India, as the current president of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) based in Brussels (Belgium),  has proposed the creation of a new International Governance Index. 

The Proposed International Governance Index

• Initiative Launch: Announced during the 100th day of India’s Presidency of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS).
• Collaborating Institutions: The index will be developed by a working group in partnership with the World Bank, OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)  and UN DESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
• Methodology: Will integrate quantitative data with qualitative insights, ensuring balanced regional representation.
• The proposal will feature as a key theme in the IIAS Annual Conference 2026.

Rationale and India’s Critique of Existing Indices

• Perceived Western Bias: India has argued that many global governance indices rely on subjective expert opinions concentrated in Western institutions, leading to a skewed portrayal of developing nations.
• Lack of Transparency: Indices such as the World Governance Indicators (WGI) often fail to disclose data sources, weightages, or scoring methods, limiting reproducibility and accountability.
• Alternative Framework: India seeks to build an evidence-based, balanced framework that recognises diverse political and administrative systems rather than imposing a single model of governance.
• Encouraging Indigenous Research: The EAC-PM’s 2022 paper had called for Indian think tanks to develop home-grown perception-based indices to diversify the global narrative.

India’s Broader Critique of Global Indices

• V-Dem Report 2025: Ranked India 100 out of 179 countries on the Liberal Democracy Index and labelled it an “electoral autocracy” since 2017.
• Freedom in the World Index (2022): Placed India at levels comparable to the Emergency period of the 1970s.
• EAC-PM Statement (2022): Labeled such indices methodologically flawed and non-transparent, yet highly influential in shaping WGI outcomes and international perception.
• These criticisms collectively underpin India’s push for a new, inclusive governance metric through IIAS.

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