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On February 20, 2020, WHO, Lancet and UNICEF together released a report titled “A Future for the World’s Children”. According to the report, a new Global index has been included in comparing performance of child nutrition, education and sustainability.
According to the report, India ranked 131 in flourishing index and 77 on sustainability index.
The current scenario is capable of crating devastating health consequences such as malaria, malnutrition and Dengue. Along with this the threats from heat waves and rising ocean levels are also high.
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On March 12, 2020, Global Animal Protection Index 2020 was released by World Animal Protection, an international animal welfare charity. India was ranked second in the index.
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The NITI Aayog has released a progress report on National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyaan). According to the report, one in three Aadhaar based payments was credited to a wrong bank account, especially in Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.
The report also says that 66% of direct benefit transfers were based on Aadhaar. Only 60% of the beneficiaries were aware of the receipt of benefits
Among Union Territories Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh and Daman and Diu were the best performers scoring above 75%.
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On February 14, the International Institute of Strategic Studies released its report on Defence Spending all over the world. The report was titled “Military Balance”. According to the report, the global spending rose by 4% in 2019. This is the largest growth in 10 years.
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The Economic Intelligence Unit recently published the Worldwide Education for the Future Index for the year 2019. India has jumped by five ranks and currently holds rank 35.
In Policy Environment, India scored 56.3, in teaching environment its score was 52.2 and in socio-economic environment India’s score was 50.1.
India has performed better in socio-economic environment. This is because in 2018, its score was 32.2. However, the performance decreased in policy environment as the score in the area in 2018 was 61.5
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The CSIR of Delhi topped the National Ranking Index 2020 that ranks the scientific research institutes. CSIR was followed by IISc Bangalore.
The top research works in India in the current scenario includes environmental science, physics, chemistry and Life Sciences.
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The Economic Intelligence Unit recently published the Worldwide Education for the Future Index for the year 2019. India has jumped by five ranks and currently holds rank 35.
In Policy Environment, India scored 56.3, in teaching environment its score was 52.2 and in socio-economic environment India’s score was 50.1.
India has performed better in socio-economic environment. This is because in 2018, its score was 32.2. However, the performance decreased in policy environment as the score in the area in 2018 was 61.5
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On February 20, 2020, WHO, Lancet and UNICEF together released a report titled “A Future for the World’s Children”. According to the report, a new Global index has been included in comparing performance of child nutrition, education and sustainability.
According to the report, India ranked 131 in flourishing index and 77 on sustainability index.
The current scenario is capable of crating devastating health consequences such as malaria, malnutrition and Dengue. Along with this the threats from heat waves and rising ocean levels are also high.
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On February 14, the International Institute of Strategic Studies released its report on Defence Spending all over the world. The report was titled “Military Balance”. According to the report, the global spending rose by 4% in 2019. This is the largest growth in 10 years.
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In 2011, the Supreme Court had constituted a panel to submit its report on children and women trafficking. The panel submitted its report in 2019. It had recommended NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) to compile data on missing children and women trafficking. The key findings of the report prepared by NCRB is as follows
Maharashtra reported the maximum number of missing women and Madhya Pradesh reported maximum number of cases of missing children. Of all the states, Odisha reported maximum rise in missing women cases. The percentage of increase in Odisha was around 143% in 2018 as compared to the previous year. The report also quoted data from United Nations.
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While the world marked World Cancer Day on February 4, 2020, the World Health Organization released its report on Cancer.
The treatment for cancer in developed countries has brought down the mortality rate due to cancer by 20%. However, in poorer countries the reduction was merely 5%.
The report also says that 25% of cancer deaths were due to tobacco consumption.
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According to the survey conducted by Transparency International, Assam tops in terms of budget formulation followed by Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The states that were ranked lower in terms of budget formulation are Goa, Maharashtra and Punjab.
The Headquarters of Transparency International is located in Germany.
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On January 29, 2020, the NITI Aayog released the ranking of Aspirational Districts of the country for the month of December 2019. The ranking is released every month.
The Programme aims at Convergence, Collaboration and Competition.
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On January 22, 2020, the Economic Intelligence Unit released Democracy Index for the year 2019. The index was topped by Norway. Norway was followed by Iceland and Sweden at second and third positions respectively. India was pushed to 51st rank slipping 10 positions as compared to its previous ranking
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On January 20, 2020, the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development released its report on Global Investment Trend Monitor Report for the year 2019. The Global FDI of the year 2019 was 1.39 trillion USD. This has declined by 1% as compared to 2018.
The report also said that the inflows into developing economies remained unchanged. The FDI in Latin America and Caribbean rose by 16%. The FDI in African countries were 3% and was far less as compared to other parts of the world.
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Recently, Henley Passport Index was launched. The index was launched based on the data collected from International Air Transport Association (IATA). Around 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations were considered to launch the index.
The Index is based on the number of destinations their holders can access without visa.
Japan was followed by Singapore, Germany, South Korea at second, third and fourth places respectively. US and UK have been falling places for two year are now in eighth position.
India ranked closer to the bottom at rank 84.
India was in Rank 71 as the index was released in 2006. Today Indian citizens can access only 60 destinations in the world without obtaining prior Visa.
There is no developed country or a major power in the world where Indians can travel without Visa. Serbia is the only European country where Indians are allowed to travel without visa.
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On January 14, 2020, the Non-Profit Organization Pratham released its annual report, Annual Status of Education Report, 2019. The report is based on the survey conducted in 26 districts that covers 36,000 children in the age group of 4 to 8 years.
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On January 10, 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) launched India’s Energy Policy Report. The report insisted that India should adopt its think tank NITI Aayog’s National Energy Policy. IEA released its “India Report 2020”, in collaboration with NITI Aayog.
The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited maintains emergency fuel store of 5.33 metric tonnoes. This will fulfil the demand of the country for 10 days. There are three such oil storage reserves located at PAdur, Mangalore and Vizag. In 2017-18 budget, it was announced that India is to build 2 more reserves at Chandikhole and Bikaner respectively.
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On January 9, 2020, the World Bank released its Global Economic Prospect. According to its forecast, the world is expected to grow economically at the rate of 2.5%. This is the lowest prediction since that predicted in 2008-09, 3.1%. By then, the global financial crisis derailed the economy.
The emerging markets in the developing economies are to witness acceleration in their growth according to the report. However, this is not applicable to all. A third of developing countries are expected to decelerate this year. Predominantly the growing economies are located in South and South East Asia.
The United States is expected to grow at 1.8% and European Union is projected to slip its growth by 1% in 2020.
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Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the statutory body established in January 2009 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information is solely responsible for providing AADHAR cards. Aadhaar even after 10 years is the world’s largest bio metric ID system in the world
The report also stated that 80% of participants felt that Aadhaar improved the reach of government schemes and services faster. Only 34% of Indians are yet to link their Aadhaar in the fear of losing the services.
State of Aadhaar report surveyed 1,70,000 individuals. The initiative was started 3 years ago by IDinsight and Omidyar Network of India.
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On January 5, 2020, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released its report on sugar intake of India. The intake was measured in grams per day. The report was released based on a joint survey conducted by ICMR, NIN (National Institute of Nutrition), Hyderabad and ILSI (International Life Science Institute of India). The study is the first of its kind in the country.
According to the study, sugar intake was the highest in Mumbai. Mumbai reported 26.3 g/day followed by Ahmedabad at 25.9 g/day. The other counter parts of the metropolitan cities that have high intakes include Delhi (23.2 g/day), Bengaluru at 19.3 g/day, Kolkata at 17.1 g/day and Chennai at 16.1 grams per day.
In terms of age group, the study says that people belonging to older age group take more sugar than that of the younger population.
The study also measured sugar consumption based in literacy level, community, activity status, occupation.
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On December 31, 2019, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released its annual report. The report stated that since 1989, the number of countries experiencing conflicts has increased and the attacks on children has increased as well.
UNICEF says that in 2018, around 24,000 grave violations were recorded against children. The number has gone up highly to 1,70,000 in 2019. This is more than threefold and is deadly. This includes abductions, killing, sexual violence, maiming, child recruitment, denial to humanitarian access and attacks in schools and hospitals.
The United Nations states that there have been more than 10,000 violations in the first half of 2019. The violations were predominantly in the conflict zones. It includes northern Syria, Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on December 31, 2019, released Swachh Survekshan League in New Delhi. Around 4,372 cities participated in the league. It is a cleanliness survey that helps in competitive federalism.
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On December 30, 2019, NITI Aayog released Sustainable Development Goals Index 2019-20. According to the report, the overall composite score of India improved from 60 in 2018 to 57 in 2019. India succeeded in the areas of power and industry, water and sanitation, nutrition and gender equality. The index covered 16 out of 17 SDGs.
The least performing states were Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
In terms of poverty reduction, states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim performed well.
The states Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar that were in Aspirant category moved to performers in 2019. The states that were in performer category in 2018 and moved to front runner include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Sikkim and Goa.
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NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of Government will launch the second edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and Dashboard 2019–20 on 30 December 2019 at NITI Aayog, New Delhi. The first edition of SDG India Index was launched in December 2018. It was the first tool developed by any large country to monitor progress towards achieving SDGs at sub-national level.
NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing adoption as well as monitoring of SDGs in India, at the national and sub-national level.
It has been developed by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with United Nations in India, and Global Green Growth Institute.
Index and Dashboard 2019 covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals. On the basis of progress made, the Index ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising of 306 indicators.
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The World Health Organization on December 19, 2019, released its report on Global Tobacco use trends. According to the report, number of males using tobacco has declined globally for the first time. The report says that the anti-smoking campaigns all over the world is the main reason for the number of tobacco users to reduce.
Around 43 million children (of age 13-15) are using tobacco in 2018. The number of women using tobacco was 244 million. Of all the regions of the world, South East Asian region has the highest use of tobacco. The only region on track to achieve the target is the Americas.
However, the consumption rate in India is going down by 21.6% as compared to 2010. The current users of smokeless form of tobacco in India is estimated to be 257,020,000.
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On December 17, the World Economic Forum released its report according to which India ranked 112th in terms of gender gap. The report said that the India was ranked in bottom-five in terms of survival and economic participation.
The report also said that opportunities for women in India is very low. India was ranked below countries like Bangladesh (50th), Indonesia (85th), Brazil (92nd), Nepal (101st), Sri Lanka (102nd), China (106th).
The World Economic Forum published its first report in 2006. Since then performance of India has deteriorated. In 2006, India was ranked at 98th place. Opportunities for women in the country is 35.4%. Sex ratio of India was low as compared to other countries (91 girls for every 100 boys).
Though there are several hinderance for the situation to get improved, role model effect will start to have impact in terms of leadership. For instance, eight out of top 10 countries had high political empowerment with greater participation from women.
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The United Nations Development Programme released the Human Development Index for 189 countries on December 9, 2019. The rankings were listed by the report titled “Beyond Income, Beyond Averages, Beyond Today: Inequalities in Human Development in 21st century”.
India ranked 129 among them, which is one rank ahead of its previous positions. In 2018, India ranked 130. The rankings were listed based on the assessment of poverty, education, life expectancy and access to health care.
Singapore reported the least partner violence faced by women.
India ranked 122 in the Gender Development Index
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Global Climate Risk Index 2020, published by environmental think tank Germanwatch found Japan to be the most vulnerable country to climate change, followed by Philippines, Germany, Madagascar and India.
(2) Philippines: It was hit by Typhoon Mangkhut (a category 5 typhoon) in September 2018, which was the most powerful typhoon recorded worldwide in 2018.
(3) Germany: It experienced 2nd hottest year due to a severe heatwave and also witnessed severe drought in October 2018 due to less rainfall, which resulted in a massive decline in harvest.
(4) Madagascar: It became victim to Cyclone Ava in January 2018 and Cyclone Eliakim in March 2018.
(5) India: Globally, it is the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change. India also recorded highest number of fatalities due to climate change and 2nd highest monetary losses from its impact in 2018. The southwest monsoon in 2018 severely affected India, southern state of Kerala was especially impacted which saw the worst flooding in hundred years. Under long term vulnerability, India is ranked 17th. India’s east coast was also hit by Cyclone Titli and Cyclone Gaja in October and November 2018 respectively.
(6) Sri Lanka: It was also affected by severe monsoon rains in May 2018, especially in the south and west coast.
(7) Kenya and (8) Rwanda: Both nations were ranked 7 and 8 respectively. They were also affected by severe monsoon rains, resulting in flooding in several areas and displacement of a large number of people.
Others:-
Canada: In beginning of 2018, Canada saw its lowest temperature in 100 years and then record high temperatures in April 2018, which melted heavy snowpacks, causing the rivers to overflow. It also saw its worst wildfire season.
Fiji: It was affected by 3 cyclones between February 2018 and April 2018- Cyclone Gita, Cyclone Josie and Cyclone Keni, which caused major flooding, leaving many displaced.
It is based on data from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE which is one of the largest databases on natural catastrophes. The Index has another set of ranking for period 1999-2018 which is based on average values over a 20-year period. In 1999 to 2018 period Puerto was the most vulnerable..
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The National Capital has been witnessing soaring popularity and wellness tourism across the world. According to Euro Monitor International, Delhi currently ranks 11th in the list of world’s tops 100 destinations and is to gain 8th rank in 2019. The ranking was released by the organization on December 3, 2019 under the title “Top 100 city destination ranking”
The report also says that international tourists visiting Delhi has increased by 25% in 2019 as compared to 2018. In 2019, there were around 15.2 million tourists visiting the capital. This year with seven cities in the top 100 destinations, India has emerged as the strongest tourist destination.
The popularity has increased in Asia as compared to other parts of the world. This is mainly due to developing infrastructure, digitization of travel facilities, electronic Visa applications, government focus on tourism
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Recently released United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report-2019 warns that the Earth’s average temperature may rise by 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Moreover, despite all scientific warnings and political commitments emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) couldn’t decrease globally.
The report was released prior to United Nations Climate Conference (COP-25) to be held in Spain from 2 December 2019. It states that GHG emissions have increased by 1.5% since last decade and that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have reached an all-time high figure of 55.3 gigatons.
India: UNEP report highlights that India is regularly considering deadlines and targets to curb carbon emissionAs per the report, India’s per capita emission is one of the lowest within G20 countries. Also, India is one of the leading countries that are looking for electric vehicle development.
Globally:
The report suggested that only if Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced by 7.6% every year during 2020 to 2030 period, only then the target of reducing global temperature can be achieved.
As per the report, the largest GHG contribution comes from energy sector and its fossil fuel emissions. Thus to achieve the target of limiting temperature rise to no more than 1.5 ° C, all countries must reduce GHG emissions by up to 5 times.
The report also highlights that if global temperature reaches at level of 1.5 degrees then coral reefs would be reduced by 70-90%. It also clarifies that by 2100, the world would be warmer 3.2 degrees that pre-industrial level.
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The 2019 Global Diplomacy Index was released by Sydney-based Lowy Institute. The index gives the latest statistics and marking about how the world’s diplomatic networks are expanding and, in certain cases, shrinking. The index ranked 61 countries across the world.
Even though China’s diplomatic expansion has been rapid and overtook US. In 2016, China was in 3rd place behind US and France, and by 2017 it had moved to second place ahead of France.
US still remains (by a wide margin) the most popular place for countries to maintain embassies and consulates. US is home to about 342 posts belonging to 61 countries included in Index but China, with 256, is a distant second.
After China and US next three spots are occupied by France, Japan, and Russia respectively.
India was ranked 12th among the 61 countries. As of 2019, India has 123 embassies and high commissions and 54 consulates globally. However, the study shows that India too has expanded its diplomatic footprint: In 2017, it had 120 embassies and 52 consulates.
China’s diplomatic push has been aided by its economic heft as under Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing has pumped in billions of dollars into Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the intercontinental connectivity project aimed primarily at building trading corridors connecting China.
Significance: Establishing a robust diplomatic infrastructure is 1st practical step towards bolstering a country’s diplomatic influence. Similarly, China has also invested in its diplomatic infrastructure, which serves as a telling metric of its international ambitions.
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The National Statistical Office on November 23, 2019 released its survey on Household Social Consumption related to health. The survey was conducted between July 2017 and June 2018. It was a part of the 75th round of National Sample Survey.
The main objective of the survey was to collect data on expenditure on medicines, expenditure in hospitalization, investigation, expenditure, maternity, childbirth, etc. The data for the survey was collected from 1.13,823 households
The average medical expenditure that is being spent in rural India per hospitalization case is Rs 16,676 and in urban India is Rs 26,475. The survey says that about 90% of rural childbirths and 96% of urban child births were institutional.
In rural areas, around 97% of the children received vaccination. This includes all the 8 prescribed vaccinations. Among them, 59% of boys and 60% of girls were completely immunized.
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The NSO under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation conducted survey on drinking water, hygiene, sanitation and housing condition between the period July 2018 and December 2018. According to the survey one fourth of the households had no access to toilets.
The main objective of this survey was to gather information about sanitation along with housing facilities available to the households and micro environment surrounding the houses. The survey is important as the GoI is currently working on a set target of Drinking Water for all by 2024.
The survey reports that around 94.5% in rural and 97.4% in urban used improved water resources. Improved water resources include piped water, hand pump, tube well, protected spring, private tanker truck, rain water collection and bottled water.
Under Swachh Bharat Mission, door step collection of garbage and segregated collection of garbage is being implemented. However, the survey says that 70.3% of households urban and 72.4% of households in rural still disposed garbage in community dumping spots, open land, waste land, etc.
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The Central Information Commission tabled its annual report for the year 2018-19 in Lok Sabha on 20th November, 2019. The same report was also tabled in Rajya Sabha on 21st November, 2019.
Out of applications received, only 4.7% were processed by the commission. This has come down from 5.13% as compared to the previous year 2017-18.
The highest number of applications were rejected by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It has rejected 26.5%. It was followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that rejected 16.41%.
In the period 2018-19, the CIC disposed around 17,188 second appeals and complaint cases.
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The Paris based International Energy Agency recently released its report on World Energy Outlook. The Agency has projected that the installed solar power in the world will increase by 3,142 GW by 2040. According to the report, the currently the world uses 495 GW of installed solar power.
The report says that at present the energy demand in the world is growing at the rate of 2% per year.
According to Current Policy Scenario, the world will continue to function with the old regulations with energy demand rising at the rate of 1.3% by 2040. The Stated Policy Scenario is New Policy Scenario. Under this the report says that with the new policies that have been introduced by the governments, the energy demand will increase by 1% per year.
The Sustainable Policy Scenario is the most ambitious of all the scenarios. Under this, the report says that by aligning with Paris Agreement the global temperature will reduce by 1.5 degree Celsius.
IEA
IEA is an inter-governmental organization of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). the World Economic Outlook is the flagship publication of the agency.
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Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs constituted the Company Law Committee in September 2019. The Committee submitted its report to the Finance Minister on November 18, 2019.
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The Water Quality Report was released by the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Shri Ram Vilas Paswan. The report is in line with the Jal Jeevan Mission that was launched to provide clean and safe drinking water to all by 2024.
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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation said that it is not releasing Consumer Expenditure Survey due to quality issues. The next Consumer Expenditure Survey is to be conducted in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
The Ministry is also looking ways to change the base year of the survey. Currently the base year of the survey is 2011-12. It is considering options to change the base year to 2017-18.
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On November 13, 2019, the Lancet journal published report on “Health and Climate Change, 2019.” The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is a comprehensive yearly analysis that tracks the progress across 41 indicators. The project is a collaboration of 120 experts from premier institutions all over the world including WHO and World Bank.
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According to National Council of Applied Economic Research, the Business Confidence of India dipped to lowest in six years. It fell by 15% between the period July and October 2019
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India is witnessing price hikes in retail onion up to Rs 100 per kg currently in November 2019. Government had introduced the TOP-Tomato Onion Potato Scheme in 2018-19 Budget to address this problem. However, the scheme has not taken off well.
The FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) on Novmber 8, 2019, submitted a report to the GoI analyzing the problem. The Federation has also provided solutions to the current problems being faced in the country due to price rise of Onions.
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The Freedom of Net report 2019 titled “The Crisis of Social Media” was released by the The Freedom House, an international watchdog. The report recorded an overall decline in global internet freedom status between July 2018 and May 2019.
India obtained an overall score of 55 and was reported to be “partly free”.
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On 4th November, 2019, the ICAR’s Creams Laboratory bulletin stated that there has been reduction of 12% in incidents of Stubble Burning as compared to the same period in 2018.
Also, the PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter) concentration was more than 80% as against 50% of the normal course.
The disturbances are capable of carrying the smoke far and spread them wide when they are strong. The weakening of these disturbances lately due to global warming is also one of the reasons for the increased stubble smoke in Delhi.
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The 2019 edition of ‘Global Microscope: The enabling environment for Financial Inclusion’ report was released by Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU). The report is a benchmarking index that assesses enabling environment for financial access as well as underscores the evolving landscape of financial inclusion in selected countries. The year 2019 was 12th edition of report.
India was ranked among top countries with most promising environment for financial inclusion in terms of: effective financial consumer , allowing non-banks to issue e-money and proportionate customer due diligence.
Only four countries namely India, Colombia, Jamaica and Uruguay scored perfectly across all four parameters. Moreover, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico and Uruguay were among top countries that safeguard e-money via some sort of deposit insurance or protection.
The Microscope report was first published in 2007 and was originally developed for countries in Latin American and Caribbean regions but in 2009 it was expanded into a global study. The 2019 edition of Global Microscope report also features 11 new gender focussed indicators that measure financial inclusion for both women as well as men.
The report is a benchmarking index that assesses enabling environment for financial access in 55 countries across 5 categories.
Five parameters across which countries are assessed-
(a)Government and Policy Support
(b)Products and Outlets
(c)Stability and Integrity
(d)Consumer Protection
(e)Infrastructure
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A delegation of Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA) presented a ‘Report from Ground Zero’ on Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh after setting aside of Article 370 & 35A to Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS) in PMO.
The delegation briefed Minister about findings of their observations after field study of situation in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The briefings included that common man across religions, sections and various professional backgrounds in J&K has expressed happiness about the decision of Government to scrap Article 370.
Objective: To become the voice of most silent and underprivileged section of our nation with legal and academic support.
Composition: National leaders, distinguished lawyers of Supreme Court, industrialists, sportswomen, writers, poets, President Awardees, principals of colleges, professors of prestigious institutions, directors of institutes, internationally renowned artists/dancers, IT professionals and many others from various fields.
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India was raked 63rd in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking released on October 24, 2019. The ranking comes when the leading financing institutions including RBI, World Bank and IMF are slashing country’s growth forecasts. In 2014, India was ranked 142 among 190 countries. As compared to 2018, India moved up 14 places in the ranking mainly due to several reforms in the trade and commerce sector.
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The National Crime Bureau Statistics for the year 2017 was released on October 21, 2019. The report reveled that Tamil Nadu topped in grave crimes followed by Maharashtra.
The report was created by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) operating under the Home Ministry. The NCRB brings out 3 reports annually namely Crime in India, India and Prison statistics and Accidental Deaths and suicide in India.
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As per the India Innovation Index (III) 2019 released by NITI Aayog, Karnataka emerged as the Most Innovative State among Major States. The index was released by NITI Aayog’s vice chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant.
The India Innovation Index (III) 2019 was released by NITI Aayog along with Institute for Competitiveness as its knowledge partner. The index has been developed into lines of Global Innovation Index (GII). This is the first-ever India Innovation Index released by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, a policy think tank of Indian Government.
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Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana secured 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th position respectively in innovation, followed by Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
In the list of 17 major states, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand are at bottom of the index with Jharkhand finishing last.
Among North-Eastern & Hill States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have occupied the top spot of Most Innovative State in index while among Union Territories Delhi, Chandigarh and Goa have topped the list.
It ranks the states based on their innovation capability, opportunities and challenges that lie for states and actions needed by policy makers to foster innovation.
The Index is based on seven pillars which include 5 enablers and 2 performance indicators such as human capital, knowledge workers, investment and knowledge output. It has been developed over a period of last 18 months.
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The World Economic Outlook is a biennial report that is released in April and October. According the report released recently on October 15, 2019, the global economy is at its slowest pace of growth at 3%. This is a serious climb down from 3.8% in 2017.
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As per the report released by World Bank on ‘South Asia Economic Focus, Making (De)Centralization Work’, Bangladesh has become the second-fastest growing economy in South Asia after Bhutan. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh and Nepal are estimated to grow faster than India in 2019.
The latest edition of this World Banks’s report finds that strong domestic demand, which support high growth in past, has weakened, driving a slowdown across the south Asian region.
In India, growth is projected to fall to 6% this fiscal year and is then expected to gradually recover to 6.9% in fiscal year 2021 and to 7.2% in 2022.
The growth rate of Pakistan is projected to decrease further to 2.4% this fiscal year, as monetary policy remains tight, and planned fiscal consolidation will further compress domestic demand.
As per the report, the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh is projected to moderate to 7.2% this fiscal year and 7.3% in 2020. The country’s economy is likely to maintain growth above 7%, supported by a political stability, robust macroeconomic framework, and strong public investments.
In 2018 Bangladesh has reduced current account deficit due to rising export and remittances which was above $15.5 billion. However, the report indicates that the financial sector vulnerability, fiscal pressures and loss of external competitiveness pose challenges to its growth rate.
Moreover, despite slowdown in industrial growth rate, the industrial sector remains strong as Bangladesh’s garment industry benefited immensely from trade tensions between United States and China.
The World Bank report suggests Bangladesh to address key structural challenges such as reducing infrastructure deficit, improving urban management, managing climate change risks and enhancing human capital.
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The World Bank recently released its South Asia Economic Focus, 2019. The report says that Bangladesh and Nepal are growing faster than India. However, it assured that India is still a fast-growing economy. India is relatively hit hard by the recent global economic slowdown.
The report is titled “Exports Wanted” highlighting the export potential of the South Asian region being not used to the fullest.
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India ranked 68th in the annual Global Competitiveness Index. It is the worst performing among the BRICS nations along with Brazil that is ranked at 71. The Global Competitive Index is compiled by World Economic Forum. The Forum has mapped 141 countries using 103 indicators.
India had dropped 10 places. A number of similar economies like South Africa, Turkey and Colombia have improved over the past year and have overtaken India.
This year Singapore has replaced US as the world’s most competitive country. The US was positioned at 2nd place and was followed by Hong Kong at third place and Netherlands and Switzerland at 4th and 5th places respectively. China was ranked at 28th position and was the highest ranked among BRICS nations. Vietnam showed higher improvements in the region and was ranked at 67
The report also said that Asia Pacific was the most competitive region globally. It was followed by Europe and North America.
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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organized first National Nutrition Survey. The ministry took help from UNICEF to complete the survey. The survey was conducted between 2016 and 2018.
In India, for the first time the ministry measured malnutrition that included micro nutrient deficiencies. It was done by collecting urine samples and blood samples. Apart from this, details of non – communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, kidney function in children were also collected during the survey.
Global Hunger Index, 2018
It ranked India at 103 out of 119 countries based on the following factors
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The ranking measures the readiness and capacity of 63 economies to adopt digital technologies. It gives its ranking based on the digital exploration skills of the economies for economic transformation in governance, business and society.
The largest jump was seen in China. China moved to 22nd position from its 30th position in 2018.
The largest improvements were experienced by Asian countries like India, China, Korea and Indonesia.
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Northeastern state of Manipur has topped rankings in Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in India. The report card on Breastfeeding was released by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister. Union Heath Minister also appealed influential personality on social media to spread message of benefits of breastfeeding to masses.
Breastfeeding report card has been developed by devising a composite score based on 3 indicators–
World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 1st 6 months and breastfeeding with home-made food for minimum 2 years.
Undernutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.
In 2016, 155 million children under 5 year of age were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 52 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 41 million were overweight (or obese), globally.
Nearly 40% of infants 0–6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
Globally, few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.
In many countries less than a fourth (25%) of infants 6–23 months of age meet criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age.
Benefits
Every year more than 820000 children’s lives could be saved among children under 5 years, if all children 0–23 months were optimally breastfed.
Breastfeeding improves IQ, school attendance and is also associated with higher income in adult life.
Breastfeeding not only saves child from being malnourished but also saves mother from breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
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As per property consultant CPRE’s annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs Survey, New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) is 9th most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of nearly $144 per sq. ft. CP retained its 9th position from last year. CBRE is world’s leading commercial real estate services company.
Asia’s performance in prime office space leasing segment-
6 of world’s 10 most expensive office markets are found in Asia.
For 2nd year straight Hong Kong’s central district retained top spot as World’s most two expensive market for prime office rents. Its occupancy cost was valued at $322 per sq.ft.
Reason Behind Cost: As per report the growing significance of talent acquisition race are driving prime occupancy cost to newer heights. Along with this other driving forces behind price growth are limited supply and moderate construction pipelines in most cities.
On Indian commercial Real Estate Market: BPRE survey highlights that strong demand from technology, finance and e-commerce sectors has fueled growth momentum in prime occupancy costs. Also in India commercial office market remains a strong growth propeller for real estate sector.
The cost taken in Survey reflects rent, plus local taxes and service charges for highest-quality prime office properties.
It tracks cost of leasing prime office space globally.
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The State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities, was recently launched at an event organized by UNESCO in New Delhi. The event was attended by more than 200 representatives from government, civil society, academia, partners and youth.
To be published annually, the 2019 edition of report is 1st of its kind published by UNESCO New Delhi. It highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to Right to Education (RTE) of children with disabilities (CWDs).
Bodies involved: It is Prepared by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and commissioned by UNESCO.
Citing 2011 census data, report showed that there are more than 78 lakh CWDs in India between age group of 5-19 years. 27% of these CWDs between (ages 5 to 19) have never attended any educational institution.
Nearly 75% of 5 year olds who have certain disabilties, do not go to any educational institution.
In schools there are fewer girls with disabilities than boys.
The proportion of CWDs who are out of school is higher than overall proportion of out-of-school children at national level.
Home-based education: In many parts of rural India, if a parent opts for home-based education, the child may not be getting an education at all as it often exists only on paper for CWDs.
Challenges: Inadequate allocations, delays in releasing funds and under-utilisation of allocation remain key challenges in financing education for CWDs.
Differences noted among various types of disabilities
Only 20% of children with impairments related to Visual and Hearing had never been in school. However, among children with multiple disabilities or mental illness, that figure rose to more than 50%.
Recommendations:
Amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 to make it align with the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Data: There is a need to strengthen data on children with disabilities which can help in effective planning, implementation and monitoring of their education.
Campaign: There should be concentrated campaigns and large scale awareness which can improve the attitude towards children with disabilities in the classroom and beyond.
Mechanism under Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is needed to coordinate all education programmes for children with disabilities across departments. This would help remove inconsistencies and achieve synergy in the various measures aimed at their education.
UNESCO’s programmes contribute towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015.
It fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation.
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As per latest study by World Bank, the turnover ratio of Indian stock market has fallen significantly by 60% in past 10 years. The turnover ratio fall has been higher in India in comparison to some of the other leading markets of world.
Although the ratio had managed to move up in last 5 years but it is still quite low when compared with earlier highs.
The fall had been highest among most leading markets of world, except United States (US) and European Union (EU).
Other Countries: Between 2008 and 2018, China’s turnover ratio fell less than 6% in last 10 years; Brazil (12.85%) and South Korea (31.12%), Japan and Hong Kong saw ratio dip between 40-50%.
Significance: Key analysis by WB study assumes significance as market participants have been lobbying hard with central government to reduce overall cost of trading in equities in India, which, they feel, is adversely affecting investors’ interest in stock market.
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According to United Nations report ‘World Population Prospects 2019’, India is projected to surpass China as world’s most populous country in just eight years i.e. by 2027.
India: According to report estimates India is expected to add 273 million people by 2050 and will remain most populated until the end of century (2100). In 2019, the estimated population of India is 1.37 billion and of China 1.43 billion, but India is projected to surpass China’s. Thus by 2050, India will be leading the set of nine countries that will make up for more than half of projected growth of global population.
Projected Populous Countries: Following India-China re-ordering in 2027, the ranking of 5 largest countries is projected to remain same until the end of century i.e. by 2100. Therefore, based on an estimated population top 5 world’s populous nation will be- India is projected to remain world’s most populous country with about 1.5 billion inhabitants, followed by China (1.1 billion), Nigeria (733 million), United States (434 million), and Pakistan (403 million).
Ageing Population: The report projects that overall world’s population is ageing at such a fast rate that by 2050, 1 in 6 people in world will be part of age group of 65 (and above) as compared to 1 in 11 in 2019. Also by end of 2100 world population is set to peak at a level of about 11 billion.
Shrinking Population: Between 2019 and 2050, nearly 55 countries are estimated to face population shrinking by at least 1%. As already since 2010, 27 countries have recorded a minimum 1% decline in population. This declining trend in population being experienced by growing number of countries is attributed to sustained low levels of fertility or even high rates of emigration. China will be the largest of these 55 countries whose population is projected to shrink by as much as 2.2% (about 31.4 million) by 2050.
It presents population estimates from year 1950 to 2019 for 235 countries or areas by analysing historical demographic trends. WPPP 2019 revision presents population projections to year 2100.
This years WPPP’s presents population estimates and projections describe 2 out of 4 demographic megatrends– population growth and ageing other being migration and urbanization.
Importance: Collectively, these data make up a critical piece of evidence base for monitoring global progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.
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According to a study conducted by Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR), e-commerce player Amazon India has been rated as India’s most ‘attractive employer brand, followed by Microsoft India which emerged as the runner-up.
Coverage: The Randstad research for year 2019 covered 75% of global economy with 32 participating countries and over 2 lakh respondents worldwide.
