The government's move to digitise some of its flagship welfare programmes—including NREGA and linking ration to Aadhar—is at odds with the recurring, often long-lasting, communication blockades in many parts of the country. For five years in a row, India has been the internet shutdown capital of the world
You’ve likely faced ‘downtime’ for a few frustrating minutes, even hours. In August 2019, the Indian government blocked all communications in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent protests over the abrogation of Article 370—which eventually meant that access to 4G mobile internet was cut off for 500 days.