India among the most trusted nations globally: Report
Davos, Jan 21: India is among the most trusted nations globally when it comes to government, business, NGOs and media but the country's brands are among the least-trusted, according to a report.
The The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer report released Monday, ahead of the the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet here, noted that the Global Trust Index witnessed a marginal increase of 3 points to 52.
China topped the Trust Index among both the informed public and the general population segments, with scores of 79 and 88 respectively.
India was at the second place in the informed public category and third place in the general population category.
The Index is the average per cent of trust in NGOs, business, government and media.
The findings are based on an online survey in 27 markets covering over 33,000 respondents. The fieldwork was conducted between October 19 and November 16, 2018.
In terms of trust in companies headquartered in each market, the most trusted are those from Switzerland, Germany and Canada. The brands from these countries have a trust score of 70 each while that of Japan is 69 per cent.
However, companies headquartered in India, Mexico and Brazil are the least trusted, followed by China and South Korea, as per the report.
While the score of India and Brazil is 40 per cent, that of Mexico and China stood at 36 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively.
The report noted that there is a growing feeling of pessimism about the future, with only one-in-three mass population respondents in the developed world believing his or her family would be better off in the next five years.
Among the mass population, just one-in-five believe the system is working for them and 70 percent desire change. And despite a full-employment economy, fear of job loss remains high among the general population.
This is based on views of respondents about global companies headquartered in specific countries and how much these firms are trusted by them 'to do what is right'.
According to the report, globally 'my employer' is significantly more trusted than NGOs, business, government and media.
"The last decade has seen a loss of faith in traditional authority figures and institutions," said Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman.
When it comes to reliable sources for news, search and traditional are among the most trusted. Search and traditional media have a score of 66 each, while the score of social media is 44 per cent, the report noted.
"73 per cent worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon," it added.
Stephen Kehoe, global chair, Reputation at Edelman said that divergent levels of confidence between the mass population and informed public about the future signal a continued underlying rot in the structure of society.
"While not everyone is taking to the streets, the data shows why protests like the Gilet Jaunes in France, the women's marches in India and walkouts by employees at some major tech companies could become more mainstream," Kehoe said.
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SIT formed to probe second sexual assault case against expelled Cong MLA Mamkootathil
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe a second case of sexual assault against expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, police officials said on Friday.
The SIT will be led by G Poonguzhali, Assistant Inspector General at the Police Headquarters.
The team also includes a DSP rank officer and sub-inspectors, officials added.
The second sexual assault complaint was received by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, which it forwarded to the state police chief.
ALSO READ: Cong expels rape-accused MLA Mamkootathil from party's primary membership
Following this, the Crime Branch registered a case and launched an investigation.
Crime Branch officials said the email complaint contained only the sender's email ID and no other contact details.
As part of the probe, they have sent a reply email requesting that the complainant contact them and provide her statement.
The complainant has alleged that she was sexually assaulted under the false promise of marriage, a Crime Branch official said.
However, details such as the location and date of the alleged incident are not currently available to the police.
The SIT will attempt to trace the sender of the email and record her statement, which is crucial for further investigation, the officer said.
Mamkootathil was expelled from the Congress party on Thursday after a court here rejected his anticipatory bail petition in another rape case.
Police said he is currently absconding, and a manhunt is underway in Kerala and neighbouring states.
