Economist Joan Robinson’s description of India also applies to Digital India: “Whatever you may say about India, the opposite is true.”
On the one hand, according to Statista, India ranks second in the world in terms of number of active internet users and also has the second largest number of social media users. On the other hand, India has imposed a maximum number of Internet outages for 5 consecutive years, losing millions of connections. We are at the forefront of developing and implementing cutting-edge technology. This includes efforts related to 5G infrastructure and even 6G system prototypes. And yet, hundreds of millions of people in India are still stuck in the 2G era. Part of our population upholds the country’s leadership in developing unique digital ID and its benefits to citizens, while the rest criticizes Aadhaar for its disproportionate harms. its consequences, including damage to people’s privacy and reduced access to services due to infrastructure gaps. This includes not being able to get basic rations because Aadhaar cannot be authenticated when the internet is down, and to make UPI payments where Aadhaar serves as the platform, connectivity is paramount. prerequisites.
As the structure of Digital India takes shape, this week’s G20 Summit in New Delhi risks perpetuating the image of an India fraught with contradictions and thus uncertainty, unless commitments are made. does not intentionally disrupt Internet access and communication services. . In fact, there is a basis for this in the discussions of this year’s G20 Digital Economy Working Group (G20 DEWG) and India’s stance towards international intergovernmental summits. other than G7.
According to a report by the Keep It On and Access Now alliance, India is the only G20 country to have turned off the Internet more than twice (84 times) by 2022. In 2023, India assumed the presidency of the G20 summit. and emphasizing Therefore, all things digital, telecommunications and internet is an opportunity to commit to change and demonstrate leadership, both for local people and foreign governments.
During the four meetings, the G20 DEWG led discussions on a variety of priority areas, including Digital Public Infrastructure, with the main theme of inclusion and topics such as “Digital Inclusion – Connecting the Unconnected”. Apparently there is no specific reference to the frequent shutdown of Internet service in India, which is quite the opposite of the tone of these conversations. Agreed principles and recommendations would inevitably be cut without a commitment to unhindered internet access.
The G20 DEWG results document proposes comprehensive principles to remove barriers and “enable inclusion, end-user empowerment, last mile accessibility”. It emphasizes human rights and proposes an approach that “respects human rights at all stages of planning, design, construction and operation”. The document also acknowledges that the availability and accessibility of high-quality digital connectivity is critical. Furthermore, India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with four countries on sharing India Stack, which is described as population-deployed digital solutions, including digital ID, digital payments. digital and data management.
Civil society and other stakeholders, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur, have repeatedly demonstrated that shutting down the internet is a disproportionate measure that violates human rights, including human rights. freedom of speech. They contribute to unemployment, cost the economy trillions of rupees, and have no discernible effect in achieving the stated goals of curbing violence. Then, to put human rights at the center, close the connectivity gap, enable inclusion and empower users and last mile accessibility – all goals in the G20 DEWG results document – India’s digital dream must be backed by a commitment not to hit the kill switch. Without this, India would remain an outlier among the world’s major democracies. We cannot meaningfully model leadership in digital public infrastructure and effectively promise to increase access to pioneering technologies in other countries, when our people are so often and inexplicably deprived of that access. This will obviously lead to a double standard.
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In 2021, India signed the G7 joint statement on “open societies” condemning “politically motivated closure”. It is worth noting that the previous version of the declaration, signed only by the G7 countries, did not include a “politically motivated” qualifier. India’s indisputable record of Internet outages has been a point of contention for international organizations – many of which have participated in G20 meetings – and democratic regions. other, including the US and the EU.
Two years on from the small step taken in 2021, although no significant progress has been made, as the country’s G20 summit presidency comes to an end, India must step forward and commit end Internet shutdown to explicitly promote digital growth ambitions and global leadership. This move will really give Digital India the traits used by the government at the last G20 DEWG meeting to describe its priority areas and transform them from mere adjectives into elements. foundation of our digital journey: inclusive, assertive, ambitious and action-oriented.
The writer is Asia Pacific Policy Advisor at Access Now
Originally published on: 07-09-2023 at 13:33 IST
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