Context: India's press freedom ranking in the World Press Freedom Index 2024, published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has improved from 161st to 159th, but journalists still face significant challenges in India, as it is known from the ranking. This ranking is lower than neighboring countries Pakistan (152nd) and Sri Lanka (150th).

Important Points

What is the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI)

• The World Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of press freedom of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders, a France-based international non-governmental organization since 2002.
• It only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.
• The press freedom questionnaire covers five categories - political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and security.
• Thus, the index aims to reflect the freedom enjoyed by journalists, news organizations and Netizens in each country and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom.

2024 WPFI - The Best and the Worst:

• The overall decline in political indicators has had a negative impact on the top three countries in the WPFI.
• Norway, still in first place, has seen a fall in its political score, and Ireland (8th), where politicians have subjected media outlets to judicial intimidation, has ceded its leading position in the EU to Denmark (2nd), followed by Sweden (3rd).
• The three Asian countries at the bottom of last year’s Index - Vietnam, China and North Korea - have ceded their positions to Afghanistan; Syria; and Eritrea (last).
• Among the countries going to the polls this year, the U.S. was the most concerning in terms of press freedoms. 

Highlights of WPFI 2024 Related to India

Press freedom is in crisis:

• The RSF claimed that press freedom is in crisis in the world’s largest democracy.
• 9 journalists and 1 media worker have been detained in India as of today, while no journalist/media worker has been killed in the country since January 2024.

Draconian laws:

• The government has introduced several new laws that will give the government extraordinary power to control the media, censor news and silence critics.
• This includes the Telecommunications Act 2023, the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill 2023, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023.

Unofficial state of emergency:

• The RSF's analysis mentioned that the government has engineered a spectacular rapprochement between the (ruling) party and the big families dominating the media.
• For example, the Reliance group owns more than 70 media outlets that are followed by at least 800 million Indians.

Harassment of journalists:

• The report said that journalists who are critical of the government are routinely subjected to online harassment, intimidation, threats and physical attacks, as well as criminal prosecutions and arbitrary arrests.
• The situation also remains very worrisome in Kashmir, where reporters are often harassed by police and paramilitaries. 

Important Facts For Exam

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Founded: 1985, Montpellier, France
• Director General: Christophe Deloire