J&K startups eyeing internet-friendly environment in post-election state | Political News

With the first round of Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir now over, the air in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk is buzzing with political chatter. While most of the talk revolves around the second phase of elections on September 25 and the candidates, for a smaller group of shopkeepers, the more pressing issue is the impact of frequent internet outages on small businesses and startups in the region.

“After GST and demonetization, the internet shutdown was the third blow to small businesses,” notes one shopkeeper. “In this digital era, we have lost countless customers due to connectivity issues.