Last year, India witnessed multiple internet and network shutdowns. While authorities said they did this to maintain peace and harmony in sensitive areas across the nation, it caused irreparable damage to people¡¯s daily lives.
And now, a recent report has revealed that it caused severe damage to India¡¯s economy, too.
The research was published by research firm Top10VPN that looked at the economic impact internet shutdowns had on the nations across the globe. They quantified the damage with the help of Netblocks, along with Internet Society¡¯s cost of shutdown tool that takes help from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Eurostat and U.S. Census bureau.
The first on the list was Africa, exceeding loses of over $3 billion followed by Iraq, losing around $2.3 billion.
India was also the third worst-hit economy, with an estimated loss of $1.3 billion (approximately Rs 92,000 crores) however, they expect the actual figure to be way higher than this.?According to the research, India had over 100 targeted blackouts in 2019 -- amounting to around 4,196 hours.
The research mentions shutdowns that the valley has been seeing since the month of August -- after the abrogation of Section 370, stripping the state from its special status -- cost the nation a whopping $1.1 billion in losses.
Till August, Kashmir had seen over 51 internet shutdowns, crippling the day-to-day life of the common man. To complete basic tasks that require internet, people today board a train that travels to Banihal in Jammu -- where internet services aren¡¯t curtailed -- called the Internet Express.?
Here they end up paying as much as Rs 350 for an hour to use internet services at cyber cafes while standing in long queues to awaiting their turn.?
During December, various parts of our nation¡¯s capital as well as the state of Uttar Pradesh, Assam among others were disconnected from the internet amidst the CAA and NRC protests. The blackout in North East resulted in $102 million, followed by the blackout in Uttar Pradesh that resulted in a $63 million hit.??