For the Indian workforce while choosing an employer salary and employee benefits continue to be top driver, followed by work-life balance and job security.
Although the gender differences between men and women on top three aspects were minimal, but women, attributed more importance to salary and benefits (49%) and work-life balance (47%) as compared to their male counterparts who ranked these as top aspects at 46% and 46% respectively.
The most important finding was that work-life balance was accorded importance as a key factor while considering choosing an employer. This has increased largely (46%) compared to last two years and emergence of fact that Indian employees are willing to place a premium on job security.
There are 23% higher number of employees in India who indicate that they would be agreeable to a security versus compensation trade-off. This is higher than the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) average.
About 52% of survey respondents showed their willingness to forfeit more than 10% of their salary for job security.
The research captures views of more than 2 lakh respondents which include general public (aged 18-65) on 6,162 companies in 32 countries.
It provides insights into drivers and perceptions of choice of potential employees by finding answers to questions such as- Why do people prefer one company, or a specific industry, over another and What motivates them to stay with an employer/start looking elsewhere?
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In the recently released Global Peace Index (GPI) of Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India’s rank slipped by five places to 141 among 163 countries on GPI 2019 and Iceland was ranked 1st. India was ranked 136 in GPI 2018.
Least Peaceful Country: As per GPI 2019 Afghanistan is now ranked as least peaceful country in world. It has replaced Syria, which is now the 2nd least peaceful. Other least peaceful countries includes South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq.
Countries with highest risk of multiple climate hazards: includes China, Japan, India, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Countries with largest total military expenditure: United States (US), China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
South Asia: Bhutan topped the index in South Asia with its 15th rank. Other countries of region include Sri Lanka (72), Nepal (76) and Bangladesh (101). The neighbouring country Pakistan is ranked 153rd on index.
Both India and Pakistan had highest rating at five in the score for internal conflicts fought. Only deaths from internal conflict showed improvement, with fewer fatalities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India than the year before.
The report observed that China, India and Bangladesh score in bottom half of GPI and have significant exposure to climate hazards, with over 393 million people in high climate hazard areas
Report Analysis
As per the index findings, although global peacefulness improved for first time in past five years but world now remains less peaceful than a decade ago.
The GPI 2019 report includes new research on possible effects of climate change on peace. It also revealed that since 2008 global peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.78%.
While the state sponsored terror has declined significantly over the last decade, with 62 countries improving their scores and only 42 deteriorated but imprisonment data shows the opposite trend with 95 countries increasing the imprisonment rate compared to 65 that improved.
The score of South Asia for every indicator in ongoing conflict is less peaceful than total global average, with four out of six deteriorating in 2018 itself.
The report covers 99.7% of world’s population. It uses 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index.
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an Australian think tank ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness. This is based on three thematic domains-
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In first-ever SDG Gender Index which measures progress made in achieving gender commitments against internationally set targets, India was ranked 95th out of a total 129 countries. The Index is developed by Equal Measures 2030, a partnership effort of regional and global organisations.
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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended ‘complete’ ban on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes. The recommendation is based on currently available scientific evidence.
On occasion of World Tobacco Day which was observed on 31 May, ICMR released a white paper (an authoritative report or guide that informs readers about an issue) about harmful effects of ENDS and e-cigarettes.
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According to a United Nations’ report titled World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) Report 2019 Mid-year Update, India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.1 % in fiscal year 2020 which will be backed by strong domestic consumption and investment.
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According to analysis by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), women remain considerably under-represented across STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) studies and careers.
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India has found problems with the current methodology adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) under its Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) to rank countries.
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The Fifth United Nations (UN) Global Road Safety Week is being held from 6 May to 12 May 2019. The theme for weekly event in 2019 is “Leadership for road safety”.
Key Findings
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StartupBlink has ranked 100 countries for startup environment of countries globally. The rankings were based on the data from over 61,000 startups, more than 500 accelerators, and over 1,400 coworking spaces registered on its platform along with data gathered from its global partners including Crunchbase, SimilarWeb etc.
The rankings were based on the impact startups have been able to make in the country, how many startups and support organisations are there such as accelerators, coworking spaces, startup events along with technology infrastructure, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.
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The United Nations Population Fund has released the State of World Population 2019 report.
The Report Looking ahead to future challenges highlights the threat to women’s and girls’ reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.
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The Ireland-based Johnson Controls Building Technologies and Solutions has released its report for the second annual smart city indicator survey. The survey tracks key drivers, organisational barriers, technology trends, and the status of smart city solution implementations around the world. The survey queried over 330 city leaders.
The survey was conducted in 20 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France and the United States, besides India.
The Survey also enumerated some of the key drivers in energy investments like greenhouse gas footprint reduction, increasing energy security and increasing building resilience.
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The World Bank-ILO report titled Exports to Jobs: Boosting the Gains from Trade in South Asia has been released. The report studies the effect on local employment and wages of changes in exports by combining disaggregated data from household-level or worker-level surveys with trade data from India and Sri Lanka.
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The State of Talent Acquisition Report by the Mercer-Mettl’s highlights the following important facts:
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Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector and judiciary are perceived to be by experts and business executives.
It is the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide and it does not consider corruption in the business sector. The corruption perception index draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories.
The scores indicate the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100. A score of 0 points that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and a 100 points that a country has sound integrity systems.
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The Bloomberg Innovation Index analyses each country in a range of areas including education, research and development, and manufacturing before coming up with a list of the 60 most innovative countries.
The countries are ranked on the basis of their overall ability to innovate considering seven-equal weighted metrics such as research & development intensity, manufacturing value-added, productivity, high-tech density, tertiary efficiency, researcher concentration, patent activity.
Bloomberg Innovation Index published top 60 economies out of 95 economies analysed for the ranking process for the year 2019 based on a score from 0-100 on the basis of seven equal-weighted metrics.
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The Global Talent Competitive Index prepared by the INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group was released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2019.
The Global Talent Competitive Index measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, ranking 125 countries and 114 cities across all groups of income and levels of development.
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The London-based Times Higher Education (THE), a global organisation that produces data, analysis and expertise on higher education has released the Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019. The 2019 ranking comprises of 450 universities from 43 countries, across four continents.
These 13 performance indicators are grouped under 5 categories: Teaching (the learning environment); Research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); International outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).
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The Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu released the Vision 2040 document in the Global Aviation Summit 2019. The Global Aviation Summit 2019 is organized in Mumbai with the theme ‘Flying for All’.
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The Quality Council of India undertook a survey on the status of sanitation across cities and towns on the bank of River Ganga for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. There are 39 towns on the banks of river in West Bengal, 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Bihar and 14 and two towns respectively in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
Quality Council of India (QCI) is set up as a non-profit autonomous society to establish an accreditation structure in the country and to spread quality movement in India by undertaking a National Quality Campaign.
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The Henley Passport Index measures the access each country’s travel document affords. The Index is based on the data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.
Open-door policies have the potential to contribute billions to the global economy, as well as createdata "
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The Economic Intelligence Unit recently published the Worldwide Education for the Future Index for the year 2019. India has jumped by five ranks and currently holds rank 35.
In Policy Environment, India scored 56.3, in teaching environment its score was 52.2 and in socio-economic environment India’s score was 50.1.
India has performed better in socio-economic environment. This is because in 2018, its score was 32.2. However, the performance decreased in policy environment as the score in the area in 2018 was 61.5
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On February 20, 2020, WHO, Lancet and UNICEF together released a report titled “A Future for the World’s Children”. According to the report, a new Global index has been included in comparing performance of child nutrition, education and sustainability.
According to the report, India ranked 131 in flourishing index and 77 on sustainability index.
The current scenario is capable of crating devastating health consequences such as malaria, malnutrition and Dengue. Along with this the threats from heat waves and rising ocean levels are also high.
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On February 14, the International Institute of Strategic Studies released its report on Defence Spending all over the world. The report was titled “Military Balance”. According to the report, the global spending rose by 4% in 2019. This is the largest growth in 10 years.
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In 2011, the Supreme Court had constituted a panel to submit its report on children and women trafficking. The panel submitted its report in 2019. It had recommended NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) to compile data on missing children and women trafficking. The key findings of the report prepared by NCRB is as follows
Maharashtra reported the maximum number of missing women and Madhya Pradesh reported maximum number of cases of missing children. Of all the states, Odisha reported maximum rise in missing women cases. The percentage of increase in Odisha was around 143% in 2018 as compared to the previous year. The report also quoted data from United Nations.
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While the world marked World Cancer Day on February 4, 2020, the World Health Organization released its report on Cancer.
The treatment for cancer in developed countries has brought down the mortality rate due to cancer by 20%. However, in poorer countries the reduction was merely 5%.
The report also says that 25% of cancer deaths were due to tobacco consumption.
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According to the survey conducted by Transparency International, Assam tops in terms of budget formulation followed by Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The states that were ranked lower in terms of budget formulation are Goa, Maharashtra and Punjab.
The Headquarters of Transparency International is located in Germany.
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On January 29, 2020, the NITI Aayog released the ranking of Aspirational Districts of the country for the month of December 2019. The ranking is released every month.
The Programme aims at Convergence, Collaboration and Competition.
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On January 22, 2020, the Economic Intelligence Unit released Democracy Index for the year 2019. The index was topped by Norway. Norway was followed by Iceland and Sweden at second and third positions respectively. India was pushed to 51st rank slipping 10 positions as compared to its previous ranking
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On January 20, 2020, the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development released its report on Global Investment Trend Monitor Report for the year 2019. The Global FDI of the year 2019 was 1.39 trillion USD. This has declined by 1% as compared to 2018.
The report also said that the inflows into developing economies remained unchanged. The FDI in Latin America and Caribbean rose by 16%. The FDI in African countries were 3% and was far less as compared to other parts of the world.
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Recently, Henley Passport Index was launched. The index was launched based on the data collected from International Air Transport Association (IATA). Around 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations were considered to launch the index.
The Index is based on the number of destinations their holders can access without visa.
Japan was followed by Singapore, Germany, South Korea at second, third and fourth places respectively. US and UK have been falling places for two year are now in eighth position.
India ranked closer to the bottom at rank 84.
India was in Rank 71 as the index was released in 2006. Today Indian citizens can access only 60 destinations in the world without obtaining prior Visa.
There is no developed country or a major power in the world where Indians can travel without Visa. Serbia is the only European country where Indians are allowed to travel without visa.
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On January 14, 2020, the Non-Profit Organization Pratham released its annual report, Annual Status of Education Report, 2019. The report is based on the survey conducted in 26 districts that covers 36,000 children in the age group of 4 to 8 years.
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On January 10, 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) launched India’s Energy Policy Report. The report insisted that India should adopt its think tank NITI Aayog’s National Energy Policy. IEA released its “India Report 2020”, in collaboration with NITI Aayog.
The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited maintains emergency fuel store of 5.33 metric tonnoes. This will fulfil the demand of the country for 10 days. There are three such oil storage reserves located at PAdur, Mangalore and Vizag. In 2017-18 budget, it was announced that India is to build 2 more reserves at Chandikhole and Bikaner respectively.
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On January 9, 2020, the World Bank released its Global Economic Prospect. According to its forecast, the world is expected to grow economically at the rate of 2.5%. This is the lowest prediction since that predicted in 2008-09, 3.1%. By then, the global financial crisis derailed the economy.
The emerging markets in the developing economies are to witness acceleration in their growth according to the report. However, this is not applicable to all. A third of developing countries are expected to decelerate this year. Predominantly the growing economies are located in South and South East Asia.
The United States is expected to grow at 1.8% and European Union is projected to slip its growth by 1% in 2020.
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Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the statutory body established in January 2009 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information is solely responsible for providing AADHAR cards. Aadhaar even after 10 years is the world’s largest bio metric ID system in the world
The report also stated that 80% of participants felt that Aadhaar improved the reach of government schemes and services faster. Only 34% of Indians are yet to link their Aadhaar in the fear of losing the services.
State of Aadhaar report surveyed 1,70,000 individuals. The initiative was started 3 years ago by IDinsight and Omidyar Network of India.
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On January 5, 2020, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released its report on sugar intake of India. The intake was measured in grams per day. The report was released based on a joint survey conducted by ICMR, NIN (National Institute of Nutrition), Hyderabad and ILSI (International Life Science Institute of India). The study is the first of its kind in the country.
According to the study, sugar intake was the highest in Mumbai. Mumbai reported 26.3 g/day followed by Ahmedabad at 25.9 g/day. The other counter parts of the metropolitan cities that have high intakes include Delhi (23.2 g/day), Bengaluru at 19.3 g/day, Kolkata at 17.1 g/day and Chennai at 16.1 grams per day.
In terms of age group, the study says that people belonging to older age group take more sugar than that of the younger population.
The study also measured sugar consumption based in literacy level, community, activity status, occupation.
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On December 31, 2019, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released its annual report. The report stated that since 1989, the number of countries experiencing conflicts has increased and the attacks on children has increased as well.
UNICEF says that in 2018, around 24,000 grave violations were recorded against children. The number has gone up highly to 1,70,000 in 2019. This is more than threefold and is deadly. This includes abductions, killing, sexual violence, maiming, child recruitment, denial to humanitarian access and attacks in schools and hospitals.
The United Nations states that there have been more than 10,000 violations in the first half of 2019. The violations were predominantly in the conflict zones. It includes northern Syria, Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on December 31, 2019, released Swachh Survekshan League in New Delhi. Around 4,372 cities participated in the league. It is a cleanliness survey that helps in competitive federalism.
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On December 30, 2019, NITI Aayog released Sustainable Development Goals Index 2019-20. According to the report, the overall composite score of India improved from 60 in 2018 to 57 in 2019. India succeeded in the areas of power and industry, water and sanitation, nutrition and gender equality. The index covered 16 out of 17 SDGs.
The least performing states were Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
In terms of poverty reduction, states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim performed well.
The states Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar that were in Aspirant category moved to performers in 2019. The states that were in performer category in 2018 and moved to front runner include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Sikkim and Goa.
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NITI Aayog, the policy think tank of Government will launch the second edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and Dashboard 2019–20 on 30 December 2019 at NITI Aayog, New Delhi. The first edition of SDG India Index was launched in December 2018. It was the first tool developed by any large country to monitor progress towards achieving SDGs at sub-national level.
NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing adoption as well as monitoring of SDGs in India, at the national and sub-national level.
It has been developed by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with United Nations in India, and Global Green Growth Institute.
Index and Dashboard 2019 covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals. On the basis of progress made, the Index ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising of 306 indicators.
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The World Health Organization on December 19, 2019, released its report on Global Tobacco use trends. According to the report, number of males using tobacco has declined globally for the first time. The report says that the anti-smoking campaigns all over the world is the main reason for the number of tobacco users to reduce.
Around 43 million children (of age 13-15) are using tobacco in 2018. The number of women using tobacco was 244 million. Of all the regions of the world, South East Asian region has the highest use of tobacco. The only region on track to achieve the target is the Americas.
However, the consumption rate in India is going down by 21.6% as compared to 2010. The current users of smokeless form of tobacco in India is estimated to be 257,020,000.
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On December 17, the World Economic Forum released its report according to which India ranked 112th in terms of gender gap. The report said that the India was ranked in bottom-five in terms of survival and economic participation.
The report also said that opportunities for women in India is very low. India was ranked below countries like Bangladesh (50th), Indonesia (85th), Brazil (92nd), Nepal (101st), Sri Lanka (102nd), China (106th).
The World Economic Forum published its first report in 2006. Since then performance of India has deteriorated. In 2006, India was ranked at 98th place. Opportunities for women in the country is 35.4%. Sex ratio of India was low as compared to other countries (91 girls for every 100 boys).
Though there are several hinderance for the situation to get improved, role model effect will start to have impact in terms of leadership. For instance, eight out of top 10 countries had high political empowerment with greater participation from women.
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The United Nations Development Programme released the Human Development Index for 189 countries on December 9, 2019. The rankings were listed by the report titled “Beyond Income, Beyond Averages, Beyond Today: Inequalities in Human Development in 21st century”.
India ranked 129 among them, which is one rank ahead of its previous positions. In 2018, India ranked 130. The rankings were listed based on the assessment of poverty, education, life expectancy and access to health care.
Singapore reported the least partner violence faced by women.
India ranked 122 in the Gender Development Index
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Global Climate Risk Index 2020, published by environmental think tank Germanwatch found Japan to be the most vulnerable country to climate change, followed by Philippines, Germany, Madagascar and India.
(2) Philippines: It was hit by Typhoon Mangkhut (a category 5 typhoon) in September 2018, which was the most powerful typhoon recorded worldwide in 2018.
(3) Germany: It experienced 2nd hottest year due to a severe heatwave and also witnessed severe drought in October 2018 due to less rainfall, which resulted in a massive decline in harvest.
(4) Madagascar: It became victim to Cyclone Ava in January 2018 and Cyclone Eliakim in March 2018.
(5) India: Globally, it is the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change. India also recorded highest number of fatalities due to climate change and 2nd highest monetary losses from its impact in 2018. The southwest monsoon in 2018 severely affected India, southern state of Kerala was especially impacted which saw the worst flooding in hundred years. Under long term vulnerability, India is ranked 17th. India’s east coast was also hit by Cyclone Titli and Cyclone Gaja in October and November 2018 respectively.
(6) Sri Lanka: It was also affected by severe monsoon rains in May 2018, especially in the south and west coast.
(7) Kenya and (8) Rwanda: Both nations were ranked 7 and 8 respectively. They were also affected by severe monsoon rains, resulting in flooding in several areas and displacement of a large number of people.
Others:-
Canada: In beginning of 2018, Canada saw its lowest temperature in 100 years and then record high temperatures in April 2018, which melted heavy snowpacks, causing the rivers to overflow. It also saw its worst wildfire season.
Fiji: It was affected by 3 cyclones between February 2018 and April 2018- Cyclone Gita, Cyclone Josie and Cyclone Keni, which caused major flooding, leaving many displaced.
It is based on data from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE which is one of the largest databases on natural catastrophes. The Index has another set of ranking for period 1999-2018 which is based on average values over a 20-year period. In 1999 to 2018 period Puerto was the most vulnerable..
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The National Capital has been witnessing soaring popularity and wellness tourism across the world. According to Euro Monitor International, Delhi currently ranks 11th in the list of world’s tops 100 destinations and is to gain 8th rank in 2019. The ranking was released by the organization on December 3, 2019 under the title “Top 100 city destination ranking”
The report also says that international tourists visiting Delhi has increased by 25% in 2019 as compared to 2018. In 2019, there were around 15.2 million tourists visiting the capital. This year with seven cities in the top 100 destinations, India has emerged as the strongest tourist destination.
The popularity has increased in Asia as compared to other parts of the world. This is mainly due to developing infrastructure, digitization of travel facilities, electronic Visa applications, government focus on tourism
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Recently released United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report-2019 warns that the Earth’s average temperature may rise by 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Moreover, despite all scientific warnings and political commitments emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) couldn’t decrease globally.
The report was released prior to United Nations Climate Conference (COP-25) to be held in Spain from 2 December 2019. It states that GHG emissions have increased by 1.5% since last decade and that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have reached an all-time high figure of 55.3 gigatons.
India: UNEP report highlights that India is regularly considering deadlines and targets to curb carbon emissionAs per the report, India’s per capita emission is one of the lowest within G20 countries. Also, India is one of the leading countries that are looking for electric vehicle development.
Globally:
The report suggested that only if Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced by 7.6% every year during 2020 to 2030 period, only then the target of reducing global temperature can be achieved.
As per the report, the largest GHG contribution comes from energy sector and its fossil fuel emissions. Thus to achieve the target of limiting temperature rise to no more than 1.5 ° C, all countries must reduce GHG emissions by up to 5 times.
The report also highlights that if global temperature reaches at level of 1.5 degrees then coral reefs would be reduced by 70-90%. It also clarifies that by 2100, the world would be warmer 3.2 degrees that pre-industrial level.
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The 2019 Global Diplomacy Index was released by Sydney-based Lowy Institute. The index gives the latest statistics and marking about how the world’s diplomatic networks are expanding and, in certain cases, shrinking. The index ranked 61 countries across the world.
Even though China’s diplomatic expansion has been rapid and overtook US. In 2016, China was in 3rd place behind US and France, and by 2017 it had moved to second place ahead of France.
US still remains (by a wide margin) the most popular place for countries to maintain embassies and consulates. US is home to about 342 posts belonging to 61 countries included in Index but China, with 256, is a distant second.
After China and US next three spots are occupied by France, Japan, and Russia respectively.
India was ranked 12th among the 61 countries. As of 2019, India has 123 embassies and high commissions and 54 consulates globally. However, the study shows that India too has expanded its diplomatic footprint: In 2017, it had 120 embassies and 52 consulates.
China’s diplomatic push has been aided by its economic heft as under Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing has pumped in billions of dollars into Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the intercontinental connectivity project aimed primarily at building trading corridors connecting China.
Significance: Establishing a robust diplomatic infrastructure is 1st practical step towards bolstering a country’s diplomatic influence. Similarly, China has also invested in its diplomatic infrastructure, which serves as a telling metric of its international ambitions.
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The National Statistical Office on November 23, 2019 released its survey on Household Social Consumption related to health. The survey was conducted between July 2017 and June 2018. It was a part of the 75th round of National Sample Survey.
The main objective of the survey was to collect data on expenditure on medicines, expenditure in hospitalization, investigation, expenditure, maternity, childbirth, etc. The data for the survey was collected from 1.13,823 households
The average medical expenditure that is being spent in rural India per hospitalization case is Rs 16,676 and in urban India is Rs 26,475. The survey says that about 90% of rural childbirths and 96% of urban child births were institutional.
In rural areas, around 97% of the children received vaccination. This includes all the 8 prescribed vaccinations. Among them, 59% of boys and 60% of girls were completely immunized.
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The NSO under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation conducted survey on drinking water, hygiene, sanitation and housing condition between the period July 2018 and December 2018. According to the survey one fourth of the households had no access to toilets.
The main objective of this survey was to gather information about sanitation along with housing facilities available to the households and micro environment surrounding the houses. The survey is important as the GoI is currently working on a set target of Drinking Water for all by 2024.
The survey reports that around 94.5% in rural and 97.4% in urban used improved water resources. Improved water resources include piped water, hand pump, tube well, protected spring, private tanker truck, rain water collection and bottled water.
Under Swachh Bharat Mission, door step collection of garbage and segregated collection of garbage is being implemented. However, the survey says that 70.3% of households urban and 72.4% of households in rural still disposed garbage in community dumping spots, open land, waste land, etc.
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The Central Information Commission tabled its annual report for the year 2018-19 in Lok Sabha on 20th November, 2019. The same report was also tabled in Rajya Sabha on 21st November, 2019.
Out of applications received, only 4.7% were processed by the commission. This has come down from 5.13% as compared to the previous year 2017-18.
The highest number of applications were rejected by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It has rejected 26.5%. It was followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that rejected 16.41%.
In the period 2018-19, the CIC disposed around 17,188 second appeals and complaint cases.
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The Paris based International Energy Agency recently released its report on World Energy Outlook. The Agency has projected that the installed solar power in the world will increase by 3,142 GW by 2040. According to the report, the currently the world uses 495 GW of installed solar power.
The report says that at present the energy demand in the world is growing at the rate of 2% per year.
According to Current Policy Scenario, the world will continue to function with the old regulations with energy demand rising at the rate of 1.3% by 2040. The Stated Policy Scenario is New Policy Scenario. Under this the report says that with the new policies that have been introduced by the governments, the energy demand will increase by 1% per year.
The Sustainable Policy Scenario is the most ambitious of all the scenarios. Under this, the report says that by aligning with Paris Agreement the global temperature will reduce by 1.5 degree Celsius.
IEA
IEA is an inter-governmental organization of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). the World Economic Outlook is the flagship publication of the agency.
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Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs constituted the Company Law Committee in September 2019. The Committee submitted its report to the Finance Minister on November 18, 2019.
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The Water Quality Report was released by the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Shri Ram Vilas Paswan. The report is in line with the Jal Jeevan Mission that was launched to provide clean and safe drinking water to all by 2024.
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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme implementation said that it is not releasing Consumer Expenditure Survey due to quality issues. The next Consumer Expenditure Survey is to be conducted in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
The Ministry is also looking ways to change the base year of the survey. Currently the base year of the survey is 2011-12. It is considering options to change the base year to 2017-18.
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On November 13, 2019, the Lancet journal published report on “Health and Climate Change, 2019.” The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is a comprehensive yearly analysis that tracks the progress across 41 indicators. The project is a collaboration of 120 experts from premier institutions all over the world including WHO and World Bank.
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According to National Council of Applied Economic Research, the Business Confidence of India dipped to lowest in six years. It fell by 15% between the period July and October 2019
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India is witnessing price hikes in retail onion up to Rs 100 per kg currently in November 2019. Government had introduced the TOP-Tomato Onion Potato Scheme in 2018-19 Budget to address this problem. However, the scheme has not taken off well.
The FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) on Novmber 8, 2019, submitted a report to the GoI analyzing the problem. The Federation has also provided solutions to the current problems being faced in the country due to price rise of Onions.
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The Freedom of Net report 2019 titled “The Crisis of Social Media” was released by the The Freedom House, an international watchdog. The report recorded an overall decline in global internet freedom status between July 2018 and May 2019.
India obtained an overall score of 55 and was reported to be “partly free”.
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On 4th November, 2019, the ICAR’s Creams Laboratory bulletin stated that there has been reduction of 12% in incidents of Stubble Burning as compared to the same period in 2018.
Also, the PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter) concentration was more than 80% as against 50% of the normal course.
The disturbances are capable of carrying the smoke far and spread them wide when they are strong. The weakening of these disturbances lately due to global warming is also one of the reasons for the increased stubble smoke in Delhi.
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The 2019 edition of ‘Global Microscope: The enabling environment for Financial Inclusion’ report was released by Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU). The report is a benchmarking index that assesses enabling environment for financial access as well as underscores the evolving landscape of financial inclusion in selected countries. The year 2019 was 12th edition of report.
India was ranked among top countries with most promising environment for financial inclusion in terms of: effective financial consumer , allowing non-banks to issue e-money and proportionate customer due diligence.
Only four countries namely India, Colombia, Jamaica and Uruguay scored perfectly across all four parameters. Moreover, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico and Uruguay were among top countries that safeguard e-money via some sort of deposit insurance or protection.
The Microscope report was first published in 2007 and was originally developed for countries in Latin American and Caribbean regions but in 2009 it was expanded into a global study. The 2019 edition of Global Microscope report also features 11 new gender focussed indicators that measure financial inclusion for both women as well as men.
The report is a benchmarking index that assesses enabling environment for financial access in 55 countries across 5 categories.
Five parameters across which countries are assessed-
(a)Government and Policy Support
(b)Products and Outlets
(c)Stability and Integrity
(d)Consumer Protection
(e)Infrastructure
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A delegation of Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA) presented a ‘Report from Ground Zero’ on Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh after setting aside of Article 370 & 35A to Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS) in PMO.
The delegation briefed Minister about findings of their observations after field study of situation in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The briefings included that common man across religions, sections and various professional backgrounds in J&K has expressed happiness about the decision of Government to scrap Article 370.
Objective: To become the voice of most silent and underprivileged section of our nation with legal and academic support.
Composition: National leaders, distinguished lawyers of Supreme Court, industrialists, sportswomen, writers, poets, President Awardees, principals of colleges, professors of prestigious institutions, directors of institutes, internationally renowned artists/dancers, IT professionals and many others from various fields.
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India was raked 63rd in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking released on October 24, 2019. The ranking comes when the leading financing institutions including RBI, World Bank and IMF are slashing country’s growth forecasts. In 2014, India was ranked 142 among 190 countries. As compared to 2018, India moved up 14 places in the ranking mainly due to several reforms in the trade and commerce sector.
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The National Crime Bureau Statistics for the year 2017 was released on October 21, 2019. The report reveled that Tamil Nadu topped in grave crimes followed by Maharashtra.
The report was created by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) operating under the Home Ministry. The NCRB brings out 3 reports annually namely Crime in India, India and Prison statistics and Accidental Deaths and suicide in India.
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As per the India Innovation Index (III) 2019 released by NITI Aayog, Karnataka emerged as the Most Innovative State among Major States. The index was released by NITI Aayog’s vice chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant.
The India Innovation Index (III) 2019 was released by NITI Aayog along with Institute for Competitiveness as its knowledge partner. The index has been developed into lines of Global Innovation Index (GII). This is the first-ever India Innovation Index released by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, a policy think tank of Indian Government.
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Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana secured 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th position respectively in innovation, followed by Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
In the list of 17 major states, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand are at bottom of the index with Jharkhand finishing last.
Among North-Eastern & Hill States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have occupied the top spot of Most Innovative State in index while among Union Territories Delhi, Chandigarh and Goa have topped the list.
It ranks the states based on their innovation capability, opportunities and challenges that lie for states and actions needed by policy makers to foster innovation.
The Index is based on seven pillars which include 5 enablers and 2 performance indicators such as human capital, knowledge workers, investment and knowledge output. It has been developed over a period of last 18 months.
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The World Economic Outlook is a biennial report that is released in April and October. According the report released recently on October 15, 2019, the global economy is at its slowest pace of growth at 3%. This is a serious climb down from 3.8% in 2017.
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As per the report released by World Bank on ‘South Asia Economic Focus, Making (De)Centralization Work’, Bangladesh has become the second-fastest growing economy in South Asia after Bhutan. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh and Nepal are estimated to grow faster than India in 2019.
The latest edition of this World Banks’s report finds that strong domestic demand, which support high growth in past, has weakened, driving a slowdown across the south Asian region.
In India, growth is projected to fall to 6% this fiscal year and is then expected to gradually recover to 6.9% in fiscal year 2021 and to 7.2% in 2022.
The growth rate of Pakistan is projected to decrease further to 2.4% this fiscal year, as monetary policy remains tight, and planned fiscal consolidation will further compress domestic demand.
As per the report, the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh is projected to moderate to 7.2% this fiscal year and 7.3% in 2020. The country’s economy is likely to maintain growth above 7%, supported by a political stability, robust macroeconomic framework, and strong public investments.
In 2018 Bangladesh has reduced current account deficit due to rising export and remittances which was above $15.5 billion. However, the report indicates that the financial sector vulnerability, fiscal pressures and loss of external competitiveness pose challenges to its growth rate.
Moreover, despite slowdown in industrial growth rate, the industrial sector remains strong as Bangladesh’s garment industry benefited immensely from trade tensions between United States and China.
The World Bank report suggests Bangladesh to address key structural challenges such as reducing infrastructure deficit, improving urban management, managing climate change risks and enhancing human capital.
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The World Bank recently released its South Asia Economic Focus, 2019. The report says that Bangladesh and Nepal are growing faster than India. However, it assured that India is still a fast-growing economy. India is relatively hit hard by the recent global economic slowdown.
The report is titled “Exports Wanted” highlighting the export potential of the South Asian region being not used to the fullest.
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India ranked 68th in the annual Global Competitiveness Index. It is the worst performing among the BRICS nations along with Brazil that is ranked at 71. The Global Competitive Index is compiled by World Economic Forum. The Forum has mapped 141 countries using 103 indicators.
India had dropped 10 places. A number of similar economies like South Africa, Turkey and Colombia have improved over the past year and have overtaken India.
This year Singapore has replaced US as the world’s most competitive country. The US was positioned at 2nd place and was followed by Hong Kong at third place and Netherlands and Switzerland at 4th and 5th places respectively. China was ranked at 28th position and was the highest ranked among BRICS nations. Vietnam showed higher improvements in the region and was ranked at 67
The report also said that Asia Pacific was the most competitive region globally. It was followed by Europe and North America.
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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organized first National Nutrition Survey. The ministry took help from UNICEF to complete the survey. The survey was conducted between 2016 and 2018.
In India, for the first time the ministry measured malnutrition that included micro nutrient deficiencies. It was done by collecting urine samples and blood samples. Apart from this, details of non – communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, kidney function in children were also collected during the survey.
Global Hunger Index, 2018
It ranked India at 103 out of 119 countries based on the following factors
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The ranking measures the readiness and capacity of 63 economies to adopt digital technologies. It gives its ranking based on the digital exploration skills of the economies for economic transformation in governance, business and society.
The largest jump was seen in China. China moved to 22nd position from its 30th position in 2018.
The largest improvements were experienced by Asian countries like India, China, Korea and Indonesia.
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Northeastern state of Manipur has topped rankings in Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in India. The report card on Breastfeeding was released by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister. Union Heath Minister also appealed influential personality on social media to spread message of benefits of breastfeeding to masses.
Breastfeeding report card has been developed by devising a composite score based on 3 indicators–
World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 1st 6 months and breastfeeding with home-made food for minimum 2 years.
Undernutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.
In 2016, 155 million children under 5 year of age were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 52 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 41 million were overweight (or obese), globally.
Nearly 40% of infants 0–6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
Globally, few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.
In many countries less than a fourth (25%) of infants 6–23 months of age meet criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age.
Benefits
Every year more than 820000 children’s lives could be saved among children under 5 years, if all children 0–23 months were optimally breastfed.
Breastfeeding improves IQ, school attendance and is also associated with higher income in adult life.
Breastfeeding not only saves child from being malnourished but also saves mother from breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
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As per property consultant CPRE’s annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs Survey, New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) is 9th most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of nearly $144 per sq. ft. CP retained its 9th position from last year. CBRE is world’s leading commercial real estate services company.
Asia’s performance in prime office space leasing segment-
6 of world’s 10 most expensive office markets are found in Asia.
