India is at number-1 in terms of Internet Shutdowns. This information was given by the Access Now and KeepItOn coalition in their report in March this year. Internet shutdown in India started in 2016. Now Netloss has said in one of its reports that in the first half of 2023, there has been a loss of $ 1.9 billion i.e. about Rs 15,590 crore due to the internet shutdown in India. Manipur and Punjab have had maximum internet shutdowns during this period.

Netloss has said in its report that due to the shutdown, there was a loss of about $ 118 million (about Rs 968 crore) in foreign investment, and more than 21,000 jobs were lost, i.e. 21 thousand people lost their jobs in six months only due to internet shutdown.

The report says that governments often believe that internet shutdowns will keep the peace, stop the spread of misinformation or reduce the damage caused by cyber security threats, but in reality, this is not the case. Internet shutdown is extremely destructive to economic activities.

The Indian government and state governments use internet shutdown as a weapon to maintain public order. The record of the shutdown has been broken in India. India is at the forefront of internet shutdown in the last six months in the whole world.

Internet remained closed 84 times in 2021
Internet remained closed for 1,157 hours in the year 2021 in India, due to which there was a loss of $ 582.8 million i.e. about Rs 4,300 crore. 5.9 crore people were also affected by the internet shutdown. In the year 2021, the internet was shut down 84 times in the country by the administration. The main reasons for the internet shutdown are protests, violence, exams, and elections.

In the year 2022, the internet was shut down 49 times only in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 16 consecutive internet shutdowns took place between January and February 2022. Rajasthan was second after Jammu and Kashmir where the internet was shut down 12 times in a year. West Bengal was at number three where the internet shutdown happened seven times.

A total of 30,000 hours of internet shutdown in the whole world in 2021
In the year 2021, a total of 30,000 hours of the internet was closed in the whole world, due to which there was a loss of $ 5.45 billion i.e. about Rs 40,300 crore. India was at number three in the list of countries that suffered the most from this shutdown. Internet remained closed for 1,157 hours in the year 2021 in India, due to which there was a loss of $ 582.8 million i.e. about Rs 4,300 crore. 5.9 crore people were also affected by the internet shutdown. There was a long internet shutdown in the country's capital New Delhi during the farmer's movement.

(pc amarujala)