Chapter 25: An Internet That Works for India

The idea

Picture a student in Patna who opens her phone after school. Her video app shows the channels she follows, newest first, and then a friendly line: "You're all caught up." She switches to the national learning library, watches a physics lesson, passes a short check, and the credit counts towards her skills record.

Picture a teacher in Coimbatore who makes chemistry videos. Every learner who passes a check after her course earns her money from a national fund. Her verified badge puts her lessons first in search.

Picture a young founder in Pune whose messaging app connects to the biggest apps in the country through one open, encrypted standard, the way UPI connects every bank. Every new phone offers his app on its choice screen. He wins users on quality.

I see the internet as a nation's commons of attention and knowledge. Indians' data belongs under Indian law. Indian builders deserve a fair first shot. Speech is protected and only what the law forbids comes down, in the open. And the hours a billion people spend online can build skills, science and enterprise.

Why now

We are the world's great internet audience, with about 1.11 billion subscribers by June 2026. That audience is a vast opportunity for Indian apps, Indian creators and Indian learning.

Attention is ready to be put to work. About 588 million of us watched short video in 2025. Feeds built around the user's own choices free that time for study, sleep, work and family.

Lawful, published takedowns build trust. Almost 1.95 lakh blocking or removal orders went to three large platforms between March and July 2026, many outside the formal IT Act route. One clear, open process serves citizens and platforms alike.

And Indian apps are rising. ShareChat and Moj turned operationally profitable in 2026 and plan a listing of about ₹3,780 crore. A fair first shot can help many more grow.

The big moves

Here is the path I suggest, one step at a time.

First, put the user in charge of every video feed. From day 30, video apps in India show the channels you follow, newest first with a clear end point, plus search, shared links, playlists and long videos. Every lawful video stays open to post, watch and share. One way is a short law modelled on the 2025 Online Gaming Act, with apps declaring compliance and independent labs checking at random.
At the same time, open the learning library. DIKSHA and SWAYAM join into one free national library, mapped to the school, science and skills curricula (Chapters 15 and 23) and open to any app. A Creator Learning Fund pays creators for each learner who passes a skill check.
Next, make every takedown lawful and public. Content comes down on a court order or a formal government order, each published within 48 hours, and emergency orders are confirmed within days by benches of retired judges. A short list of plainly illegal content, such as child abuse material and fraud links, comes down within a day.
Then, bring Indians' data home. Large platforms keep a full copy of Indians' data on servers in India, the way RBI did for payments in 2018, and the DPDP Rules already allow it. Processing abroad carries on.
Within the year, give Indian apps a fair first shot. Every new phone offers a choice screen with an Indian option, and large messaging apps connect through one open, encrypted standard, the UPI model for social apps. Foreign apps keep serving India under Indian law.

Today vs the new way

Here is how an internet that works for India compares with today.

Outcome	Today	The new way
Where Indians' data lives	Mostly with a few foreign platforms	A full copy in India, open to Indian courts
Choice on a new phone	Preset apps	A choice screen with an Indian option for 5 key apps
Moving between messaging apps	Each app separate	Contacts and posts portable, encrypted messages across apps
Takedown orders	About 1.95 lakh in 5 months, many outside the formal route	Court or Section 69A orders only, each published within 48 hours
Short-video viewing	Endless platform-picked feeds, about 588 million viewers	Followed channels, playlists and search, with a clear end point
Learning videos	DIKSHA and SWAYAM run separately	One free national library, plus ₹1,000 crore a year for creators who teach
Effect on the media sector	₹2.78 lakh crore sector	About 3% of it, ₹7,600 to ₹9,500 crore a year, shifts or pauses (estimate)

For a small shift in advertising, India gains its data at home, a fair field for its apps, open takedowns and the attention of millions turned towards learning.

Proof it works

India has done this before, in two days. Parliament passed the Online Gaming Act in August 2025 to stop online money games for every user, enforced by blocking. By January 2026 more than 7,800 takedowns had followed.

Europe is acting on feed design. In February 2026 the European Commission preliminarily found that TikTok's addictive design, including infinite scroll and autoplay, breaches the EU Digital Services Act.

Others have set limits on short video. Douyin, TikTok's Chinese version, has limited users under 14 to 40 minutes a day since 2021, and Australia's social media limit for under-16s took effect in December 2025.

India already keeps key data at home. RBI has required payment data to be stored only in India since 2018, and payment firms serve India under that rule every day.

What success looks like

In the first 30 days: the Online Feed Safety Act is in force, the open test is published, the first labs are accredited, and every blocking order since January 2026 is in a searchable public register.
In the first 30 days: the Creator Learning Fund and the badge panels are open, and the data-in-India rule is out for public comment.
Within 1 year: audited watch time on endless short-video feeds in India is down at least 90%, and the national learning library is live with every curriculum mapped.
Within 1 year: data copies in India are complete, choice screens are on all new phones, and open messaging is live for apps with 5 crore or more users.

Guardrail ideas

Ideas to start the conversation, for the builders, experts and the public to shape together.

A precise, narrow rule. A feed is covered only when it has all three features of the test, with any order outside the test void.
Fast restoration. A re-test follows within 7 days of a platform's request and restoration within 24 hours of a pass, with automatic restoration if a deadline is missed.
Viewers stay private. The duty rests on the platform alone, with internet providers keeping no record of who visits what.
Takedowns stay transparent. Every order is published within 48 hours, with any unpublished order void, and a review bench decision on any appeal within 7 days.

FAQs

Q: Does this limit free speech?

A: Every lawful video stays open to post, search, follow and share. The rule shapes one business design, the platform's endless feed, which Article 19(6) allows in the public interest. Speech gains too, because takedowns now need a lawful order that is published and open to appeal.

Q: What happens to creators?

A: Creators keep posting and keep their followers, and those who teach earn more. The ₹1,000 crore Learning Fund pays for every learner who passes a skill check, and the verified badge puts their videos first in search.

Q: Will people get around it with VPNs?

A: The rule works at the source. The duty sits with the platform, which pays 2% of its Indian revenue for each month it serves the feed to users in India by any route. App-store removal and domain blocking support it, so platforms have every reason to comply.

The detailed blueprint for this chapter, a starting draft for the mission heads, industry and the private sector to refine, is in the Implementation Annex.