Per hour cost of internet shutdown is going up in India, shows data

In 2021, an hour of shutdown cost the country $0.5 mn; in 2020, it was $0.31 mn

On March 7, West Bengal ann­o­u­nced that it would be shutting down the internet to prevent cheating in Class X exams in sensitive areas across the state. According to data from Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), this was the sixth shutdown in the country in 2022.

The number of shutdowns had dec­reased from 129 in 2020 to 45 in 2021. However, a Business Standard analysis of data from VPN review site top10vpn.com shows that the cost of internet shutdowns has been increasing.

According to top10vpn.com, in 2021, India lost $582.8 million to internet shutdowns. The country had stopped internet services for 1,157