India tops internet shutdowns in 2020
India was the country with the highest number of recorded Internet shutdowns last year, with 109 out of 155 incidents globally.
India has earned the dubious distinction for the third consecutive year, a new report by digital rights and privacy organisation Access Now has found.
India was followed by Yemen with at least six shutdowns, Ethiopia (four) and Jordan (three). India, Yemen, and Ethiopia had topped the list in 2019. From Belarus to Bangladesh, authorities in 29 countries shut down or interfered with the internet at least 155 times in 2020, said the report titled “Shattered dreams and lost opportunities: a year in the fight to #Keepiton”.
“It is alarming that the world’s largest democracy, India, continues to be the biggest instigator of internet shutdowns in the world,” said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Senior International Counsel and Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now. “We’ve lived through targeted blackouts in Jammu and Kashmir for years, and watched shutdowns spread to every part of the country, and increasingly being used to target peaceful protestors and hide the actions of government authorities. People in India live in precarity. This is not on par with international human rights standards.”
The reasons behind India’s shutdowns ranged from political instability (75), elections (10), protests (8), religious holiday or anniversary (5), communal violence (4) and exam cheating (2). Conflict topped the reasons in other parts of the world, followed by elections, protests, exam cheating and political instability.
The share sale launched by the government in Ircon International to divest 16 per cent saw more demand than shares on offer. The 75.24-million offer for sale (OFS) generated bids for 108.5 million shares from institutional investors. Another 22.6 million shares reserved for retail investors will be auctioned on Thursday. The base price of the OFS is ~88 per share. Shares of Ircon fell 7 per cent to end at ~91.1 in the secondary market. After the share sale, the government’s stake in Ircon will drop from 89.18 per cent to 73.18 per cent.