India has ranked on the 86th position of out 180 countries on a new corruption index from Transparency International, which says that the global effort to curb corruption has been muzzled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ranks were assigned on the basis of “at least 3 data sources drawn from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments. These data sources are collected by a variety of reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum”, Transparency International said. 

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India’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score was 40/100, a single point drop from the last index, which was released in 2019. The report ranks countries on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100. Pakistan ranked 124/180.

According to reports from Associated Press, Denmark, New Zealand and Finland tied for first place with 88 points each; the first two were unchanged, while Finland gained three points.

Other countries that secured a spot in the top 10 list were Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Singapore, Germany and Luxembourg. The United Kingdom thinly missed the list and ended up on the 11th spot with a CPI of 78.

The United States, which slipped over recent years to hit 67 points in 2020, held that score this time but slipped a couple of places to 27th, Associated Press reported.

Transparency International said that United States dropped out of the top 25 list for the first time. While giving an explanation for the drop, the organisation said that the country had been facing “continuous attacks on free and fair elections and an opaque campaign finance system.”

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In a broader sense, Transparency International said that little or no progress has been made in countries that experience high levels of corruption.

The report, which quantifies the perception of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, said that “increasingly, rights and checks and balances are being undermined not only in countries with systemic corruption and weak institutions but also among established democracies.”