For 2nd year straight Hong Kong’s central district retained top spot as World’s most two expensive market for prime office rents. Its occupancy cost was valued at $322 per sq.ft.
Reason Behind Cost: As per report the growing significance of talent acquisition race are driving prime occupancy cost to newer heights. Along with this other driving forces behind price growth are limited supply and moderate construction pipelines in most cities.
On Indian commercial Real Estate Market: BPRE survey highlights that strong demand from technology, finance and e-commerce sectors has fueled growth momentum in prime occupancy costs. Also in India commercial office market remains a strong growth propeller for real estate sector.
The cost taken in Survey reflects rent, plus local taxes and service charges for highest-quality prime office properties.
It tracks cost of leasing prime office space globally.
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The State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities, was recently launched at an event organized by UNESCO in New Delhi. The event was attended by more than 200 representatives from government, civil society, academia, partners and youth.
To be published annually, the 2019 edition of report is 1st of its kind published by UNESCO New Delhi. It highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to Right to Education (RTE) of children with disabilities (CWDs).
Bodies involved: It is Prepared by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and commissioned by UNESCO.
Citing 2011 census data, report showed that there are more than 78 lakh CWDs in India between age group of 5-19 years. 27% of these CWDs between (ages 5 to 19) have never attended any educational institution.
Nearly 75% of 5 year olds who have certain disabilties, do not go to any educational institution.
In schools there are fewer girls with disabilities than boys.
The proportion of CWDs who are out of school is higher than overall proportion of out-of-school children at national level.
Home-based education: In many parts of rural India, if a parent opts for home-based education, the child may not be getting an education at all as it often exists only on paper for CWDs.
Challenges: Inadequate allocations, delays in releasing funds and under-utilisation of allocation remain key challenges in financing education for CWDs.
Differences noted among various types of disabilities
Only 20% of children with impairments related to Visual and Hearing had never been in school. However, among children with multiple disabilities or mental illness, that figure rose to more than 50%.
Recommendations:
Amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 to make it align with the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Data: There is a need to strengthen data on children with disabilities which can help in effective planning, implementation and monitoring of their education.
Campaign: There should be concentrated campaigns and large scale awareness which can improve the attitude towards children with disabilities in the classroom and beyond.
Mechanism under Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is needed to coordinate all education programmes for children with disabilities across departments. This would help remove inconsistencies and achieve synergy in the various measures aimed at their education.
UNESCO’s programmes contribute towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015.
It fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation.
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As per latest study by World Bank, the turnover ratio of Indian stock market has fallen significantly by 60% in past 10 years. The turnover ratio fall has been higher in India in comparison to some of the other leading markets of world.
Although the ratio had managed to move up in last 5 years but it is still quite low when compared with earlier highs.
The fall had been highest among most leading markets of world, except United States (US) and European Union (EU).
Other Countries: Between 2008 and 2018, China’s turnover ratio fell less than 6% in last 10 years; Brazil (12.85%) and South Korea (31.12%), Japan and Hong Kong saw ratio dip between 40-50%.
Significance: Key analysis by WB study assumes significance as market participants have been lobbying hard with central government to reduce overall cost of trading in equities in India, which, they feel, is adversely affecting investors’ interest in stock market.
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According to United Nations report ‘World Population Prospects 2019’, India is projected to surpass China as world’s most populous country in just eight years i.e. by 2027.
India: According to report estimates India is expected to add 273 million people by 2050 and will remain most populated until the end of century (2100). In 2019, the estimated population of India is 1.37 billion and of China 1.43 billion, but India is projected to surpass China’s. Thus by 2050, India will be leading the set of nine countries that will make up for more than half of projected growth of global population.
Projected Populous Countries: Following India-China re-ordering in 2027, the ranking of 5 largest countries is projected to remain same until the end of century i.e. by 2100. Therefore, based on an estimated population top 5 world’s populous nation will be- India is projected to remain world’s most populous country with about 1.5 billion inhabitants, followed by China (1.1 billion), Nigeria (733 million), United States (434 million), and Pakistan (403 million).
Ageing Population: The report projects that overall world’s population is ageing at such a fast rate that by 2050, 1 in 6 people in world will be part of age group of 65 (and above) as compared to 1 in 11 in 2019. Also by end of 2100 world population is set to peak at a level of about 11 billion.
Shrinking Population: Between 2019 and 2050, nearly 55 countries are estimated to face population shrinking by at least 1%. As already since 2010, 27 countries have recorded a minimum 1% decline in population. This declining trend in population being experienced by growing number of countries is attributed to sustained low levels of fertility or even high rates of emigration. China will be the largest of these 55 countries whose population is projected to shrink by as much as 2.2% (about 31.4 million) by 2050.
It presents population estimates from year 1950 to 2019 for 235 countries or areas by analysing historical demographic trends. WPPP 2019 revision presents population projections to year 2100.
This years WPPP’s presents population estimates and projections describe 2 out of 4 demographic megatrends– population growth and ageing other being migration and urbanization.
Importance: Collectively, these data make up a critical piece of evidence base for monitoring global progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.
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According to a study conducted by Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR), e-commerce player Amazon India has been rated as India’s most ‘attractive employer brand, followed by Microsoft India which emerged as the runner-up.
Coverage: The Randstad research for year 2019 covered 75% of global economy with 32 participating countries and over 2 lakh respondents worldwide.
For the Indian workforce while choosing an employer salary and employee benefits continue to be top driver, followed by work-life balance and job security.
Although the gender differences between men and women on top three aspects were minimal, but women, attributed more importance to salary and benefits (49%) and work-life balance (47%) as compared to their male counterparts who ranked these as top aspects at 46% and 46% respectively.
The most important finding was that work-life balance was accorded importance as a key factor while considering choosing an employer. This has increased largely (46%) compared to last two years and emergence of fact that Indian employees are willing to place a premium on job security.
There are 23% higher number of employees in India who indicate that they would be agreeable to a security versus compensation trade-off. This is higher than the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) average.
About 52% of survey respondents showed their willingness to forfeit more than 10% of their salary for job security.
The research captures views of more than 2 lakh respondents which include general public (aged 18-65) on 6,162 companies in 32 countries.
It provides insights into drivers and perceptions of choice of potential employees by finding answers to questions such as- Why do people prefer one company, or a specific industry, over another and What motivates them to stay with an employer/start looking elsewhere?
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In the recently released Global Peace Index (GPI) of Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India’s rank slipped by five places to 141 among 163 countries on GPI 2019 and Iceland was ranked 1st. India was ranked 136 in GPI 2018.
Least Peaceful Country: As per GPI 2019 Afghanistan is now ranked as least peaceful country in world. It has replaced Syria, which is now the 2nd least peaceful. Other least peaceful countries includes South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq.
Countries with highest risk of multiple climate hazards: includes China, Japan, India, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Countries with largest total military expenditure: United States (US), China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
South Asia: Bhutan topped the index in South Asia with its 15th rank. Other countries of region include Sri Lanka (72), Nepal (76) and Bangladesh (101). The neighbouring country Pakistan is ranked 153rd on index.
Both India and Pakistan had highest rating at five in the score for internal conflicts fought. Only deaths from internal conflict showed improvement, with fewer fatalities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India than the year before.
The report observed that China, India and Bangladesh score in bottom half of GPI and have significant exposure to climate hazards, with over 393 million people in high climate hazard areas
Report Analysis
As per the index findings, although global peacefulness improved for first time in past five years but world now remains less peaceful than a decade ago.
The GPI 2019 report includes new research on possible effects of climate change on peace. It also revealed that since 2008 global peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.78%.
While the state sponsored terror has declined significantly over the last decade, with 62 countries improving their scores and only 42 deteriorated but imprisonment data shows the opposite trend with 95 countries increasing the imprisonment rate compared to 65 that improved.
The score of South Asia for every indicator in ongoing conflict is less peaceful than total global average, with four out of six deteriorating in 2018 itself.
The report covers 99.7% of world’s population. It uses 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index.
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an Australian think tank ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness. This is based on three thematic domains-
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In first-ever SDG Gender Index which measures progress made in achieving gender commitments against internationally set targets, India was ranked 95th out of a total 129 countries. The Index is developed by Equal Measures 2030, a partnership effort of regional and global organisations.
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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended ‘complete’ ban on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes. The recommendation is based on currently available scientific evidence.
On occasion of World Tobacco Day which was observed on 31 May, ICMR released a white paper (an authoritative report or guide that informs readers about an issue) about harmful effects of ENDS and e-cigarettes.
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According to a United Nations’ report titled World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) Report 2019 Mid-year Update, India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.1 % in fiscal year 2020 which will be backed by strong domestic consumption and investment.
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According to analysis by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), women remain considerably under-represented across STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) studies and careers.
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India has found problems with the current methodology adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) under its Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) to rank countries.
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The Fifth United Nations (UN) Global Road Safety Week is being held from 6 May to 12 May 2019. The theme for weekly event in 2019 is “Leadership for road safety”.
Key Findings
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StartupBlink has ranked 100 countries for startup environment of countries globally. The rankings were based on the data from over 61,000 startups, more than 500 accelerators, and over 1,400 coworking spaces registered on its platform along with data gathered from its global partners including Crunchbase, SimilarWeb etc.
The rankings were based on the impact startups have been able to make in the country, how many startups and support organisations are there such as accelerators, coworking spaces, startup events along with technology infrastructure, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.
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The United Nations Population Fund has released the State of World Population 2019 report.
The Report Looking ahead to future challenges highlights the threat to women’s and girls’ reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.
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The Ireland-based Johnson Controls Building Technologies and Solutions has released its report for the second annual smart city indicator survey. The survey tracks key drivers, organisational barriers, technology trends, and the status of smart city solution implementations around the world. The survey queried over 330 city leaders.
The survey was conducted in 20 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France and the United States, besides India.
The Survey also enumerated some of the key drivers in energy investments like greenhouse gas footprint reduction, increasing energy security and increasing building resilience.
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The World Bank-ILO report titled Exports to Jobs: Boosting the Gains from Trade in South Asia has been released. The report studies the effect on local employment and wages of changes in exports by combining disaggregated data from household-level or worker-level surveys with trade data from India and Sri Lanka.
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The State of Talent Acquisition Report by the Mercer-Mettl’s highlights the following important facts:
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Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector and judiciary are perceived to be by experts and business executives.
It is the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide and it does not consider corruption in the business sector. The corruption perception index draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories.
The scores indicate the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100. A score of 0 points that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and a 100 points that a country has sound integrity systems.
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The Bloomberg Innovation Index analyses each country in a range of areas including education, research and development, and manufacturing before coming up with a list of the 60 most innovative countries.
The countries are ranked on the basis of their overall ability to innovate considering seven-equal weighted metrics such as research & development intensity, manufacturing value-added, productivity, high-tech density, tertiary efficiency, researcher concentration, patent activity.
Bloomberg Innovation Index published top 60 economies out of 95 economies analysed for the ranking process for the year 2019 based on a score from 0-100 on the basis of seven equal-weighted metrics.
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The Global Talent Competitive Index prepared by the INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group was released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2019.
The Global Talent Competitive Index measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, ranking 125 countries and 114 cities across all groups of income and levels of development.
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The London-based Times Higher Education (THE), a global organisation that produces data, analysis and expertise on higher education has released the Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019. The 2019 ranking comprises of 450 universities from 43 countries, across four continents.
These 13 performance indicators are grouped under 5 categories: Teaching (the learning environment); Research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); International outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).
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The Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu released the Vision 2040 document in the Global Aviation Summit 2019. The Global Aviation Summit 2019 is organized in Mumbai with the theme ‘Flying for All’.
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The Quality Council of India undertook a survey on the status of sanitation across cities and towns on the bank of River Ganga for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. There are 39 towns on the banks of river in West Bengal, 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Bihar and 14 and two towns respectively in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
Quality Council of India (QCI) is set up as a non-profit autonomous society to establish an accreditation structure in the country and to spread quality movement in India by undertaking a National Quality Campaign.
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The Henley Passport Index measures the access each country’s travel document affords. The Index is based on the data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations.
Open-door policies have the potential to contribute billions to the global economy, as well as create significant employment opportunities around the world. The ascent in the rankings of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are examples of what happens when countries take a proactive foreign affairs approach, an attitude which significantly benefits their citizens as well as the international community.
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The CAG report on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management has been tabled in the parliament. The important observations made in the report are:
The reports of the CAG is examined by the Public Accounts Committees and Committees on Public Undertakings.
" significant employment opportunities around the world. The ascent in the rankings of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are examples of what happens when countries take a proactive foreign affairs approach, an attitude which significantly benefits their citizens as well as the international community.
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The CAG report on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management has been tabled in the parliament. The important observations made in the report are:
The reports of the CAG is examined by the Public Accounts Committees and Committees on Public Undertakings.
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India ranks 77 on sustainability index and 131 on Flourishing Index
February 20, 2020
According to the report, India ranked 131 in flourishing index and 77 on sustainability index.
Highlights
The report says that India has improved in health and sanitation. However, it has to increase its spending on Health. Around 180 countries were compared in the report. The parameters of comparison included child survival, child wellbeing, health and education, sustainability, child nutrition.Key Findings of the report
Because of stunting and poverty, around 250 million children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential.Best and Least Performers
The children in countries such as Republic of Korea and Netherlands have best chances of survival. On the other hand, Chad, Niger, Somalia and Mali were the least performers and face very bad odds.Current Scenario
The report has named USA, Saudi Arabia and Australia as the top 10 highest emitters. Norway, Netherlands and Republic of Korea emit 210% more than the target set by them towards the per capita target of 2030.Major Issues
According to the report, the poorest countries have to do more to support their children health and ability. They have to spend lots towards their children health in order to provide them healthy lives. This disproportionately is affected by the carbon emissions from rich countries. The issue overall is threatening lives of all children.The current scenario is capable of crating devastating health consequences such as malaria, malnutrition and Dengue. Along with this the threats from heat waves and rising ocean levels are also high.
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Animal Protection Index: India ranks second
March 13, 2020
Highlights
The Animal Protection Index ranks countries from A to G. India was ranked along with Spain, Mexico, France and New Zealand. In other words, these countries were ranked equally to India. According to the index, they were best performing countries. There are strong laws to protect animals in these countries. However, the laws are not as strict to protect dairy animals.India
The index highlighted the works that are required to be done in India to include dairy animals under protection. Also, the index suggested to improve cruelty considerations in the Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act, 1960. Under the act, animals used in scientific research are exempted. Rather Government shall issue guidelines on usage of animals for scientific research.About the Index
The Index assessed the legislation of 50 countries. It highlighted lack of adequacy in the animal welfare laws globally. The main aim of the index was to help countries to put animal welfare practices of keeping them clean and accommodate sufficient space for them to exhibit their natural behaviours.Global Ranking
According to the index, the countries that performed weakly included Iran, Morocco, Algeria and Belarus. These countries are missing the basic legal framework." "
NITI Aayog Report: 28% of Aadhaar based payment are going to wrong accounts
February 24, 2020
Highlights
This is the second report prepared by the think tank. The report was prepared and released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. According to the report, 28% of Aadhaar based payments were going to wrong bank accounts.The report also says that 66% of direct benefit transfers were based on Aadhaar. Only 60% of the beneficiaries were aware of the receipt of benefits
Why PMMVY in specific?
Out of all the women and child development schemes, PMMVY is crucial because, Rs 6,000 transferred to the pregnant and lactating mothers should reach them on time. This is because they are credited as wage compensation and for their betterment of health.Ranking of the states
The report also ranked the states based on 4 parameters namely- Strategy and Planning
- Governance and Institutional Mechanism
- Programme Activities and Intervention Coverage
- Service Delivery and Capacities
Among Union Territories Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh and Daman and Diu were the best performers scoring above 75%.
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IISS Study: World Defence spending biggest in 10 years
February 15, 2020
Highlights
The report also says that the Defence race between China and US has increasing alarmingly. The Military Modernization Programme in China has led to developing new hard to detect Hypersonic missiles. This has kindled US to spend alarmingly towards its Defence Programmes. In 2018-19 the United States has spent 53.4 billion USD towards its Defence Programmes.Relative Spending
Out of all the countries, China and US has increased the spending by 6.6%. The Europe spending has increased by 4.2%. This is the first time Europe has seen increased levels of spending since financial crisis in 2008.NATO members
US is constantly complaining that the NATO members are not contributing enough towards Defence spending. US had earlier accused Germany for not living up to the 2014 NATO pledge. According to the NATO pledge the member nation should contribute 2% of its GDP to Defence.International Institute for Strategic Studies
The IISS is a British Research Institute that was established in 1997. The IISS was ranked the 10th best institute in the world by the Global Go To Think Tank Index. It is also the second best Defence and National Security think tank globally." "
World Wide Education for the Future Index: India jumps to rank 35
February 20, 2020
Highlights
The ranking is provided based on the ability of a country to equip their students in skill-based education. India ranked 35th with an overall score of 53. The scores were provided based on the performance of the countries in three countries namely teaching, policy environment and teaching environment. In 2018, India ranked 40th with an overall score of 41.2.In Policy Environment, India scored 56.3, in teaching environment its score was 52.2 and in socio-economic environment India’s score was 50.1.
India has performed better in socio-economic environment. This is because in 2018, its score was 32.2. However, the performance decreased in policy environment as the score in the area in 2018 was 61.5
Global Rankings
Among the largest economies the countries that fell back in their rankings include US, UK, Russia and France. On other hand, India, China and Indonesia performer better as compared to the previous year."
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) tops in Nature Ranking Index-2020
February 20, 2020
Highlights
The Rankings were provided based on the numbers of research output. It is indicated by total citations in numbers. It also includes shares, that is the sharing percentage of an article.The top research works in India in the current scenario includes environmental science, physics, chemistry and Life Sciences.
Share percentage and scores
The first rank holder CSIR had a share percentage of 87.74 and 142 counts. Followed by CSIR, IISC Bangalore had a share percentage of 83.61 and 211 count. The third rank was won by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) with share percentage of 62.18 and 232 count.Top Institutes
The other top institutes included Homi Bhabha National Institute, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, Indian Association of Cultivation of Science, IIT Guwahati.GoI Requirements
The GoI is urging scientists to work on topics such as artificial intelligence, 5G, malnutrition, water conservation, prosperity of farmers, etc. The country is in need of these experts."
World Wide Education for the Future Index: India jumps to rank 35
February 20, 2020
Highlights
The ranking is provided based on the ability of a country to equip their students in skill-based education. India ranked 35th with an overall score of 53. The scores were provided based on the performance of the countries in three countries namely teaching, policy environment and teaching environment. In 2018, India ranked 40th with an overall score of 41.2.In Policy Environment, India scored 56.3, in teaching environment its score was 52.2 and in socio-economic environment India’s score was 50.1.
India has performed better in socio-economic environment. This is because in 2018, its score was 32.2. However, the performance decreased in policy environment as the score in the area in 2018 was 61.5
Global Rankings
Among the largest economies the countries that fell back in their rankings include US, UK, Russia and France. On other hand, India, China and Indonesia performer better as compared to the previous year." "
India ranks 77 on sustainability index and 131 on Flourishing Index
February 20, 2020
According to the report, India ranked 131 in flourishing index and 77 on sustainability index.
Highlights
The report says that India has improved in health and sanitation. However, it has to increase its spending on Health. Around 180 countries were compared in the report. The parameters of comparison included child survival, child wellbeing, health and education, sustainability, child nutrition.Key Findings of the report
Because of stunting and poverty, around 250 million children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential.Best and Least Performers
The children in countries such as Republic of Korea and Netherlands have best chances of survival. On the other hand, Chad, Niger, Somalia and Mali were the least performers and face very bad odds.Current Scenario
The report has named USA, Saudi Arabia and Australia as the top 10 highest emitters. Norway, Netherlands and Republic of Korea emit 210% more than the target set by them towards the per capita target of 2030.Major Issues
According to the report, the poorest countries have to do more to support their children health and ability. They have to spend lots towards their children health in order to provide them healthy lives. This disproportionately is affected by the carbon emissions from rich countries. The issue overall is threatening lives of all children.The current scenario is capable of crating devastating health consequences such as malaria, malnutrition and Dengue. Along with this the threats from heat waves and rising ocean levels are also high.
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IISS Study: World Defence spending biggest in 10 years
February 15, 2020
Highlights
The report also says that the Defence race between China and US has increasing alarmingly. The Military Modernization Programme in China has led to developing new hard to detect Hypersonic missiles. This has kindled US to spend alarmingly towards its Defence Programmes. In 2018-19 the United States has spent 53.4 billion USD towards its Defence Programmes.Relative Spending
Out of all the countries, China and US has increased the spending by 6.6%. The Europe spending has increased by 4.2%. This is the first time Europe has seen increased levels of spending since financial crisis in 2008.NATO members
US is constantly complaining that the NATO members are not contributing enough towards Defence spending. US had earlier accused Germany for not living up to the 2014 NATO pledge. According to the NATO pledge the member nation should contribute 2% of its GDP to Defence.International Institute for Strategic Studies
The IISS is a British Research Institute that was established in 1997. The IISS was ranked the 10th best institute in the world by the Global Go To Think Tank Index. It is also the second best Defence and National Security think tank globally." "
NCRB report on women and child trafficking: Mumbai and Kolkata highest
February 10, 2020
Findings
The report says that the common causes of trafficking are sexual exploitation, child labour and domestic help. Mumbai and Kolkata reported maximum number of trafficking.Maharashtra reported the maximum number of missing women and Madhya Pradesh reported maximum number of cases of missing children. Of all the states, Odisha reported maximum rise in missing women cases. The percentage of increase in Odisha was around 143% in 2018 as compared to the previous year. The report also quoted data from United Nations.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The UNODC Global Report, 2018, reported that the 35% of victims trafficked were for forced labour. Also, more than half of the reported cases were females." "
WHO report: Cancer Cases to increase by 81% in 2040
February 4, 2020
Highlights
According to the report, the cancer cases will increase by 81% by 2040. This is mainly due to lack of investment. The report says that it is essential to invest 25 billion USD in the next decade to save millions of lives.The treatment for cancer in developed countries has brought down the mortality rate due to cancer by 20%. However, in poorer countries the reduction was merely 5%.
The report also says that 25% of cancer deaths were due to tobacco consumption.
Tobacco in India
According to WHO, there are 120 million smokers in India. This is 12% of world smoker. The number of tobacco smokers in India grew by 36% between 1998 and 2015.National Tobacco Control Programme
The Programme is currently being implemented in 612 districts. It aims at bringing awareness about tobacco control laws and harmful effects of tobacco usage." "
Transparency International: Assam tops in budget formulation
January 30, 2020
Highlights
The survey was conducted by the organization based on four parameters such as budgetary process, public disclosure, post budget fiscal management and efforts to make budget citizen friendly.Transparency International
The international Non-Governmental Organization measures and prevents criminal activities arising due to corruption. It releases Global Corruption Index annually. The organization is also a member of UNESCO, United National Global Compact, UNESCO Consultative Status, United Nations Sustainable Development Group.The Headquarters of Transparency International is located in Germany.
Other Key products of Transparency International
The Organization also provides Global Corruption Barometer that asks citizens about their personal experiences of corruption in their daily lives. Apart form this the organization also publishes Government Anti-Corruption Index." "
NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Ranking released: Chandauli of UP tops
January 30, 2020
Highlights
The Chandauli district of UP topped the list followed by Bolangir of Odisha, YSR (AP) in second and third positions respectively. Sahibanj of Jhatkhand and Hailakandi of Assam were placed in fourth and fifth places. The rankings were done for 112 aspirational districts. The districts were selected from six developmental areas in December 2019.Parameters
The areas evaluated during the ranking includes Health and Nutrition, agriculture, education, skill development, financial inclusion, basic infrastructure and water resources.Aspirational Districts Programme
The Programme was launched in January 2018. The main objective of the programme is to transform the districts that have been pockets of under-development. These cities show relatively lesser progress. Also, the ranking helps in competitive Federalism and hence hastens overall development.The Programme aims at Convergence, Collaboration and Competition.
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Democracy Index released: India ranks 51; Slips 10 positions
January 23, 2020
Highlights
According to the report, the slippage of India’s ranking was mainly due to the protests of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.Report on Kashmir
With respect to the Kashmir issue of Abrogation of Article 370, the report says that certain acts of government over the issue led to the decline in the country’s ranking. It includes deployment of large troops in Jammu and Kashmir region, restricting internet access and also placing local leaders under house arrest.Report on NRC
The report said that the citizenship registration exercise excluded 1.9 million people from the final list. Also, the majority of the population excluded were Muslims. This has enraged large Muslim population and has stoked protests in various parts of the country.History of India’s Index
The democratic indices are awarded over a score of 10. Since the launch of the Index in 2006, India has obtained the lowest score of 6.9 this time in 2019. In 2018, India obtained 7.23. India’s highest score was 7.91 in 2014 and has declined since then. However, India’s scores have always remained above global average. This year, the global average was 5.44." "
UNCTAD releases Global investment Trend report: India among top 10 recipients of FDI
January 21, 2020
Highlights: World
According to the report, FDI in South Asia increased by 10% as compared to 2018. The inflows of Pakistan and Bangladesh however declined by 20% and 6% respectively. China remained the topmost FDI recipient in the world as it was in 2018 followed by the United States. The United States in 2019 attracted 251 billion USD FDI and the inflows of China was 140 billion USD.The report also said that the inflows into developing economies remained unchanged. The FDI in Latin America and Caribbean rose by 16%. The FDI in African countries were 3% and was far less as compared to other parts of the world.
Highlights: India
The growth of FDI in South Asia was mainly due to India. In 2019, the India’s FDI was 49 billion USD. The report says that FDI in 2019 has increased by 16% as compared to 2018. The majority of the input in India went into Information Technology.Predictions of 2020
The report predicts that FDI flows in the country will increase in 2020." "
Henley Passport Index launched
January 16, 2020
The Index is based on the number of destinations their holders can access without visa.
Highlights
According to the index, Japan has the world’s strongest passport. Japan has been holding top rank position for the past 3 years. According to 2020 index, the citizens can access 191 destinations without the necessity of obtaining visa in advance.Japan was followed by Singapore, Germany, South Korea at second, third and fourth places respectively. US and UK have been falling places for two year are now in eighth position.
India ranked closer to the bottom at rank 84.
History of performances
UAE was the historic performer of Henley Passport Index 2020. UAE has jumped 47 places in the past 10 years. It is currently at 47th position.India was in Rank 71 as the index was released in 2006. Today Indian citizens can access only 60 destinations in the world without obtaining prior Visa.
Visa Free Destinations
There are 58 destinations in the world that does not require prior Visa. 20 of the 58 are in Africa, 11 in Asia.There is no developed country or a major power in the world where Indians can travel without Visa. Serbia is the only European country where Indians are allowed to travel without visa.
What is Passport Index?
Passport index is an online tool that provides insights about visa-free travel option. The score also says how welcoming the countries are. The Passport index includes Visa-Frees score, World Openness score, Welcoming score and Global Mobility score. When these scores are high, passport index is also high and such a passport is said to be highly powerful." "
Annual Status of Education Report 2019
January 15, 2020
Key Findings of the report
- Number of girls enrolled in government schools is higher than number of boys. On the other hand, number of boys enrolled in private institutions is higher than that of girls
- The report says that around 56.8% of girls and 50.4% of boys are enrolled in government schools.
- In the age group of 6-8 years, 61.1% of girls and 52.1% of boys were enrolled in government institutions.
- According to RTE act, 2009 (Right to Education act), children should enter Class I at the age of 6. But according to the report, 4 out of every 10 children entering Class I are less than 5 years old.
Suggestions of the report
- The existing network of Anganwadi Centres should be strengthened and expanded.
- Early language, numeracy, social and emotional learning tasks are closely related to age of the children. Therefore, it is mandatory to put children into primary grades at the right age.
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IEA launches India’s Energy Policy Report
January 10, 2020
Key Findings of the report
- The oil demand of India will overtake China by mid-2020. It will make India more vulnerable to supply disruption in the middle east. According to the report, oil demand of India will reach 6 million barrels per day by 2024. It was 4.4 million barrels per day in 2017.
- The report also said that India is the third largest consumer of oil after China and United States. Also, India imports 80% of its oil needs. Of this, 65% are from middle east through Strait of Hormuz.
- India is the fourth largest oil refiner in the world. The products mainly include diesel and gasoline. The report said that India’s plan of increasing its refining capacity to 8 million barrels per day by 2025 will make India an attractive market for investment in the refinery sector.
Strategic Petroleum Reserves
The agency releases strategic petroleum reserves of developed countries. It insisted that India has to expand its fuel reserves.The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited maintains emergency fuel store of 5.33 metric tonnoes. This will fulfil the demand of the country for 10 days. There are three such oil storage reserves located at PAdur, Mangalore and Vizag. In 2017-18 budget, it was announced that India is to build 2 more reserves at Chandikhole and Bikaner respectively.
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World Bank’s Global Economic Prospect: World Economic Growth projected at 2.5%
January 9, 2020
Highlights
The report says that investment and trade in the country is expected to recover. However, the downward risks from 2019 are to continue. It also said that the advanced economies are to slip their growth by 1.4% as the manufacturing sector continues to soften.The emerging markets in the developing economies are to witness acceleration in their growth according to the report. However, this is not applicable to all. A third of developing countries are expected to decelerate this year. Predominantly the growing economies are located in South and South East Asia.
South Asia
Growth in South Asia is expected to rise by 5.5% in 2020. The report predicts India’s growth rate at 5%. It is expected that the credit from non-banking companies to expected to weaken. The report also says that India will see a growth rate of 5.5% in the subsequent year.The United States is expected to grow at 1.8% and European Union is projected to slip its growth by 1% in 2020.
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UIDAI’s 10-year success-The State of Aadhaar Report
January 8, 2020
Highlights
In 2009, nearly 5 million births were unregistered. However, today the body has made Aadhar huge success with 95% of adults holding the identity card today. Aadhaar collects only four personal information, that includes, name, gender, age and address along with biometric data of thumb impression, retinal scan and facial recognition.Benefits
Aadhaar had improved the reliability of government welfare programmes. According to the State of Aadhaar report, 2019, Aadhaar has been the first identity document for around 65-70 million individuals. This benefitted them in opening bank accounts, accessing food rations, mobile phone services, etc.The report also stated that 80% of participants felt that Aadhaar improved the reach of government schemes and services faster. Only 34% of Indians are yet to link their Aadhaar in the fear of losing the services.
State of Aadhaar report surveyed 1,70,000 individuals. The initiative was started 3 years ago by IDinsight and Omidyar Network of India.
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ICMR releases report on Sugar Intake of India, Report first of its kind
January 6, 2020
Highlights
The study says that intake of added sugar in metro cities was 19.5 grams per day. This is lower than the level recommended by ICMR which is 30 gram per day. Though the levels of all the cities were within the threshold, they were so close to the upper limit in certain cities.According to the study, sugar intake was the highest in Mumbai. Mumbai reported 26.3 g/day followed by Ahmedabad at 25.9 g/day. The other counter parts of the metropolitan cities that have high intakes include Delhi (23.2 g/day), Bengaluru at 19.3 g/day, Kolkata at 17.1 g/day and Chennai at 16.1 grams per day.
Categories
The report also stated that the overall intake of sugar by women was more than that of men. Intake of sugar by women was 20.2 g/day and that of men was 18.7 g/day.In terms of age group, the study says that people belonging to older age group take more sugar than that of the younger population.
The study also measured sugar consumption based in literacy level, community, activity status, occupation.
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UNICEF Report: More than 1,70,000 violations against Children
January 1, 2020
Highlights
According to the report, the number of attacks on children since 2010 has increased three-fold. The agency has hence named the decade as “Deadly Decade”. The report also stated that the number of countries experiencing violence has increased since 1989. The year 1989 has been specified as the Convention on Rights of Child was passed in 1989.UNICEF says that in 2018, around 24,000 grave violations were recorded against children. The number has gone up highly to 1,70,000 in 2019. This is more than threefold and is deadly. This includes abductions, killing, sexual violence, maiming, child recruitment, denial to humanitarian access and attacks in schools and hospitals.
The United Nations states that there have been more than 10,000 violations in the first half of 2019. The violations were predominantly in the conflict zones. It includes northern Syria, Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Convention on Rights of Child, 1989
According to the convention, any child below the age of 18 is called a child. Around 140 countries have signed the convention. India is also a signatory. The convention sets out social, political, economic, civil and cultural rights of every child. The rights include right to education, right to protection against physical abuse, right to rest and leisure." "
Results of Swachh Survekshan League, 2020 released
January 1, 2020
Highlights
In the category of 10 lakh plus population, Indore secured first place. Indore has remained in first place for the last three years. Following Indore, Bhopal and Surat are in second and third places respectively. In the category of population between one lakh and 10 lakhs, Jamshedpur was in 1st spot following New Delhi and Khargone.Indicators
The focus of the survey was on waste water treatment, faecal sludge management. The survey also focused on implementation of ODF+, water plus and ODF++ protocols of the ministry of housing and urban affairs.Significance
In Competitive Federalism, the relationship between Central and state governments are vertical and between the state governments are horizontal. The ranking of the cities based on cleanliness helps in promoting competition among them. The idea was mooted during economic reforms in the country in 1990s. The states will compete with each other that will help achieve efficiency in administration also will enhance developmental activities." "
Sustainable Development Goal Index Released
December 31, 2019
Highlights
Kerala ranked first in composite SDG index with score of 70. Kerala was followed by Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The biggest improvement was seen in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. The score of UP improved from 29 in 2018 to 23 in 2019. Also, the rank of Odisha improved from 23 in 2018 to 15 in 2019.The least performing states were Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
In terms of poverty reduction, states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim performed well.
