CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong bagged the first three spots. However, Hong Kong’s rank is expected to decline in the future, because of China’s “aggressive interventions” in the region in 2019 and 2020. War-torn Syria ranked the last on the list.

Detailed explanation-2: -The jurisdictions that took the top 10 places, in order, were New Zealand, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Estonia, and Germany and Sweden (tied in 9th place).

Detailed explanation-3: -As per the Index, personal freedom has decreased globally since 2008. In the Human Freedom Index for 2020, India came in at number 111. India was rated 94th in the world in 2019.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Human Freedom Index is a resource that can help to more objectively observe relationships between freedom and other social and economic phenomena, as well as the ways in which the various dimensions of freedom interact with one another. The report is co‐published by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute.

Detailed explanation-5: -According to the World Press Freedom Index, released in May, India’s ranking dropped to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank among 180 nations.