Reports and Indices Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Uttarakhand’s Cabinet, under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, has approved the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill—a historic decision. Based on committee recommendations, the bill aims to standardize civil laws, transcending religious affiliations. The proposed measures include banning polygamy and child marriage, establishing a common marriageable age, and enforcing uniform grounds and procedures for divorce, promoting legal standardization.

Notes:
NITI Aayog and the Netherlands Embassy released the report ‘LNG as a transportation fuel in medium and heavy commercial vehicles’ during India Energy Week 2024 in Goa. The collaboration, initiated in 2020, focuses on energy transition. The report addresses LNG utilization in Indian commercial vehicles, examining coordination challenges and drawing insights from global practices. The Netherlands, a leader in green hydrogen, plans to aid India in achieving climate targets. The report outlines strategies for a 15% gas share in primary energy by 2070.

Notes:
The Chairman of Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti recently advocated for promoting Indian languages in education, announcing that textbooks will soon be available in Indian languages on digital platforms. Established by the Ministry of Education in 2021, the committee’s mandate, under the National Education Policy 2020, involves recommending pathways for holistic growth of Indian languages, advising the Ministry on language revitalization, and organizing events to emphasize language promotion. The High-Powered Committee may appoint sub-committees and collaborate with government institutions for language teaching and research.

Notes:
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting recently launched four portals, including NaViGate Bharat, a bilingual platform by the New Media Wing. NaViGate Bharat serves as a unified gateway hosting government-related videos, simplifying access to developmental measures and citizen welfare initiatives. The platform empowers users with an interactive interface for searching, streaming, sharing, and downloading content, streamlining information retrieval from various sources into a single, reliable platform for both media and the public.

Notes:
The Global Waste Management Outlook 2024, co-published by UNEP and ISWA, highlights key trends. Predictions indicate municipal solid waste will surge from 2.3 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050. The direct cost of global waste management, at USD 252 billion in 2020, is projected to nearly double by 2050 without immediate intervention. Barriers include insufficient urgency recognition, incomplete data, and climate impact underestimation, as well as gendered aspects, informal sector undervaluation, and inadequate legislation.

Notes:
According to report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India leads global arms imports with a 4.7% growth from 2014-2018 to 2019-2023. Russia remains India’s primary arms supplier, but its share fell below 50% for the first time since 1960-64. India sourced 36% of its arms imports from Russia. The US supplied 55% of Europe’s weapons, while Japan’s imports rose by 155%, and South Korea’s by 6.5%. China’s imports decreased by 44%.

Notes:
The FAO’s inaugural national report on AMR surveillance in India’s fisheries and livestock sectors (2019-22) highlights the critical role of antibiotic use in food animal production in driving Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR). Low resistance levels were observed to less commonly used antibiotics like chloramphenicol, but significant resistance to macrolides and quinolones was noted. The report underscores the necessity for prudent antibiotic usage in aquaculture and livestock production.

Notes:
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) releases the Gender Inequality Index (GII) in their Human Development Report. The 2022 GII was released on March 13, 2024, and shows that India has improved its ranking by 14 ranks from 2021 to 2022. India’s rank is 108 out of 193 countries with a score of 0.437. The GII measures gender inequalities based on three aspects of human development, including reproductive health. The index ranges from 0, where women and men fare equally, to 1, where one gender fares as poorly as possible in all measured dimensions.

Notes:
Delhi was labeled as the world’s most polluted capital city in the 2023 World Air Quality Report by Swiss Organization IQAir. India ranked third in air quality with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 54.4 µg/m³. Bangladesh and Pakistan were worse off, while Bihar’s Begusarai was named the most polluted metropolitan area. Ten of the top 11 polluted cities were Indian, with Lahore being the only exception. 96% of India’s population faces PM2.5 levels exceeding WHO guidelines.

Notes:
In 2023, India ranked as the 3rd most polluted country globally, per the World Air Quality Report by Swiss company IQAir. Drawing data from 30,000+ air quality monitoring stations across 7,812 locations in 134 countries, only 10 met the WHO’s clean air standard. French Polynesia, Mauritius, and Iceland had the cleanest air, while India trailed behind Pakistan and Bangladesh in pollution levels.