In charts: The paradoxes of India’s internet boom
UPI alone recorded 9.3 billion transactions worth ₹14.6 trillion in June 2023. However, the internet penetration lags the world average (63%), World Bank data shows. , Meanwhile, India has found an able ally in internet shutdowns to control law and order in times of unrest.
Authorities find it an apt tool to stem violence, given frequent instances of viral fake news leading to tensions. But by global standards, internet shutdowns are way too common in India, data shows—a fact that human rights groups decry. Last year, India saw 45% of all shutdowns globally.
India’s repeated attempts to ask for social media content to be censored has also raised concerns. Over the last three years, India has been among the top five countries sending such demands to Twitter (now X). Such restrictions and shutdowns have impacted the overall freedom to access the internet in the country.
According to Freedom House’s 2022 Freedom on the Net report, the internet in India is only “partly free". The report, which measures the freedom to access the internet across 70 countries, placed India at the 55th position with a score of 51 out of 100. Despite the politics, India’s infrastructural wins are an inspiration for the developing world.
Technology has improved welfare and government outreach. But inferior speeds and poor digital literacy impede much of these gains. India is 55th on mobile internet speeds and 83rd in terms of broadband speeds.
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