05 May 2022 World press freedom index
World press freedom index – Today Current Affairs
- The 20th edition of the World Press Freedom Index was published by ‘Reporters without Borders’ (RSF) on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) on May 3, 2022.
- India is ranked 150 out of 180 countries.
Today Current Affairs
World Press Freedom Day:
- After the recommendation of the General Conference of UNESCO in 1991, the United Nations General Assembly declared World Press Freedom Day in the year 1993.
- This day also marks the ‘Windhoek’ Declaration adopted by UNESCO in the year 1991.
- The ‘Windhoek Declaration’ of 1991 deals with the development of a free, independent and pluralistic press.
Theme of World Press Freedom Day 2022:
- Journalism under digital siege.
World Press Freedom Index : The Hindu Analysis
- It is published every year by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters without Borders since 2002.
- Based in Paris, the RSF is an independent non-governmental organization with consultative status to the United Nations, UNESCO, the European Council and the International Organization for Francophony (OIF).
- The OIF is a grouping of 54 French-speaking nations.
- The index ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However, it is not an indicator of the quality of journalism.
Scoring Criteria : The Hindu Analysis
- The ranking of the index is based on a score from 0 to 100 assigned to each country or region, with 100 representing the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 representing the worst.
Evaluation Criteria : The Hindu Analysis
- The score for each country or region is assessed using five relevant indicators, including political context, legal framework, economic context, socio-cultural context and security.
Ranking of countries:
Top and worst performers : Today Current affairs
- Norway (1st), Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) have topped.
- North Korea ranked at the bottom of the list of 180 countries.
- Russia has been placed at 155th position.
Neighbours of India : The Hindu Analysis
- Nepal has jumped 30 points to rank 76th in the global rankings.
- The index has placed Pakistan at 157th, Sri Lanka at 146th, Bangladesh at 162nd and Myanmar at 176th.
- China is ranked 175th.
India’s performance : The Hindu Analysis
- India has slipped eight places to 150th out of 180 countries in 2022.
- India was ranked 133rd in the 2016 index, since then its ranking has been continuously declining.
- The reason behind the drop in the rankings is the rise in “violence against journalists” and “politically partisan media”.
Reasons for the fall in India’s ranking:
Government pressure:
- According to the index, the media in India is facing pressure from “increasingly authoritarian and/or nationalist governments” compared to democratically established nations.
Defects in the policy framework : The Hindu Analysis
- Although the policy framework is protective in principle, it accuses journalists criticizing the government of defamation, sedition, contempt of court and endangering national security as “anti-national”.
India most dangerous country in the world for media persons : The Hindu Analysi
- According to the report, India is also one of the most dangerous countries in the world for media persons.
- Journalists face all forms of physical violence, including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly retaliation by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.
Today Current Affairs
Freedom of Press in India:
- The Constitution is the supreme law of the country, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with the ‘protection of certain rights with respect to freedom of speech, etc.’
- Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system, but it is protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, according to which “all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression”.
- In Romesh Thapar v State of Madras, 1950 the Supreme Court held that freedom of the press is the foundation of all democratic organisations.
- However, even the freedom of the press is not complete in itself. Some restrictions have been imposed on it under Article 19(2), which are as follows-
- Sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or contempt of court, defamation, abetment of any offence.
In this article we mention all information about World press freedom index Today Current Affairs.
yojna ias daily current affairs 05 May 2022
No Comments