Internet shutdowns caused loss of $3.04 billion (approx Rs 87,000 crore) to India, suggested a report about economic impact due to internet shutdowns between 2012-2017, by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). In its report, The Anatomy of an Internet Blackout: Measuring the Economic Impact of Internet Shutdowns in India, ICRIER defines internet shutdowns as an intentional and complete disruption of fixed-line or mobile internet ordered by the authorities or the government. Another crowdsourced defination it used in the report is, "Internet shutdown is an intentional disruption of Internet or electronic communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a pecific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information. The Shutdown Tracker Optimisation Project (STOP) run by the civil society organization Access Now reported in September 2017, that India with 54 shutdowns had topped the list of 30 countries that witnessed shutdowns in the preceding 21 months. In 2017, the number of Internet shutdowns in India more than doubled from 2016, while the total hours of the shutdown increased by only 20% (Read: MediaNama's coverage on Internet Shutdowns here). See the Internet shutdown trend graph below: The findings of the report are based on the field interactions with government, business and society in 7 out of shutdown-affected 18 states. Following are some key findings of economic impact due to internet shutdowns between 2012-2017: 16315 hours (close to 680 days or rather close to two years of hours) of Internet shutdown in India cost the economy approximately $3.04…
