Reports & Indices in News 2023
For UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) aspirants, keeping abreast of reports and indices in the news is not merely about staying updated with current affairs; it's a strategic imperative. Reports and indices offer valuable insights into diverse aspects such as socio-economic, environmental, and geopolitical factors. The recurring inclusion of questions related to these in both Prelims and Mains exams highlights their importance as these will not only aid in understanding contemporary issues but also contribute significantly to developing a comprehensive perspective essential for success in the UPSC CSE journey.
For eg: PYQ based on Reports and Indices
Question: Consider the following statements: (UPSC 2023)
Statement-I: According to the United Nations ‘World Water Development Report, 2022’, India extracts more than quarter of the world’s groundwater withdrawal each year.
Statement-II: India needs to extract more than a quarter of the World’s groundwater each year to satisfy the drinking water and sanitation needs of almost 18% of world’s population living in its territory.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Answer:(c)
| Date | Topic | India’s Rank/ Observation | Published By |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 23, 2023 | Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023 | 38th out of 139 countries | World Bank |
| November 22, 2023 | OECD Report on Climate Finance Ahead Of COP 28 | Short of $100bn target, Fall in Adaption fund | OCED |
| November 6, 2023 | Adaptation Gap Report 2023 | Funding to Developing Nations Declines 15% Despite International Pledges, Rising Costs | UNEP |
| October 26, 2023 | Global Solar Stocktake | Analysis of solar energy adoption | International Solar Alliance |
| October 18, 2023 | SDGs Progress Report 2030 | World Not On Track To Achieve Most SDGs | United Nations |
| October 13, 2023 | Global Hunger Index | 111 Out Of 125 Countries | Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe |
| September 29, 2023 | Report on Antimicrobial Resistance | Escherichia coli (E-coli) most commonly occurring pathogen | Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) |
| September 29, 2023 | Women, Power and Cancer | 63% of premature Indian female cancer deaths were preventable | Lancet Commission |
| September 29, 2023 | India Ageing Report 2023: Caring For The Old | Expected decadal growth rate of elder population is 41%, Elderly To Make Up 20% Of Population By 2050 | International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |
| September 28, 2023 | Methane Emissions in Livestock and Rice Systems | Ruminants and Paddy fields are the major source of Methane | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| September 8, 2023 | Heat Index | World experiencing High heat index | National Weather Organisations, example Humidex-Canada.India Yet to launch |
| August 31, 2023 | State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2023 | 74% Indian can’t afford healthy diet | FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO |
| August 03, 2023 | Rohini Panel ‘Sub-Categorisation’ Of OBCs | Unequal distribution of opportunities among OBCs | Justice G Rohini Commission |
| July 18, 2023 | National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress of Review 2023 | 13.5 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21 | NITI Aayog |
| July 12, 2023 | Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI),2023 | Poverty incidances in India fell from 55.1% in 2005/2006 to 16.4% in 2019/2021 | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) |
| July 10, 2023 | Global Forest Watch | Global Tropical Primary Forest Cover Continued Decline In 2022 | World Resources Institute’s (WRI) |
| July 7, 2023 | Farmers Distress Index? | 21 questions and 7 indicators of farmer distress | Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) under ICMR |
| July 7, 2023 | World Investment Report 2023 | India received 10% more FDI | UNCTAD |
| June 26, 2023 | Gender Gap Report,2023 | 127th out of 146 countries | World Economic Forum |
| June 17, 2023 | Global Trends on Forced Displacement Report,2022 | Sharpest rise in people forcefully displaced due to violence, climate crises | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) |
| June 17, 2023 | Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) 2023 | 90% People Still Hold Gender Bias | United Nations |
| June 16, 2023 | Detox Development: Repurposing Environmentally Harmful Subsidies Report | Insuffiecient subsidies to fight climate change | World Bank |
