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Index / List Current Affairs 2020 - Current Affairs Today
Index / List Current Affairs 2020 read all the latest Index / List Current Affairs Updates for 2020 at Fresherslive.com. This is the right place to get quick updates of Latest Index / List Current Affairs 2020 and events not only for the competitive exam but also for the interview.
Last Updated: January 17, 2020 14 hours ago
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Japan topped the 2020 Henley Passport Index
Henley Passport Index 2020 was launched recently by Henley & Partners. India ranked 84th in the index. Japan has the world's strongest passport. The index was based on the data collected from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Report Highlights: ♦ In the index, around 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations were considered. ♦ It is based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a visa. ♦ Japan has been holding the top rank positions for the past 3 years. As per the report, the citizens can access 191 destinations without the necessity of obtaining a visa in advance. Top 5 ranking countries: ♦ Japan ranked first ♦ Singapore ranked second ♦ Germany and South Korea shared third ♦ Finland and Italy shared fourth ♦ Denmark, Luxembourg and Spain fifth position Passport Index: The passport index provides insights about visa-free travel options. The index score represents how welcoming the countries are. The index includes the World Openness score, Welcoming score, Visa- Frees score, and Global Mobility score. If the scores are high, the passport index is also high and then the passport is said to be highly powerful.
Month: Current Affairs January 2020
ASER report showed the learning status of Uttar Pradesh students
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) was showed over 46% in Lucknow and 45.9% in Varanasi kids are unable to read or recognize numbers. The survey covered 1,514 villages, 30,425 households and 36,930 children in the age group of 4-8 in the state. Report HIghlights: ♦ The report stated that the children studying in Class 3 in the cities of Varanasi and Lucknow cannot read or recognize numbers between 1 to 100. ♦ It said that the standard of education continues to remain grim in Uttar Pradesh. ♦ Over 28.1% of kids studying in Class 1 of Lucknow were not able to identify even numbers from 1-9. ♦ About 47% fail to recognize numbers from 1-100. ♦ According to the countrywide figures, for age 4-5 years, there were only 50.4% boys against 56.8% girls enrolled in government schools. Varanasi: ♦ 16.8% of class I children could not read even a letter and 46.5% of class III and 58% of class II children in Varanasi could not read class I texts. Also, in Varanasi, 45.9% of class III children do not recognize the numbers till 99 while 31.2% of class I children could not recognize 1-9 numbers in the district.
WHO released 2020 Global Health Challenges report
The World Health Organization (WHO) released the list of Global Health Challenges of the forthcoming year on 13 January 2020. Report Highlights: ♦ The list of Global Health Challenges highlighted 13 potential threats. ♦ The top among the listed threats was Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and climate crisis. ♦ As per the report, around 7 million people are affected because of climate change. ♦ The report said that climate change has increased malnutrition and is fueling the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria. ♦ Following these 2, the other threats mentioned in the list include the influenza epidemic and the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. ♦ The report stated that most of the death is due to stroke, chronic respiratory disease, heart attack, and lung cancer. These diseases are increased by raising levels of air pollution. ♦ For the first time, Lack of Access has entered the list. ♦ It highlighted that a lack of access to vaccines, diagnostic tools, medicines, and other essential health products is one of the challenges and threats faced by society.
IEA released a first in-depth review of Indias energy policies
The International Energy Agency (IEA) along with the country's policy think tank NITI Aayog released the first in-depth review of India's energy policies on 10 January 2020. The review aims to set out a range of recommendations in each energy policy area. The IEA regularly releases energy policy reviews for its member and association countries. For the first time, it has carried out the review for India. This is the first review IEA carried out for India. Report Highlights: ♦ The report highlighted the achievements made through the country's energy policies ♦ It suggested recommendations to support the Government of India's (GoI) goals to promote the well-functioning energy markets and boost the deployment of renewables. ♦ The review encourages India to institutionalize energy policy coordination across the government with a national energy policy framework. It marked the government's policy that provided access to electricity, affordable efficient lighting, and clean cooking through schemes like SAUBHAGYA, UJJWALA, and UJALA. ♦ Also, India is pursuing energy market reforms and the swift deployment of renewable technologies. ♦ It highlighted the growth of renewables in India which accounts for almost 23% of India's total installed capacity. ♦ The review also founded that the energy efficiency improvements in the country has avoided 15% of oil and gas imports, additional energy demand, and air pollution and 300 million tonnes (MT) of CO2 emissions between 2000 and 2018. Note: India has been an IEA association country since March 2017.