Categories
The states were classified under 4 categories based on their scores. The states with scores between 0 and 49 were categorized ‘Aspirant’, between 50 and 64 were ‘Performers’, between 65 and 99 were ‘Front Runner’ and with a score of 100 were categorized ‘Achiever’.The states Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar that were in Aspirant category moved to performers in 2019. The states that were in performer category in 2018 and moved to front runner include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Sikkim and Goa.
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NITI Aayog to launch SDG India Index & Dashboard 2019–20
December 25, 2019
NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing adoption as well as monitoring of SDGs in India, at the national and sub-national level.
About SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019–20
The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019 documents the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories (UTs) towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets. Besides indicating where the States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation, the Index and Dashboard also charts distance to be travelled to reach SDG targets.It has been developed by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with United Nations in India, and Global Green Growth Institute.
Index and Dashboard 2019 covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals. On the basis of progress made, the Index ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising of 306 indicators.
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WHO: India off-track to meet tobacco target
December 22, 2019
Highlights: World
Globally the number of tobacco users have declined by 60 million people. In 2000, the overall tobacco users were 1.397 billion and it has come down to 1.337 billion in 2018. The report says despite the reduction in numbers, the global target set by governments to reduce the use of tobacco by 30% by 2025 remains off track. So far only 32 countries are on track to reach the target.Around 43 million children (of age 13-15) are using tobacco in 2018. The number of women using tobacco was 244 million. Of all the regions of the world, South East Asian region has the highest use of tobacco. The only region on track to achieve the target is the Americas.
Highlights: India
According to the report, India is off track to achieve the target of 30% reduction by 2025 as compared to 2010 level. Along with India 163 countries are off the track.However, the consumption rate in India is going down by 21.6% as compared to 2010. The current users of smokeless form of tobacco in India is estimated to be 257,020,000.
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World Economic Forum Report: India slips to rank 112 in Gender Gap
December 17, 2019
Highlights: India
India was in 108th position in 2018. Its performance weakened in the year 2019 according to the report. India’s performance was lagging in three out of four metrics used for ranking the countries. India slipped to 150th rank in health and survival, 149th in economic participation, 112th in educational attainment. India improved to 18th place in terms of political empowerment.The report also said that opportunities for women in India is very low. India was ranked below countries like Bangladesh (50th), Indonesia (85th), Brazil (92nd), Nepal (101st), Sri Lanka (102nd), China (106th).
The World Economic Forum published its first report in 2006. Since then performance of India has deteriorated. In 2006, India was ranked at 98th place. Opportunities for women in the country is 35.4%. Sex ratio of India was low as compared to other countries (91 girls for every 100 boys).
Highlights: World
Iceland was the topmost gender-neutral country. Next to Iceland, other Nordic Countries like Norway, Finland and Sweden were the top performers. At the top 10, countries like Nicaragua (5th), New Zealand (6th), Ireland (7th), Spain (8th), Rwanda (9th) and Germany (10th). United States continued to decline falling to 53rd placeThough there are several hinderance for the situation to get improved, role model effect will start to have impact in terms of leadership. For instance, eight out of top 10 countries had high political empowerment with greater participation from women.
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UNDP Report: India ranks 129 in Human Development Index
December 10, 2019
India ranked 129 among them, which is one rank ahead of its previous positions. In 2018, India ranked 130. The rankings were listed based on the assessment of poverty, education, life expectancy and access to health care.
Highlights: World
Among all the regions, South Asia was the fastest growing region. It witnessed 46% growth between the years 1990 and 2018. Despite its growth, the region accounts to 31% of partner violence. Next to South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific reported good growth. The growth rate of these regions was assessed by the report as 43%.Singapore reported the least partner violence faced by women.
Highlights: India
The report says that around 27.1 crore people in India were lifted out of poverty between the time period 2005-06 and 2015-16. However, India is the largest country constituting to 41% of world’s poor according to the report!India ranked 122 in the Gender Development Index
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Global Climate Risk Index 2020
December 7, 2019
Key Findings of Index
(1) Japan: It topped the list of most affected countries in 2018 as it was hit by 3 exceptionally strong extreme weather events during year. It includes- Torrential rainfall from 6-8 July resulting in flash floods and mudslides; Severe heatwave from mid-July to August 2018; Typhoon Jebi in September 2018 broke.(2) Philippines: It was hit by Typhoon Mangkhut (a category 5 typhoon) in September 2018, which was the most powerful typhoon recorded worldwide in 2018.
(3) Germany: It experienced 2nd hottest year due to a severe heatwave and also witnessed severe drought in October 2018 due to less rainfall, which resulted in a massive decline in harvest.
(4) Madagascar: It became victim to Cyclone Ava in January 2018 and Cyclone Eliakim in March 2018.
(5) India: Globally, it is the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change. India also recorded highest number of fatalities due to climate change and 2nd highest monetary losses from its impact in 2018. The southwest monsoon in 2018 severely affected India, southern state of Kerala was especially impacted which saw the worst flooding in hundred years. Under long term vulnerability, India is ranked 17th. India’s east coast was also hit by Cyclone Titli and Cyclone Gaja in October and November 2018 respectively.
(6) Sri Lanka: It was also affected by severe monsoon rains in May 2018, especially in the south and west coast.
(7) Kenya and (8) Rwanda: Both nations were ranked 7 and 8 respectively. They were also affected by severe monsoon rains, resulting in flooding in several areas and displacement of a large number of people.
Others:-
Canada: In beginning of 2018, Canada saw its lowest temperature in 100 years and then record high temperatures in April 2018, which melted heavy snowpacks, causing the rivers to overflow. It also saw its worst wildfire season.
Fiji: It was affected by 3 cyclones between February 2018 and April 2018- Cyclone Gita, Cyclone Josie and Cyclone Keni, which caused major flooding, leaving many displaced.
About Global Climate Risk Index 2020
The index assessed 181 countries and quantified impacts of climate change through economic losses, losses to GDP (Gross domestic product) and fatalities to arrive at a ranking. This year is the 15th edition of Climate Risk Index. It highlights existing vulnerabilities that may increase as extreme events and become more frequent/ severe due to climate change. It stresses on level of vulnerability of nations to severe climate events, which they should view as warnings for more frequent or severe events in future.It is based on data from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE which is one of the largest databases on natural catastrophes. The Index has another set of ranking for period 1999-2018 which is based on average values over a 20-year period. In 1999 to 2018 period Puerto was the most vulnerable..
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Delhi enters list of top 10 most popular destinations in the world
December 4, 2019
Highlights: India
The report says that various cultural traditions and enriching history makes Delhi the most favorite places among international tourists. Also, air connectivity and world class airports have helped the city to increase its position in the ranking. India is also gaining attention for its Ayurvedic and Yoga practices.The report also says that international tourists visiting Delhi has increased by 25% in 2019 as compared to 2018. In 2019, there were around 15.2 million tourists visiting the capital. This year with seven cities in the top 100 destinations, India has emerged as the strongest tourist destination.
Highlights: World
Hong Kong has remained the topmost for three consecutive years (2017, 2018 and 2019). Followed by Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Macau, Singapore were at the second, third, fourth and fifth ranks respectively. Around 43 cities from Asia were among the top 100 City Destination ranking.The popularity has increased in Asia as compared to other parts of the world. This is mainly due to developing infrastructure, digitization of travel facilities, electronic Visa applications, government focus on tourism
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UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2019
November 30, 2019
The report was released prior to United Nations Climate Conference (COP-25) to be held in Spain from 2 December 2019. It states that GHG emissions have increased by 1.5% since last decade and that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have reached an all-time high figure of 55.3 gigatons.
Key Findings of UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2019
China, United States of America (USA), European Union (28) and India are among the top four greenhouse gas emitters.India: UNEP report highlights that India is regularly considering deadlines and targets to curb carbon emissionAs per the report, India’s per capita emission is one of the lowest within G20 countries. Also, India is one of the leading countries that are looking for electric vehicle development.
Globally:
The report suggested that only if Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced by 7.6% every year during 2020 to 2030 period, only then the target of reducing global temperature can be achieved.
As per the report, the largest GHG contribution comes from energy sector and its fossil fuel emissions. Thus to achieve the target of limiting temperature rise to no more than 1.5 ° C, all countries must reduce GHG emissions by up to 5 times.
The report also highlights that if global temperature reaches at level of 1.5 degrees then coral reefs would be reduced by 70-90%. It also clarifies that by 2100, the world would be warmer 3.2 degrees that pre-industrial level.
Key Recommendations of Emissions Gap Report 2019
The report suggested that each country has own unique opportunities to protect livelihood, natural resources and lives. Moreover, Complete de-carbonization of energy sector is possible and necessary. With renewable energy electricity, the emission reduction can achieve a target of 12.1 gigatonnes (GT) by 2050. Also, the electrification of transport can also help to reduce carbon emission up to 72% by 2050." "
Global Diplomacy Index 2019
November 28, 2019
Key Highlights of Index
China now has more diplomatic posts across the world than United States in 2019. China has overtaken United States with 276 embassies and consulates worldwide, which is 3 more than US (both countries have an equal number of embassies but China has 3 more consulates). This signifies a marker of its growing international clout and ambition.Even though China’s diplomatic expansion has been rapid and overtook US. In 2016, China was in 3rd place behind US and France, and by 2017 it had moved to second place ahead of France.
US still remains (by a wide margin) the most popular place for countries to maintain embassies and consulates. US is home to about 342 posts belonging to 61 countries included in Index but China, with 256, is a distant second.
After China and US next three spots are occupied by France, Japan, and Russia respectively.
India was ranked 12th among the 61 countries. As of 2019, India has 123 embassies and high commissions and 54 consulates globally. However, the study shows that India too has expanded its diplomatic footprint: In 2017, it had 120 embassies and 52 consulates.
Analysis of China’s Rise
China’s expansion in worldwide diplomatic presence has come partly at the expense of Taiwan, which is a self-governing democracy, however as per China it is a breakaway province. China’s gain has mostly been a direct result of Taiwan’s shrinking diplomatic presence as former intensified its ‘One China’ campaign. Taiwan saw the biggest drop in diplomatic posts, down from 22 embassies in 2016 to 15 in 2019. Moreover, China opened new embassies in The Gambia, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, São Tomé and PrÃncipe which were all former diplomatic friends of Taipei.China’s diplomatic push has been aided by its economic heft as under Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing has pumped in billions of dollars into Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the intercontinental connectivity project aimed primarily at building trading corridors connecting China.
Significance: Establishing a robust diplomatic infrastructure is 1st practical step towards bolstering a country’s diplomatic influence. Similarly, China has also invested in its diplomatic infrastructure, which serves as a telling metric of its international ambitions.
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NSO Survey on Household Health Expenditure
November 25, 2019
The main objective of the survey was to collect data on expenditure on medicines, expenditure in hospitalization, investigation, expenditure, maternity, childbirth, etc. The data for the survey was collected from 1.13,823 households
Findings of the survey
Around 14% of rural population and 19% of urban population had their health expenditure covered. Only 1% of urban population received health insurance from government health protection schemes.The average medical expenditure that is being spent in rural India per hospitalization case is Rs 16,676 and in urban India is Rs 26,475. The survey says that about 90% of rural childbirths and 96% of urban child births were institutional.
In rural areas, around 97% of the children received vaccination. This includes all the 8 prescribed vaccinations. Among them, 59% of boys and 60% of girls were completely immunized.
Ayushman Bharat
GoI is currently working under the scheme under the objective “health for all”. It is considered as one of the world’s largest health coverage scheme. Around 100 million poor vulnerable families are included under the scheme. They are listed under the scheme based on SECC 2011." "
NSO report: Rural India yet to become Open Defecation Free
November 25, 2019
The main objective of this survey was to gather information about sanitation along with housing facilities available to the households and micro environment surrounding the houses. The survey is important as the GoI is currently working on a set target of Drinking Water for all by 2024.
Highlights
The survey says that around 42.9% of the households in rural areas and around 40.9% households in urban areas are still using hand pumps. About 80.7% in urban area and 58.2% in rural areas had drinking water facilities within the household premises.The survey reports that around 94.5% in rural and 97.4% in urban used improved water resources. Improved water resources include piped water, hand pump, tube well, protected spring, private tanker truck, rain water collection and bottled water.
Open Defecation
The Swacch Bharat Mission declared India open defecation free on October 2, 2019. However, according to the survey 71.3% in rural and 96.2% in urban had no access to toilets. Proper drainage system was found only in 61.1% of rural households and 92% of urban households.Micro Environment
Around 48.3% of households in rural and 86.6% in urban used LPG as fuel. 48.1% of households in rural areas and 71.1% of urban households disposed household waste water without treatment to drainage system.Under Swachh Bharat Mission, door step collection of garbage and segregated collection of garbage is being implemented. However, the survey says that 70.3% of households urban and 72.4% of households in rural still disposed garbage in community dumping spots, open land, waste land, etc.
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CIC Annual Report tabled in Lok Sabha
November 22, 2019
Highlights of the report
The report said that in the year 2018-19, around 13.70 lakh applications were received by the Central Public Authorities of the commission. It says that the numbers are 11% more than the previous year 2017-18.Out of applications received, only 4.7% were processed by the commission. This has come down from 5.13% as compared to the previous year 2017-18.
The highest number of applications were rejected by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It has rejected 26.5%. It was followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that rejected 16.41%.
In the period 2018-19, the CIC disposed around 17,188 second appeals and complaint cases.
Central Information Commission
The commission was set up under Right to Information Act in 2005. There are 10 Information Commissioners and one Chief Information Commissioner. The commissioners are appointed by the President of India. The President appoints the commissioners based on the recommendation of a committee. The committee consists of Prime Minister, the opposition leader and a cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister." "
International Energy Agency releases World Energy Outlook, 2019
November 20, 2019
Highlights of the report
Oil demand will slow down after 2025 and the world will transit towards electric vehicles. However, the oil demand for the next decade will keep increasing with 85% of increase coming from the US. In African states, the gas and renewable sources will power the future energy. However, the demand for coal in these countries are still raisingThe report says that at present the energy demand in the world is growing at the rate of 2% per year.
Climate Scenarios
There are three climate scenarios projected by the report for the future. It includes the Current Policy Scenario, Stated Policy Scenario and Sustainable Development Scenario.According to Current Policy Scenario, the world will continue to function with the old regulations with energy demand rising at the rate of 1.3% by 2040. The Stated Policy Scenario is New Policy Scenario. Under this the report says that with the new policies that have been introduced by the governments, the energy demand will increase by 1% per year.
The Sustainable Policy Scenario is the most ambitious of all the scenarios. Under this, the report says that by aligning with Paris Agreement the global temperature will reduce by 1.5 degree Celsius.
IEA
IEA is an inter-governmental organization of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). the World Economic Outlook is the flagship publication of the agency.
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Committee on Companies Act, 2013 submits its report to Finance Ministry
November 19, 2019
Objective of the Committee
The Committee was constituted to decriminalize the Companies Act, 2013. This is being done to provide Ease of Living for Corporate in the country.Recommendations of the Committee
- The committee has recommended amendments to 46 penal provisions associated with the law. The amendments are either to remove criminality or to allow rectification through alternate methods or to restrict punishment only to fine. Bottom line, the committee suggests to lenient punishments mentiones in the law
- The Committee has recommended to provide further easing of living for law abiding corporate.
- It also insisted on wider consultations during following decisions by the Ministry of finance
- Permitting appeals in NCLT against the orders of Regional Directors
- To review provisions on disqualification of directors
- Reviewing provisions that debars audit firms.
Significance
With World Institutions decelerating growth rates of India, every step towards the financial flow in the country is important. Though India is an agricultural Economy, majority of the contribution towards its GDP is from the service sector. Therefore, it becomes important to provide Ease of Living for the corporates to boost the growth rate." "
BIS: Water Quality Report for state Capitals and New Delhi released
November 16, 2019
Water Quality Report
In order to make sure if clean and safe drinking water is provided to all, a study was conducted by the BIS (Bureau of India Standards) to check on the quality of piped drinking water provided in the cities, especially in the state capitals. The cities were then ranked based on the report.Parameters
The study was conducted in two phases. In first phase, samples of drinking water were collected across Delhi and in the second phase the samples were collected from several state capitals. The tests were conducted on parameters such as Chemicals, Toxic substances, Organoleptic tests, Bacteriological tests and physical tests.Highlights of the report
- In Delhi, out of 11 samples, 10 failed to comply the standards of Indian Standards
- The best performing cities where almost all the samples were up to the standard were Ranchi, Shimla, Bhubaneshwar, Amravati and Raipur.
- The worst performing cities where only very few or none of the samples were under the Indian Standards were Thiruvananthapuram. Chandigarh, Bhopal, Patna, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Lucknow, Chennai, Dehradun, Kolkata and Jaipur
GoI: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2017-18 not to be released due to quality issues
November 16, 2019
Highlights
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) functioning under the Ministry, there was significant increase in the divergence in the consumption pattern. Also there were noticeable direction of change in the data as compared to the other administrative data sources like goods and services.The Ministry is also looking ways to change the base year of the survey. Currently the base year of the survey is 2011-12. It is considering options to change the base year to 2017-18.
Consumer Expenditure Survey
- The survey is carried out by the NSO through out India on household consumption expenditure. The survey is conducted in quinquennial intervals. Previously the survey was conducted in 2011-12.
- The survey provides data on household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE).
- It also provides information on distribution of households
- The survey generates estimates on persons over the MPCE classes.
- The survey is designed to generate information about expenditure on consumption of goods and services. It includes both and food and non-food products consumed in households.
- The data released by the survey are also used in determining macro-economic indicators and for rebasing of the GDP.
LANCET Report on Health and Climate Change, 2019
November 14, 2019
Highlights of the report: India
- In India, diarrheal infections were the major cause of child mortality
- The average yield potential of rice and maize in the country declined by 2% since 1960s
- The average yield potential of winter wheat and soybean has declined by 1%
- Due to increased sea level, there will be rise in infections like gastroentitis, cholera, etc. The climate suitability for Vibro bacteria that causes Cholera will increase the disease by 3% as compared to 1980s
- Malnutrition is the responsible for two-thirds of deaths under five
Highlights of the report: World
- Climate Change threats to fisheries and aquaculture according to the report are as follows
- Sea-level rise
- Sea surface temperature rise
- Ocean Acidification
- Intense and Frequent extreme weather events
- Mortality due to Dengue will increase globally
- WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature measurement): WBGT is the measure of heat stress that takes into account humidity, temperature, wind speed, cloud cover and sun angle.
- The report warned according to WBGT that 22 billion additional hours of work will be lost due to extreme heat.
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NCAER Survey: Business Confidence fell by 15%
November 12, 2019
Highlights
- The Business Confidence Index dipped to 103.1 from 100.4 in October 2013. This is the lowest in the period of 6 years
- The survey reported that positive growth was witnessed in Managing Inflation, Managing Exchange Rate, Overall Economic Growth, pushing economic reforms, managing conducive political climate, managing government finance, external trade negotiations and managing unemployment
- The Business Confidence Index witnesses an upswing in the firms with annual turn over less than 1 crore rupees and other micro firms.
- The Political Confidence Index fell by 35.6% between July and October 2019.
- The Economic Growth rate declined by 5% in October 2019 as compared to July 2019.
NCAER
The National Council of Applied Economic Research is a Delhi based think tank that was established in 1956. The aim of the body is to give support to both government and private sector economic researches. The TATA Foundation and other premier organizations came together to form the think tank with the support of GoI. It was founded in PM Nehru’s period. Since 1991, the council is tracking the business confidence in the country on a quarterly basis." "
FICCI study on Onion Price Rise: India should follow Israel, Brazil
November 9, 2019
The FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) on Novmber 8, 2019, submitted a report to the GoI analyzing the problem. The Federation has also provided solutions to the current problems being faced in the country due to price rise of Onions.
Highlights of the study
- Around 40% of total onions produced were damaged this year (2018-19) in the periods of heavy rainfall due to lack of post-harvest storage facilities
- FICCI suggests long term solution studying Brazil and Israel models. It recommends low cost technologies for storing Onions
- Israel stores onions in open ventilated warehouses. The warehouses are ventilated through continuous forced air.
- Brazil stores onions in low-cost well ventilated silos systems. They are built at farm levels. Brazil also uses refrigerated rooms to store the vegetables.
- The report says that for the first time GoI is incurring a buffer stock loss of 57,000 tons. This is 25% of the total buffer stock
India’s current measures
- In India very few startups use farm level refrigeration for perishables
- GoI through “Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture” promoted low cost thatched bamboo storage. According to the study, India lacks in storage systems that sustain monsoon.
- In India Onion is cultivated throughout the year in several places. Onion scarcity occurs only during July to September. In order to maintain regular supply during the lean period GoI stores onions in ventilated warehouses. The losses are high in these systems. Around 20% to 40% of onions are lost
Freedom on Net 2019 report-China the worst abuser of internet freedom
November 7, 2019
India obtained an overall score of 55 and was reported to be “partly free”.
Highlights
- Pakistan, with a score of 26, for the ninth consecutive year was declared as “not free” in terms of freedom status
- China obtained a score of 10 and was adjudged “not free”. Also, China was termed the worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year
- On the whole, 65 countries were assessed. Out of these, 33 showed an overall decline in internet freedom. Improvement was seen only in 16 countries.
- Ethiopia recorded the highest improvement in terms of internet freedom
- US had an overall score of 77. The online environment of the US was reported to be free from state censorship and vibrant. However, there was a decline in overall internet freedom in the US for the third straight year.
- Countries like Malaysia, Armenia showed positive trends in the internet freedom status
- Iceland ranked the highest with an overall score of 95. It was recorded as the world’s best protector of internet freedom. The country had no civil or criminal cases registered against the users for online expression.
ICAR report on Stubble Burning
November 6, 2019
Highlights of the report
- There were 31,402 burning events in the three states Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as on October 1, 2019
- The state wise reduction in stubble burning as compared to 2018 is as follows
- Uttar Pradesh-48.2%
- Haryana-11.7%
- Punjab-8.7%
- The report says that the reduction is mainly due to the launch of Central Scheme “Promotional of Agricultural Mechanization of In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in Punjab, UP and Haryana and NCT of Delhi”. The main purpose of the scheme is to subsidize machinery required.
Delhi
New Delhi is worst affected due to stubble burning in the three states. This year (2019) the Air quality Index of Delhi reached 999. This is the highest recorded AQI of Delhi in its history. According to WHO norms the AQI should be under 100.Also, the PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter) concentration was more than 80% as against 50% of the normal course.
Western Disturbances
The Stubble burning smoke reaching Delhi is greatly influenced by the Western Disturbances. When these Cyclonic circulation are strong and persistent the smoke deposited in the city decreases.The disturbances are capable of carrying the smoke far and spread them wide when they are strong. The weakening of these disturbances lately due to global warming is also one of the reasons for the increased stubble smoke in Delhi.
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Global Microscope for Financial Inclusion report 2019: EIU
November 2, 2019
Key Highlights of Report
The overall environment for financial inclusion has improved worldwide. India, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay now have the most favourable conditions for inclusive finance, with Colombia being ranked at first position followed by Peru, Uruguay and Mexico and India ranked 5th.India was ranked among top countries with most promising environment for financial inclusion in terms of: effective financial consumer , allowing non-banks to issue e-money and proportionate customer due diligence.
Only four countries namely India, Colombia, Jamaica and Uruguay scored perfectly across all four parameters. Moreover, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico and Uruguay were among top countries that safeguard e-money via some sort of deposit insurance or protection.
About Global Microscope for Financial Inclusion report
It is produced by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group. The EIU was created in 1946 and is the world leader in global business intelligence.The Microscope report was first published in 2007 and was originally developed for countries in Latin American and Caribbean regions but in 2009 it was expanded into a global study. The 2019 edition of Global Microscope report also features 11 new gender focussed indicators that measure financial inclusion for both women as well as men.
The report is a benchmarking index that assesses enabling environment for financial access in 55 countries across 5 categories.
Five parameters across which countries are assessed-
(a)Government and Policy Support
(b)Products and Outlets
(c)Stability and Integrity
(d)Consumer Protection
(e)Infrastructure
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GIA presents ‘Report from Ground Zero’ on J&K, Ladakh
October 25, 2019
The delegation briefed Minister about findings of their observations after field study of situation in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The briefings included that common man across religions, sections and various professional backgrounds in J&K has expressed happiness about the decision of Government to scrap Article 370.
About Group of Intellectuals and Academicians
GIA was founded in 2015. It is a group of empowered professional Indian women and entrepreneurs, media persons, intellectuals & academicians working together to elevate the position of women in our society, committed to work in service of nation.Objective: To become the voice of most silent and underprivileged section of our nation with legal and academic support.
Composition: National leaders, distinguished lawyers of Supreme Court, industrialists, sportswomen, writers, poets, President Awardees, principals of colleges, professors of prestigious institutions, directors of institutes, internationally renowned artists/dancers, IT professionals and many others from various fields.
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World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business
October 24, 2019
Highlights
- India for the third time in a row was among the top 10 performers on the list.
- The other top 10 performers other than India were Saudi Arabia at rank 62, Togo in the African continent at rank 97, Jordan (75), Tajikistan, Pakistan at rank 108, Kuwait (83), China (31) and Nigeria (131)
- In 2015, India set a goal to join top 50 economies on ease of doing business ranking by 2020.
- The experts believe that resolving insolvency with the Bankruptcy law, tax reforms, trading across borders, initiatives like Make in India are the major reasons for the leap in the rank
Ease of Doing Business
The ranking is framed based on 10 indices. It includes starting a business, registering a property, dealing with construction permits, getting credit, paying taxes, enforcing contracts, trading across borders, protecting investors, etc. The first set of ranking was prepared by the world Bank in 2003." "
National Crime Bureau Statistics released
October 22, 2019
The report was created by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) operating under the Home Ministry. The NCRB brings out 3 reports annually namely Crime in India, India and Prison statistics and Accidental Deaths and suicide in India.
Highlights of the report
- The rise in IPC crimes were the highest in Delhi, Assam and Kerala. On the other hand, the IPC crimes decreased greatly in Mizoram, Gujarat, Himachal, Tripura and Nagaland.
- Around 50 lakh crimes were registered in 2017. This is a rise of 3.6% from the previous report published in 2016.
- Murder cases registered across the country declined by 6%. Number of murders in 2016 were 30,450 and in 2017 the number has come down to 28,653
- The NCRB reported that the number of kidnapping and abduction cases increased by 9% since 2016
- Haryana topped in sedition cases (the offences committed against state). This increase was mainly due to the huge Jat reservation stir in Haryana in 2017. The sedition cases include damaging public property, providing aid to anti-social elements, etc.
- The maximum number of crime cases against women were from UP. Majority of the crimes against women under the IPC were registered as follows
- Out of crime cases against women 33.2% were under cruelty by husband or relatives
- Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty contributed 33.2%
- Kidnapping and Abduction of women contributed 21%
- Rape contributed 10%
- Crime against SCs were reported as
- 30% of crime against SCs were simple hurt cases
- Cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) act accounted to 13.4%
- Criminal intimidation accounted to 7.6% of crime cases against SCs.
Karnataka tops NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index
October 18, 2019
The India Innovation Index (III) 2019 was released by NITI Aayog along with Institute for Competitiveness as its knowledge partner. The index has been developed into lines of Global Innovation Index (GII). This is the first-ever India Innovation Index released by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, a policy think tank of Indian Government.
Key Findings of Index
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana secured 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th position respectively in innovation, followed by Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
In the list of 17 major states, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand are at bottom of the index with Jharkhand finishing last.
Among North-Eastern & Hill States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have occupied the top spot of Most Innovative State in index while among Union Territories Delhi, Chandigarh and Goa have topped the list.
About India Innovation Index (III)
The idea behind index is to analyse innovation at state level and promote competitiveness among the states. It seeks to move states from competitive populism to competitive good governance. The innovation index will also help to pursue interventions that play an important role in developing cooperative and competitive federalism.It ranks the states based on their innovation capability, opportunities and challenges that lie for states and actions needed by policy makers to foster innovation.
The Index is based on seven pillars which include 5 enablers and 2 performance indicators such as human capital, knowledge workers, investment and knowledge output. It has been developed over a period of last 18 months.
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IMF: World Economic Outlook, 2019
October 16, 2019
Key highlights of the report
- The Global growth rate is projected to improve to 3.4% by 2020.
- The growth of advanced economies is projected to slow down by 1.7%
- The emerging and developing economies are projected to experience a growth pick up from 3.9% in 2019 to 4.6% in 2020.
- The report downgraded India’s growth projections to 6.1% in 2019 and 7% in 2020.
- According to the report, China is projected to grow at 6.1% in 2019 and 5.8% in 2020.
- The trade volume reached the lowest since 2012. It reduced by 1% since 2012.
Justifications
- About half of the economic slow down comes from shallower recessions in stressed emerging markets like Argentina, Turkey, Iran
- Higher tariffs and prolonged uncertainty in the trade policy are the major reasons for dented investment and the slowdown in the growth. This is very well seen in the effects of trade wars and imposed sanctions
- The automobile industry is contracting mainly due to the disruptions from new standard emission standards. This predominantly has effect in China.
- Trade barriers and geopolitical tensions like Brexit is hampering investment, confidence and growth
Recommendations
- The countries should support the economy slow down with tax-base enhancing measures, rationalizing subsidy-spending, efficient credit allocation and governance of public sector banks.
- India should keep its Fiscal Deficit under check
South Asia Economic Focus, Making (De)Centralization Work Report: World Bank
October 14, 2019
The latest edition of this World Banks’s report finds that strong domestic demand, which support high growth in past, has weakened, driving a slowdown across the south Asian region.
Key Highlights of Report
The overall growth in South Asia is projected to slow down this fiscal in line with a global downward trend. Growth in South Asia is projected to fall to 5.9% in 2019, down 1.1% points from April 2019 estimates, casting uncertainty about a rebound in short term.In India, growth is projected to fall to 6% this fiscal year and is then expected to gradually recover to 6.9% in fiscal year 2021 and to 7.2% in 2022.
The growth rate of Pakistan is projected to decrease further to 2.4% this fiscal year, as monetary policy remains tight, and planned fiscal consolidation will further compress domestic demand.
As per the report, the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh is projected to moderate to 7.2% this fiscal year and 7.3% in 2020. The country’s economy is likely to maintain growth above 7%, supported by a political stability, robust macroeconomic framework, and strong public investments.
In 2018 Bangladesh has reduced current account deficit due to rising export and remittances which was above $15.5 billion. However, the report indicates that the financial sector vulnerability, fiscal pressures and loss of external competitiveness pose challenges to its growth rate.
Moreover, despite slowdown in industrial growth rate, the industrial sector remains strong as Bangladesh’s garment industry benefited immensely from trade tensions between United States and China.
The World Bank report suggests Bangladesh to address key structural challenges such as reducing infrastructure deficit, improving urban management, managing climate change risks and enhancing human capital.
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World Bank: South Asia Economic Focus, 2019
October 13, 2019
The report is titled “Exports Wanted” highlighting the export potential of the South Asian region being not used to the fullest.
Key findings of the report: India
- The projected growth of India in 2019 according to the report is 6%. However, India is expected to recover gradually. The report said that the growth rate of India will reach 6.9% in 2021 and 7.2% in 2022.
- In 2016-17, the growth rate of India was 8.2%
- In 2017-18, the growth rate was 7.2%
- In 2018-19, the growth rate was 6.8%
- The domestic demand (the major driver of growth rate in India according to the report) of the India has slipped. The private consumption is growing at the rate of 3.1%. It was 7.3% last year
- The manufacturing growth dropped to below 1% in the second quarter as compared to 10% last year. The reason for the drop down is mainly due to the global slowdown in their investments
- The industrial output growth increased to 6.9% due to increase in construction and manufacturing activities
- The growth in agricultural sector and service sector was 2.9% and 7.5% respectively
- The Current Account Deficit of India widened from 1.8% in last year to 2.1% this year
- 80% of the causes of the economic slowdown is coming from international causes.
Key findings of the report : South Asia
- South Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world, despite of the report’s estimation of growth in South Asia to fall to 5.(% in 2019.
- The exports growth of South Asia accelerates and import growth is slowing. The growth of imports has declined by 15 to 20% in the region. Under these circumstances the GDP growth is expected to accelerate
- South Asian countries are exporting only a third of their potential
- The growth rate of South Asia was 7.7% in 2016, 7.2% in 2017 and 6.9% in 2018
- Among all the countries India and Sri Lanka showed the lowest growth rates
- Foreign Exchange reserves declined in South Asian region
- Food inflation decelerated in the region. It was stable around 3%. The prices fell mainly due to good harvests.
Key findings of the report: Country wise growth rates
- In Nepal, the GDP growth is projected to be 6.5%. The growth will be backed by construction activities, tourist arrivals and higher public spending
- In Afghanistan the growth is expected to reach 3%. It will be mainly due to improved farming conditions and assuming political stability after elections
- In Sri Lanka the growth is expected to soften to 2.7% in 2019. IF supported by recovering investment and exports, political uncertainty dissipated and tackling security challenges the growth is projected to reach 3.3% in 2020
Key Findings of the report: Trade Policy changes affecting South Asia
- Import tariffs to protect domestic industries
- Trade tensions between India and US
- US imposed tariffs in steel and Aluminum imported from India. India in response to the move, postponed the retaliatory tariffs on selected US products like chickpeas, walnuts, Artemis, lentils, etc.
