shutdown that occurs in a developed economy will lead to a bigger loss to the economy than in its developing peers.
Need to Keep Fake News in Check
Fake news is the new and scary epidemic in town, which has the power to ignite violence out of nowhere.
People reading stories that don’t add up have proliferated over the past year, to an extent that we now have a platform like Check4Spam to make sure which of the WhatsApp messages you receive are true and which one has ‘fake’ written all over it.
The hysteria itself is good enough to send alarm bells ringing, which leaves the government with no option but to bring internet connections to a halt.
Stemming the flow of fake news could help India reduce the internet shutdowns, something the country needs badly.
Internet access not only provides information in quick time, but also aids increase in GDP for the economy.
According to an IndiaSpend report, if there are no internet shutdowns in the country, the GDP can make an extra $1 trillion as GDP by 2020.
All we can hope is there’s an alternative to blanking out the internet, so that things improve on the economic front.
(With inputs from PTI)
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