Reports and Indices Current Affairs MCQs

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The World Bank recently released the ‘Global Findex 2025’ report highlighting global progress in digital and financial inclusion. India’s account ownership stands at or near 90 percent, showing major financial inclusion gains. However, 16 percent of Indian account holders have inactive accounts, compared to 4 percent in other low- and middle-income countries. Between 2021 and 2024, the number of men and women with only inactive accounts in India declined. High device cost and poor mobile network coverage remain key barriers to mobile phone ownership in India.

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The World Bank recently released the report “Towards Resilient and Prosperous Cities in India” in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It studied 24 Indian cities with a focus on Chennai, Indore, New Delhi, Lucknow, Surat, and Thiruvananthapuram. By 2030, 70% of new jobs in India are expected to come from cities, showing strong urban growth potential. India’s urban population may nearly double to 951 million by 2050, needing over 144 million new homes by 2070. Smart investments can prevent $5 billion in flood damage annually by 2030 and save $30 billion by 2070.

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Recently, the Numbeo Safety Index 2025 ranked India at 67th with a safety score of 55.8. The Numbeo Safety Index is a real-time, user-based global ranking that reflects how safe people feel in their own countries. It considers factors like crime fear, crime incidents, and overall public safety perceptions. In 2025, the index covered 146 countries worldwide. Top countries in safety include Andorra (84.7), United Arab Emirates–UAE (84.5), Qatar (84.2), Taiwan (82.9), and Oman (81.7). These countries maintain high safety through strong law enforcement, political stability, and safety policies.

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India ranked 67th in the Numbeo Safety Index mid-2025 with a score of 55.8. Mangalore emerged as India’s safest city, ranked 49th globally with a safety index score of 74.2. Gujarat’s Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Surat followed with scores of 69.2, 68.2, and 66.6 respectively. New Delhi, Noida, and Ghaziabad were among India’s most unsafe cities with high crime index scores of 59.03, 55.1, and 58.44. Rankings were based on public perceptions of crimes like robbery, assault, harassment, and vandalism. Globally, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, led for the ninth year with a score of 88.8.

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NITI Aayog launched the report “Rethinking Homestays: Navigating Policy Pathways” with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). It highlights homestays as drivers of cultural immersion, local entrepreneurship, and job creation. It calls for light-touch, transparent regulations to ensure safety, heritage protection, and sustainable growth. It stresses public–private collaboration with partners like MakeMyTrip and Airbnb. The report suggests digital platforms, flexible policies, capacity building, and state best practices to build a resilient homestay sector.

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India’s Crude Birth Rate (CBR) declined from 19.1 in 2022 to 18.4 in 2023, a fall of 0.7 points. Total Fertility Rate (TFR) fell for the first time in two years to 1.9 in 2023 from 2.0 in 2021–22. Bihar reported the highest CBR at 25.8, while Tamil Nadu had the lowest at 12. Bihar also had the highest TFR at 2.8, while Delhi reported the lowest at 1.2. 18 States and Union Territories (UTs) recorded TFR below the replacement level of 2.1. Northern States with above-replacement TFR include Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. Data comes from the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) 2023 released by the Registrar General of India.

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report on September 16, 2025, titled The Implications of Oil and Gas Field Decline Rates. The report warns that global oil and gas fields are depleting faster, raising supply and price risks. Nearly 90% of upstream investment is now spent on offsetting natural declines, not on expanding supply. Without new investment, global oil output could shrink by 5.5 million barrels per day and gas by 270 billion cubic metres annually. India, which imports over 85% of crude oil and 45% of gas, faces heightened vulnerability. IEA urged India to diversify energy sources, expand reserves, explore domestically, and promote clean fuels like green hydrogen and biofuels. Long project timelines of nearly 20 years add further risk to future energy security.

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) released the World Trade Report 2025 highlighting the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on global trade. With proper enabling policies, AI could boost cross-border trade of goods and services by nearly 40% by 2040 through productivity gains and lower costs. Global trade is projected to rise by 34–37%, while global GDP may increase by 12–13% by 2040 under different scenarios. In 2023, global trade in AI-enabling goods like semiconductors and raw materials was worth USD 2.3 trillion. If low- and middle-income nations narrow their digital gap by 50%, their incomes could rise by 15% and 14% respectively. Report stresses bridging the digital divide, investing in skills, and ensuring open, predictable trade policies.

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Recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released the State of Global Water Resources 2024 report on 19 September 2025. It warns that the global water cycle is becoming highly erratic, swinging between floods and droughts. 2024 marked the third straight year of glacier loss worldwide. Many small-glacier regions have reached or are nearing “Peak Water Point,” after which runoff will decline due to glacier shrinkage. Two-thirds of global river basins had abnormal water levels, with only one-third showing normal conditions for the sixth consecutive year. The report calls for stronger global data sharing and investments to close monitoring gaps. Currently, 3.6 billion people lack adequate water at least one month per year, projected to rise to over 5 billion by 2050.

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Copenhagen, Denmark, is ranked the world’s happiest city in 2025 by the Institute for Quality of Life’s Happy City Index. Aarhus, Denmark, ranks 4th with high citizen score (233), robust governance (173), and environmental initiatives (170). European cities dominate the top 10: Antwerp (Belgium) 5th, Stockholm (Sweden) 7th, Munich (Germany), and Rotterdam (Netherlands). No city from the United States, United Kingdom, China, or India made it to the top 10.