Reports and Indices Current Affairs MCQs

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The IUCN report “Planet on the Move: Reimagining Conservation” emphasizes the need for a new conservation approach amidst migration, environmental change, and conflict. It highlights the nexus between these factors, urging integrated policies for human and wildlife migration. Recommendations include addressing migration and development needs while preserving biodiversity, creating legal mechanisms to protect environmental migrants, and enhancing synergies between laws for intersecting migrations.

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UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024 highlights the impact of climate change on education. Mandated by the ‘Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action’, it monitors SDG 4 (Quality Education). Key findings: Over 20 years, schools closed during 75% of extreme weather events, affecting over 5 million people. In India, early-life rainfall shocks impaired vocabulary, math, and non-cognitive skills. Education’s role in combating climate change is underrepresented in international agendas.

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India Child Protection (ICP) released the “Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage” report. ICP, part of the Child Rights and Multi-Faith Initiative, addresses child abuse, trafficking, digital exploitation, and child marriage. Key findings: Assam’s legal measures reduced child marriages by 81% from 2021-22 to 2023-24. Despite three girls marrying every minute (Census 2011), only three cases are reported daily. In 2023-24, 14,137 child marriages were prevented. With a 92% case backlog, clearing it could take 19 years.

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The FAO’s “State of the World’s Forests 2024” report, themed “Accelerating forest solutions through innovation,” highlights a decline in deforestation rates to 10.2 million ha per year in 2015–2020 from 15.8 million ha in 1990–2000. India ranks 3rd for average annual net forest area gain (2010-2020). Non-Timber Forest Products support 275 million Indian livelihoods. Innovation is crucial for climate resilience, bioeconomy shifts, and leveraging non-wood forest products’ nutritional benefits.

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The Henley Passport Index 2024 ranks the Indian passport 82nd, providing visa-free access to 58 countries, including Indonesia, Maldives, and Thailand. Singapore tops the index with visa-free entry to 195 countries, while France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Japan are second with 192 destinations. Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden share third place (191 countries), and the UK, New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, and Switzerland are fourth (190 countries).

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Ministry of Health & Family Welfare released a report titled “Economic Case for Investment in the Well-being of Adolescents in India,” highlighting key areas for investment in adolescent health. India has the largest adolescent population (253 million) globally. Between 2000 and 2019, the adolescent mortality rate dropped by over 50%, and fertility rates fell by 83%. Secondary school completion rates more than doubled from 22% in 2005 to over 50% in 2020. However, fatal road accidents among adolescents under 18 increased by 22.7% from 2021 to 2022. Recommended interventions are projected to boost India’s economy by 10.1% of annual GDP.

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India, a founding member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), plans to challenge the ILO’s India Employment Report 2024. The ILO, established in 1919 to promote social justice and improve labor conditions, became a UN agency in 1946. Headquartered in Geneva, it has 187 member states and is part of the UN Development Group. The complaint reflects concerns over the accuracy of the ILO’s employment model for India.

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Wayanad, Kerala, struck by a deadly landslide killing nearly 200 people, ranked 13th in ISRO’s 2023 Landslide Atlas of India. Prepared by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO, the atlas details landslide occurrences and damage in 147 districts across 17 states and two Union Territories. It includes 80,000 landslides mapped from 1998 to 2022, categorized by season, event, and route. The data, using high-resolution satellite imagery, ranked districts based on socio-economic exposure to landslides.

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India ranks 39th in the 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index by the World Economic Forum, up from an adjusted 38th in 2021. The country’s scores improved in travel prioritization, safety, and health. In 2022, India had 14.3 million international tourists, 1.47% of the global market, and 15.66% in Asia-Pacific. The Ministry of Tourism promotes India domestically and internationally through integrated marketing and participation in travel fairs.

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The World Bank’s 2024 report highlights the “Middle-Income Trap,” where countries stuck in middle-income status struggle to advance to high-income levels. This trap often occurs around $8,000 GDP per capita. Since 1990, only 34 of 108 middle-income countries have moved to high-income status. Key challenges include aging populations, rising protectionism, and the need for faster energy transitions. India, classified as a lower-middle-income country since 2007, has a GNI per capita of $2,540 and would need 75 years to reach one-quarter of U.S. income per capita at current trends.