India evaluates 28 global indices, finds metrics in some flawed

India is closely looking at the methodologies used by 28 global indices such as the Democracy Index, Network Readiness Index, Global Hunger Index to track its performance vis-a-vis other countries, a government official told ET.

New Delhi has termed the methodology followed in some of these indices, including the Global Hunger Index, as flawed.

"We are looking at these indices to identify any imperfections or drawbacks," the official said.

The ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) is analysing the methodologies used by international bodies that conduct cross-country comparisons, including sample sizes and models.

The indices under review are the Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Network Readiness Index by the Portulans Institute, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, and the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute, and Climate Action Network International.

The official said preliminary findings have highlighted issues around scoring system and methodology. The MOSPI has already sent inputs to the concerned departments and ministries, the official added.

A paper co-authored by Sanjiv Sanyal, member, Economic Advisory Council to PM, had in 2023 highlighted that India's poor performance on specific international indicators despite rising per capita income was due to methodological issues.

In another working paper the Prime Minister's economic advisory council said there were serious problems with the methodology used in these perception-based indices-Freedom in World Index, V-DEM indices, and EIU Democracy Index.

Indices under scanner

For instance, in 2024, India was placed 41 out of 167 countries and categorised as a 'flawed democracy' on the Democracy Index. In the 2024 edition, India was ranked 105 out of 127 countries on the GHI and classified under the 'serious' hunger category.