Henley Passport Index 2021 | 15 Jan 2021

Why in News

India has been ranked 85^th in the most powerful passport report ‘Henley Passport Index 2021’.

Key Points

• About the Index:
  
  • The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
  • Originally created by Dr. Christian H. Kaelin (chairman of Henley & Partners), the ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information.
  • It was launched in 2006 and includes 199 different passports.
• Latest Rankings:
  
  • Top Rank Holders:
    
    • Japan continues to hold the number one position on the index, with passport holders able to access 191 destinations around the world visa-free.
    • Singapore is in second place (with a score of 190) and South Korea ties with Germany in third place (with a score of 189).
    • The top spots were traditionally held by EU countries, the UK, or the US. This year, it is the Asia-Pacific (APAC) passports which are the most powerful in the world as it includes some of the first countries to begin the process of recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Bottom Rank Holders:
    
    • Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be the countries with the worst passport to hold with a passport score of 29, 28 and 26 respectively.
  • India’s Performance:
    
    • India ranks 85^th, with a visa-free score of 58.
    • The Indian passport ranked higher in both 2020 (84^th) and 2019 (82^nd).
  • Comparison with Neighbouring Countries:
    
    • Pakistan was ranked 107^th and Nepal was ranked 104^th.
• Related Government Initiatives:
  
  • The government has been making efforts to increase the number of countries that provide visa free travel, visa-on-arrival and e-visa facilities so as to further ease international travel for Indians.
    
    • While issuance of visa and visa related process is the sovereign and unilateral decision of the respective country, the matter regarding easier and liberalised visa policy for Indian nationals is taken up regularly in bilateral meetings and forums with foreign countries.

Source: Mint