Reports and Indices Current Affairs MCQs

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HelpAge India’s report, “Ageing in India: Exploring Preparedness & Response to Care Challenges,” was released on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15. Key findings include: 65% of elders are financially insecure, with 40% of illiterate elderly lacking income sources. Only 29% access social security schemes, and 15% are employed. Health-wise, 52% face daily living challenges, and 54% have multiple NCDs. Additionally, 59% lack digital device access, exacerbating isolation.

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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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The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) recently released the World Population Prospects Report, projecting the global population to peak at 10.3 billion by the mid-2080s, up from 8.2 billion in 2024. Key findings include a current fertility rate of 2.25 births per woman and a life expectancy of 73.3 years. India’s population is expected to peak in the early 2060s, remaining the largest globally throughout the century.

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The UNEP’s report “Navigating New Horizons” identifies critical global shifts exacerbating the triple planetary crisis of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. It highlights the interconnectedness of today’s global polycrisis, which includes wars, extreme weather, and pandemics, driven by globalization. Key issues addressed include changing human-environment relationships, resource scarcity impacting global security, technological innovations like AI, increased risks from autonomous weapons, mass displacement of 1.5% of the population, and rising eco-anxiety.

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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 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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The World Bank’s report “The Impact of Climate Change on Education” highlights how climate change intensifies extreme weather, disrupting schooling and causing learning losses and dropouts. Despite its significance, education remains overlooked in climate policy, with less than 1.3% of climate assistance allocated to it in 2020. Between 2005-2024, schools closed during 75% of extreme weather events, affecting over 5 million people. Over 99% of children globally face at least one major climate hazard. Rising temperatures negatively impact learning outcomes, with a 1°C increase reducing test scores. Climate change also threatens food security and economic stability, jeopardizing school enrollment and disproportionately affecting 4 million girls in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

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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.