Summary of Indices & Reports - 1 | Economic Survey & Government Reports - UPSC PDF Download

Important Global Indices

Children’s Climate Risk Index

Released By:

• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Fridays for Future.
• Report name: ‘The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index’.

About the Index:

• It is the first comprehensive analysis of climate risk from a child’s perspective.
• It ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as Cyclones and Heatwaves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services.

• Pakistan (14th), Bangladesh (15th), Afghanistan (25th) and India (26th) are among four South Asian countries where children are at extremely high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis.

Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2021

Released By:

• The report is released by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

About the Report:

• The report presents comprehensive economic, financial, social and environmental statistics for ADB’s 49 regional members.

• It demonstrated that the region made substantial progress in the last two decades with respect to several development targets.

Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2021

Released By:

• A US-based property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

About the Index:

• It assesses the most advantageous locations for global manufacturing among 47 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific (APAC).

• Four key parameters of rankings:

  • Country’s capability to restart manufacturing,

  • Business environment (availability of talent/labour, access to markets),

  • Operating costs,

  • Risks (political, economic and environmental).

• India has overtaken the US to become the second-most sought-after manufacturing destination globally.

  • In the 2020 report, the US was at second position while India ranked third.

Hunger Hotspots Report

Released By:

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with World Food Programme (WFP)

About the Report:

• Major Hunger Hotspots of the world include Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan, northern Nigeria and Yemen.

• Considers frequent violent attacks, natural hazards, pandemic shocks and poor humanitarian access as the key factors causing food insecurity.

Global Cybersecurity Index 2020

Released By:

• ITU (International Telecommunication Union)

About the Index:

• The assessment is based on the aggregated performance of five parameters of cybersecurity; Legal measures, technical measures, organisational measures, capacity development, and cooperation.

• The US ranked 1st followed by the UK and Saudi Arabia tied on the 2nd position and Estonia was 3rd.

• India has ranked 10th in the index by moving up 37 places.

  • India secured the 4th position in the Asia Pacific region.

World Competitiveness Index 2021

Released By:

• First published in 1989 and is compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland.

About the Index:

• It measures the prosperity and competitiveness of countries by examining four factors:

  • Economic performance

  • Government efficiency

  • Business efficiency

  • Infrastructure

• Switzerland (1st), Sweden (2nd) and Denmark (3rd) are the top performers.

  • The top-performing Asian economies are Singapore (5th), Hong Kong (7th), Taiwan (8th) and China (16th).

• India maintained its 43rd rank.

  • Among the BRICS nations, India ranked second (43rd) after China (16th).

Global Liveability Index

Released By:

• Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

About the Index:

• The index takes into account more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors spanning five broad categories: stability (25%), healthcare (20%), culture and environment (25%), education (10%), and infrastructure (20%).

• Top 3 Liveable Cities:

  • Auckland (New Zealand), Osaka (Japan), Adelaide (Australia).

• Bottom 3 Liveable Cities:

  • Damascus (Syria), Lagos (Nigeria), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea).

Global Economic Prospects

Released By:

• World Bank

About the Report:

• The world economy is expected to witness the fastest post-recession growth rate in eighty years.

• India's economy is expected to grow at 8.3% for Fiscal Year 2021-22, 7.5% for 2022-23 and 6.5% for 2023-24.

Report On Global Remittances

Released By:

• World Bank

About the Report:

• A remittance is money sent to another party, usually one in another country.

  • Remittances represent one of the largest sources of income for people in low-income and developing nations.

• India is the world’s biggest recipient of remittances followed by China. Remittances bolsters India's foreign exchange reserves and helps fund its current account deficit.

• Remittance outflow was the maximum from the United States (USD 68 billion), followed by UAE, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Germany, and China.

World Press Freedom Day 2021

Organised By:

• UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

About the Day:

• The theme for WPFD 2021 is “Information as a Public Good".

• The day was proclaimed by the UNGA in 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.

  • The day also marks the 1991 Windhoek Declaration adopted by UNESCO which is aimed towards the ‘development of a free, independent and pluralistic press’.

World Press Freedom Index 2021

Released By:

• Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders.

About the Index:

• It ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However it is not an indicator on the quality of journalism.

• The parameters include:

  • Pluralism

  • Media independence

  • Media environment and self-censorship

  • legislative framework

  • Transparency

  • Quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.

• Norway has topped for five consecutive years, followed by Finland and Denmark.

  • China is ranked 177, and is only above North Korea at 179 and Turkmenistan at 178.

• India has ranked 142nd, same as WFPI 2020.

Global Gender Gap Report 2021

Released By:

• World Economic Forum (WEF)

About the Report:

• It aims to serve as a compass to track progress on relative gaps between women and men on health, education, economy and politics.

• The four-parameter for assessing gender parity include:

  • Economic Participation and Opportunity,

  • Educational Attainment,

  • Health and Survival and

  • Political Empowerment.

• The highest possible score is 1 (equality) and the lowest possible score is 0 (inequality).

• South Asia incidentally is one of the worst-performing regions, followed only by the Middle East and northern Africa.

  • India is now one of the worst performers in South Asia, it is now ranked 140 among 156 countries.