News: V-Dem 2026 classified India as an “electoral autocracy”à India ranked 106th out of 179 on the Electoral Democracy Index.

About V-Dem

• Published by the V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Measures democracy through five dimensions:
  • Electoral Democracy
  • Liberal Democracy
  • Participatory Democracy
  • Deliberative Democracy
  • Egalitarian Democracy

Criticism

• Relies heavily on subjective expert assessments.
• May not fully capture the complexities of multi-party democracies.

India’s Position

• India supports developing an International Governance Index.
• Proposed through the Brussels-based IIAS to improve objectivity in global governance assessments.