India ranked fifth-biggest geopolitical risk of 2020 by Eurasia Group
Eurasia Group reported that India is one of the world's top geopolitical risks for 2020. The political risk consultancy India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was listed as the fifth biggest geopolitical risk of 2020. Report Highlights: ♦ Eurasia Group is one of the United States' most influential risk assessment companies. ♦ The report said that the Indian PM Narendra Modi has spent much of his second term to promote the controversial social policies, include the revocation of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir through an Act, at the expense of an economic agenda. ♦ It also highlighted that the impacts will be shown in 2020, with intensified communal and sectarian instability, foreign policy and economic setbacks. ♦ The list was topped by-elections in the US and followed by events and developments like the US-China technology tug of war on 5G and the trade war between China and the US.
Power Ministry released the 2019 State Energy Efficiency Index
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with Alliance for Energy-Efficient Economy released the State Energy Efficiency Index 2019. The index used 97 significant indicators and tracked the progress of Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives in 36 states and union territories (UTs). State Energy Efficiency Index 2019: ♦ The index showed that a majority of the initiatives taken by states are on the Policies and Regulations front. ♦ State Energy Efficiency Index categorized states as four types based on their efforts and achievements towards energy efficiency implementation. They are Front Runner, Achiever, Contender, and Aspirant. ♦ In the Achiever Category Haryana, Kerala and Karnataka secured the top position. ♦ There was no front runner' state mentioned in the report. It conveys that a lot more can be done at the state level to realize energy savings from energy efficiency. ♦ The States and UTs are grouped into four groups based on the aggregated Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) and considered the basic energy requirements such as coal, electricity, gas, and oil to meet the state's actual energy demand. Karnataka, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Puducherry topped the category. Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan performed the worst in each the same. ♦ It directed the States/UTs to focus on ensuring greater compliance to achieve savings to contribute towards the national goals on energy security and climate action.
India ranked 34th in TTCI of WEF
India has ranked 34th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) of the World Economic Forum for the year 2019. In 2013, India ranked 65th. WEF analyzed 139 countries and scored each according to three sub-indices: ♦ Regulatory Framework ♦ Business Environment and Infrastructure ♦ Human, Cultural, and Natural Resources These sub-indices are, in turn, composed of 14 pillars of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness. The Ministry of Tourism reported that India has gained popularity among overseas travellers as foreign tourist arrivals grew by 3.23% to 96,69,633 during January-November 2019. It also reported that 93,66,478 overseas travellers had arrived in January-November 2018. Measures taken by Government: ♦ In 2019, the tourism ministry has taken several steps by opening 120 new peaks for mountaineering in order to boost inbound tourism. It has also reduced e-visa fees and reduced the GST rates on hotel room bookings, among others. ♦ The government also reduced GST on hotel rooms with tariffs of Rs.1,001-7,500 per night to 12%, while those above Rs.7,501 to 18%. ♦ Also, the government-sanctioned 77 projects for the development of thematic circuits and allocated an amount of Rs.6,035.70 crore, so far, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. ♦ Under the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme the Central government identified pilgrimage destinations. It sanctioned 28 projects that amount to Rs.840.02 crore. TTCI: The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) is released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The index measures the factors and policies that make a country a viable place to invest in the Travel and Tourism sector. This sustainability indicator can be used to calculate the status of the Travel and Tourism goal. The top 10 countries of the Index are: 1) Spain 2) France 3) Germany 4) Japan 5) United States 6) United Kingdom 7) Australia 8) Italy 9) Canada 10) Switzerland
Ratan Tata Gautam Adani among India's top 10 most Googled business tycoons
Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata emerged as India's most searched business tycoon on Google in 2019. Google released a Year in Search 2019 report shows what was trending on the world's largest search engine during the year in India. Here is the top 10 list of trending searches for business personalities in India. 1) Ratan Tata: The Tata Group patriarch Google's most searched Indian business personality in 2019. He heads the Tata Group for 21 years credited with transforming the group from a conventional corporate house into a $100 billion global conglomerate with high-profile acquisitions abroad. 2) Azim Premji: The Indian IT industry who turned Wipro from a cooking oil company into an $8.5 billion IT behemoth retired this July as the conglomerate's chairman and managing director. The third richest Indian with a wealth of ₹1,17,100 crore according to the latest IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List. 3) Lakshmi Mittal: LN Mittal-led global steel giant ArcelorMittal concluded a ₹42,000 crore acquisition of debt-laden Essar Steel. 4) Cyrus S. Poonawalla: Cyrus Poonawalla is not only one of the richest men in India, one of the most popular on Google. The 77-year-old runs the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, by several doses produced and sold. In one of the largest real estate deals in Mumbai, the billionaire had bought Lincoln House in the Breach Candy area of south Mumbai for a mind-boggling sum of ₹750 crore. 5) Anand Mahindra: One of the few industrialists to pour his heart out on Twitter almost daily. Mahindra & Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra will transition to the role of non-executive chairman from 1 April 2020. 6) Shiv Nadar HCL Technologies is now an $8.6 billion global IT company. He is also known for his philanthropic initiatives. 7) Gautam Adani: A college dropout, the billionaire, is known as the ports tycoon of India. 8) Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: He is among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, Asia's leading bio-pharmaceuticals enterprise. 9) Uday Kotak: The 60-year-old billionaire banker is the managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank. 10) Radhakishan Damani: The retail king of India runs Avenue Supermarts operates D-Mart retail stores. A college dropout, Damani had started his career as a stockbroker.
