India's Performance in Global Indices

Why in news?

As India gears up for celebration, we take a look at how the country has fared on global indices through the years.

Press Freedom Index 2022

Released by- It is an annual publication by Reporters without Borders (RSF), an international non-profit organisation.
Objective- to compare the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories in the previous calendar year.
Parameters
- Qualitative parameter- Based on the responses of “press freedom specialists to an RSF questionnaire
- Quantitative parameter- A count of abuses against journalists and media outlets
India’s rank- 150 out of 180 countries with a global score of 41
Top rank- Norway
Reason for India’s poor rank- Violence against journalists, politically partisan media, and concentration of media ownership

Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2022

Released by- The EPI is published every two years by researchers from Yale and Columbia Universities in the U.S.
Parameters- The ranking uses 40 indicators with parameters related to mitigating climate change, improving environmental health, and protecting ecosystem vitality.
India’s rank- 180 out of 180 countries with a score of 18.90
Top rank- Denmark
India’s response- The Indian government rejected the report, alleging the use of “biased metrics and biased weights” in awarding the scores.

Global Hunger Index 2021

Released by- GHI is an annual publication prepared by NGOs Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
Indicators
- Undernourishment
- Child wasting
- Child stunting
- Child mortality
India’s rank- 101 out of 116 countries
India’s response- The report was rejected by the Indian government, saying that the methodology used in the report was “devoid of ground realities and facts”.

Global Gender Gap Index 2022

Released by- The annual Global Gender Gap Index is a part of the Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum.
Parameters
- Economic participation and opportunity
- Educational attainment
- Health and survival
- Political empowerment
India’s rank- 135 out of 146 countries
Top rank- Iceland
Significance- India was among the three countries where the increase in the share of women in professional and technical roles was most significant.
In health and survival, India was among the worst global performers.

Global Climate Risk Index 2019

Released by- It is published annually by Germany-based NGO Germanwatch.
Objective- It analyses the extent to which countries have been affected by weather-related loss events like storms, floods, etc.
India’s rank- 7
Top affected- Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and the Bahamas

Corruption Perceptions Index 2021

Released by- The annual report is published by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.
Parameter- Perceived levels of public sector corruption
On a scale of 0 to 100, 0 is highly corrupt, while 100 is very clean.
India’s rank- 85 out of 180 countries

Henley Passport Index 2022

Released by- The rankings are prepared by Henley & Partners based on data from the International Air Transport Association.
Objective- It is essentially a measure of how powerful a country’s passport is, i.e., the number of destinations that a country’s passport holder can visit without a prior visa.
India’s rank- 87
Indian passport-holders can access 60 visa-free destinations around the world.
Top rank- In Japan, passport-holders can access 193 visa-free destinations.

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