NEW DELHI: India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index‘s global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which cited “erosion of civil liberties“in the country as the primary cause for the downtrend. India’s overall score fell from 7.23 in 2018 to 6.90 in the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories.

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On India, the report said, the country dropped ten places in the Democracy Index’s global ranking to 51st. The primary cause of the democratic regression was an erosion of civil liberties in the country.The index is based on five categories — electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government; political participation; political culture; and civil liberties.