Month: Current Affairs December 2019
India ranks 47th in house price appreciation during July, September
India ranks 47th in the world in terms of appreciation in housing prices as rates grew by only 0.6 percent during the July-September quarter over the year-ago period on slow demand, global property consultant Knight Frank. India stood at 11th position in the April-June quarter of 2019, with a 7.7 percent year-on-year rise in home prices. Knight Frank Knight Frank released its latest report Global House Price Index Q3 2019 tracks the movement in mainstream residential prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide using official statistics. India at the 47th spot among the 56 countries/territories tracked, in terms of appreciation in residential real estate prices, with a marginal 0.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in home prices. The regulations imposed by the government to ensure accountability in the system such as the Real Estate (Regulations and Development) Act, 2016, Goods and Services Tax Act, and the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 laid the foundation for a healthy end-user market. Country List Hungary leads the index this quarter with 15.4 percent annual price growth, followed by Luxembourg at 11.4 percent and Croatia at 10.4 percent Slovakia is at number four with the home price rising by 9.7 percent, followed by Latvia (9 percent), Czech Republic (8.7 percent), China (8.5 percent), Jersey (8.5 percent), Mexico (8.4 percent) and Russia (8.1 percent). The prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide rose at an annual rate of 3.7 percent on average, which marks the index's slowest rate of growth for over six years. The majority of the countries and territories registered a static or positive growth in the year to September 2019. During the last four years, the increase in residential prices in most of the top eight cities of India below retail inflation growth.
Good Governance Index launched by Jitendra Singh TamilNadu
Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the Good Governance Index at an event organized by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, on the occasion of Good Governance Day. What is Good Governance Day? Good Governance Day is observed for former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The 15th edition of the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure (CSMOP) launched the Handbook for the Retiring Central Government Employees and the Smart Card facility for Department Canteen of DoPT. He released a booklet on major initiatives/achievements of DoPT and Strategic Initiatives of the Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW). Good Governance Index Good Governance Index scientifically designed on various parameters of governance. The GGI would plan to determine the status of governance. They provide a reference threshold for future documentation of good governance index is our effort in the direction to carry forward Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision for good governance. The GGI consider ten sectors: 1). Agriculture and Allied Sectors, 2). Commerce & Industries, 3). Human Resource Development, 4). Public Health, 5). Public Infrastructure & Utilities, 6). Economic Governance, 7). Social Welfare & Development, 8). Judicial & Public Security, 9). Environment and 10). Citizen-Centric Governance. The states and UTs are divided into three groups: a). Big States, b). North-East & Hill States and c). UTs. Big States- Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index. The poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand finishing last in the group. North-East and Hill States- Himachal Pradesh topped the index, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram, and Sikkim. The poor performers in this group are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, with Arunachal Pradesh Union Territories - Puducherry topped the index followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshwadeep is the worst UT.
India became the worlds 3rd largest publisher of science and engineering articles
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) reported that India has become the world's third-largest publisher of science and engineering articles. It has published over 1.35 lakh scientific papers. China topped the report as the world's largest publisher. Report highlights: ♦ As per the data provided by NSF, the number of scientific papers published worldwide has increased from 1,755,850 in 2008 to 2,555,959 in 2018. ♦ It also said that science and engineering (S&E) journal articles and conference papers, grew about 4% annually over the last 10 years. China: ♦ China has accounted for 20.67% of all the global publications of articles. The number of global scientific publications increased from 2,49,049 in 2008 to 5,28,263 in 2018. It has a growth rate of 7.81% per annum. ♦ It also said that China's rate of research output has grown almost twice as fast as the world's annual average for the last 10 years. US: ♦ The US stands second and accounts for 16.54%. The total global publications in science and engineering articles by the US grew at a rate of 0.71% from 3,93,979 in 2008 to 4,22,808 in 2018. India: In 2008, around 48,998 science and engineering articles were published by India. The number increased to 1,35,788 articles in 2018. The average annual growth rate in India is 10.73%. India now accounts for 5.31% of the total world publications in science and engineering. Top 10 countries in the list are: 1) China with 5,28,263 science and engineering articles 2) The US with 4,22,808 science and engineering articles 3) India with 2,555,959 science and engineering articles 4) Germany with 1,04,396 science and engineering articles 5) Japan with 98,793 science and engineering articles 6) UK with 97,681 science and engineering articles 7) Russia with 81,579 science and engineering articles 8) Italy with 71,240 science and engineering articles 9) South Korea with 66,376 science and engineering articles 10) France with 66,352 science and engineering articles
