PM Modi: An important advisor to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Reuters in an interview on Friday that India intends to fight back against “agenda-driven” and “neo-colonial” country rankings created by international organisations on subjects like governance and press freedom. According to Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Modi’s Economic Advisory Council, India has started bringing up this subject at international forums. The indices, according to him, are being created by a “tiny group of think-tanks in the North Atlantic,” supported by three to four financing organisations, who are “driving a real-world agenda.”
Challenging Global Indices, Impact on Trade and Activities
“It goes beyond merely narrative development in a dispersed manner. Trade, investment, and other activities are all clearly impacted directly by this, according to Sanyal. In the most recent Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, India came in lower than Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to the V-Dem Institute’s index of academic freedom, it ranked below Pakistan and Bhutan. India has highlighted the shortcomings in techniques used to generate global indices used by organisations like the World Bank, World Economic Forum (WEF), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) over the past year in a number of meetings. said Sanyal.
Must Read: Amul Fights Back! Denounces Viral Video as Fake and Misleading
World Bank’s World Governance Index and ESG Standards
According to Sanyal, the World Bank is interested in this conversation because it incorporates these viewpoints from these think tanks into something called the world governance index, which basically sanctifies them. Requests for comment from the World Bank, WEF, Reporters Without Borders, and V-DEM Institute were not promptly fulfilled. UNDP promised a swift response. By way of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and sovereign ratings, according to Sanyal, the ratings are also hardwired into decision-making. ESG-compliant projects are eligible for financing with subsidies from multilateral development banks.
Government Initiatives and International Focus, India’s Actions on Country Rankings
According to a government official, the Cabinet Secretariat is taking up the subject and has discussed it at more than a dozen meetings so far this year. Requests for comment from the Cabinet Secretariat and the finance ministry were not immediately fulfilled. India has stated that it intends to support developing nations while holding the G20 presidency. If India has brought up the matter of country rankings with the G20, Sanyal did not say. According to sources, India is keeping an eye on a number of new indices, including the World Bank’s global governance indicators and logistical performance, as well as the International Monetary Fund’s financial development index and UNDP’s indices measuring gender inequality and human development.
Must Read: GT vs MI IPL 2023: Madhwal Strikes Gold! Gill’s Wicket Gives Gujarat Titans a Boost, watch Video
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER
