Explained: How PM Narendra Modi helped 'democratise' the internet

Between 2014 and 2018, the number of internet subscribers has more than tripled to over 560 million from 177 million

Just three years ago, anyone in Ramghat village of Arunachal Pradesh who wanted to apply for a government job had to make a 20-km motorcycle ride to a cyber café to download the application form. Today, Ramghat, in Papum Pare district, not only has internet connectivity but some enterprising villagers have bought computers to start their own internet cafe so that no one has to run to the capital Itanagar to get their work done.

This ‘democratisation of the internet and data’, as the government calls it, happened in the last few years. For the Narendra Modi government, its ‘internet for