Reports and Indices Current Affairs MCQs

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NITI Aayog released the report “India’s Blue Economy: Strategy for Harnessing Deep-Sea and Offshore Fisheries” in October 2025. India is the second-largest fish producer globally, contributing 8% of world production and supporting 30 million livelihoods. Fishery exports earned ₹60,523 crore in FY 2023–24. India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spans over 2 million sq. km, with 11,098 km coastline across 9 coastal states and 4 Union Territories. Deep-sea fisheries beyond the continental shelf remain largely unexploited, with an estimated potential yield of 7.16 million tonnes. Report proposes a science-based, technology-enabled, socially inclusive, ecologically sustainable framework for deep-sea and offshore fisheries.

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India’s passport ranks 85th in the 2025 Henley Passport Index, down five places from 2024. Indian citizens can travel visa-free to 57 countries, down from 59 last year. The Henley Passport Index ranks all 199 passports based on visa-free mobility. Singapore tops the index with access to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea and Japan, showing Asia’s growing dominance. European countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland feature prominently in the top 10. Indians can travel visa-free to 12 countries, including Bhutan, Indonesia, Mauritius, Nepal, and Trinidad and Tobago.

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The Mercer–Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Global Pension Index 2025 shows India’s pension system covers less than 25% of the workforce. Key schemes like the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), National Pension System (NPS), and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) have limited reach, especially among informal and gig workers. India ranks 45th out of 47 countries, retaining a ‘D’ grade with a score of 43.8, slightly lower than 44 in 2024. The drop reflects weaknesses in sustainability, inclusiveness, and resilience to ageing and climate challenges. India’s pension system now stands among the world’s weakest, alongside Türkiye, Argentina, and the Philippines.

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India moved up to 9th position in the world for total forest area and retained 3rd spot for annual forest gains, according to the United Nations’ Global Forest Resource Assessment (GFRA) 2025. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav credited government conservation policies and state-led plantation efforts for this achievement. GFRA, released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), analysed 35 years of data (1990-2025) from 236 countries. India has 72.74 million hectares of forests, about 2% of global forest cover. Russia leads with 832.63 million hectares, followed by Brazil, Canada, and the US. India added approximately 191,000 hectares per year between 2015-2025, behind China (1.69 million) and Russia (942,000).

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In the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026, nine of the top 10 Indian institutions — including seven IITs — saw a decline in ranks, while universities in China, Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia advanced. IIT Delhi remains India’s top-ranked institution at 59th, but dropped 15 places from last year’s 44th rank. IIT Bombay saw the sharpest fall, slipping 23 positions to rank 71, after leading among Indian institutions from 2021–2024. Chandigarh University was the only Indian institution to improve, rising from 120th to 109th rank. The University of Hong Kong topped the list globally, followed by Peking University (China) and National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) sharing third.

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The UN Environment Program (UNEP) released the “Emission Gap Report 2025: Off Target.” Even updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) pledges under the Paris Agreement may lead to 2.3–2.5 °C global warming this century. This exceeds the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming well below 2 °C and striving for 1.5 °C. Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rose 2.3% in 2024, reaching 57.7 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent. To meet the 1.5 °C target, emissions must fall by 55% by 2035. India and China had the highest absolute GHG emission increases. India’s per capita GHG emissions remain below the world average.

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In November 2025, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the India AI Governance Guidelines. The framework aims to advance AI innovation while mitigating risks and aligning with India’s societal and national priorities. A drafting committee, formed in July 2025, studied global models, laws, and literature to shape India’s AI governance structure. The guidelines are based on seven core principles and six key pillars — Infrastructure, Capacity Building, Policy & Regulation, Risk Mitigation, Accountability, and Institutions. It recommends expanding data and compute access, building AI skills, and ensuring balanced regulation and liability systems.

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The World Economic Forum (WEF) released a new report titled “Shaping the Deep-Tech Revolution in Agriculture” on November 7, 2025. The report was launched under WEF’s Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture Initiative (AI4AI), established in 2021 to promote inclusive and sustainable farming. It identifies seven deep-tech domains driving agri-transformation — Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Vision, Robotics, Edge Internet of Things (IoT), Satellite-enabled Remote Sensing, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), and Nanotechnology. These technologies can transform how crops are grown, monitored, protected, and distributed, boosting productivity, resilience, and sustainability.

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The World Bank released the Financial Sector Assessment (FSA) Report 2025. The report stated that India must boost financial sector reforms and private capital mobilisation to become a USD 30-trillion economy by 2047. It praised India’s world-class digital public infrastructure and government programmes for improving access to financial services for both men and women. The FSA noted that India’s financial system has become more resilient, diversified, and inclusive since the 2017 FSAP. It welcomed India’s regulatory expansion on cooperative banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) through scale-based regulation.

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The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative released the State of the Cryosphere Report 2025. The report covers five key cryosphere components: Ice Sheets, Mountain Glaciers and Snow, Polar Oceans, Sea Ice, and Permafrost. Greenland and Antarctic losses have quadrupled since the 1990s, causing sea-level rise that threatens infrastructure, homes, farmland, and livelihoods in coastal areas. Rising greenhouse gases weaken heat and carbon absorption and slow Antarctic Overturning Circulation (AOC) and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). 273 gigatons of ice lost per year (2000–2023), threatening water, food, and security for billions. Extent and thickness declined 40–60% since 1979, impacting Arctic amplification, species, weather, and ocean currents.