- India had benefited greatly under the GSP – Generalized System of Preferences that gave 2,00 products duty free access to the US. Around 5.7 billion USD worth goods were covered under GSP in 2017. In 2019, the US withdrew its GSP following the market access strategy to open India’s market for US products.
- India – Pakistan trade tensions
- The MFN – Most Favored Nation status was withdrawn after the Pulwama attack. The custom duties on all goods imported from Pakistan was raised to 200%. It is expected that Pakistan will retaliate imposing tariffs on Indian goods.
- Trade war between China and USA
- The garment industry of Bangladesh has benefited immensely from the ongoing trade tensions between China and USA.
Global Competitiveness Index, 2019
October 9, 2019
India had dropped 10 places. A number of similar economies like South Africa, Turkey and Colombia have improved over the past year and have overtaken India.
This year Singapore has replaced US as the world’s most competitive country. The US was positioned at 2nd place and was followed by Hong Kong at third place and Netherlands and Switzerland at 4th and 5th places respectively. China was ranked at 28th position and was the highest ranked among BRICS nations. Vietnam showed higher improvements in the region and was ranked at 67
The report also said that Asia Pacific was the most competitive region globally. It was followed by Europe and North America.
Key findings of the report on India
- India ranked high in terms of macroeconomic stability and market size.
- India also ranked high in terms of corporate Governance. India was at 15th place in the category.
- In terms of market India ranked third.
- India had positive remarks in terms of renewable regulation.
- In terms of innovation, India has punched above its development status. It was well ahead of most of the emerging economies that are on par with the advanced economies.
- Poor health conditions and low Life Expectancy were the shortcomings in the country according to the report. In terms of life expectancy India ranked 109 out of 141 countries. This is one of the shortest as compared to South Asian average.
- According to the report, India also needs to grow its skill base, market efficiency. Trade openness and worker protection rights according to the report are insufficiently developed.
- The ratio of female workers to male workers in India was 0.26. It ranked 128th place and was very low as compared certain other developing countries.
- India ranked 118 in incentivization and 107th place for skills
- Though US performance as compared to 2018 slowed own, it scored in sub categories like employee skills, venture capital availability and business dynamism pillar
- The decline of life expectancy in the US was huge. It was lower than China. Singapore ranked first in terms of life expectancy.
- The education system of the world’s largest and most innovative economies failed to keep up the pace of innovation. IT included India, China, Brazil, France and South Korea.
- Economic stagnation was widespread. This has happened in spite of the central banks injecting more than 10 trillion dollars last year
- Many of governments and central banks failed to use correct monetary policies to stimulate economic growth
National Nutrition Survey
October 1, 2019
In India, for the first time the ministry measured malnutrition that included micro nutrient deficiencies. It was done by collecting urine samples and blood samples. Apart from this, details of non – communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, kidney function in children were also collected during the survey.
Key findings of the survey
- Around 10% of children in the age group of 5 to 9 years and adolescents in the age group 10 to 19 years are pre – diabetic. 5% of them were overweight and 5% suffered from blood pressure.
- The survey for the first time proved the coexistence of obesity and under nutrition.
- One in five children in the age group 5 to 9 years were stunted.
- Tamil Nadu and Goa had the highest number of adolescents who were obese or overweight.
About the survey
The survey covered more than 1,20,000 children and adolescents in rural and urban area. It aims to assess the following- Micro nutrient deficiencies
- Sub clinical inflammation
- Worm infestation.
- Overweight or obesity
- Cardio – metabolic risks
National Nutrition Week
Recently India marked the National Nutrition Week between September 1 and September 7, 2019 and marked September as Poshan month. It is important to encourage such measures as the country has around 194.4 million undernourished people. According to Food and Agriculture Organization, they constitute 14.5% of the total Indian population.Global Hunger Index, 2018
It ranked India at 103 out of 119 countries based on the following factors
- Prevalence of stunting and wasting
- Child mortality rate
- Undernourishment
Global Nutrition Report, 2018
The Global Nutrition Report 2018, prepared by WHO, states that India is home to 46.6 million stunted children out of 150.8 million stunted children all over the world. The report also says that- Out of 50.5 million children who are wasted globally, 25.5 million are in India.
- India is the third most obese nation in the world. WHO states India as Diabetes capital with 69.2 million suffering from diabetes.
- India might lose 46 billion USD to malnutrition by 2030.
Steps taken by the Government of India to combat malnutrition
- Poshan Abhiyan – It was launched in 2017 – 18 to reduce anemia, stunting, under – nutrition.
- National Food Security act, 2013 – The act made food a legal right of the citizens. It aims to ensure food and nutrition security to the vulnerable.
- Mid – day meal scheme
- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana – Under the scheme, Rs 6,000 is transferred directly to bank accounts of pregnant women to avail facilities for their delivery.
What is malnutrition and under nutrition?
- Malnutrition refers to the imbalanced in a person’s intake of nutrients or energy.
- It broadly covers the following
- Under nutrition – It includes
- Stunting – Low height for age
- Wasting – low weight for age
- Underweight – Low weight for age
- Micro nutrient deficiencies – lack of vitamins and minerals
- Obesity – It includes overweight and non – communicable diseases like diabetes, stroke, cancer, etc.
- Under nutrition – It includes
IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking 2019
September 27, 2019
Rankings
US topped the list followed by Singapore in the second place. Sweden was ranked third followed by Denmark and Switzerland in the 4th and 5th places respectively. The other top 10 digitally most competitive economies include Netherlands (6th), Finland (7th), Hong Kong, Norway and Republic of Korea.The largest jump was seen in China. China moved to 22nd position from its 30th position in 2018.
IMD World Competitiveness
The yearbook is published by the Swiss based International Institute for Management Development. The year book is being published since 1989. However, the ranking was begun in 2017.India
India advanced 4 places from 48th to the 44th. The report mentions the following reasons for the improvement- Talent Sub factor
- Training and Education
- E – Participation
The largest improvements were experienced by Asian countries like India, China, Korea and Indonesia.
How was the ranking done?
The World Digital Competitiveness Center prepares the ranking based on three factors namely- Knowledge – The capacity of the economy to understand and learn new technologies
- Competence – How well an economy competes with other countries to develop new digital innovations
- Future readiness – the preparedness of the economy for the coming developments.
Manipur tops in Breastfeeding, Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices
August 9, 2019
Key Highlights of Report Card
Low Performing State in country: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar secured bottom positions in report card. Delhi, National capital of India is also among worst-performing States.Breastfeeding report card has been developed by devising a composite score based on 3 indicators–
- Early initiation of breastfeeding
- Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months
- Complimentary feeding at 6-8 months of child’s age
Facts about Breastfeeding, Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices
As per Convention on the Rights of the Child, every infant and child has right to good nutrition.World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 1st 6 months and breastfeeding with home-made food for minimum 2 years.
Undernutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.
In 2016, 155 million children under 5 year of age were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 52 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 41 million were overweight (or obese), globally.
Nearly 40% of infants 0–6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
Globally, few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.
In many countries less than a fourth (25%) of infants 6–23 months of age meet criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age.
Benefits
Every year more than 820000 children’s lives could be saved among children under 5 years, if all children 0–23 months were optimally breastfed.
Breastfeeding improves IQ, school attendance and is also associated with higher income in adult life.
Breastfeeding not only saves child from being malnourished but also saves mother from breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
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Delhi’s Connaught Place 9th most expensive office location in World: CBRE
July 11, 2019
Key Highlights of Survey
New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) is among top 10 most expensive office markets globally. As per the report, office occupancy cost in New Delhi’s CP is $143.97 per sq ft.Asia’s performance in prime office space leasing segment-
6 of world’s 10 most expensive office markets are found in Asia.
For 2nd year straight Hong Kong’s central district retained top spot as World’s most two expensive market for prime office rents. Its occupancy cost was valued at $322 per sq.ft.
Reason Behind Cost: As per report the growing significance of talent acquisition race are driving prime occupancy cost to newer heights. Along with this other driving forces behind price growth are limited supply and moderate construction pipelines in most cities.
On Indian commercial Real Estate Market: BPRE survey highlights that strong demand from technology, finance and e-commerce sectors has fueled growth momentum in prime occupancy costs. Also in India commercial office market remains a strong growth propeller for real estate sector.
About Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey
It is an annual survey released by BPRE.The cost taken in Survey reflects rent, plus local taxes and service charges for highest-quality prime office properties.
It tracks cost of leasing prime office space globally.
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State of the Education Report for India 2019 launched
July 5, 2019
To be published annually, the 2019 edition of report is 1st of its kind published by UNESCO New Delhi. It highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to Right to Education (RTE) of children with disabilities (CWDs).
Key findings of Report
Based on extensive research of national and international documents of reference, the report provides comprehensive and detailed information on present state of education of CWDs and submits 10 key suggestions to policy makers.Bodies involved: It is Prepared by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and commissioned by UNESCO.
Citing 2011 census data, report showed that there are more than 78 lakh CWDs in India between age group of 5-19 years. 27% of these CWDs between (ages 5 to 19) have never attended any educational institution.
Nearly 75% of 5 year olds who have certain disabilties, do not go to any educational institution.
In schools there are fewer girls with disabilities than boys.
The proportion of CWDs who are out of school is higher than overall proportion of out-of-school children at national level.
Home-based education: In many parts of rural India, if a parent opts for home-based education, the child may not be getting an education at all as it often exists only on paper for CWDs.
Challenges: Inadequate allocations, delays in releasing funds and under-utilisation of allocation remain key challenges in financing education for CWDs.
Differences noted among various types of disabilities
Only 20% of children with impairments related to Visual and Hearing had never been in school. However, among children with multiple disabilities or mental illness, that figure rose to more than 50%.
Recommendations:
Amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 to make it align with the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Data: There is a need to strengthen data on children with disabilities which can help in effective planning, implementation and monitoring of their education.
Campaign: There should be concentrated campaigns and large scale awareness which can improve the attitude towards children with disabilities in the classroom and beyond.
Mechanism under Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is needed to coordinate all education programmes for children with disabilities across departments. This would help remove inconsistencies and achieve synergy in the various measures aimed at their education.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, Sciences and Culture.UNESCO’s programmes contribute towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015.
It fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation.
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High trading costs impact liquidity of Indian equities: World Bank
July 4, 2019
Key Highlights of Study
Turnover ratio of Indian stock market had fallen from 143 in 2008 to 58 in 2018 which means a fall of nearly 60% between 2008-2018 decade.Although the ratio had managed to move up in last 5 years but it is still quite low when compared with earlier highs.
The fall had been highest among most leading markets of world, except United States (US) and European Union (EU).
Other Countries: Between 2008 and 2018, China’s turnover ratio fell less than 6% in last 10 years; Brazil (12.85%) and South Korea (31.12%), Japan and Hong Kong saw ratio dip between 40-50%.
Significance: Key analysis by WB study assumes significance as market participants have been lobbying hard with central government to reduce overall cost of trading in equities in India, which, they feel, is adversely affecting investors’ interest in stock market.
Background
In 2007-08, central government stopped treating Securities Transaction Tax (STT) as tax paid and rather treated it as an expense that led to double taxation for gains assessed under business income. Moreover, while introducing STT in 2004 the Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax was made nil but STT was not done away with when LTCG was reintroduced in 2018.Way Forward for India
The capital market participants had sought rationalisation of STT apart from bringing back certain exemption benefits that were available earlier.What is Turnover Ratio?
It is a universally accepted parameter to measure trading volumes. It is the total value of shares traded in a specific period divided by average market capitalisation of that period. It indicates how easy, or difficult, it is to sell shares of a particular stock on capital market." "
India population to cross China’s By 2027: UN
June 20, 2019
Key Findings of Report
Global Population: Despite a slowing global birth rate world population is projected to increase by another 2 billion people by 2050 i.e. from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 9.7 billion by 2050. More than 50% increase will be concentrated in only 9 countries namely- India, Pakistan, the United States, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Egypt Tanzania, and Indonesia. The population of sub-Saharan Africa is also projected to nearly double in coming future.India: According to report estimates India is expected to add 273 million people by 2050 and will remain most populated until the end of century (2100). In 2019, the estimated population of India is 1.37 billion and of China 1.43 billion, but India is projected to surpass China’s. Thus by 2050, India will be leading the set of nine countries that will make up for more than half of projected growth of global population.
Projected Populous Countries: Following India-China re-ordering in 2027, the ranking of 5 largest countries is projected to remain same until the end of century i.e. by 2100. Therefore, based on an estimated population top 5 world’s populous nation will be- India is projected to remain world’s most populous country with about 1.5 billion inhabitants, followed by China (1.1 billion), Nigeria (733 million), United States (434 million), and Pakistan (403 million).
Ageing Population: The report projects that overall world’s population is ageing at such a fast rate that by 2050, 1 in 6 people in world will be part of age group of 65 (and above) as compared to 1 in 11 in 2019. Also by end of 2100 world population is set to peak at a level of about 11 billion.
Shrinking Population: Between 2019 and 2050, nearly 55 countries are estimated to face population shrinking by at least 1%. As already since 2010, 27 countries have recorded a minimum 1% decline in population. This declining trend in population being experienced by growing number of countries is attributed to sustained low levels of fertility or even high rates of emigration. China will be the largest of these 55 countries whose population is projected to shrink by as much as 2.2% (about 31.4 million) by 2050.
About World Population Prospects 2019
It published by Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). WPP 2019 is 26th edition of United Nations population estimates and projections.It presents population estimates from year 1950 to 2019 for 235 countries or areas by analysing historical demographic trends. WPPP 2019 revision presents population projections to year 2100.
This years WPPP’s presents population estimates and projections describe 2 out of 4 demographic megatrends– population growth and ageing other being migration and urbanization.
Importance: Collectively, these data make up a critical piece of evidence base for monitoring global progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.
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Amazon India Most Attractive Employer Brands in India 2019
June 18, 2019
Key Findings of Study
Top 10 most attractive employer brands in India for 2019 includes: (1) Amazon, (2) Microsoft, (3) Sony, (4) Mercedes-Benz, (5) IBM, (6) Larsen & Toubro, (7) Nestle, (8) Infosys, (9) Samsung, (10) DellCoverage: The Randstad research for year 2019 covered 75% of global economy with 32 participating countries and over 2 lakh respondents worldwide.
For the Indian workforce while choosing an employer salary and employee benefits continue to be top driver, followed by work-life balance and job security.
Although the gender differences between men and women on top three aspects were minimal, but women, attributed more importance to salary and benefits (49%) and work-life balance (47%) as compared to their male counterparts who ranked these as top aspects at 46% and 46% respectively.
The most important finding was that work-life balance was accorded importance as a key factor while considering choosing an employer. This has increased largely (46%) compared to last two years and emergence of fact that Indian employees are willing to place a premium on job security.
There are 23% higher number of employees in India who indicate that they would be agreeable to a security versus compensation trade-off. This is higher than the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) average.
About 52% of survey respondents showed their willingness to forfeit more than 10% of their salary for job security.
About Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR)
REBR is world’s most comprehensive, independent and in-depth employer brand research. It identifies most attractive employers among thousands of companies.The research captures views of more than 2 lakh respondents which include general public (aged 18-65) on 6,162 companies in 32 countries.
It provides insights into drivers and perceptions of choice of potential employees by finding answers to questions such as- Why do people prefer one company, or a specific industry, over another and What motivates them to stay with an employer/start looking elsewhere?
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Global Peace Index 2019: India ranked 141
June 14, 2019
Key Findings of Report
Most Peaceful Country: Iceland with rank 1st remains the most peaceful country in world. It has held this rank since 2008. Other countries at top of GPI are New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.Least Peaceful Country: As per GPI 2019 Afghanistan is now ranked as least peaceful country in world. It has replaced Syria, which is now the 2nd least peaceful. Other least peaceful countries includes South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq.
Countries with highest risk of multiple climate hazards: includes China, Japan, India, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Countries with largest total military expenditure: United States (US), China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
South Asia: Bhutan topped the index in South Asia with its 15th rank. Other countries of region include Sri Lanka (72), Nepal (76) and Bangladesh (101). The neighbouring country Pakistan is ranked 153rd on index.
Both India and Pakistan had highest rating at five in the score for internal conflicts fought. Only deaths from internal conflict showed improvement, with fewer fatalities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India than the year before.
The report observed that China, India and Bangladesh score in bottom half of GPI and have significant exposure to climate hazards, with over 393 million people in high climate hazard areas
Report Analysis
As per the index findings, although global peacefulness improved for first time in past five years but world now remains less peaceful than a decade ago.
The GPI 2019 report includes new research on possible effects of climate change on peace. It also revealed that since 2008 global peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.78%.
While the state sponsored terror has declined significantly over the last decade, with 62 countries improving their scores and only 42 deteriorated but imprisonment data shows the opposite trend with 95 countries increasing the imprisonment rate compared to 65 that improved.
The score of South Asia for every indicator in ongoing conflict is less peaceful than total global average, with four out of six deteriorating in 2018 itself.
About GPI
It was founded by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist.The report covers 99.7% of world’s population. It uses 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index.
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an Australian think tank ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness. This is based on three thematic domains-
- level of societal safety and security
- extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict
- degree of militarisation.
SDG Gender Index: India ranked 95
June 6, 2019
About Index
- Indicators: It includes 51 indicators across 14 of 17 official Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
- These indicators are those that are gender specific and those that are not but have an effect on girls and women like poverty, health, education, political representation and equality at the workplace.
- Methodology: The overall scores of this Index are based on scale of 0–100. Score of 100 indicates achievement of gender equality in relation to underlying indicators while score of 50 indicate that a country is about halfway to meeting its goal.
- The global average score of 65.7 out of 100 (means “poor”) shows that till date no country has fully achieved commitment about gender equality.
- This shows that almost 40%, of world’s girls and women (around 1.4 billion) live in countries failing on gender equality and another 1.4 billion live in countries that barely pass the benchmark.
- Top 10 countries: Denmark (1), Finland (2), Sweden (3), Norway (4), Netherlands (5), Slovenia (6), Germany (7), Canada (8), Ireland (9), and Australia (10).
- Bottom 10 countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Yemen, Congo, DR Congo and Chad.
- India’s Performance: India’s overall score was 56.2 which means that it is among 43 countries that fall in the ‘very poor’ category.
- India scores were highest in health (79.9), hunger (76.2) and energy (71.8). It performed poorly in partnerships (18.3), industry, infrastructure and innovation (38.1) and climate (43.4).
About Equal Measures 2030
It is partnership among regional and global organizations from civil society and development and private sectors. It includes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, African Women’s Development and Communication Network, International Women’s Health Coalition and Plan International." "
ICMR calls for ban on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
June 1, 2019
On occasion of World Tobacco Day which was observed on 31 May, ICMR released a white paper (an authoritative report or guide that informs readers about an issue) about harmful effects of ENDS and e-cigarettes.
Key Findings of ICMR’s White Paper
- Background: In 2018 Centre government issued an advisory recommending a ban on sale of e-cigarettes in India. Later a committee headed by K Srinath Reddy of Public Health Foundation of India (PHAI) was constituted which included experts from ICMR, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, AII India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. The committee was tasked to analyse more than 300 research articles from all over the world and prepared the white paper.
- Addictive: It noted that e-cigarettes and other such devices contained not only nicotine solution, that was highly addictive, but also harmful ingredients like flavoring agents and vaporisers.
- Marketing: It found that availability of flavour variants and attractive designs are adding to allure of devices, and globally there was an increasing trend of e-cigarettes consumption among youth and adolescents. There are more than 460 different e-cigarette brands with varied configuration of nicotine delivery that come in over 7,700 flavours.
- Worry: Use of ENDS or e-cigarettes can open a gateway for new tobacco addiction among the masses as on the balance, these have a negative impact on public health.
- Effect on Health: Prolonged use of ENDS or e-cigarettes has documented adverse impact on humans which includes DNA damage, respiratory/cardiovascular/ neurological Disorders, carcinogenic/cellular/molecular/immunological Toxicity and even have adverse effects on fetal development and pregnancy.
- It rejected argument that e-cigarettes could help smokers quit tobacco consumption. Although such benefits of e-cigarettes consumption have not been firmly established but these devices could encourage non-smokers to get addicted to tobacco.
- Youth: With large number of e-cigarette brands promoting thousands of flavors, the e-cigarette are fast becoming a trend among youngsters. Research has found that youths using e-cigarettes (or other such devices) are more likely to use regular cigarettes in later period. The exposure to ENDS increases the likelihood to experiment with regular products and increase intention to indulge in cigarette smoking.
Way Forward
These scientific and research data given in the white paper could help the government to formulate necessary policies on ENDS or e-cigarettes and other such devices." "
UN Report: India to grow at 7.1% in 2020
May 24, 2019
Key Findings of Report
- Global Growth: For both developed and developing countries, 2019 growth projections have been downgraded. The growth outlook for many developing economies was also weakened. After an expansion of 3% in 2018, world gross product growth is now projected to settle to 2.7 % in 2019 and 2.9 % in 2020.
- India’s Growth: Despite a downward revision growth in Indian economy remains strong amid robust domestic demand. India is projected to grow at 7% in fiscal year 2019 and 7.1% in fiscal year 2020.
- Risk Projections: As per WESP report, certain risks that could trigger a prolonged slowdown in the world economy’s growth include an escalation in trade disputes, a sudden deterioration in financial conditions, and accelerating effects of climate change.
- The increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters globally highlight the rising threats faced from climate change, particularly by most vulnerable economies.
- Recommendations: To tackle current growth slowdown it would require a combination of monetary, fiscal and development-oriented measures. Also, there is an immediate need of more coordinated multilateral approach to global climate policy, which includes use of carbon pricing mechanisms.
About WESP Report
It is a joint product of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions." "
UNESCO: Women still under-represented in Science and Technology
May 24, 2019
Key Highlights
- Statistics: According to UNESCO, globally only 29% of those in science research and development (R&D) are women, with a low 19% in south and west Asia and high 48% in central Asia.
- Reason: Most young women do not identify with STEM studies or careers and assume that these subjects would not align with their desire to be creative and make an impact in world.
- Consequences: As per experts this trend would further widen the gender gap in technology world and by shying away from STEM Women will also miss contributing to next generation of technologies and innovations.
- Teachers and technologists must take up responsibility to break misperception among women that STEM does not relate to world at large.
- They must build passion for STEM subjects among women students by designing computer science curricula around societal challenges and giving young women more exposure to female role models.
- Improving Awareness:
- Example- Microsoft, the technology major has taken up an initiative to encourage women to pursue careers in STEM and is working to get students and young women excited about STEM subjects.
- Such initiatives help raise awareness about issues that cause girls to drop out of or lose interest in STEM and aims to hold their excitement by showing them that if they stay engaged how they can change the world.
Steps Taken By UNESCO
- To strengthen and focus UNESCO’s work in support of gender equality in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) it launched STEM and Gender Advancement (SAGA) project in 2015. It is a global UNESCO project supported by Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
- It offers governments and policymakers a variety of tools to help reduce current global gender gap existing at all levels of education and research in STI fields.
India finds OECD’s STR Index faulty
May 16, 2019
Key Highlights
- About: A study commissioned by Indian Ministry of Commerce found that OECD index, the STRI has a several problems associated with it, which also includes some significant design issues that render the index impractical for use.
- Issues: As per India the outcomes of STRI are biased and counter-intuitive.
- The initial work suggests that there are both empirical and theoretical inconsistencies in STRI’s methodology.
- The data generated by OECD’s methodology seems to have been through arbitrary procedures and reflects being bias towards developed country.
- It shows Indian services sector as highly restrictive in areas such as FDI.
- Impractical: For instance, STRI seems to show the services sector in India as one of the most restrictive in world, particularly in policy areas like foreign entry, FDI etc. This is astonishing as since 1991, following the LPG reforms the one area that has seen maximum liberalisation in India is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
- India’s Approach: India is trying to build a consensus around adopting a new method of measuring trade restrictiveness in services sector. For this India approached several developing countries during recently-concluded WTO Ministerial talks held in New Delhi. It has also approached South Africa, Indonesia, China, Turkey and Brazil.
- India’s Argument: Unlike manufacturing trade which has a well-documented system of classification of commodities, the problem in services, is that for a long time there was not any way to find that whether a country’s service trade policies were restrictive.
- Also, even if it was ascertain as restrictive it was not known that what to do about it since services trade is usually regulated by domestic regulations and not border tariffs.
About STRI
- It was launched in 2014, by The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
- It purpose is to rank countries based on their services trade policies.
- STRI (computed by OECD) is now available for year 2018. It includes a total of 45 economies (with 36 OECD and the rest non-OECD) and 22 sectors. These countries and sectors undertaken represent more than 80% of global trade in services.
5th United Nations Global Road Safety Week
May 9, 2019
About 5th UN Global Road Safety Week 2019
- The UN Global Road Safety Weeks and its’ campaigns are coordinated by United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, chaired by World Health Organization (WHO).
- During the on-going global road safety week WHO released “Global Status Report on Road Safety”.
- As it is acknowledged that with a stronger leadership for road safety Global Goals could be achieved, so it launched action through ongoing campaign “Save Lives – #SpeakUp”.
About “Save Lives – #SpeakUp” campaign
- It operates on principles of ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’. The Decade of Action seeks to prevent road traffic injuries and deaths which are projected to take lives of about 1.9 million people annually by 2020.
- It provides an opportunity for civil society to demand a strong leadership for road safety, particularly around evidence-based interventions that will save lives.
- It also inspires leaders to take action by displaying strong leadership for road safety within governments, private companies, NGOs, international agencies, schools and universities.
Key Findings of Global Status Report on Road Safety: WHO
- All over the world Road accidents are leading cause of death among people in between 5years- 29years of age.
- Every year more than 1.35 million lives are lost and 50 million gets injured in road accidents.
- India’s Performance: Since 2008, India has maintained questionable distinction of being world number one in road crash deaths. In 2015, India became a signatory to Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety, where it committed to reduce 50% of its road crash deaths by 2020. But even after 2015, full scale of problem in India is still unacknowledged.
- As per Indian government data on road accidents, road crashes kill about 1,50,000 people each year. Although WHO report argues that numbers are understated and that India might be losing more than 2,99,000 people each year.
Current State of Cybercrime Report 2019
April 30, 2019
According to whitepaper ‘Current State of Cybercrime-2019’, released by RSA Security (is an American computer and network security company of parent organization Dell Technologies), social media fraud has increased by 43% in 2018. It says the trend will continue in 2019 because of ease of using, absence of fees and multiple other benefits of these platforms.Key Findings
- With Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter and other legitimate messaging platforms emerging as new ground for criminal deception, cybercriminals are increasingly relying on them to communicate with each other, sell stolen identities, credit card numbers and other ill-gotten gains.
- Artifice (fraud) from mobile apps has increased by 680% between 2015 and 2018, with frauds originating in mobile channels growing by 70% in 2018.
- It cautioned against the increasing rise of use of rogue mobile applications to defraud consumers.
- It highlighted that fraudsters are also undergoing their own form of digital transformation to make cybercrime activity more efficient
Steps taken by Government
Government has undertaken number of legislative, technical and institutional measures for addressing cyber security issues and strengthening cyber security system in country.- National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) is an operational cyber security and e-surveillance agency in India which is intended to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate intelligence gathering activities of other agencies. It generates situational awareness about potential and existing cyber security threats and enables timely sharing of information for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities.
- National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) under National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) coordinates with different agencies at the national level for cyber security matters.
- Enacted Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, to provide legal recognition for electronic communication, electronic commerce and cyber-crimes etc. IT Act has acted as deterrent provisions to deal with cyber threats and cyber-attacks.
- Established National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for protection of critical information infrastructure in the country.
- It formulated National Cyber Security policy (2013) framework to ensure a secure and resilient cyberspace for citizens, businesses and government.
- Set up Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats and countermeasures on regular basis.
- Launched Cyber Swachhta Kendra (which are Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) for detection of malicious programs and provide free tools for their removal.
- Set up The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), to issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats and countermeasures on regular basis. It conducts regular training programmes for network and system administrators and governments Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and critical sector organisations regarding securing the IT infrastructure and mitigating cyber attacks.
- (CERT-In) has also entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its overseas counterpart agencies/Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) for information exchange and collaboration for cyber security incident response.
- Under Cyber Crime Prevention for Women and Children (CCPWC) Scheme, GoI released grants to States/UTs to set up a Cyber Forensic cum Training Laboratory and to organize capacity building programme on cyber awareness and cyber crime investigation.
- A Division has been established under Ministry of Home Affairs to deal with Cyber and Information Security.
StartupBlink Ranking of Countries for Startup Environment
April 24, 2019
The rankings were based on the impact startups have been able to make in the country, how many startups and support organisations are there such as accelerators, coworking spaces, startup events along with technology infrastructure, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.
Findings of the Report
- The US, the UK, Canada, Israel, and Australia have been ranked in top5 in the rankings.
- India was ranked 17th in the rankings and has climbed 20 spots (rank 37) from the previous ranking.
- China was ranked 27th.
- Estonia (13), Ireland (14), and Germany (9) were ranked ahead of India for their startup ecosystems.
- The challenge before India is to improve the overall quality of startups and increase the number of unicorns than currently exist.
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State of World Population 2019
April 12, 2019
Findings of the Report
- India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion. It was more than double the annual growth rate of China.
- India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion. The population has grown from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.
- China’s population stood at 1.42 billion in 2019. China’s population increased from 1.23 billion in 1994 and 803.6 million in 1969.
- China’s population grew at an average annual rate of 0.5 per cent between 2010 and 2019.
- The total fertility rate per woman was 5.6 in 1969. It dropped to 3.7 in 1994 and 2.3 in 2019.
- India has recorded an improvement in life expectancy at birth. The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019.
- 27 per cent of India’s population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years each, while 67 per cent of India’s population was in the 15-64 age bracket. Six per cent of India’s population was of the age 65 and above.
- Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in the country dropped from 488 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1994 to 174 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.
- The absence of reproductive and sexual rights has major and negative repercussions on women’s education, income and safety in India, leaving them unable to shape their own futures.
- Early marriage continues to present a major cultural obstacle to female empowerment and better reproductive rights.
The Report Looking ahead to future challenges highlights the threat to women’s and girls’ reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.
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Smart City Indicator Survey
March 12, 2019
The survey was conducted in 20 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France and the United States, besides India.
Findings about India
- The survey reports that about four per cent of buildings in India are “green” but a lack of technical expertise to execute projects and funding to pay for improvements is the biggest barriers to investment in India.
Green Building
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes which are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition
- India even though a slow starter is catching up. About 46 per cent of the organisations surveyed in India are willing to pay a premium to lease space in a green building.
- India is on track to be consistent with the global average of 14 per cent.
The Survey also enumerated some of the key drivers in energy investments like greenhouse gas footprint reduction, increasing energy security and increasing building resilience.
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World Bank-ILO Report: Key Facts
March 1, 2019
Key Observations made in the Report
- Increasing exports together with leading to better jobs and higher wages in India will generate more formal sector employment for youth and women.
- Increasing exports would boost average wages and the biggest beneficiaries of this wage gain would be the high-skilled, urban, more experienced, and mainly male workers.
- For low-skilled workers, there would be an increase in formal jobs.
- Exports can improve the performance of local labour markets. Hence labour market policies must aid different groups of workers to acquire the right skills and ensure that the gains of increased exports are shared more broadly across society.
India and Boosting Exports
- India’s growth rate of 7.2 per cent in 2017 reduced the number of people living in poverty.
- Even then, most Indians doesn’t have regular jobs in the formal economy and differences in wages across regions and in the quality of employment opportunities prevail.
- India’s trade has been reduced from 55.8 per cent in 2012 to 41.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product between in 2017.
- Indian exports which are mainly capital intensive like chemicals and fabricated metals reduces the direct benefits to workers.
- The report notes that India can ensure that greater export orientation can boost workers’ gains from trade and spread them more widely, so benefiting disadvantaged groups.
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State of Talent Acquisition 2019 Report: Key Facts
January 31, 2019
- India Companies are expected to raise their hiring budgets by 34 per cent and volumes by 31 per cent in 2019.
- Due to this increase in hiring the companies are expected to raise their hiring budgets by at least 34 per cent compared to 20 per cent of companies in 2018.
- Technology will be a critical driver for achieving better outcomes, as well as for adapting to the growing changes in the job market and the hiring landscape.
- The better outcomes are not just confined to recruiting an adequate number of professionals and retaining them but also managing their human capital efficiently.
- The report notes that technology is employed extensively in sourcing (88 per cent) candidates, while it is used the least when-boarding (49 per cent), candidates.
- The report cites that lack of budget (about 33 per cent) as the biggest obstacle to implementing technology in the talent acquisition process.
- The respondents have cited that Human capital acquisition remained a critical issue in the country with employers indicating that ‘finding quality talent’ is a problem.
- The human capital acquisition was cited as a critical issue by 84 per cent the in the Northern region of the country, followed by Southern Region (81 per cent), East (71 per cent) and West 58 per cent.
- The Situation was comparatively better for larger organisations, as 67 per cent of respondents from the category said they face the least resistance in talent acquisition, although the challenge still persists in certain aspects of the process.
- The report notes that finding talented employees for specific roles has become a major stumbling block for organisations even when they are ready to offer remunerations that are considerably higher than the market standards.
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Corruption Perceptions Index 2018: Facts about India
January 30, 2019
It is the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide and it does not consider corruption in the business sector. The corruption perception index draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories.
The scores indicate the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100. A score of 0 points that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and a 100 points that a country has sound integrity systems.
Where does India stand?
The Corruption perception index makes the following observations about India:- India’s score has been marginally improved 41 from 40 in 2017.
