India’s Internet Shutdowns: A Lowest in Eighty Years

• India recorded the lowest number of mobile Internet shutdowns in eight years in 2024, marking a period where the country became the most frequent Internet shutdown deployer globally.

• The reduction in shutdowns is attributed to fewer imposed curbs in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, where administrations have imposed disproportionately high numbers of curbs.

• The most Internet shutdowns occurred in 2020, following the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

• Digital rights activists argue that shutdowns are unnecessary and ineffective as a response to unrest.

• The Union government has not conducted a study on the efficacy of internet shutdowns, a claim that has been criticized by digital rights activists.

• The Department of Telecommunications, under the Union Ministry of Communications, has issued rules under which State and Union Territory authorities may order Internet shutdowns.

• The lack of a study has been a point of contention among digital rights activists and parliamentarians.