Ram Nath Kovind to launch Responsible Nations Index that evaluates how responsibly countries act

New Delhi: The Responsible Nations Index (RNI), a first-of-its-kind global index that evaluates countries by how responsibly they exercise power towards their citizens, global community and the planet, will be launched by former president Ram Nath Kovind on January 19, officials said.

The RNI is a global evaluative framework developed by the think tank, World Intellectual Foundation (WIF), in academic collaboration with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and methodological validation by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Mumbai.

According to Sudhanshu Mittal, Secretary, World Intellectual Foundation, the RNI seeks to initiate a new global conversation one that asks not merely how powerful nations are but how responsible they act.

"By placing ethics, sustainability and cooperation at the centre of global evaluation, the RNI aims to redefine the meaning of progress and leadership in the 21st century," he said at a press conference.

"The RNI represents a paradigm shift in the global assessment frameworks. Moving beyond traditional measures such as GDP performance, per capita income, trade volumes, military expenditure, geopolitical influence and competitiveness rankings, the RNI evaluates nations through the lens of responsibility, ethical conduct and stewardship towards citizens, the planet and international community," he added.

The index is anchored in three core dimensions -- internal responsibility, environmental responsibility and external responsibility.

"The RNI covers 154 countries and is based on transparent, globally sourced datasets. In an era marked by climate crises, conflict, inequality and global interdependence, responsibility has become the defining measure of national legitimacy. RNI is not a geopolitical ranking tool but an academic and moral framework intended to foster reflection, dialogue and policy learning," Mittal said.

The index, which aims to shift the conversation from "which nations are powerful?" to "which nations act responsibly?", will be released in March every year.

According to Jadish Mukhi, former governor of Nagaland and Assam and Chairman of WIF, "Today, the kind of world politics that is going on, the geopolitics that is going on today... looking at that, I understand that our index is going to be released at the most appropriate time. This index is not static. We will keep revising it every year, depending on the functioning of all the nations at the world level.

"As we are releasing the index for the first time, there will be a debate on this at the international level. We will also be evaluated by various countries about our functioning in that way. It will take time but we are firm that we must come up with some credible indices on the basis of the responsibility of the nations," he said.

The RNI has been operationalised through seven dimensions, 15 aspects and 58 indicators, all sourced from globally recognised data sets to ensure transparency and comparability.

"Existing indices focus on GDP, competitiveness or influence but do not address ethical conduct, restraint and stewardship. The RNI will respond to this global gap," Mittal said.