- India’s ranking increased from 81st in 2017 to 78 in 2018.
- India had slid from 79th rank in 2016.
- The report cities countries like India along with Malaysia, Maldives and Pakistan will be important to watch moving forward.
- The report notes that all these countries mentioned above have witnessed massive public mobilisation against corruption coupled with significant political participation and voter turnout resulting in new governments that promised extensive anti-corruption reforms.
- The report mentions that these encouraging developments are yet to show some tangible solid action, especially when it comes to combating elusive forms of grand corruption.
- The report noted that since India gears up for general elections, there was a little significant movement in its CPI score, which moved from 40 in 2017 to 41 in 2018.
- The report notes that in spite of spectacular public mobilisation in 2011, where citizens demanded the government to take action against corruption and advocated for the passage of the comprehensive Jan Lokpal bill, the efforts ultimately fizzled and fell flat, with little to no movement on the ground to build the specialist anti-corruption infrastructure required.
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Bloomberg Innovation Index 2019: Key Facts
January 25, 2019
The countries are ranked on the basis of their overall ability to innovate considering seven-equal weighted metrics such as research & development intensity, manufacturing value-added, productivity, high-tech density, tertiary efficiency, researcher concentration, patent activity.
How the Countries are ranked?
The ranking of the various countries under the index are:- The index is topped by South Korea for the sixth time in a row with a total score of 87.38.
- South Korea is closely followed by Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, U.S., Japan and France in the top 10.
- The United States has surged back into top 10 this year after it was left behind from the top 10 in 2018 Bloomberg Innovation index.
- China has jumped three places to 16th rank largely due to the surge in patent activity.
- India stands at 54th spot in the Bloomberg Innovation Index with a score of 47.93 out of 100.
India’s ranking under different matrices
India stood at 47th place in research & development intensity, 54th place in manufacturing value-added, 58th place in productivity, 29th place in high-tech density, 51st in tertiary efficiency, 59th in researcher concentration and 36th in patent activity.Bloomberg Innovation Index published top 60 economies out of 95 economies analysed for the ranking process for the year 2019 based on a score from 0-100 on the basis of seven equal-weighted metrics.
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Global Talent Competitive Index: Key Facts
January 23, 2019
The Global Talent Competitive Index measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, ranking 125 countries and 114 cities across all groups of income and levels of development.
Where does India stand?
The findings of the 2019 Global Talent Index for India are:- Even though India has moved up one position to rank 80th on the global talent competitive index, India remains a laggard among the BRICS nations.
- India’s performance was better than its lower-income peers when it comes to growing talent (48th) and access to growth opportunities (41st).
- In spite of the scope for improvement across the board, India’s biggest challenge is to improve its ability to attract (95th) and retain (96th) talent.
- India needs to address its poor level of Internal Openness (116th) in particular with respect to weak gender equality and low tolerance towards minorities and immigrants and its disappointing showing in lifestyle (112th) indicators.
Global Findings
The global findings of the Index are:- Switzerland is followed by Singapore, the US, Norway and Denmark in the top five on the list.
- The talent gap between higher and lower-income countries has widened over the last five years.
- Countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa are seeing a progressive erosion of their talent base.
- China’s ranking fell by two places to 45. Even then China is the best performer among BRICS countries.
- The report cities rather than countries are developing stronger roles as talent hubs and will be crucial in reshaping the global talent scene.
- The top-ranked city in the index is Washington DC, followed by Copenhagen, Oslo, Vienna and Zurich.
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Times Higher Education Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019
January 16, 2019
Performance Indicators
The rankings use 13 performance indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons to reflect the characteristics of the emerging economy universities.These 13 performance indicators are grouped under 5 categories: Teaching (the learning environment); Research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); International outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).
Findings in the Rankings
The standings of Indian universities in the rankings are as outlined below:- The Indian Institute of Science has topped the rankings among Indian institutes with 14th rank; the second spot among Indian Institutes was occupied by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay with 27th rank.
- IIT Roorkee has moved up by 21 places to 35th rank due to improvements in its research (volume, income and reputation) and industry income (knowledge transfer).
- IIT Indore (61st) and the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research are at joint 64th position.
- Savitribai Phule Pune University has moved up by 87 positions to joint 93rd, alongside the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The increase in the rankings of Savitribai Phule Pune University is attributed to its research score and a significant rise to its citations score.
- Banaras Hindu University, Amrita University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and IIT Hyderabad also features among the top 150 in the rankings.
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Vision 2040 document: Aviation
January 16, 2019
Forecasts of the Vision Document
The forecasts of the Vision 2040 document are:- The document estimates that India will need 200 airports and an investment of $40-50 billion to handle at least 1.1 billion passengers flying to, from and within the country.
- It is estimated that passenger traffic (to, from and within India) for FY 2040 would be 1.1 billion, which is six times the 187 million traffic recorded in FY 2018.
- Most of the airports’ passenger capacity will saturate in the next 15 years and India will have to nearly double the count from 99 to 200.
- Even the second airports in regions like Delhi and Mumbai would be saturated by 2040 and will require a third airport.
- In order to cater to this huge passenger traffic, India will have to holistically develop airports having all stakeholders on board. This has to be coupled with providing quality service to flyers.
- The scheduled airline fleet will rise from 622, at the end of March 2018, to 2,360 till March 2040.
- Even though India is a “price sensitive” market, gradual rise in per capita incomes, increased (perceived) value of ‘time’, propensity for leisure and tourism will lead to more and more Indians using airways as a medium to travel.
Recommendations made in the Vision Document
The Vision Document makes the following recommendations:- Ushering in amendments to Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Restructuring Act, 2013 and adopting “land-pooling” techniques to develop newer airports.
- Lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) since taxes add pressure on the airline’s bottom line.
- Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to be brought under GST.
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Survey on sanitation across Cities on the Bank of River Ganga
January 15, 2019
Findings of the Survey
The findings of the Survey are:- Four out of five towns along the River Ganga have waste dumps along the banks and nearly 55 per cent of the towns have drains emptying into the river without any cleaning.
- Only 19 towns had municipal solid waste (MSW) plants and only 7 towns in the plains can claim installation of a trash cleaner in their territory.
- 72 per cent of towns have nullahs (drains) discharging into the river and 77 per cent of these drains do not have functional screens that filter out filth.
- 12 towns have scored A, 44 B-grade and the rest scored a poor C grade in performance.
- Poor-performing towns were in states of West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Different Grades
Grade A – Towns had good cleanliness and waste management services.
Grade B – Towns managed only a partial cleanliness around the ghats.
Grade C- Towns have a lot to do to achieve over improvement in cleanliness, solid waste management and in setting up infrastructure at treating sewage flowing into the river.
Quality Council of India
The Quality Council of India (QCI) is an accreditation body established by the government of India in partnership with the Indian industry.Quality Council of India (QCI) is set up as a non-profit autonomous society to establish an accreditation structure in the country and to spread quality movement in India by undertaking a National Quality Campaign.
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Henley Passport Index
January 10, 2019
Ranking of the Jurisdictions
The Rankings of the jurisdictions based on the rankings in the Henley Passport Index are:- Japan retained its top spot as the world’s most travel-friendly passport due to the document’s access to 190 jurisdictions.
- South Korea and Singapore are at joint second position offering access to 189 jurisdictions.
- China has jumped almost 20 places in just two years, from 85th in 2017 to 69th this year.
- India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th this year.
- European Union member states along with Norway and the US occupy the places behind the top three nations in the rankings.
- The rankings of the USA and UK have continued to drop.
- The top 5 positions are held by Japan (190 countries), Singapore, South Korea (189), France, Germany (188), Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden (187), and Luxembourg, Spain (186)
- The bottom 5 positions are held by Eritrea (38), Yemen (37), Pakistan (33), Somalia, Syria (32)and Afghanistan, Iraq (30).
Observations
Christian Kalin, Chairman of the Henley & Partners’ Group who is also the creator of the index notes that the ranking is a bright spot in an increasingly isolationist world.Open-door policies have the potential to contribute billions to the global economy, as well as createdata "
World Wide Education for the Future Index: India jumps to rank 35
February 20, 2020
Highlights
The ranking is provided based on the ability of a country to equip their students in skill-based education. India ranked 35th with an overall score of 53. The scores were provided based on the performance of the countries in three countries namely teaching, policy environment and teaching environment. In 2018, India ranked 40th with an overall score of 41.2.In Policy Environment, India scored 56.3, in teaching environment its score was 52.2 and in socio-economic environment India’s score was 50.1.
India has performed better in socio-economic environment. This is because in 2018, its score was 32.2. However, the performance decreased in policy environment as the score in the area in 2018 was 61.5
Global Rankings
Among the largest economies the countries that fell back in their rankings include US, UK, Russia and France. On other hand, India, China and Indonesia performer better as compared to the previous year." "
India ranks 77 on sustainability index and 131 on Flourishing Index
February 20, 2020
According to the report, India ranked 131 in flourishing index and 77 on sustainability index.
Highlights
The report says that India has improved in health and sanitation. However, it has to increase its spending on Health. Around 180 countries were compared in the report. The parameters of comparison included child survival, child wellbeing, health and education, sustainability, child nutrition.Key Findings of the report
Because of stunting and poverty, around 250 million children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential.Best and Least Performers
The children in countries such as Republic of Korea and Netherlands have best chances of survival. On the other hand, Chad, Niger, Somalia and Mali were the least performers and face very bad odds.Current Scenario
The report has named USA, Saudi Arabia and Australia as the top 10 highest emitters. Norway, Netherlands and Republic of Korea emit 210% more than the target set by them towards the per capita target of 2030.Major Issues
According to the report, the poorest countries have to do more to support their children health and ability. They have to spend lots towards their children health in order to provide them healthy lives. This disproportionately is affected by the carbon emissions from rich countries. The issue overall is threatening lives of all children.The current scenario is capable of crating devastating health consequences such as malaria, malnutrition and Dengue. Along with this the threats from heat waves and rising ocean levels are also high.
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IISS Study: World Defence spending biggest in 10 years
February 15, 2020
Highlights
The report also says that the Defence race between China and US has increasing alarmingly. The Military Modernization Programme in China has led to developing new hard to detect Hypersonic missiles. This has kindled US to spend alarmingly towards its Defence Programmes. In 2018-19 the United States has spent 53.4 billion USD towards its Defence Programmes.Relative Spending
Out of all the countries, China and US has increased the spending by 6.6%. The Europe spending has increased by 4.2%. This is the first time Europe has seen increased levels of spending since financial crisis in 2008.NATO members
US is constantly complaining that the NATO members are not contributing enough towards Defence spending. US had earlier accused Germany for not living up to the 2014 NATO pledge. According to the NATO pledge the member nation should contribute 2% of its GDP to Defence.International Institute for Strategic Studies
The IISS is a British Research Institute that was established in 1997. The IISS was ranked the 10th best institute in the world by the Global Go To Think Tank Index. It is also the second best Defence and National Security think tank globally." "
NCRB report on women and child trafficking: Mumbai and Kolkata highest
February 10, 2020
Findings
The report says that the common causes of trafficking are sexual exploitation, child labour and domestic help. Mumbai and Kolkata reported maximum number of trafficking.Maharashtra reported the maximum number of missing women and Madhya Pradesh reported maximum number of cases of missing children. Of all the states, Odisha reported maximum rise in missing women cases. The percentage of increase in Odisha was around 143% in 2018 as compared to the previous year. The report also quoted data from United Nations.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The UNODC Global Report, 2018, reported that the 35% of victims trafficked were for forced labour. Also, more than half of the reported cases were females." "
WHO report: Cancer Cases to increase by 81% in 2040
February 4, 2020
Highlights
According to the report, the cancer cases will increase by 81% by 2040. This is mainly due to lack of investment. The report says that it is essential to invest 25 billion USD in the next decade to save millions of lives.The treatment for cancer in developed countries has brought down the mortality rate due to cancer by 20%. However, in poorer countries the reduction was merely 5%.
The report also says that 25% of cancer deaths were due to tobacco consumption.
Tobacco in India
According to WHO, there are 120 million smokers in India. This is 12% of world smoker. The number of tobacco smokers in India grew by 36% between 1998 and 2015.National Tobacco Control Programme
The Programme is currently being implemented in 612 districts. It aims at bringing awareness about tobacco control laws and harmful effects of tobacco usage." "
Transparency International: Assam tops in budget formulation
January 30, 2020
Highlights
The survey was conducted by the organization based on four parameters such as budgetary process, public disclosure, post budget fiscal management and efforts to make budget citizen friendly.Transparency International
The international Non-Governmental Organization measures and prevents criminal activities arising due to corruption. It releases Global Corruption Index annually. The organization is also a member of UNESCO, United National Global Compact, UNESCO Consultative Status, United Nations Sustainable Development Group.The Headquarters of Transparency International is located in Germany.
Other Key products of Transparency International
The Organization also provides Global Corruption Barometer that asks citizens about their personal experiences of corruption in their daily lives. Apart form this the organization also publishes Government Anti-Corruption Index." "
NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District Ranking released: Chandauli of UP tops
January 30, 2020
Highlights
The Chandauli district of UP topped the list followed by Bolangir of Odisha, YSR (AP) in second and third positions respectively. Sahibanj of Jhatkhand and Hailakandi of Assam were placed in fourth and fifth places. The rankings were done for 112 aspirational districts. The districts were selected from six developmental areas in December 2019.Parameters
The areas evaluated during the ranking includes Health and Nutrition, agriculture, education, skill development, financial inclusion, basic infrastructure and water resources.Aspirational Districts Programme
The Programme was launched in January 2018. The main objective of the programme is to transform the districts that have been pockets of under-development. These cities show relatively lesser progress. Also, the ranking helps in competitive Federalism and hence hastens overall development.The Programme aims at Convergence, Collaboration and Competition.
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Democracy Index released: India ranks 51; Slips 10 positions
January 23, 2020
Highlights
According to the report, the slippage of India’s ranking was mainly due to the protests of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.Report on Kashmir
With respect to the Kashmir issue of Abrogation of Article 370, the report says that certain acts of government over the issue led to the decline in the country’s ranking. It includes deployment of large troops in Jammu and Kashmir region, restricting internet access and also placing local leaders under house arrest.Report on NRC
The report said that the citizenship registration exercise excluded 1.9 million people from the final list. Also, the majority of the population excluded were Muslims. This has enraged large Muslim population and has stoked protests in various parts of the country.History of India’s Index
The democratic indices are awarded over a score of 10. Since the launch of the Index in 2006, India has obtained the lowest score of 6.9 this time in 2019. In 2018, India obtained 7.23. India’s highest score was 7.91 in 2014 and has declined since then. However, India’s scores have always remained above global average. This year, the global average was 5.44." "
UNCTAD releases Global investment Trend report: India among top 10 recipients of FDI
January 21, 2020
Highlights: World
According to the report, FDI in South Asia increased by 10% as compared to 2018. The inflows of Pakistan and Bangladesh however declined by 20% and 6% respectively. China remained the topmost FDI recipient in the world as it was in 2018 followed by the United States. The United States in 2019 attracted 251 billion USD FDI and the inflows of China was 140 billion USD.The report also said that the inflows into developing economies remained unchanged. The FDI in Latin America and Caribbean rose by 16%. The FDI in African countries were 3% and was far less as compared to other parts of the world.
Highlights: India
The growth of FDI in South Asia was mainly due to India. In 2019, the India’s FDI was 49 billion USD. The report says that FDI in 2019 has increased by 16% as compared to 2018. The majority of the input in India went into Information Technology.Predictions of 2020
The report predicts that FDI flows in the country will increase in 2020." "
Henley Passport Index launched
January 16, 2020
The Index is based on the number of destinations their holders can access without visa.
Highlights
According to the index, Japan has the world’s strongest passport. Japan has been holding top rank position for the past 3 years. According to 2020 index, the citizens can access 191 destinations without the necessity of obtaining visa in advance.Japan was followed by Singapore, Germany, South Korea at second, third and fourth places respectively. US and UK have been falling places for two year are now in eighth position.
India ranked closer to the bottom at rank 84.
History of performances
UAE was the historic performer of Henley Passport Index 2020. UAE has jumped 47 places in the past 10 years. It is currently at 47th position.India was in Rank 71 as the index was released in 2006. Today Indian citizens can access only 60 destinations in the world without obtaining prior Visa.
Visa Free Destinations
There are 58 destinations in the world that does not require prior Visa. 20 of the 58 are in Africa, 11 in Asia.There is no developed country or a major power in the world where Indians can travel without Visa. Serbia is the only European country where Indians are allowed to travel without visa.
What is Passport Index?
Passport index is an online tool that provides insights about visa-free travel option. The score also says how welcoming the countries are. The Passport index includes Visa-Frees score, World Openness score, Welcoming score and Global Mobility score. When these scores are high, passport index is also high and such a passport is said to be highly powerful." "
Annual Status of Education Report 2019
January 15, 2020
Key Findings of the report
- Number of girls enrolled in government schools is higher than number of boys. On the other hand, number of boys enrolled in private institutions is higher than that of girls
- The report says that around 56.8% of girls and 50.4% of boys are enrolled in government schools.
- In the age group of 6-8 years, 61.1% of girls and 52.1% of boys were enrolled in government institutions.
- According to RTE act, 2009 (Right to Education act), children should enter Class I at the age of 6. But according to the report, 4 out of every 10 children entering Class I are less than 5 years old.
Suggestions of the report
- The existing network of Anganwadi Centres should be strengthened and expanded.
- Early language, numeracy, social and emotional learning tasks are closely related to age of the children. Therefore, it is mandatory to put children into primary grades at the right age.
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IEA launches India’s Energy Policy Report
January 10, 2020
Key Findings of the report
- The oil demand of India will overtake China by mid-2020. It will make India more vulnerable to supply disruption in the middle east. According to the report, oil demand of India will reach 6 million barrels per day by 2024. It was 4.4 million barrels per day in 2017.
- The report also said that India is the third largest consumer of oil after China and United States. Also, India imports 80% of its oil needs. Of this, 65% are from middle east through Strait of Hormuz.
- India is the fourth largest oil refiner in the world. The products mainly include diesel and gasoline. The report said that India’s plan of increasing its refining capacity to 8 million barrels per day by 2025 will make India an attractive market for investment in the refinery sector.
Strategic Petroleum Reserves
The agency releases strategic petroleum reserves of developed countries. It insisted that India has to expand its fuel reserves.The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited maintains emergency fuel store of 5.33 metric tonnoes. This will fulfil the demand of the country for 10 days. There are three such oil storage reserves located at PAdur, Mangalore and Vizag. In 2017-18 budget, it was announced that India is to build 2 more reserves at Chandikhole and Bikaner respectively.
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World Bank’s Global Economic Prospect: World Economic Growth projected at 2.5%
January 9, 2020
Highlights
The report says that investment and trade in the country is expected to recover. However, the downward risks from 2019 are to continue. It also said that the advanced economies are to slip their growth by 1.4% as the manufacturing sector continues to soften.The emerging markets in the developing economies are to witness acceleration in their growth according to the report. However, this is not applicable to all. A third of developing countries are expected to decelerate this year. Predominantly the growing economies are located in South and South East Asia.
South Asia
Growth in South Asia is expected to rise by 5.5% in 2020. The report predicts India’s growth rate at 5%. It is expected that the credit from non-banking companies to expected to weaken. The report also says that India will see a growth rate of 5.5% in the subsequent year.The United States is expected to grow at 1.8% and European Union is projected to slip its growth by 1% in 2020.
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UIDAI’s 10-year success-The State of Aadhaar Report
January 8, 2020
Highlights
In 2009, nearly 5 million births were unregistered. However, today the body has made Aadhar huge success with 95% of adults holding the identity card today. Aadhaar collects only four personal information, that includes, name, gender, age and address along with biometric data of thumb impression, retinal scan and facial recognition.Benefits
Aadhaar had improved the reliability of government welfare programmes. According to the State of Aadhaar report, 2019, Aadhaar has been the first identity document for around 65-70 million individuals. This benefitted them in opening bank accounts, accessing food rations, mobile phone services, etc.The report also stated that 80% of participants felt that Aadhaar improved the reach of government schemes and services faster. Only 34% of Indians are yet to link their Aadhaar in the fear of losing the services.
State of Aadhaar report surveyed 1,70,000 individuals. The initiative was started 3 years ago by IDinsight and Omidyar Network of India.
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ICMR releases report on Sugar Intake of India, Report first of its kind
January 6, 2020
Highlights
The study says that intake of added sugar in metro cities was 19.5 grams per day. This is lower than the level recommended by ICMR which is 30 gram per day. Though the levels of all the cities were within the threshold, they were so close to the upper limit in certain cities.According to the study, sugar intake was the highest in Mumbai. Mumbai reported 26.3 g/day followed by Ahmedabad at 25.9 g/day. The other counter parts of the metropolitan cities that have high intakes include Delhi (23.2 g/day), Bengaluru at 19.3 g/day, Kolkata at 17.1 g/day and Chennai at 16.1 grams per day.
Categories
The report also stated that the overall intake of sugar by women was more than that of men. Intake of sugar by women was 20.2 g/day and that of men was 18.7 g/day.In terms of age group, the study says that people belonging to older age group take more sugar than that of the younger population.
The study also measured sugar consumption based in literacy level, community, activity status, occupation.
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UNICEF Report: More than 1,70,000 violations against Children
January 1, 2020
Highlights
According to the report, the number of attacks on children since 2010 has increased three-fold. The agency has hence named the decade as “Deadly Decade”. The report also stated that the number of countries experiencing violence has increased since 1989. The year 1989 has been specified as the Convention on Rights of Child was passed in 1989.UNICEF says that in 2018, around 24,000 grave violations were recorded against children. The number has gone up highly to 1,70,000 in 2019. This is more than threefold and is deadly. This includes abductions, killing, sexual violence, maiming, child recruitment, denial to humanitarian access and attacks in schools and hospitals.
The United Nations states that there have been more than 10,000 violations in the first half of 2019. The violations were predominantly in the conflict zones. It includes northern Syria, Ukraine and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Convention on Rights of Child, 1989
According to the convention, any child below the age of 18 is called a child. Around 140 countries have signed the convention. India is also a signatory. The convention sets out social, political, economic, civil and cultural rights of every child. The rights include right to education, right to protection against physical abuse, right to rest and leisure." "
Results of Swachh Survekshan League, 2020 released
January 1, 2020
Highlights
In the category of 10 lakh plus population, Indore secured first place. Indore has remained in first place for the last three years. Following Indore, Bhopal and Surat are in second and third places respectively. In the category of population between one lakh and 10 lakhs, Jamshedpur was in 1st spot following New Delhi and Khargone.Indicators
The focus of the survey was on waste water treatment, faecal sludge management. The survey also focused on implementation of ODF+, water plus and ODF++ protocols of the ministry of housing and urban affairs.Significance
In Competitive Federalism, the relationship between Central and state governments are vertical and between the state governments are horizontal. The ranking of the cities based on cleanliness helps in promoting competition among them. The idea was mooted during economic reforms in the country in 1990s. The states will compete with each other that will help achieve efficiency in administration also will enhance developmental activities." "
Sustainable Development Goal Index Released
December 31, 2019
Highlights
Kerala ranked first in composite SDG index with score of 70. Kerala was followed by Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The biggest improvement was seen in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. The score of UP improved from 29 in 2018 to 23 in 2019. Also, the rank of Odisha improved from 23 in 2018 to 15 in 2019.The least performing states were Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
In terms of poverty reduction, states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim performed well.
Categories
The states were classified under 4 categories based on their scores. The states with scores between 0 and 49 were categorized ‘Aspirant’, between 50 and 64 were ‘Performers’, between 65 and 99 were ‘Front Runner’ and with a score of 100 were categorized ‘Achiever’.The states Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar that were in Aspirant category moved to performers in 2019. The states that were in performer category in 2018 and moved to front runner include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Sikkim and Goa.
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NITI Aayog to launch SDG India Index & Dashboard 2019–20
December 25, 2019
NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing adoption as well as monitoring of SDGs in India, at the national and sub-national level.
About SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019–20
The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019 documents the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories (UTs) towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets. Besides indicating where the States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation, the Index and Dashboard also charts distance to be travelled to reach SDG targets.It has been developed by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with United Nations in India, and Global Green Growth Institute.
Index and Dashboard 2019 covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals. On the basis of progress made, the Index ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising of 306 indicators.
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WHO: India off-track to meet tobacco target
December 22, 2019
Highlights: World
Globally the number of tobacco users have declined by 60 million people. In 2000, the overall tobacco users were 1.397 billion and it has come down to 1.337 billion in 2018. The report says despite the reduction in numbers, the global target set by governments to reduce the use of tobacco by 30% by 2025 remains off track. So far only 32 countries are on track to reach the target.Around 43 million children (of age 13-15) are using tobacco in 2018. The number of women using tobacco was 244 million. Of all the regions of the world, South East Asian region has the highest use of tobacco. The only region on track to achieve the target is the Americas.
Highlights: India
According to the report, India is off track to achieve the target of 30% reduction by 2025 as compared to 2010 level. Along with India 163 countries are off the track.However, the consumption rate in India is going down by 21.6% as compared to 2010. The current users of smokeless form of tobacco in India is estimated to be 257,020,000.
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World Economic Forum Report: India slips to rank 112 in Gender Gap
December 17, 2019
Highlights: India
India was in 108th position in 2018. Its performance weakened in the year 2019 according to the report. India’s performance was lagging in three out of four metrics used for ranking the countries. India slipped to 150th rank in health and survival, 149th in economic participation, 112th in educational attainment. India improved to 18th place in terms of political empowerment.The report also said that opportunities for women in India is very low. India was ranked below countries like Bangladesh (50th), Indonesia (85th), Brazil (92nd), Nepal (101st), Sri Lanka (102nd), China (106th).
The World Economic Forum published its first report in 2006. Since then performance of India has deteriorated. In 2006, India was ranked at 98th place. Opportunities for women in the country is 35.4%. Sex ratio of India was low as compared to other countries (91 girls for every 100 boys).
Highlights: World
Iceland was the topmost gender-neutral country. Next to Iceland, other Nordic Countries like Norway, Finland and Sweden were the top performers. At the top 10, countries like Nicaragua (5th), New Zealand (6th), Ireland (7th), Spain (8th), Rwanda (9th) and Germany (10th). United States continued to decline falling to 53rd placeThough there are several hinderance for the situation to get improved, role model effect will start to have impact in terms of leadership. For instance, eight out of top 10 countries had high political empowerment with greater participation from women.
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UNDP Report: India ranks 129 in Human Development Index
December 10, 2019
India ranked 129 among them, which is one rank ahead of its previous positions. In 2018, India ranked 130. The rankings were listed based on the assessment of poverty, education, life expectancy and access to health care.
Highlights: World
Among all the regions, South Asia was the fastest growing region. It witnessed 46% growth between the years 1990 and 2018. Despite its growth, the region accounts to 31% of partner violence. Next to South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific reported good growth. The growth rate of these regions was assessed by the report as 43%.Singapore reported the least partner violence faced by women.
Highlights: India
The report says that around 27.1 crore people in India were lifted out of poverty between the time period 2005-06 and 2015-16. However, India is the largest country constituting to 41% of world’s poor according to the report!India ranked 122 in the Gender Development Index
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Global Climate Risk Index 2020
December 7, 2019
Key Findings of Index
(1) Japan: It topped the list of most affected countries in 2018 as it was hit by 3 exceptionally strong extreme weather events during year. It includes- Torrential rainfall from 6-8 July resulting in flash floods and mudslides; Severe heatwave from mid-July to August 2018; Typhoon Jebi in September 2018 broke.(2) Philippines: It was hit by Typhoon Mangkhut (a category 5 typhoon) in September 2018, which was the most powerful typhoon recorded worldwide in 2018.
(3) Germany: It experienced 2nd hottest year due to a severe heatwave and also witnessed severe drought in October 2018 due to less rainfall, which resulted in a massive decline in harvest.
(4) Madagascar: It became victim to Cyclone Ava in January 2018 and Cyclone Eliakim in March 2018.
(5) India: Globally, it is the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change. India also recorded highest number of fatalities due to climate change and 2nd highest monetary losses from its impact in 2018. The southwest monsoon in 2018 severely affected India, southern state of Kerala was especially impacted which saw the worst flooding in hundred years. Under long term vulnerability, India is ranked 17th. India’s east coast was also hit by Cyclone Titli and Cyclone Gaja in October and November 2018 respectively.
(6) Sri Lanka: It was also affected by severe monsoon rains in May 2018, especially in the south and west coast.
(7) Kenya and (8) Rwanda: Both nations were ranked 7 and 8 respectively. They were also affected by severe monsoon rains, resulting in flooding in several areas and displacement of a large number of people.
Others:-
Canada: In beginning of 2018, Canada saw its lowest temperature in 100 years and then record high temperatures in April 2018, which melted heavy snowpacks, causing the rivers to overflow. It also saw its worst wildfire season.
Fiji: It was affected by 3 cyclones between February 2018 and April 2018- Cyclone Gita, Cyclone Josie and Cyclone Keni, which caused major flooding, leaving many displaced.
About Global Climate Risk Index 2020
The index assessed 181 countries and quantified impacts of climate change through economic losses, losses to GDP (Gross domestic product) and fatalities to arrive at a ranking. This year is the 15th edition of Climate Risk Index. It highlights existing vulnerabilities that may increase as extreme events and become more frequent/ severe due to climate change. It stresses on level of vulnerability of nations to severe climate events, which they should view as warnings for more frequent or severe events in future.It is based on data from Munich Re NatCatSERVICE which is one of the largest databases on natural catastrophes. The Index has another set of ranking for period 1999-2018 which is based on average values over a 20-year period. In 1999 to 2018 period Puerto was the most vulnerable..
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Delhi enters list of top 10 most popular destinations in the world
December 4, 2019
Highlights: India
The report says that various cultural traditions and enriching history makes Delhi the most favorite places among international tourists. Also, air connectivity and world class airports have helped the city to increase its position in the ranking. India is also gaining attention for its Ayurvedic and Yoga practices.The report also says that international tourists visiting Delhi has increased by 25% in 2019 as compared to 2018. In 2019, there were around 15.2 million tourists visiting the capital. This year with seven cities in the top 100 destinations, India has emerged as the strongest tourist destination.
Highlights: World
Hong Kong has remained the topmost for three consecutive years (2017, 2018 and 2019). Followed by Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Macau, Singapore were at the second, third, fourth and fifth ranks respectively. Around 43 cities from Asia were among the top 100 City Destination ranking.The popularity has increased in Asia as compared to other parts of the world. This is mainly due to developing infrastructure, digitization of travel facilities, electronic Visa applications, government focus on tourism
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UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2019
November 30, 2019
The report was released prior to United Nations Climate Conference (COP-25) to be held in Spain from 2 December 2019. It states that GHG emissions have increased by 1.5% since last decade and that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have reached an all-time high figure of 55.3 gigatons.
Key Findings of UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2019
China, United States of America (USA), European Union (28) and India are among the top four greenhouse gas emitters.India: UNEP report highlights that India is regularly considering deadlines and targets to curb carbon emissionAs per the report, India’s per capita emission is one of the lowest within G20 countries. Also, India is one of the leading countries that are looking for electric vehicle development.
Globally:
The report suggested that only if Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced by 7.6% every year during 2020 to 2030 period, only then the target of reducing global temperature can be achieved.
As per the report, the largest GHG contribution comes from energy sector and its fossil fuel emissions. Thus to achieve the target of limiting temperature rise to no more than 1.5 ° C, all countries must reduce GHG emissions by up to 5 times.
The report also highlights that if global temperature reaches at level of 1.5 degrees then coral reefs would be reduced by 70-90%. It also clarifies that by 2100, the world would be warmer 3.2 degrees that pre-industrial level.
Key Recommendations of Emissions Gap Report 2019
The report suggested that each country has own unique opportunities to protect livelihood, natural resources and lives. Moreover, Complete de-carbonization of energy sector is possible and necessary. With renewable energy electricity, the emission reduction can achieve a target of 12.1 gigatonnes (GT) by 2050. Also, the electrification of transport can also help to reduce carbon emission up to 72% by 2050." "
Global Diplomacy Index 2019
November 28, 2019
Key Highlights of Index
China now has more diplomatic posts across the world than United States in 2019. China has overtaken United States with 276 embassies and consulates worldwide, which is 3 more than US (both countries have an equal number of embassies but China has 3 more consulates). This signifies a marker of its growing international clout and ambition.Even though China’s diplomatic expansion has been rapid and overtook US. In 2016, China was in 3rd place behind US and France, and by 2017 it had moved to second place ahead of France.
US still remains (by a wide margin) the most popular place for countries to maintain embassies and consulates. US is home to about 342 posts belonging to 61 countries included in Index but China, with 256, is a distant second.
After China and US next three spots are occupied by France, Japan, and Russia respectively.
India was ranked 12th among the 61 countries. As of 2019, India has 123 embassies and high commissions and 54 consulates globally. However, the study shows that India too has expanded its diplomatic footprint: In 2017, it had 120 embassies and 52 consulates.
Analysis of China’s Rise
China’s expansion in worldwide diplomatic presence has come partly at the expense of Taiwan, which is a self-governing democracy, however as per China it is a breakaway province. China’s gain has mostly been a direct result of Taiwan’s shrinking diplomatic presence as former intensified its ‘One China’ campaign. Taiwan saw the biggest drop in diplomatic posts, down from 22 embassies in 2016 to 15 in 2019. Moreover, China opened new embassies in The Gambia, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, São Tomé and PrÃncipe which were all former diplomatic friends of Taipei.China’s diplomatic push has been aided by its economic heft as under Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing has pumped in billions of dollars into Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the intercontinental connectivity project aimed primarily at building trading corridors connecting China.
