Quantifying the value of an open Internet for India

“India’s renewed interest in Internet governance and its desire to play an effective and influential role at international fora has not yet been matched by creating the necessary knowledge and evidence basis to support the astute intent. While there are discussions on "openness" as a necessary condition for capitalising on gains from the Internet economy, these are normative in nature. Work to define and measure Internet openness (eg. Freedom House's "Freedom on the Net" index), has not been complemented by measuring the economic value of Internet Openness (and by extension, choice of Governance model). Policy formulated in the absence of such evidence is likely to be suboptimal. This study is the first modest attempt to bridge that gap.”