Why in News?

• India, as the current president of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS), has proposed the development of a new International Governance Index.
• This initiative comes amid India’s declining rankings in several existing global indices, which the government has often criticized for being perception-based and lacking transparency.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)
• India’s IIAS Presidency
• Key Developments
• Concerns with Current Global Indices
• India’s Strategic Objectives
• Way Forward
• Conclusion

International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS):

• About:
  • The IIAS is an international non-profit organization created in 1930.
  • It is a Federation of 31 Member Countries (including India, Japan, China, Germany and Saudi Arabia), 20 National Sections and 15 Academic Research Centres jointly collaborating for scientific research on public administration.
• Working relationship with the UN: While the Brussels (Belgium)-based IIAS is not a formally affiliated body of the UN, it actively engages with the UN’s work in public administration.
• India’s participation: The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) represents India as a Member State of the IIAS since 1998.

India’s IIAS Presidency:

• Many firsts: This is the first time in the history of IIAS that the election to the post of President was held by ballot process and it is the first time that India has secured the historic mandate for the Presidency (for 2025-2028) of the IIAS.
• DARPG involvement: It is spearheading the proposal, with IIAS President V. Srinivas highlighting the agenda for strengthening scientific strategy in governance measurement.

Key Developments:

• Proposal of International Governance Index:
  • Plans to leverage existing frameworks of the World Bank (WB), OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and UN DESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
  • A working group will be formed, and the agenda will be part of the IIAS Annual Conference 2026.
• India’s criticism of existing indices:
  • In its reports, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has listed India as an electoral autocracy since 2017. The latest report (2025) ranked India 100 out of 179 countries.
  • Freedom in the World Index and EIU Democracy Index placed India at levels comparable to the emergency period.
  • Economic Advisory Council to PM (2022) highlighted lack of transparency in methodologies.
• World Governance Indicators (WGI):
  • It covers over 200 economies with 6 parameters - voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption.
  • The 2023 WGI gives India the percentile rank of -
    • 51.47 for voice and accountability;
    • 21.33 for political stability;
    • 67.92 for government effectiveness;
    • 47.17 for regulatory quality;
    • 56.13 for rule of law and
    • 41.51 for control of corruption.

Concerns with Current Global Indices:

• Subjectivity: Reliance on perception-based data and expert opinions without adequate on-ground presence.
• Transparency issues: Unclear weighting in credit rating agency assessments.
• Bias: Concentration of assessment by Western institutions, raising questions of contextual accuracy.

India’s Strategic Objectives:

• Rebalancing narratives: Challenge dominance of Western-centric governance assessments.
• Bridging North-South divide: Promote inclusivity and balanced representation of developing nations.
• Governance reform agenda: Align with the Indian government’s vision of “maximum governance, minimum government.”

Way Forward:

• Establishing methodology: Ensure evidence-based, transparent, and inclusive metrics for governance.
• International collaboration: Engage with global bodies (World Bank, OECD, UN DESA) for credibility.
• Strengthening domestic research: Encourage Indian think tanks to develop independent indices.
• Promoting inclusivity: Incorporate perspectives from both developed and developing nations.

Conclusion:

• India’s proposal for an International Governance Index under its IIAS presidency reflects its bid to shape global governance discourse and reduce dependence on Western perception-based indices.
• If implemented effectively, this initiative could strengthen transparency, inclusivity, and credibility in global governance rankings, providing a balanced platform for both developed and developing countries.