Significance: Establishing a robust diplomatic infrastructure is 1st practical step towards bolstering a country’s diplomatic influence. Similarly, China has also invested in its diplomatic infrastructure, which serves as a telling metric of its international ambitions.
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NSO Survey on Household Health Expenditure
November 25, 2019
The main objective of the survey was to collect data on expenditure on medicines, expenditure in hospitalization, investigation, expenditure, maternity, childbirth, etc. The data for the survey was collected from 1.13,823 households
Findings of the survey
Around 14% of rural population and 19% of urban population had their health expenditure covered. Only 1% of urban population received health insurance from government health protection schemes.The average medical expenditure that is being spent in rural India per hospitalization case is Rs 16,676 and in urban India is Rs 26,475. The survey says that about 90% of rural childbirths and 96% of urban child births were institutional.
In rural areas, around 97% of the children received vaccination. This includes all the 8 prescribed vaccinations. Among them, 59% of boys and 60% of girls were completely immunized.
Ayushman Bharat
GoI is currently working under the scheme under the objective “health for all”. It is considered as one of the world’s largest health coverage scheme. Around 100 million poor vulnerable families are included under the scheme. They are listed under the scheme based on SECC 2011." "
NSO report: Rural India yet to become Open Defecation Free
November 25, 2019
The main objective of this survey was to gather information about sanitation along with housing facilities available to the households and micro environment surrounding the houses. The survey is important as the GoI is currently working on a set target of Drinking Water for all by 2024.
Highlights
The survey says that around 42.9% of the households in rural areas and around 40.9% households in urban areas are still using hand pumps. About 80.7% in urban area and 58.2% in rural areas had drinking water facilities within the household premises.The survey reports that around 94.5% in rural and 97.4% in urban used improved water resources. Improved water resources include piped water, hand pump, tube well, protected spring, private tanker truck, rain water collection and bottled water.
Open Defecation
The Swacch Bharat Mission declared India open defecation free on October 2, 2019. However, according to the survey 71.3% in rural and 96.2% in urban had no access to toilets. Proper drainage system was found only in 61.1% of rural households and 92% of urban households.Micro Environment
Around 48.3% of households in rural and 86.6% in urban used LPG as fuel. 48.1% of households in rural areas and 71.1% of urban households disposed household waste water without treatment to drainage system.Under Swachh Bharat Mission, door step collection of garbage and segregated collection of garbage is being implemented. However, the survey says that 70.3% of households urban and 72.4% of households in rural still disposed garbage in community dumping spots, open land, waste land, etc.
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CIC Annual Report tabled in Lok Sabha
November 22, 2019
Highlights of the report
The report said that in the year 2018-19, around 13.70 lakh applications were received by the Central Public Authorities of the commission. It says that the numbers are 11% more than the previous year 2017-18.Out of applications received, only 4.7% were processed by the commission. This has come down from 5.13% as compared to the previous year 2017-18.
The highest number of applications were rejected by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It has rejected 26.5%. It was followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that rejected 16.41%.
In the period 2018-19, the CIC disposed around 17,188 second appeals and complaint cases.
Central Information Commission
The commission was set up under Right to Information Act in 2005. There are 10 Information Commissioners and one Chief Information Commissioner. The commissioners are appointed by the President of India. The President appoints the commissioners based on the recommendation of a committee. The committee consists of Prime Minister, the opposition leader and a cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister." "
International Energy Agency releases World Energy Outlook, 2019
November 20, 2019
Highlights of the report
Oil demand will slow down after 2025 and the world will transit towards electric vehicles. However, the oil demand for the next decade will keep increasing with 85% of increase coming from the US. In African states, the gas and renewable sources will power the future energy. However, the demand for coal in these countries are still raisingThe report says that at present the energy demand in the world is growing at the rate of 2% per year.
Climate Scenarios
There are three climate scenarios projected by the report for the future. It includes the Current Policy Scenario, Stated Policy Scenario and Sustainable Development Scenario.According to Current Policy Scenario, the world will continue to function with the old regulations with energy demand rising at the rate of 1.3% by 2040. The Stated Policy Scenario is New Policy Scenario. Under this the report says that with the new policies that have been introduced by the governments, the energy demand will increase by 1% per year.
The Sustainable Policy Scenario is the most ambitious of all the scenarios. Under this, the report says that by aligning with Paris Agreement the global temperature will reduce by 1.5 degree Celsius.
IEA
IEA is an inter-governmental organization of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). the World Economic Outlook is the flagship publication of the agency.
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Committee on Companies Act, 2013 submits its report to Finance Ministry
November 19, 2019
Objective of the Committee
The Committee was constituted to decriminalize the Companies Act, 2013. This is being done to provide Ease of Living for Corporate in the country.Recommendations of the Committee
- The committee has recommended amendments to 46 penal provisions associated with the law. The amendments are either to remove criminality or to allow rectification through alternate methods or to restrict punishment only to fine. Bottom line, the committee suggests to lenient punishments mentiones in the law
- The Committee has recommended to provide further easing of living for law abiding corporate.
- It also insisted on wider consultations during following decisions by the Ministry of finance
- Permitting appeals in NCLT against the orders of Regional Directors
- To review provisions on disqualification of directors
- Reviewing provisions that debars audit firms.
Significance
With World Institutions decelerating growth rates of India, every step towards the financial flow in the country is important. Though India is an agricultural Economy, majority of the contribution towards its GDP is from the service sector. Therefore, it becomes important to provide Ease of Living for the corporates to boost the growth rate." "
BIS: Water Quality Report for state Capitals and New Delhi released
November 16, 2019
Water Quality Report
In order to make sure if clean and safe drinking water is provided to all, a study was conducted by the BIS (Bureau of India Standards) to check on the quality of piped drinking water provided in the cities, especially in the state capitals. The cities were then ranked based on the report.Parameters
The study was conducted in two phases. In first phase, samples of drinking water were collected across Delhi and in the second phase the samples were collected from several state capitals. The tests were conducted on parameters such as Chemicals, Toxic substances, Organoleptic tests, Bacteriological tests and physical tests.Highlights of the report
- In Delhi, out of 11 samples, 10 failed to comply the standards of Indian Standards
- The best performing cities where almost all the samples were up to the standard were Ranchi, Shimla, Bhubaneshwar, Amravati and Raipur.
- The worst performing cities where only very few or none of the samples were under the Indian Standards were Thiruvananthapuram. Chandigarh, Bhopal, Patna, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Lucknow, Chennai, Dehradun, Kolkata and Jaipur
GoI: Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2017-18 not to be released due to quality issues
November 16, 2019
Highlights
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) functioning under the Ministry, there was significant increase in the divergence in the consumption pattern. Also there were noticeable direction of change in the data as compared to the other administrative data sources like goods and services.The Ministry is also looking ways to change the base year of the survey. Currently the base year of the survey is 2011-12. It is considering options to change the base year to 2017-18.
Consumer Expenditure Survey
- The survey is carried out by the NSO through out India on household consumption expenditure. The survey is conducted in quinquennial intervals. Previously the survey was conducted in 2011-12.
- The survey provides data on household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE).
- It also provides information on distribution of households
- The survey generates estimates on persons over the MPCE classes.
- The survey is designed to generate information about expenditure on consumption of goods and services. It includes both and food and non-food products consumed in households.
- The data released by the survey are also used in determining macro-economic indicators and for rebasing of the GDP.
LANCET Report on Health and Climate Change, 2019
November 14, 2019
Highlights of the report: India
- In India, diarrheal infections were the major cause of child mortality
- The average yield potential of rice and maize in the country declined by 2% since 1960s
- The average yield potential of winter wheat and soybean has declined by 1%
- Due to increased sea level, there will be rise in infections like gastroentitis, cholera, etc. The climate suitability for Vibro bacteria that causes Cholera will increase the disease by 3% as compared to 1980s
- Malnutrition is the responsible for two-thirds of deaths under five
Highlights of the report: World
- Climate Change threats to fisheries and aquaculture according to the report are as follows
- Sea-level rise
- Sea surface temperature rise
- Ocean Acidification
- Intense and Frequent extreme weather events
- Mortality due to Dengue will increase globally
- WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature measurement): WBGT is the measure of heat stress that takes into account humidity, temperature, wind speed, cloud cover and sun angle.
- The report warned according to WBGT that 22 billion additional hours of work will be lost due to extreme heat.
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NCAER Survey: Business Confidence fell by 15%
November 12, 2019
Highlights
- The Business Confidence Index dipped to 103.1 from 100.4 in October 2013. This is the lowest in the period of 6 years
- The survey reported that positive growth was witnessed in Managing Inflation, Managing Exchange Rate, Overall Economic Growth, pushing economic reforms, managing conducive political climate, managing government finance, external trade negotiations and managing unemployment
- The Business Confidence Index witnesses an upswing in the firms with annual turn over less than 1 crore rupees and other micro firms.
- The Political Confidence Index fell by 35.6% between July and October 2019.
- The Economic Growth rate declined by 5% in October 2019 as compared to July 2019.
NCAER
The National Council of Applied Economic Research is a Delhi based think tank that was established in 1956. The aim of the body is to give support to both government and private sector economic researches. The TATA Foundation and other premier organizations came together to form the think tank with the support of GoI. It was founded in PM Nehru’s period. Since 1991, the council is tracking the business confidence in the country on a quarterly basis." "
FICCI study on Onion Price Rise: India should follow Israel, Brazil
November 9, 2019
The FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) on Novmber 8, 2019, submitted a report to the GoI analyzing the problem. The Federation has also provided solutions to the current problems being faced in the country due to price rise of Onions.
Highlights of the study
- Around 40% of total onions produced were damaged this year (2018-19) in the periods of heavy rainfall due to lack of post-harvest storage facilities
- FICCI suggests long term solution studying Brazil and Israel models. It recommends low cost technologies for storing Onions
- Israel stores onions in open ventilated warehouses. The warehouses are ventilated through continuous forced air.
- Brazil stores onions in low-cost well ventilated silos systems. They are built at farm levels. Brazil also uses refrigerated rooms to store the vegetables.
- The report says that for the first time GoI is incurring a buffer stock loss of 57,000 tons. This is 25% of the total buffer stock
India’s current measures
- In India very few startups use farm level refrigeration for perishables
- GoI through “Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture” promoted low cost thatched bamboo storage. According to the study, India lacks in storage systems that sustain monsoon.
- In India Onion is cultivated throughout the year in several places. Onion scarcity occurs only during July to September. In order to maintain regular supply during the lean period GoI stores onions in ventilated warehouses. The losses are high in these systems. Around 20% to 40% of onions are lost
Freedom on Net 2019 report-China the worst abuser of internet freedom
November 7, 2019
India obtained an overall score of 55 and was reported to be “partly free”.
Highlights
- Pakistan, with a score of 26, for the ninth consecutive year was declared as “not free” in terms of freedom status
- China obtained a score of 10 and was adjudged “not free”. Also, China was termed the worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year
- On the whole, 65 countries were assessed. Out of these, 33 showed an overall decline in internet freedom. Improvement was seen only in 16 countries.
- Ethiopia recorded the highest improvement in terms of internet freedom
- US had an overall score of 77. The online environment of the US was reported to be free from state censorship and vibrant. However, there was a decline in overall internet freedom in the US for the third straight year.
- Countries like Malaysia, Armenia showed positive trends in the internet freedom status
- Iceland ranked the highest with an overall score of 95. It was recorded as the world’s best protector of internet freedom. The country had no civil or criminal cases registered against the users for online expression.
ICAR report on Stubble Burning
November 6, 2019
Highlights of the report
- There were 31,402 burning events in the three states Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as on October 1, 2019
- The state wise reduction in stubble burning as compared to 2018 is as follows
- Uttar Pradesh-48.2%
- Haryana-11.7%
- Punjab-8.7%
- The report says that the reduction is mainly due to the launch of Central Scheme “Promotional of Agricultural Mechanization of In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in Punjab, UP and Haryana and NCT of Delhi”. The main purpose of the scheme is to subsidize machinery required.
Delhi
New Delhi is worst affected due to stubble burning in the three states. This year (2019) the Air quality Index of Delhi reached 999. This is the highest recorded AQI of Delhi in its history. According to WHO norms the AQI should be under 100.Also, the PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter) concentration was more than 80% as against 50% of the normal course.
Western Disturbances
The Stubble burning smoke reaching Delhi is greatly influenced by the Western Disturbances. When these Cyclonic circulation are strong and persistent the smoke deposited in the city decreases.The disturbances are capable of carrying the smoke far and spread them wide when they are strong. The weakening of these disturbances lately due to global warming is also one of the reasons for the increased stubble smoke in Delhi.
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Global Microscope for Financial Inclusion report 2019: EIU
November 2, 2019
Key Highlights of Report
The overall environment for financial inclusion has improved worldwide. India, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay now have the most favourable conditions for inclusive finance, with Colombia being ranked at first position followed by Peru, Uruguay and Mexico and India ranked 5th.India was ranked among top countries with most promising environment for financial inclusion in terms of: effective financial consumer , allowing non-banks to issue e-money and proportionate customer due diligence.
Only four countries namely India, Colombia, Jamaica and Uruguay scored perfectly across all four parameters. Moreover, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico and Uruguay were among top countries that safeguard e-money via some sort of deposit insurance or protection.
About Global Microscope for Financial Inclusion report
It is produced by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group. The EIU was created in 1946 and is the world leader in global business intelligence.The Microscope report was first published in 2007 and was originally developed for countries in Latin American and Caribbean regions but in 2009 it was expanded into a global study. The 2019 edition of Global Microscope report also features 11 new gender focussed indicators that measure financial inclusion for both women as well as men.
The report is a benchmarking index that assesses enabling environment for financial access in 55 countries across 5 categories.
Five parameters across which countries are assessed-
(a)Government and Policy Support
(b)Products and Outlets
(c)Stability and Integrity
(d)Consumer Protection
(e)Infrastructure
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GIA presents ‘Report from Ground Zero’ on J&K, Ladakh
October 25, 2019
The delegation briefed Minister about findings of their observations after field study of situation in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The briefings included that common man across religions, sections and various professional backgrounds in J&K has expressed happiness about the decision of Government to scrap Article 370.
About Group of Intellectuals and Academicians
GIA was founded in 2015. It is a group of empowered professional Indian women and entrepreneurs, media persons, intellectuals & academicians working together to elevate the position of women in our society, committed to work in service of nation.Objective: To become the voice of most silent and underprivileged section of our nation with legal and academic support.
Composition: National leaders, distinguished lawyers of Supreme Court, industrialists, sportswomen, writers, poets, President Awardees, principals of colleges, professors of prestigious institutions, directors of institutes, internationally renowned artists/dancers, IT professionals and many others from various fields.
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World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business
October 24, 2019
Highlights
- India for the third time in a row was among the top 10 performers on the list.
- The other top 10 performers other than India were Saudi Arabia at rank 62, Togo in the African continent at rank 97, Jordan (75), Tajikistan, Pakistan at rank 108, Kuwait (83), China (31) and Nigeria (131)
- In 2015, India set a goal to join top 50 economies on ease of doing business ranking by 2020.
- The experts believe that resolving insolvency with the Bankruptcy law, tax reforms, trading across borders, initiatives like Make in India are the major reasons for the leap in the rank
Ease of Doing Business
The ranking is framed based on 10 indices. It includes starting a business, registering a property, dealing with construction permits, getting credit, paying taxes, enforcing contracts, trading across borders, protecting investors, etc. The first set of ranking was prepared by the world Bank in 2003." "
National Crime Bureau Statistics released
October 22, 2019
The report was created by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) operating under the Home Ministry. The NCRB brings out 3 reports annually namely Crime in India, India and Prison statistics and Accidental Deaths and suicide in India.
Highlights of the report
- The rise in IPC crimes were the highest in Delhi, Assam and Kerala. On the other hand, the IPC crimes decreased greatly in Mizoram, Gujarat, Himachal, Tripura and Nagaland.
- Around 50 lakh crimes were registered in 2017. This is a rise of 3.6% from the previous report published in 2016.
- Murder cases registered across the country declined by 6%. Number of murders in 2016 were 30,450 and in 2017 the number has come down to 28,653
- The NCRB reported that the number of kidnapping and abduction cases increased by 9% since 2016
- Haryana topped in sedition cases (the offences committed against state). This increase was mainly due to the huge Jat reservation stir in Haryana in 2017. The sedition cases include damaging public property, providing aid to anti-social elements, etc.
- The maximum number of crime cases against women were from UP. Majority of the crimes against women under the IPC were registered as follows
- Out of crime cases against women 33.2% were under cruelty by husband or relatives
- Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty contributed 33.2%
- Kidnapping and Abduction of women contributed 21%
- Rape contributed 10%
- Crime against SCs were reported as
- 30% of crime against SCs were simple hurt cases
- Cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) act accounted to 13.4%
- Criminal intimidation accounted to 7.6% of crime cases against SCs.
Karnataka tops NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index
October 18, 2019
The India Innovation Index (III) 2019 was released by NITI Aayog along with Institute for Competitiveness as its knowledge partner. The index has been developed into lines of Global Innovation Index (GII). This is the first-ever India Innovation Index released by NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, a policy think tank of Indian Government.
Key Findings of Index
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Haryana secured 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th position respectively in innovation, followed by Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
In the list of 17 major states, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand are at bottom of the index with Jharkhand finishing last.
Among North-Eastern & Hill States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have occupied the top spot of Most Innovative State in index while among Union Territories Delhi, Chandigarh and Goa have topped the list.
About India Innovation Index (III)
The idea behind index is to analyse innovation at state level and promote competitiveness among the states. It seeks to move states from competitive populism to competitive good governance. The innovation index will also help to pursue interventions that play an important role in developing cooperative and competitive federalism.It ranks the states based on their innovation capability, opportunities and challenges that lie for states and actions needed by policy makers to foster innovation.
The Index is based on seven pillars which include 5 enablers and 2 performance indicators such as human capital, knowledge workers, investment and knowledge output. It has been developed over a period of last 18 months.
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IMF: World Economic Outlook, 2019
October 16, 2019
Key highlights of the report
- The Global growth rate is projected to improve to 3.4% by 2020.
- The growth of advanced economies is projected to slow down by 1.7%
- The emerging and developing economies are projected to experience a growth pick up from 3.9% in 2019 to 4.6% in 2020.
- The report downgraded India’s growth projections to 6.1% in 2019 and 7% in 2020.
- According to the report, China is projected to grow at 6.1% in 2019 and 5.8% in 2020.
- The trade volume reached the lowest since 2012. It reduced by 1% since 2012.
Justifications
- About half of the economic slow down comes from shallower recessions in stressed emerging markets like Argentina, Turkey, Iran
- Higher tariffs and prolonged uncertainty in the trade policy are the major reasons for dented investment and the slowdown in the growth. This is very well seen in the effects of trade wars and imposed sanctions
- The automobile industry is contracting mainly due to the disruptions from new standard emission standards. This predominantly has effect in China.
- Trade barriers and geopolitical tensions like Brexit is hampering investment, confidence and growth
Recommendations
- The countries should support the economy slow down with tax-base enhancing measures, rationalizing subsidy-spending, efficient credit allocation and governance of public sector banks.
- India should keep its Fiscal Deficit under check
South Asia Economic Focus, Making (De)Centralization Work Report: World Bank
October 14, 2019
The latest edition of this World Banks’s report finds that strong domestic demand, which support high growth in past, has weakened, driving a slowdown across the south Asian region.
Key Highlights of Report
The overall growth in South Asia is projected to slow down this fiscal in line with a global downward trend. Growth in South Asia is projected to fall to 5.9% in 2019, down 1.1% points from April 2019 estimates, casting uncertainty about a rebound in short term.In India, growth is projected to fall to 6% this fiscal year and is then expected to gradually recover to 6.9% in fiscal year 2021 and to 7.2% in 2022.
The growth rate of Pakistan is projected to decrease further to 2.4% this fiscal year, as monetary policy remains tight, and planned fiscal consolidation will further compress domestic demand.
As per the report, the GDP growth rate of Bangladesh is projected to moderate to 7.2% this fiscal year and 7.3% in 2020. The country’s economy is likely to maintain growth above 7%, supported by a political stability, robust macroeconomic framework, and strong public investments.
In 2018 Bangladesh has reduced current account deficit due to rising export and remittances which was above $15.5 billion. However, the report indicates that the financial sector vulnerability, fiscal pressures and loss of external competitiveness pose challenges to its growth rate.
Moreover, despite slowdown in industrial growth rate, the industrial sector remains strong as Bangladesh’s garment industry benefited immensely from trade tensions between United States and China.
The World Bank report suggests Bangladesh to address key structural challenges such as reducing infrastructure deficit, improving urban management, managing climate change risks and enhancing human capital.
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World Bank: South Asia Economic Focus, 2019
October 13, 2019
The report is titled “Exports Wanted” highlighting the export potential of the South Asian region being not used to the fullest.
Key findings of the report: India
- The projected growth of India in 2019 according to the report is 6%. However, India is expected to recover gradually. The report said that the growth rate of India will reach 6.9% in 2021 and 7.2% in 2022.
- In 2016-17, the growth rate of India was 8.2%
- In 2017-18, the growth rate was 7.2%
- In 2018-19, the growth rate was 6.8%
- The domestic demand (the major driver of growth rate in India according to the report) of the India has slipped. The private consumption is growing at the rate of 3.1%. It was 7.3% last year
- The manufacturing growth dropped to below 1% in the second quarter as compared to 10% last year. The reason for the drop down is mainly due to the global slowdown in their investments
- The industrial output growth increased to 6.9% due to increase in construction and manufacturing activities
- The growth in agricultural sector and service sector was 2.9% and 7.5% respectively
- The Current Account Deficit of India widened from 1.8% in last year to 2.1% this year
- 80% of the causes of the economic slowdown is coming from international causes.
Key findings of the report : South Asia
- South Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world, despite of the report’s estimation of growth in South Asia to fall to 5.(% in 2019.
- The exports growth of South Asia accelerates and import growth is slowing. The growth of imports has declined by 15 to 20% in the region. Under these circumstances the GDP growth is expected to accelerate
- South Asian countries are exporting only a third of their potential
- The growth rate of South Asia was 7.7% in 2016, 7.2% in 2017 and 6.9% in 2018
- Among all the countries India and Sri Lanka showed the lowest growth rates
- Foreign Exchange reserves declined in South Asian region
- Food inflation decelerated in the region. It was stable around 3%. The prices fell mainly due to good harvests.
Key findings of the report: Country wise growth rates
- In Nepal, the GDP growth is projected to be 6.5%. The growth will be backed by construction activities, tourist arrivals and higher public spending
- In Afghanistan the growth is expected to reach 3%. It will be mainly due to improved farming conditions and assuming political stability after elections
- In Sri Lanka the growth is expected to soften to 2.7% in 2019. IF supported by recovering investment and exports, political uncertainty dissipated and tackling security challenges the growth is projected to reach 3.3% in 2020
Key Findings of the report: Trade Policy changes affecting South Asia
- Import tariffs to protect domestic industries
- Trade tensions between India and US
- US imposed tariffs in steel and Aluminum imported from India. India in response to the move, postponed the retaliatory tariffs on selected US products like chickpeas, walnuts, Artemis, lentils, etc.
- India had benefited greatly under the GSP – Generalized System of Preferences that gave 2,00 products duty free access to the US. Around 5.7 billion USD worth goods were covered under GSP in 2017. In 2019, the US withdrew its GSP following the market access strategy to open India’s market for US products.
- India – Pakistan trade tensions
- The MFN – Most Favored Nation status was withdrawn after the Pulwama attack. The custom duties on all goods imported from Pakistan was raised to 200%. It is expected that Pakistan will retaliate imposing tariffs on Indian goods.
- Trade war between China and USA
- The garment industry of Bangladesh has benefited immensely from the ongoing trade tensions between China and USA.
Global Competitiveness Index, 2019
October 9, 2019
India had dropped 10 places. A number of similar economies like South Africa, Turkey and Colombia have improved over the past year and have overtaken India.
This year Singapore has replaced US as the world’s most competitive country. The US was positioned at 2nd place and was followed by Hong Kong at third place and Netherlands and Switzerland at 4th and 5th places respectively. China was ranked at 28th position and was the highest ranked among BRICS nations. Vietnam showed higher improvements in the region and was ranked at 67
The report also said that Asia Pacific was the most competitive region globally. It was followed by Europe and North America.
Key findings of the report on India
- India ranked high in terms of macroeconomic stability and market size.
- India also ranked high in terms of corporate Governance. India was at 15th place in the category.
- In terms of market India ranked third.
- India had positive remarks in terms of renewable regulation.
- In terms of innovation, India has punched above its development status. It was well ahead of most of the emerging economies that are on par with the advanced economies.
- Poor health conditions and low Life Expectancy were the shortcomings in the country according to the report. In terms of life expectancy India ranked 109 out of 141 countries. This is one of the shortest as compared to South Asian average.
- According to the report, India also needs to grow its skill base, market efficiency. Trade openness and worker protection rights according to the report are insufficiently developed.
- The ratio of female workers to male workers in India was 0.26. It ranked 128th place and was very low as compared certain other developing countries.
- India ranked 118 in incentivization and 107th place for skills
- Though US performance as compared to 2018 slowed own, it scored in sub categories like employee skills, venture capital availability and business dynamism pillar
- The decline of life expectancy in the US was huge. It was lower than China. Singapore ranked first in terms of life expectancy.
- The education system of the world’s largest and most innovative economies failed to keep up the pace of innovation. IT included India, China, Brazil, France and South Korea.
- Economic stagnation was widespread. This has happened in spite of the central banks injecting more than 10 trillion dollars last year
- Many of governments and central banks failed to use correct monetary policies to stimulate economic growth
National Nutrition Survey
October 1, 2019
In India, for the first time the ministry measured malnutrition that included micro nutrient deficiencies. It was done by collecting urine samples and blood samples. Apart from this, details of non – communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, kidney function in children were also collected during the survey.
Key findings of the survey
- Around 10% of children in the age group of 5 to 9 years and adolescents in the age group 10 to 19 years are pre – diabetic. 5% of them were overweight and 5% suffered from blood pressure.
- The survey for the first time proved the coexistence of obesity and under nutrition.
- One in five children in the age group 5 to 9 years were stunted.
- Tamil Nadu and Goa had the highest number of adolescents who were obese or overweight.
About the survey
The survey covered more than 1,20,000 children and adolescents in rural and urban area. It aims to assess the following- Micro nutrient deficiencies
- Sub clinical inflammation
- Worm infestation.
- Overweight or obesity
- Cardio – metabolic risks
National Nutrition Week
Recently India marked the National Nutrition Week between September 1 and September 7, 2019 and marked September as Poshan month. It is important to encourage such measures as the country has around 194.4 million undernourished people. According to Food and Agriculture Organization, they constitute 14.5% of the total Indian population.Global Hunger Index, 2018
It ranked India at 103 out of 119 countries based on the following factors
- Prevalence of stunting and wasting
- Child mortality rate
- Undernourishment
Global Nutrition Report, 2018
The Global Nutrition Report 2018, prepared by WHO, states that India is home to 46.6 million stunted children out of 150.8 million stunted children all over the world. The report also says that- Out of 50.5 million children who are wasted globally, 25.5 million are in India.
- India is the third most obese nation in the world. WHO states India as Diabetes capital with 69.2 million suffering from diabetes.
- India might lose 46 billion USD to malnutrition by 2030.
Steps taken by the Government of India to combat malnutrition
- Poshan Abhiyan – It was launched in 2017 – 18 to reduce anemia, stunting, under – nutrition.
- National Food Security act, 2013 – The act made food a legal right of the citizens. It aims to ensure food and nutrition security to the vulnerable.
- Mid – day meal scheme
- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana – Under the scheme, Rs 6,000 is transferred directly to bank accounts of pregnant women to avail facilities for their delivery.
What is malnutrition and under nutrition?
- Malnutrition refers to the imbalanced in a person’s intake of nutrients or energy.
- It broadly covers the following
- Under nutrition – It includes
- Stunting – Low height for age
- Wasting – low weight for age
- Underweight – Low weight for age
- Micro nutrient deficiencies – lack of vitamins and minerals
- Obesity – It includes overweight and non – communicable diseases like diabetes, stroke, cancer, etc.
- Under nutrition – It includes
IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking 2019
September 27, 2019
Rankings
US topped the list followed by Singapore in the second place. Sweden was ranked third followed by Denmark and Switzerland in the 4th and 5th places respectively. The other top 10 digitally most competitive economies include Netherlands (6th), Finland (7th), Hong Kong, Norway and Republic of Korea.The largest jump was seen in China. China moved to 22nd position from its 30th position in 2018.
IMD World Competitiveness
The yearbook is published by the Swiss based International Institute for Management Development. The year book is being published since 1989. However, the ranking was begun in 2017.India
India advanced 4 places from 48th to the 44th. The report mentions the following reasons for the improvement- Talent Sub factor
- Training and Education
- E – Participation
The largest improvements were experienced by Asian countries like India, China, Korea and Indonesia.
How was the ranking done?
The World Digital Competitiveness Center prepares the ranking based on three factors namely- Knowledge – The capacity of the economy to understand and learn new technologies
- Competence – How well an economy competes with other countries to develop new digital innovations
- Future readiness – the preparedness of the economy for the coming developments.
Manipur tops in Breastfeeding, Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices
August 9, 2019
Key Highlights of Report Card
Low Performing State in country: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar secured bottom positions in report card. Delhi, National capital of India is also among worst-performing States.Breastfeeding report card has been developed by devising a composite score based on 3 indicators–
- Early initiation of breastfeeding
- Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months
- Complimentary feeding at 6-8 months of child’s age
Facts about Breastfeeding, Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices
As per Convention on the Rights of the Child, every infant and child has right to good nutrition.World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 1st 6 months and breastfeeding with home-made food for minimum 2 years.
Undernutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.
In 2016, 155 million children under 5 year of age were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 52 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 41 million were overweight (or obese), globally.
Nearly 40% of infants 0–6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
Globally, few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.
In many countries less than a fourth (25%) of infants 6–23 months of age meet criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age.
Benefits
Every year more than 820000 children’s lives could be saved among children under 5 years, if all children 0–23 months were optimally breastfed.
Breastfeeding improves IQ, school attendance and is also associated with higher income in adult life.
Breastfeeding not only saves child from being malnourished but also saves mother from breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
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Delhi’s Connaught Place 9th most expensive office location in World: CBRE
July 11, 2019
Key Highlights of Survey
New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) is among top 10 most expensive office markets globally. As per the report, office occupancy cost in New Delhi’s CP is $143.97 per sq ft.Asia’s performance in prime office space leasing segment-
6 of world’s 10 most expensive office markets are found in Asia.
For 2nd year straight Hong Kong’s central district retained top spot as World’s most two expensive market for prime office rents. Its occupancy cost was valued at $322 per sq.ft.
Reason Behind Cost: As per report the growing significance of talent acquisition race are driving prime occupancy cost to newer heights. Along with this other driving forces behind price growth are limited supply and moderate construction pipelines in most cities.
On Indian commercial Real Estate Market: BPRE survey highlights that strong demand from technology, finance and e-commerce sectors has fueled growth momentum in prime occupancy costs. Also in India commercial office market remains a strong growth propeller for real estate sector.
About Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey
It is an annual survey released by BPRE.The cost taken in Survey reflects rent, plus local taxes and service charges for highest-quality prime office properties.
It tracks cost of leasing prime office space globally.
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State of the Education Report for India 2019 launched
July 5, 2019
To be published annually, the 2019 edition of report is 1st of its kind published by UNESCO New Delhi. It highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to Right to Education (RTE) of children with disabilities (CWDs).
Key findings of Report
Based on extensive research of national and international documents of reference, the report provides comprehensive and detailed information on present state of education of CWDs and submits 10 key suggestions to policy makers.Bodies involved: It is Prepared by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and commissioned by UNESCO.
Citing 2011 census data, report showed that there are more than 78 lakh CWDs in India between age group of 5-19 years. 27% of these CWDs between (ages 5 to 19) have never attended any educational institution.
Nearly 75% of 5 year olds who have certain disabilties, do not go to any educational institution.
In schools there are fewer girls with disabilities than boys.
The proportion of CWDs who are out of school is higher than overall proportion of out-of-school children at national level.
Home-based education: In many parts of rural India, if a parent opts for home-based education, the child may not be getting an education at all as it often exists only on paper for CWDs.
Challenges: Inadequate allocations, delays in releasing funds and under-utilisation of allocation remain key challenges in financing education for CWDs.
Differences noted among various types of disabilities
Only 20% of children with impairments related to Visual and Hearing had never been in school. However, among children with multiple disabilities or mental illness, that figure rose to more than 50%.
Recommendations:
Amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 to make it align with the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Data: There is a need to strengthen data on children with disabilities which can help in effective planning, implementation and monitoring of their education.
Campaign: There should be concentrated campaigns and large scale awareness which can improve the attitude towards children with disabilities in the classroom and beyond.
Mechanism under Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is needed to coordinate all education programmes for children with disabilities across departments. This would help remove inconsistencies and achieve synergy in the various measures aimed at their education.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, Sciences and Culture.UNESCO’s programmes contribute towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015.
It fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation.
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High trading costs impact liquidity of Indian equities: World Bank
July 4, 2019
Key Highlights of Study
Turnover ratio of Indian stock market had fallen from 143 in 2008 to 58 in 2018 which means a fall of nearly 60% between 2008-2018 decade.Although the ratio had managed to move up in last 5 years but it is still quite low when compared with earlier highs.
