161 in 2023 to 159 in 2024, but this was because other countries had slipped in their rankings. The government has in the past dismissed international rankings of freedoms in India as propaganda. India’s performance is worse than Pakistan on this index.

ABOUT THE INDEX

Released by: Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières (RSF), A non-profit organisation Headquartered in Paris, France. WHAT DOES THE INDEX HIGHLIGHT? Index highlights degree of freedom that journalists, news organisations and netizens have in each country, and government’s efforts to respect such freedom. HOW IS THE RANKING DONE? Rankings are based on score ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best possible score (highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst. WHAT ARE THE PARAMETERS FOR EVALUATION? Evaluation criteria include

5 indicators:

  • Political context,
  • Legal framework
  • Economic context.
  • Sociocultural context and
  • Safety

THE 2024 REPORT FINDINGS

  • Norway and Denmark topped the RSF table while Eritrea was at the bottom, with Syria just ahead of it.
  • Press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors — political authorities,” RSF said, noting that press freedoms fell by an average 7.6 points globally.
  • India’s media has fallen into an ‘unofficial state of emergency’ since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and engineered a spectacular rapprochement between his party, the BJP, and the big families dominating the media,” the RSF countryfile on India said.

ABOUT REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS

  • It is an international NGO whose self-proclaimed aim is to defend and promote media freedom.
  • Headquarters: Paris,
  • It has consultative status with the United Nations.
  • RSF defines press freedom as “the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.”