Jammu Tawi, April 2 -- India has a vibrant press and media ecosystem which does not need validation from foreign organisations, the government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said this in a written response to a question from Congress MP K Sudhakaran, who asked about "India's decline in the Global Press Freedom Index ranking in 2024".

"India has a vibrant press and media ecosystem, which does not need validation from foreign organisations," he said.

In its report published last year, global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked India 159th out of 180 countries based on journalists' ability to work and report freely and independently.

India was ranked below ...