| May 26, 2023 | ITF Transport Outlook 2023 | Decarbonization of transport sector for Paris goals | International Transport Forum of OECD |
| May 26, 2023 | 5th Health Index 2020-21 | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana Top States In Covid Year, Delhi Worst UT | NITI Aayog |
| May 4, 2023 | U.S. Commission On International Religious Freedom’s Annual Report 2023 | India :“Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) | U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom |
| May 4, 2023 | World Press Freedom Index 2023 | 161 Out Of 180 Countries | Reporters Without Borders |
| May 3, 2023 | Swachh Bharat’s ODF Plus Rankings | Wayanad 1st ODF district, Statewise top performers Telangana , Karnataka, Tamil Nadu | Swachh Bharat Mission |
| April 28, 2023 | “Who’s tipping the scales” | Bluewashing in corporate food governance on the rise | International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems |
| April 24, 2023 | State Of The Global Climate Report,2022 | Increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events | World Meteorological Organization |
| April 15, 2023 | “Banking on Climate Chaos” report | $5.5 Trillion finance on fossil fuels by World’s 60 banks | Environmental Organization Consortium |
| April 10, 2023 | People and Planet, 21st Century Sustainable Population Scenarios and Possible Living Standards Within Planetary Boundaries | Earth's support systems would not fully return to an optimal point even by 2100 | Earth4All Initiative |
| April 5, 2023 | India Justice Report 2022 | Increase in case pendency and vacancy in judiciary | Tata Trusts ,Center for Social Justice, Common Cause, DAKSH, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. |
| March 23, 2023 | Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Cycle | Global warming has already surpassed 1.1 degrees Celsius | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) |
| March 14, 2023 | Global Gender Gap Index, 2022 | 135th out of 146 countries | World Economic Forum |
| March 14, 2023 | SIPRI Report | India Largest Arms Importer For The Five Year Period (2018 -2022) | Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) |
| March 4, 2023 | World Bank Index On Life Cycle Of Working Women | India Scores 74.4 | World Bank |
| February 28, 2023 | Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022 | India Tops List Of Global Internet Shut-Offs | Access Now and the KeepItOn Coalition |
| February 27, 2023 | Nifty India Municipal Bond Index | 28 municipal bonds from 10 different issuers | NSE Indices Ltd. |
| January 23, 2023 | Survival of the Richest | 5% of Indians own more than 60% of the country's wealth | Oxfam India |
| January 19, 2023 | Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 | Enrollment increased more than pre-pandemic years but learning gap widened | NGO Pratham |
| January 17, 2023 | Cancer In India: A Status Report,2022 | 14.6 lakh new cases of cancer were reported in 2022 | National cancer registry of The Indian Council of Medical Research |
| January 13, 2023 | Human Rights Watch Report 2023 | India Intensified Crackdown On Activists, Media in 2022 | Human Rights Watch(Helsinki Watch) |
| 31st December 2022 | Arctic Report Card 2022 | The Arctic Is Getting Rainier, Seasons Are Shifting, With Broad Disturbances For People, Ecosystems | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
| 17th December 2022 | Coal 2022 | India’s Coal Production To Surpass A Billion Tonnes By 2025 | International Energy Agency |
| 16th December 2022 | Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia | South Asia is home to 9 of the world’s 10 cities with the worst air pollution | World Bank |
| 09 December 2022 | Gender Toolkit | Emphasis on gender-responsive urban mobility and public spaces | World Bank |
| 06 December 2022 | Global Wage Report 2022-2023 | India's real wage growth dropped from 9.3% in 2006 to -0.2% in 2021 | International Labour Organization |
| 06 December 2022 | India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide | Women, Unemployed, Rural Poor Lagging Due To Digital Divide | Oxfam India |
| 05 December 2022 | “How COVID-19 restrictions affected religious groups around the world in 2020”: Social Hostilities Index (SHI), | 1st | Pew Research Center. |
| 3rd December 2022 | Global Hunger Index 2022 | 107th out of 121 | Concern Worldwide |
| 30th November 2022 | Tribal Development Report 2022 | Adivasis At Bottom Rung Of India’s Development Pyramid | Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) |
| 16th November 2022 | Financing India’s Urban Infrastructure Needs: Constraints to Commercial Financing and Prospects for Policy Action’ | India would need to invest $840 billion over the next 15 years | World Bank |