The fall had been highest among most leading markets of world, except United States (US) and European Union (EU).
Other Countries: Between 2008 and 2018, China’s turnover ratio fell less than 6% in last 10 years; Brazil (12.85%) and South Korea (31.12%), Japan and Hong Kong saw ratio dip between 40-50%.
Significance: Key analysis by WB study assumes significance as market participants have been lobbying hard with central government to reduce overall cost of trading in equities in India, which, they feel, is adversely affecting investors’ interest in stock market.
Background
In 2007-08, central government stopped treating Securities Transaction Tax (STT) as tax paid and rather treated it as an expense that led to double taxation for gains assessed under business income. Moreover, while introducing STT in 2004 the Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax was made nil but STT was not done away with when LTCG was reintroduced in 2018.Way Forward for India
The capital market participants had sought rationalisation of STT apart from bringing back certain exemption benefits that were available earlier.What is Turnover Ratio?
It is a universally accepted parameter to measure trading volumes. It is the total value of shares traded in a specific period divided by average market capitalisation of that period. It indicates how easy, or difficult, it is to sell shares of a particular stock on capital market." "
India population to cross China’s By 2027: UN
June 20, 2019
Key Findings of Report
Global Population: Despite a slowing global birth rate world population is projected to increase by another 2 billion people by 2050 i.e. from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 9.7 billion by 2050. More than 50% increase will be concentrated in only 9 countries namely- India, Pakistan, the United States, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Egypt Tanzania, and Indonesia. The population of sub-Saharan Africa is also projected to nearly double in coming future.India: According to report estimates India is expected to add 273 million people by 2050 and will remain most populated until the end of century (2100). In 2019, the estimated population of India is 1.37 billion and of China 1.43 billion, but India is projected to surpass China’s. Thus by 2050, India will be leading the set of nine countries that will make up for more than half of projected growth of global population.
Projected Populous Countries: Following India-China re-ordering in 2027, the ranking of 5 largest countries is projected to remain same until the end of century i.e. by 2100. Therefore, based on an estimated population top 5 world’s populous nation will be- India is projected to remain world’s most populous country with about 1.5 billion inhabitants, followed by China (1.1 billion), Nigeria (733 million), United States (434 million), and Pakistan (403 million).
Ageing Population: The report projects that overall world’s population is ageing at such a fast rate that by 2050, 1 in 6 people in world will be part of age group of 65 (and above) as compared to 1 in 11 in 2019. Also by end of 2100 world population is set to peak at a level of about 11 billion.
Shrinking Population: Between 2019 and 2050, nearly 55 countries are estimated to face population shrinking by at least 1%. As already since 2010, 27 countries have recorded a minimum 1% decline in population. This declining trend in population being experienced by growing number of countries is attributed to sustained low levels of fertility or even high rates of emigration. China will be the largest of these 55 countries whose population is projected to shrink by as much as 2.2% (about 31.4 million) by 2050.
About World Population Prospects 2019
It published by Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). WPP 2019 is 26th edition of United Nations population estimates and projections.It presents population estimates from year 1950 to 2019 for 235 countries or areas by analysing historical demographic trends. WPPP 2019 revision presents population projections to year 2100.
This years WPPP’s presents population estimates and projections describe 2 out of 4 demographic megatrends– population growth and ageing other being migration and urbanization.
Importance: Collectively, these data make up a critical piece of evidence base for monitoring global progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.
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Amazon India Most Attractive Employer Brands in India 2019
June 18, 2019
Key Findings of Study
Top 10 most attractive employer brands in India for 2019 includes: (1) Amazon, (2) Microsoft, (3) Sony, (4) Mercedes-Benz, (5) IBM, (6) Larsen & Toubro, (7) Nestle, (8) Infosys, (9) Samsung, (10) DellCoverage: The Randstad research for year 2019 covered 75% of global economy with 32 participating countries and over 2 lakh respondents worldwide.
For the Indian workforce while choosing an employer salary and employee benefits continue to be top driver, followed by work-life balance and job security.
Although the gender differences between men and women on top three aspects were minimal, but women, attributed more importance to salary and benefits (49%) and work-life balance (47%) as compared to their male counterparts who ranked these as top aspects at 46% and 46% respectively.
The most important finding was that work-life balance was accorded importance as a key factor while considering choosing an employer. This has increased largely (46%) compared to last two years and emergence of fact that Indian employees are willing to place a premium on job security.
There are 23% higher number of employees in India who indicate that they would be agreeable to a security versus compensation trade-off. This is higher than the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) average.
About 52% of survey respondents showed their willingness to forfeit more than 10% of their salary for job security.
About Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR)
REBR is world’s most comprehensive, independent and in-depth employer brand research. It identifies most attractive employers among thousands of companies.The research captures views of more than 2 lakh respondents which include general public (aged 18-65) on 6,162 companies in 32 countries.
It provides insights into drivers and perceptions of choice of potential employees by finding answers to questions such as- Why do people prefer one company, or a specific industry, over another and What motivates them to stay with an employer/start looking elsewhere?
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Global Peace Index 2019: India ranked 141
June 14, 2019
Key Findings of Report
Most Peaceful Country: Iceland with rank 1st remains the most peaceful country in world. It has held this rank since 2008. Other countries at top of GPI are New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.Least Peaceful Country: As per GPI 2019 Afghanistan is now ranked as least peaceful country in world. It has replaced Syria, which is now the 2nd least peaceful. Other least peaceful countries includes South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq.
Countries with highest risk of multiple climate hazards: includes China, Japan, India, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Countries with largest total military expenditure: United States (US), China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
South Asia: Bhutan topped the index in South Asia with its 15th rank. Other countries of region include Sri Lanka (72), Nepal (76) and Bangladesh (101). The neighbouring country Pakistan is ranked 153rd on index.
Both India and Pakistan had highest rating at five in the score for internal conflicts fought. Only deaths from internal conflict showed improvement, with fewer fatalities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India than the year before.
The report observed that China, India and Bangladesh score in bottom half of GPI and have significant exposure to climate hazards, with over 393 million people in high climate hazard areas
Report Analysis
As per the index findings, although global peacefulness improved for first time in past five years but world now remains less peaceful than a decade ago.
The GPI 2019 report includes new research on possible effects of climate change on peace. It also revealed that since 2008 global peacefulness has deteriorated by 3.78%.
While the state sponsored terror has declined significantly over the last decade, with 62 countries improving their scores and only 42 deteriorated but imprisonment data shows the opposite trend with 95 countries increasing the imprisonment rate compared to 65 that improved.
The score of South Asia for every indicator in ongoing conflict is less peaceful than total global average, with four out of six deteriorating in 2018 itself.
About GPI
It was founded by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist.The report covers 99.7% of world’s population. It uses 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index.
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an Australian think tank ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness. This is based on three thematic domains-
- level of societal safety and security
- extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict
- degree of militarisation.
SDG Gender Index: India ranked 95
June 6, 2019
About Index
- Indicators: It includes 51 indicators across 14 of 17 official Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
- These indicators are those that are gender specific and those that are not but have an effect on girls and women like poverty, health, education, political representation and equality at the workplace.
- Methodology: The overall scores of this Index are based on scale of 0–100. Score of 100 indicates achievement of gender equality in relation to underlying indicators while score of 50 indicate that a country is about halfway to meeting its goal.
- The global average score of 65.7 out of 100 (means “poor”) shows that till date no country has fully achieved commitment about gender equality.
- This shows that almost 40%, of world’s girls and women (around 1.4 billion) live in countries failing on gender equality and another 1.4 billion live in countries that barely pass the benchmark.
- Top 10 countries: Denmark (1), Finland (2), Sweden (3), Norway (4), Netherlands (5), Slovenia (6), Germany (7), Canada (8), Ireland (9), and Australia (10).
- Bottom 10 countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Yemen, Congo, DR Congo and Chad.
- India’s Performance: India’s overall score was 56.2 which means that it is among 43 countries that fall in the ‘very poor’ category.
- India scores were highest in health (79.9), hunger (76.2) and energy (71.8). It performed poorly in partnerships (18.3), industry, infrastructure and innovation (38.1) and climate (43.4).
About Equal Measures 2030
It is partnership among regional and global organizations from civil society and development and private sectors. It includes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, African Women’s Development and Communication Network, International Women’s Health Coalition and Plan International." "
ICMR calls for ban on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
June 1, 2019
On occasion of World Tobacco Day which was observed on 31 May, ICMR released a white paper (an authoritative report or guide that informs readers about an issue) about harmful effects of ENDS and e-cigarettes.
Key Findings of ICMR’s White Paper
- Background: In 2018 Centre government issued an advisory recommending a ban on sale of e-cigarettes in India. Later a committee headed by K Srinath Reddy of Public Health Foundation of India (PHAI) was constituted which included experts from ICMR, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, AII India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. The committee was tasked to analyse more than 300 research articles from all over the world and prepared the white paper.
- Addictive: It noted that e-cigarettes and other such devices contained not only nicotine solution, that was highly addictive, but also harmful ingredients like flavoring agents and vaporisers.
- Marketing: It found that availability of flavour variants and attractive designs are adding to allure of devices, and globally there was an increasing trend of e-cigarettes consumption among youth and adolescents. There are more than 460 different e-cigarette brands with varied configuration of nicotine delivery that come in over 7,700 flavours.
- Worry: Use of ENDS or e-cigarettes can open a gateway for new tobacco addiction among the masses as on the balance, these have a negative impact on public health.
- Effect on Health: Prolonged use of ENDS or e-cigarettes has documented adverse impact on humans which includes DNA damage, respiratory/cardiovascular/ neurological Disorders, carcinogenic/cellular/molecular/immunological Toxicity and even have adverse effects on fetal development and pregnancy.
- It rejected argument that e-cigarettes could help smokers quit tobacco consumption. Although such benefits of e-cigarettes consumption have not been firmly established but these devices could encourage non-smokers to get addicted to tobacco.
- Youth: With large number of e-cigarette brands promoting thousands of flavors, the e-cigarette are fast becoming a trend among youngsters. Research has found that youths using e-cigarettes (or other such devices) are more likely to use regular cigarettes in later period. The exposure to ENDS increases the likelihood to experiment with regular products and increase intention to indulge in cigarette smoking.
Way Forward
These scientific and research data given in the white paper could help the government to formulate necessary policies on ENDS or e-cigarettes and other such devices." "
UN Report: India to grow at 7.1% in 2020
May 24, 2019
Key Findings of Report
- Global Growth: For both developed and developing countries, 2019 growth projections have been downgraded. The growth outlook for many developing economies was also weakened. After an expansion of 3% in 2018, world gross product growth is now projected to settle to 2.7 % in 2019 and 2.9 % in 2020.
- India’s Growth: Despite a downward revision growth in Indian economy remains strong amid robust domestic demand. India is projected to grow at 7% in fiscal year 2019 and 7.1% in fiscal year 2020.
- Risk Projections: As per WESP report, certain risks that could trigger a prolonged slowdown in the world economy’s growth include an escalation in trade disputes, a sudden deterioration in financial conditions, and accelerating effects of climate change.
- The increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters globally highlight the rising threats faced from climate change, particularly by most vulnerable economies.
- Recommendations: To tackle current growth slowdown it would require a combination of monetary, fiscal and development-oriented measures. Also, there is an immediate need of more coordinated multilateral approach to global climate policy, which includes use of carbon pricing mechanisms.
About WESP Report
It is a joint product of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions." "
UNESCO: Women still under-represented in Science and Technology
May 24, 2019
Key Highlights
- Statistics: According to UNESCO, globally only 29% of those in science research and development (R&D) are women, with a low 19% in south and west Asia and high 48% in central Asia.
- Reason: Most young women do not identify with STEM studies or careers and assume that these subjects would not align with their desire to be creative and make an impact in world.
- Consequences: As per experts this trend would further widen the gender gap in technology world and by shying away from STEM Women will also miss contributing to next generation of technologies and innovations.
- Teachers and technologists must take up responsibility to break misperception among women that STEM does not relate to world at large.
- They must build passion for STEM subjects among women students by designing computer science curricula around societal challenges and giving young women more exposure to female role models.
- Improving Awareness:
- Example- Microsoft, the technology major has taken up an initiative to encourage women to pursue careers in STEM and is working to get students and young women excited about STEM subjects.
- Such initiatives help raise awareness about issues that cause girls to drop out of or lose interest in STEM and aims to hold their excitement by showing them that if they stay engaged how they can change the world.
Steps Taken By UNESCO
- To strengthen and focus UNESCO’s work in support of gender equality in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) it launched STEM and Gender Advancement (SAGA) project in 2015. It is a global UNESCO project supported by Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
- It offers governments and policymakers a variety of tools to help reduce current global gender gap existing at all levels of education and research in STI fields.
India finds OECD’s STR Index faulty
May 16, 2019
Key Highlights
- About: A study commissioned by Indian Ministry of Commerce found that OECD index, the STRI has a several problems associated with it, which also includes some significant design issues that render the index impractical for use.
- Issues: As per India the outcomes of STRI are biased and counter-intuitive.
- The initial work suggests that there are both empirical and theoretical inconsistencies in STRI’s methodology.
- The data generated by OECD’s methodology seems to have been through arbitrary procedures and reflects being bias towards developed country.
- It shows Indian services sector as highly restrictive in areas such as FDI.
- Impractical: For instance, STRI seems to show the services sector in India as one of the most restrictive in world, particularly in policy areas like foreign entry, FDI etc. This is astonishing as since 1991, following the LPG reforms the one area that has seen maximum liberalisation in India is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
- India’s Approach: India is trying to build a consensus around adopting a new method of measuring trade restrictiveness in services sector. For this India approached several developing countries during recently-concluded WTO Ministerial talks held in New Delhi. It has also approached South Africa, Indonesia, China, Turkey and Brazil.
- India’s Argument: Unlike manufacturing trade which has a well-documented system of classification of commodities, the problem in services, is that for a long time there was not any way to find that whether a country’s service trade policies were restrictive.
- Also, even if it was ascertain as restrictive it was not known that what to do about it since services trade is usually regulated by domestic regulations and not border tariffs.
About STRI
- It was launched in 2014, by The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
- It purpose is to rank countries based on their services trade policies.
- STRI (computed by OECD) is now available for year 2018. It includes a total of 45 economies (with 36 OECD and the rest non-OECD) and 22 sectors. These countries and sectors undertaken represent more than 80% of global trade in services.
5th United Nations Global Road Safety Week
May 9, 2019
About 5th UN Global Road Safety Week 2019
- The UN Global Road Safety Weeks and its’ campaigns are coordinated by United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, chaired by World Health Organization (WHO).
- During the on-going global road safety week WHO released “Global Status Report on Road Safety”.
- As it is acknowledged that with a stronger leadership for road safety Global Goals could be achieved, so it launched action through ongoing campaign “Save Lives – #SpeakUp”.
About “Save Lives – #SpeakUp” campaign
- It operates on principles of ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’. The Decade of Action seeks to prevent road traffic injuries and deaths which are projected to take lives of about 1.9 million people annually by 2020.
- It provides an opportunity for civil society to demand a strong leadership for road safety, particularly around evidence-based interventions that will save lives.
- It also inspires leaders to take action by displaying strong leadership for road safety within governments, private companies, NGOs, international agencies, schools and universities.
Key Findings of Global Status Report on Road Safety: WHO
- All over the world Road accidents are leading cause of death among people in between 5years- 29years of age.
- Every year more than 1.35 million lives are lost and 50 million gets injured in road accidents.
- India’s Performance: Since 2008, India has maintained questionable distinction of being world number one in road crash deaths. In 2015, India became a signatory to Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety, where it committed to reduce 50% of its road crash deaths by 2020. But even after 2015, full scale of problem in India is still unacknowledged.
- As per Indian government data on road accidents, road crashes kill about 1,50,000 people each year. Although WHO report argues that numbers are understated and that India might be losing more than 2,99,000 people each year.
Current State of Cybercrime Report 2019
April 30, 2019
According to whitepaper ‘Current State of Cybercrime-2019’, released by RSA Security (is an American computer and network security company of parent organization Dell Technologies), social media fraud has increased by 43% in 2018. It says the trend will continue in 2019 because of ease of using, absence of fees and multiple other benefits of these platforms.Key Findings
- With Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter and other legitimate messaging platforms emerging as new ground for criminal deception, cybercriminals are increasingly relying on them to communicate with each other, sell stolen identities, credit card numbers and other ill-gotten gains.
- Artifice (fraud) from mobile apps has increased by 680% between 2015 and 2018, with frauds originating in mobile channels growing by 70% in 2018.
- It cautioned against the increasing rise of use of rogue mobile applications to defraud consumers.
- It highlighted that fraudsters are also undergoing their own form of digital transformation to make cybercrime activity more efficient
Steps taken by Government
Government has undertaken number of legislative, technical and institutional measures for addressing cyber security issues and strengthening cyber security system in country.- National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) is an operational cyber security and e-surveillance agency in India which is intended to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate intelligence gathering activities of other agencies. It generates situational awareness about potential and existing cyber security threats and enables timely sharing of information for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities.
- National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) under National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) coordinates with different agencies at the national level for cyber security matters.
- Enacted Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, to provide legal recognition for electronic communication, electronic commerce and cyber-crimes etc. IT Act has acted as deterrent provisions to deal with cyber threats and cyber-attacks.
- Established National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for protection of critical information infrastructure in the country.
- It formulated National Cyber Security policy (2013) framework to ensure a secure and resilient cyberspace for citizens, businesses and government.
- Set up Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats and countermeasures on regular basis.
- Launched Cyber Swachhta Kendra (which are Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) for detection of malicious programs and provide free tools for their removal.
- Set up The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), to issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats and countermeasures on regular basis. It conducts regular training programmes for network and system administrators and governments Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and critical sector organisations regarding securing the IT infrastructure and mitigating cyber attacks.
- (CERT-In) has also entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its overseas counterpart agencies/Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) for information exchange and collaboration for cyber security incident response.
- Under Cyber Crime Prevention for Women and Children (CCPWC) Scheme, GoI released grants to States/UTs to set up a Cyber Forensic cum Training Laboratory and to organize capacity building programme on cyber awareness and cyber crime investigation.
- A Division has been established under Ministry of Home Affairs to deal with Cyber and Information Security.
StartupBlink Ranking of Countries for Startup Environment
April 24, 2019
The rankings were based on the impact startups have been able to make in the country, how many startups and support organisations are there such as accelerators, coworking spaces, startup events along with technology infrastructure, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.
Findings of the Report
- The US, the UK, Canada, Israel, and Australia have been ranked in top5 in the rankings.
- India was ranked 17th in the rankings and has climbed 20 spots (rank 37) from the previous ranking.
- China was ranked 27th.
- Estonia (13), Ireland (14), and Germany (9) were ranked ahead of India for their startup ecosystems.
- The challenge before India is to improve the overall quality of startups and increase the number of unicorns than currently exist.
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State of World Population 2019
April 12, 2019
Findings of the Report
- India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion. It was more than double the annual growth rate of China.
- India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion. The population has grown from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.
- China’s population stood at 1.42 billion in 2019. China’s population increased from 1.23 billion in 1994 and 803.6 million in 1969.
- China’s population grew at an average annual rate of 0.5 per cent between 2010 and 2019.
- The total fertility rate per woman was 5.6 in 1969. It dropped to 3.7 in 1994 and 2.3 in 2019.
- India has recorded an improvement in life expectancy at birth. The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019.
- 27 per cent of India’s population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years each, while 67 per cent of India’s population was in the 15-64 age bracket. Six per cent of India’s population was of the age 65 and above.
- Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in the country dropped from 488 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1994 to 174 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.
- The absence of reproductive and sexual rights has major and negative repercussions on women’s education, income and safety in India, leaving them unable to shape their own futures.
- Early marriage continues to present a major cultural obstacle to female empowerment and better reproductive rights.
The Report Looking ahead to future challenges highlights the threat to women’s and girls’ reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.
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Smart City Indicator Survey
March 12, 2019
The survey was conducted in 20 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France and the United States, besides India.
Findings about India
- The survey reports that about four per cent of buildings in India are “green” but a lack of technical expertise to execute projects and funding to pay for improvements is the biggest barriers to investment in India.
Green Building
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes which are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition
- India even though a slow starter is catching up. About 46 per cent of the organisations surveyed in India are willing to pay a premium to lease space in a green building.
- India is on track to be consistent with the global average of 14 per cent.
The Survey also enumerated some of the key drivers in energy investments like greenhouse gas footprint reduction, increasing energy security and increasing building resilience.
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World Bank-ILO Report: Key Facts
March 1, 2019
Key Observations made in the Report
- Increasing exports together with leading to better jobs and higher wages in India will generate more formal sector employment for youth and women.
- Increasing exports would boost average wages and the biggest beneficiaries of this wage gain would be the high-skilled, urban, more experienced, and mainly male workers.
- For low-skilled workers, there would be an increase in formal jobs.
- Exports can improve the performance of local labour markets. Hence labour market policies must aid different groups of workers to acquire the right skills and ensure that the gains of increased exports are shared more broadly across society.
India and Boosting Exports
- India’s growth rate of 7.2 per cent in 2017 reduced the number of people living in poverty.
- Even then, most Indians doesn’t have regular jobs in the formal economy and differences in wages across regions and in the quality of employment opportunities prevail.
- India’s trade has been reduced from 55.8 per cent in 2012 to 41.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product between in 2017.
- Indian exports which are mainly capital intensive like chemicals and fabricated metals reduces the direct benefits to workers.
- The report notes that India can ensure that greater export orientation can boost workers’ gains from trade and spread them more widely, so benefiting disadvantaged groups.
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State of Talent Acquisition 2019 Report: Key Facts
January 31, 2019
- India Companies are expected to raise their hiring budgets by 34 per cent and volumes by 31 per cent in 2019.
- Due to this increase in hiring the companies are expected to raise their hiring budgets by at least 34 per cent compared to 20 per cent of companies in 2018.
- Technology will be a critical driver for achieving better outcomes, as well as for adapting to the growing changes in the job market and the hiring landscape.
- The better outcomes are not just confined to recruiting an adequate number of professionals and retaining them but also managing their human capital efficiently.
- The report notes that technology is employed extensively in sourcing (88 per cent) candidates, while it is used the least when-boarding (49 per cent), candidates.
- The report cites that lack of budget (about 33 per cent) as the biggest obstacle to implementing technology in the talent acquisition process.
- The respondents have cited that Human capital acquisition remained a critical issue in the country with employers indicating that ‘finding quality talent’ is a problem.
- The human capital acquisition was cited as a critical issue by 84 per cent the in the Northern region of the country, followed by Southern Region (81 per cent), East (71 per cent) and West 58 per cent.
- The Situation was comparatively better for larger organisations, as 67 per cent of respondents from the category said they face the least resistance in talent acquisition, although the challenge still persists in certain aspects of the process.
- The report notes that finding talented employees for specific roles has become a major stumbling block for organisations even when they are ready to offer remunerations that are considerably higher than the market standards.
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Corruption Perceptions Index 2018: Facts about India
January 30, 2019
It is the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide and it does not consider corruption in the business sector. The corruption perception index draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories.
The scores indicate the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100. A score of 0 points that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and a 100 points that a country has sound integrity systems.
Where does India stand?
The Corruption perception index makes the following observations about India:- India’s score has been marginally improved 41 from 40 in 2017.
- India’s ranking increased from 81st in 2017 to 78 in 2018.
- India had slid from 79th rank in 2016.
- The report cities countries like India along with Malaysia, Maldives and Pakistan will be important to watch moving forward.
- The report notes that all these countries mentioned above have witnessed massive public mobilisation against corruption coupled with significant political participation and voter turnout resulting in new governments that promised extensive anti-corruption reforms.
- The report mentions that these encouraging developments are yet to show some tangible solid action, especially when it comes to combating elusive forms of grand corruption.
- The report noted that since India gears up for general elections, there was a little significant movement in its CPI score, which moved from 40 in 2017 to 41 in 2018.
- The report notes that in spite of spectacular public mobilisation in 2011, where citizens demanded the government to take action against corruption and advocated for the passage of the comprehensive Jan Lokpal bill, the efforts ultimately fizzled and fell flat, with little to no movement on the ground to build the specialist anti-corruption infrastructure required.
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Bloomberg Innovation Index 2019: Key Facts
January 25, 2019
The countries are ranked on the basis of their overall ability to innovate considering seven-equal weighted metrics such as research & development intensity, manufacturing value-added, productivity, high-tech density, tertiary efficiency, researcher concentration, patent activity.
How the Countries are ranked?
The ranking of the various countries under the index are:- The index is topped by South Korea for the sixth time in a row with a total score of 87.38.
- South Korea is closely followed by Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Israel, Singapore, Sweden, U.S., Japan and France in the top 10.
- The United States has surged back into top 10 this year after it was left behind from the top 10 in 2018 Bloomberg Innovation index.
- China has jumped three places to 16th rank largely due to the surge in patent activity.
- India stands at 54th spot in the Bloomberg Innovation Index with a score of 47.93 out of 100.
India’s ranking under different matrices
India stood at 47th place in research & development intensity, 54th place in manufacturing value-added, 58th place in productivity, 29th place in high-tech density, 51st in tertiary efficiency, 59th in researcher concentration and 36th in patent activity.Bloomberg Innovation Index published top 60 economies out of 95 economies analysed for the ranking process for the year 2019 based on a score from 0-100 on the basis of seven equal-weighted metrics.
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Global Talent Competitive Index: Key Facts
January 23, 2019
The Global Talent Competitive Index measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, ranking 125 countries and 114 cities across all groups of income and levels of development.
Where does India stand?
The findings of the 2019 Global Talent Index for India are:- Even though India has moved up one position to rank 80th on the global talent competitive index, India remains a laggard among the BRICS nations.
- India’s performance was better than its lower-income peers when it comes to growing talent (48th) and access to growth opportunities (41st).
- In spite of the scope for improvement across the board, India’s biggest challenge is to improve its ability to attract (95th) and retain (96th) talent.
- India needs to address its poor level of Internal Openness (116th) in particular with respect to weak gender equality and low tolerance towards minorities and immigrants and its disappointing showing in lifestyle (112th) indicators.
Global Findings
The global findings of the Index are:- Switzerland is followed by Singapore, the US, Norway and Denmark in the top five on the list.
- The talent gap between higher and lower-income countries has widened over the last five years.
- Countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa are seeing a progressive erosion of their talent base.
- China’s ranking fell by two places to 45. Even then China is the best performer among BRICS countries.
- The report cities rather than countries are developing stronger roles as talent hubs and will be crucial in reshaping the global talent scene.
- The top-ranked city in the index is Washington DC, followed by Copenhagen, Oslo, Vienna and Zurich.
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Times Higher Education Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019
January 16, 2019
Performance Indicators
The rankings use 13 performance indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons to reflect the characteristics of the emerging economy universities.These 13 performance indicators are grouped under 5 categories: Teaching (the learning environment); Research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); International outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).
Findings in the Rankings
The standings of Indian universities in the rankings are as outlined below:- The Indian Institute of Science has topped the rankings among Indian institutes with 14th rank; the second spot among Indian Institutes was occupied by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay with 27th rank.
- IIT Roorkee has moved up by 21 places to 35th rank due to improvements in its research (volume, income and reputation) and industry income (knowledge transfer).
- IIT Indore (61st) and the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research are at joint 64th position.
- Savitribai Phule Pune University has moved up by 87 positions to joint 93rd, alongside the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The increase in the rankings of Savitribai Phule Pune University is attributed to its research score and a significant rise to its citations score.
- Banaras Hindu University, Amrita University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and IIT Hyderabad also features among the top 150 in the rankings.
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Vision 2040 document: Aviation
January 16, 2019
Forecasts of the Vision Document
The forecasts of the Vision 2040 document are:- The document estimates that India will need 200 airports and an investment of $40-50 billion to handle at least 1.1 billion passengers flying to, from and within the country.
- It is estimated that passenger traffic (to, from and within India) for FY 2040 would be 1.1 billion, which is six times the 187 million traffic recorded in FY 2018.
- Most of the airports’ passenger capacity will saturate in the next 15 years and India will have to nearly double the count from 99 to 200.
- Even the second airports in regions like Delhi and Mumbai would be saturated by 2040 and will require a third airport.
- In order to cater to this huge passenger traffic, India will have to holistically develop airports having all stakeholders on board. This has to be coupled with providing quality service to flyers.
- The scheduled airline fleet will rise from 622, at the end of March 2018, to 2,360 till March 2040.
- Even though India is a “price sensitive” market, gradual rise in per capita incomes, increased (perceived) value of ‘time’, propensity for leisure and tourism will lead to more and more Indians using airways as a medium to travel.
Recommendations made in the Vision Document
The Vision Document makes the following recommendations:- Ushering in amendments to Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Restructuring Act, 2013 and adopting “land-pooling” techniques to develop newer airports.
- Lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) since taxes add pressure on the airline’s bottom line.
- Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to be brought under GST.
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Survey on sanitation across Cities on the Bank of River Ganga
January 15, 2019
Findings of the Survey
The findings of the Survey are:- Four out of five towns along the River Ganga have waste dumps along the banks and nearly 55 per cent of the towns have drains emptying into the river without any cleaning.
- Only 19 towns had municipal solid waste (MSW) plants and only 7 towns in the plains can claim installation of a trash cleaner in their territory.
- 72 per cent of towns have nullahs (drains) discharging into the river and 77 per cent of these drains do not have functional screens that filter out filth.
- 12 towns have scored A, 44 B-grade and the rest scored a poor C grade in performance.
- Poor-performing towns were in states of West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Different Grades
Grade A – Towns had good cleanliness and waste management services.
Grade B – Towns managed only a partial cleanliness around the ghats.
Grade C- Towns have a lot to do to achieve over improvement in cleanliness, solid waste management and in setting up infrastructure at treating sewage flowing into the river.
Quality Council of India
The Quality Council of India (QCI) is an accreditation body established by the government of India in partnership with the Indian industry.Quality Council of India (QCI) is set up as a non-profit autonomous society to establish an accreditation structure in the country and to spread quality movement in India by undertaking a National Quality Campaign.
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Henley Passport Index
January 10, 2019
Ranking of the Jurisdictions
The Rankings of the jurisdictions based on the rankings in the Henley Passport Index are:- Japan retained its top spot as the world’s most travel-friendly passport due to the document’s access to 190 jurisdictions.
- South Korea and Singapore are at joint second position offering access to 189 jurisdictions.
- China has jumped almost 20 places in just two years, from 85th in 2017 to 69th this year.
- India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th this year.
- European Union member states along with Norway and the US occupy the places behind the top three nations in the rankings.
- The rankings of the USA and UK have continued to drop.
- The top 5 positions are held by Japan (190 countries), Singapore, South Korea (189), France, Germany (188), Denmark, Finland, Italy, Sweden (187), and Luxembourg, Spain (186)
- The bottom 5 positions are held by Eritrea (38), Yemen (37), Pakistan (33), Somalia, Syria (32)and Afghanistan, Iraq (30).
Observations
Christian Kalin, Chairman of the Henley & Partners’ Group who is also the creator of the index notes that the ranking is a bright spot in an increasingly isolationist world.Open-door policies have the potential to contribute billions to the global economy, as well as create significant employment opportunities around the world. The ascent in the rankings of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are examples of what happens when countries take a proactive foreign affairs approach, an attitude which significantly benefits their citizens as well as the international community.
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CAG report on the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management: Key Facts
January 9, 2019
- CAG recommends the government to frame a policy on off-budget financing and sources of such funding in view of its fiscal implication.
- The off-budget financial arrangements defer committed liability (subsidy arrears/bills) or create future liability and increase the cost of subsidy due to interest payment.
- The report states that since the off-budget financing is outside the parliamentary control, it has implications for fiscal indicators as they “understate” the government’s expenditure in the year by keeping them off the budget.
- Hence the CAG recommends the government to put in place a policy framework for off-budget financing which would specify the rationale and objective of off-budget financing, quantum of off-budget financing, sources of the fund among others.
- The CAG also recommends the government to consider disclosing the details of off-budget borrowings through disclosure statements in Budget as well as in accounts.
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India was is a constitutional body established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. The CAG is responsible for undertaking audits of all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. CAG is also the external auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts the supplementary audit of government companies. CAG also serves as head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.The reports of the CAG is examined by the Public Accounts Committees and Committees on Public Undertakings.
" significant employment opportunities around the world. The ascent in the rankings of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are examples of what happens when countries take a proactive foreign affairs approach, an attitude which significantly benefits their citizens as well as the international community.
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CAG report on the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management: Key Facts
January 9, 2019
- CAG recommends the government to frame a policy on off-budget financing and sources of such funding in view of its fiscal implication.
- The off-budget financial arrangements defer committed liability (subsidy arrears/bills) or create future liability and increase the cost of subsidy due to interest payment.
- The report states that since the off-budget financing is outside the parliamentary control, it has implications for fiscal indicators as they “understate” the government’s expenditure in the year by keeping them off the budget.
- Hence the CAG recommends the government to put in place a policy framework for off-budget financing which would specify the rationale and objective of off-budget financing, quantum of off-budget financing, sources of the fund among others.
- The CAG also recommends the government to consider disclosing the details of off-budget borrowings through disclosure statements in Budget as well as in accounts.
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India was is a constitutional body established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. The CAG is responsible for undertaking audits of all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. CAG is also the external auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts the supplementary audit of government companies. CAG also serves as head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.The reports of the CAG is examined by the Public Accounts Committees and Committees on Public Undertakings.
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