Why is India the Internet Shutdown Capital of the World?

How many times in the past 3 years have we been irritated at how phone networks became weak and internet got jammed? Several times, and always on important occasions such as election results day, public holidays, the day lockdown is declared, or a major disaster (natural or man-made) occurs. None of this is co-incidence of course. India’s internet downtime has been so much that it has got us the questionable honour of being ‘internet shutdown capital of the world’. It’s a bit like being well-known as the worst student of the class.  

For how many hours did internet shutdown in India?  
According to media reports, in 2019 and 2020, internet and telephone networks remained suspended in India for more than 13,000 hours, spread over 164 instances of enforced shutdowns. According to another report by Top 10 VPN, a leading Virtual Private Network review website, the internet shut down for 8,927 hours in 2020, costing the country more than 2 crores per hour. The Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) recorded 550 internet shutdowns in India so far since 2012, half of which happened between 2019 and 2021. The longest shutdown was that of 552 days in Jammu and Kashmir. 

What is the government saying about internet shutdowns?  
The government has been silent so far. Meanwhile, in December 2021, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology published a report called ‘Suspension of Telecom Services and its Effects’. The report called for defining the parameters that require a shutdown and setting up a robust mechanism to manage without shutdowns. The report said that frequent suspension of telecom and internet services affected the lives of people, while causing a huge setback to the economy of the country as well. The Committee report said that the frequency of the internet outages was affecting India’s reputation globally, as it clearly did not make us look like an attractive business destination.  

Can the government shut down internet?  
According to telecom suspension rules, the internet can be suspended according to Section 5 (2) of the Indian Telegraph Act in a situation of a public emergency or for public safety. But the law is old and is being misused now in reference to the internet and current mobile networks.