New Delhi:

The government told parliament on Thursday that it disagreed with the conclusions drawn by “Reporters Without Borders” in the World Press Freedom Index which ranks India 150th out of 180 nations.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, in a written response to the Rajya Sabha, said the government disagreed with the conclusions drawn by the organization for various reasons, including “the very small sample size, little or no emphasis on fundamental principles of democracy, adoption of questionable and non-transparent methodology”.

Mr Thakur was responding to separate questions from Rajya Sabha opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge and AAP member Sanjay Singh.

The minister said the government is committed to guaranteeing the right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution.

Mr Thakur said the Press Council of India (PCI) was established under the Press Council Act 1978 primarily to safeguard press freedom and improve the standards of newspapers and media. country news agencies.

He said that the PCI examines complaints filed “by the press” regarding the restriction of press freedom.

Mr. Thakur said that the PCI is also empowered to take cognizance suo moto of questions on urgent matters concerning freedom of the press and safeguarding its high standards.

In response to Kharge’s question about the arrest of journalists, the minister said the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not keep separate data on attacks on journalists.

According to the World Press Freedom Index, released in May, India’s ranking fell to 150th from last year’s 142nd among 180 nations.

(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)