Read the statements below marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark the correct options:
Assertion (A): Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) report by World Bank was discontinued in 2021.
Reason (R): Allegations of data manipulation prompted the suspension.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
The Discontinuation of the EoDB Report
The World Bank officially decided to discontinue its flagship Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) report in September 2021. This drastic measure was taken following an internal audit and an independent investigation that revealed significant data irregularities and ethical concerns.
The investigation uncovered that high-ranking bank officials had exerted pressure on staff to manipulate data to artificially improve the rankings of specific countries (notably China and Saudi Arabia) in the 2018 and 2020 reports. To maintain the integrity of its global research, the World Bank replaced the index with a new framework called Business Ready (B-READY).