| 4th November 2022 | Performance Grading Index (PGI) - 2020-21 | Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh—have obtained Level II (score 901–950) in 2020–21. | Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L) |
| 31st October 2022 | Emissions Gap Report 2022:The Closing Window -Climate Crisis Calls For Rapid Transformation of Societies’ | Pledges To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Way Off Track | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) |
| 14th October 2022 | Living Planet Report 2022 | 69% Drop In Wildlife Populations In Nearly 5 Decades, | World Wildlife Fund (WWF) |
| 1st October 2022 | Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 | 40th rank out of 132 economies | World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) |
| 9th September 2022 | Human Development Report 2021–22 | 132 out of 187 | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) |
| 9th September 2022 | Crime in India 2021 Report | Assam, Haryana, Jharkhand recorded most crimes. | National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) |
Question: Which of the following is/are the indicator/indicators used by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report? [2016-I]
1. Under nourishment
2. Child stunting
3. Child mortality
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (c)
- The Global Hunger Index (GHI) calculated by the IFPRI is designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger globally and by country and region.
- The GHI combines the following four component indicators into one index:
- Undernourishment
- Child wasting
- Child stunting
- Child mortality
Question: Which one of the following issues the 'Global Economic Prospects' report periodically? [2015-I]
(a) The Asian Development Bank
(b) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(c) The US Federal Reserve Bank
(d) The World Bank
Answer: (d)
The World Bank issues the 'Global Economic Prospects' report
Mains PYQ
“The incidence and intensity of poverty are more important in determining poverty based on income alone”. In this context analyze the latest United Nations Multidimensional Poverty Index Report. (GS2 2021)
Acknowledging the importance of reports and indices in UPSC CSE preparation is fundamental for aspirants. These tools serve as gateways to understanding diverse dimensions of contemporary issues, reflecting the evolving landscape of socio-economic and geopolitical factors. Regular engagement with reports and indices not only enhances current affairs knowledge but also hones the analytical skills necessary for both Prelims and Mains examinations. Embracing these resources is not just a strategy; it is an essential element in the aspirational journey towards success in the UPSC CSE.
FAQs
Question: How can I effectively incorporate reports and indices into my preparation routine?
Answer:
Regularly follow credible news sources reporting on various indices and reports. Integrate this information into your study plan, ensuring a holistic understanding of the issues covered.
Question: Are there specific reports or indices that I should prioritize?
Answer:
While staying updated on various reports is beneficial, prioritize those directly related to India's socio-economic and geopolitical context, as these are frequently addressed in UPSC examinations.
Question: Can solely focusing on reports and indices improve my exam performance?
Answer:
While not a standalone strategy, integrating the study of reports and indices into your preparation regimen significantly enhances your current affairs knowledge and analytical skills, positively impacting overall performance.
Question: How can reports and indices contribute to analytical excellence in UPSC CSE?
Answer:
Analysis of reports and indices fosters critical thinking and the ability to connect different dimensions of issues, crucial for answering both factual and analytical questions in the examination.
Question: Can reports and indices be relevant for the Interview stage of the UPSC CSE?
Answer:
Yes, a sound understanding of reports and indices can prove beneficial during the Interview stage, showcasing your awareness of current affairs and analytical thinking abilities.
Question: Should I rely solely on reports and indices or balance them with other study materials?
Answer:
Balance is key. While reports and indices are crucial, ensure a well-rounded preparation by integrating them with standard study materials, textbooks, and mock tests for comprehensive coverage.
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