How to read the Reports Tracker
Published 9 November 2026
The Reports Tracker reads 21 global rankings closely, checks each one against its own method, and gives it a Credibility Score. Here is how to read it: what each report page shows, what the score means, and what it does not mean.
What a report page shows
Every report page is built the same way, so you can compare one ranking with another.
At the top, the publisher and the date the edition came out, and the edition line: the latest edition, and when the next one is expected. Then the verdict, as two pills. The first is the rank the report itself published, for example “India · 86th of 143”. The second is our Credibility Score, for example “35 · Misleading”. Under them, a short note that opens with the verdict and gives the reason in plain words.
“What the report claims” describes what the report says, in its own terms. It is descriptive only. Our verdict is in the note above it, not here. Then comes “The Credibility Score, dimension by dimension”: six bars, one per dimension, with the points each dimension carries. A short paragraph on funding and independence follows, then the sources, and the date the page was last updated.
How to read the Credibility Score
The score is a number from 0 to 100, and a band: Insightful, 90 to 100; Useful, 70 to 89; Flawed, 50 to 69; Questionable, 40 to 49; Misleading, 0 to 39. Most reports land low. That is the finding, not a grading curve: the score audits the report’s own method, and many of these rankings do not hold up on their own terms.
The score is built from six dimensions. Methodology transparency and replicability carries 20 points. Source verifiability and measurement integrity carries 25. Internal consistency of India’s place carries 20. Construct validity and India coverage carries 10. Independence and funding carries 20. Accountability, corrections and versioning, carries 5. Each dimension is scored by two models working from a rubric fixed before any report was scored, and the two scores are combined. The full rubric is on How the Credibility Score works.
A report is re-scored only when a new annual edition comes out. The old edition’s page stays up, linked to the new one, so you can see whether the method improved or got worse.
What the score does not mean
It is not a verdict on India, and it is not a verdict on the conclusion. A ranking can be right for the wrong reasons, or wrong despite a sound method. The score tells you how much weight the report’s own evidence can carry, and the six bars show exactly where it lost points.
It is not a league table of rankings either. Two reports can carry the same score for different reasons. One may hide its method; another may publish its method and still rank India below countries that score worse on its own numbers. Read the bars, not just the number.
Where the numbers come from
The rank and the underlying figures come from the report itself. The edition dates come from the publisher. The score comes from the published rubric, and the funding paragraph draws on the publisher’s own disclosures and public records.
Every figure traces to a source listed on the page. When a report does not publish the data behind a claim, the score marks that down, and the page says so. If a figure on a report page looks wrong, or a new edition has come out that we have not scored yet, tell us on the contact page, and we will fix it.
Sources
- modi.im, Reports tracker (November 2026). The 21 report pages and their Credibility Scores.
- modi.im, “How the Credibility Score works” (November 2026). The full rubric, the six dimensions, and the bands.
- modi.im, Sources page (November 2026). The full source list for the tracker, ranked by tier.
These sources are also listed on the Sources page.
Updated 9 November 2026