India press freedom score fell over the last year: RSF

• ‘India’s score fell over the last year’ according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which puts together an annual index on the freedom enjoyed by journalists.

Highlights:

• India’s score in the World Press Freedom Index fell from 36.62 to 31.28
• India’s rank improved from 161 in 2023 to 159 in 2024, but this was because other countries had slipped in their rankings.
• Norway and Denmark topped the RSF table while Eritrea was at the bottom, with Syria just ahead of it.
• The government has in the past dismissed international rankings of freedoms in India as misinformed and propaganda driven.
• The press freedom questionnaire covers five categories - political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and security.
• Scores for India dropped (worsened) in all but the security indicator.

Prelims takeaway

• World Freedom Index