Who the fck thinks india has authoritarian govt ? India has multiple news portals being harshly critical of govt 24x7 and enjoying viewership, ads and even govt ads. Is that a feature of one ? Which echo chamber news source you are referring ?
The way I see it, authoritarian means they can pass any laws they want without an effective resistance against them.
I'm not speaking specifically about India here since I don't know much about the country.