India ranked 112 in the 2019 WEFs Gender Gap Report
India ranked 112th on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report 2019. The report listed 153 nations in terms of the gap between genders. India was among the bottom five for women's health and survival and economic participation. India secured 108th rank in 2018. The list was topped Iceland. The country remained the world's most gender-neutral country in the Gender Gap Report. Report Highlights: The report used four key areas namely health, economy, education, and politics to analyze and rank the state of gender equality in a country. The report stated that the time to close the gender gap has been narrowed to 99.5 years in 2019. In 2018, it was estimated to 108 years. It also reported that the parity between men and women across health, education, work and politics will take more than a lifetime to close the gender gap. India: ♦ India's rank has worsened on 3 of 4 metrics that were used for the overall ranking ♦ India ranked 18th in terms of political empowerment ♦ It slipped to 150th on health and survival and to 149th in terms of economic participation and opportunity ♦ It ranked 112th place in terms of educational attainment ♦ As per the report, the economic opportunities for women are extremely limited, 35.4%, in India India's neighbour countries: ♦ China ranked 106th, Sri Lanka ranked 102nd, Nepal ranked 101st, Bangladesh ranked 50th, Indonesia ranked 85th. ♦ Yemen ranked the worst and secured 153rd (last) rank and Iraq is 152nd and Pakistan was ranked 151st in the list. Gender gap report: The WEF published the first gender gap report in 2006. India was ranked 98th in 2006. The index has been designed to measure gender equality.
India has ranked 9th in the 2019 Climate Change Performance Index
India has ranked 9th in the high category of 2019 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) presented on 10 December at the COP25 climate summit in Madrid, Spain. This is the first time India has ranked among the top 10 among the list. Report highlights: ♦ The current levels of per capita emissions and energy used in India are still comparatively low for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use categories. ♦ The report suggest the Indian government to develop a roadmap for the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies that would consequently reduce the country's high dependence on coal. ♦ India received an overall medium rating in the renewable energy category ♦ India's 2030 renewable energy target has been rated very high for its well-below 2 degrees Celsius compatibility. ♦ National experts have recommended the government for strong policies to support the expansion of renewable energy. ♦ The first three places of the ranking remain unoccupied as none of the countries assessed is already on a path compatible with the Paris climate targets. ♦ Sweden ranked 4th and Denmark ranked 5th among the list. These countries achieved the overall high or very high ratings, the performance of EU countries varied largely.
India ranked 129 in the Human Development Index
India ranked 129 in the Human Development Index (HDI) for the year 2018. The index was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The report said that India has improved marginally by a notch. Report highlights: ♦ UNDP warned about the inequalities that India might have to struggle with. The report said that the group-based inequalities persist in India, especially affecting women and girls. ♦ It stated that more Indians showed biases in gender social norms, indicating a backlash to women's empowerment. ♦ The overall index showed that India scored 0.647 in 2018, as against 0.643 in 2017. The score is calculated in the range of 1 to 0. ♦ Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: inequalities in human development in the 21 st century report stated that 271 million Indians were lifted out of poverty from 2005-06 to 2015-16. HDI: HDI is a statistical tool that is used to measure the overall achievement of the country in its social and economic dimensions as it is based on the health of people, the level of education attained and the standard of living. It emphasizes people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria to assess the development of a country, not the economic growth alone.
India ranked 5th in the Global Climate Risk Index
India ranked 5th in the 15th edition of the Global Climate Risk Index 2020. It was released by Bonn-based think-tank Germanwatch. Japan topped the list as the most vulnerable of 181 countries to the effects of climate change, with its poorest being the most at risk. The report released at the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) where 197 countries around the world meet at Spain's capital, Madrid participating. Report highlights: ♦ The Global Climate Risk Index was prepared on an analysis of worldwide data on extreme weather events. The report on the weather events was provided by the provided by German reinsurer MunichRe's NatCatSERVICE, a comprehensive database of natural catastrophes. ♦ The index does not consider the slower processes of glacier melting and rising sea levels, or more acidic and warmer seas due to climate change. India: ♦ In 2017, Indian ranked 14th and in 2018 India ranked 5th because of the weather events. ♦ The report highlighted that 2,081 deaths that happened in 2018 are due to extreme weather events caused by climate change like heavy rainfall, floods, cyclones, landslides among others. ♦ In 2018, the yearly monsoon season, which lasted from June to September, severely affected India. Kerala was severely affected. Around 324 people died because of landslides that were set off by the flooding. Around 2,20,000 people had to leave their homes, 20,000 houses and 80 dams were destroyed. The damage amounted to Rs.20,000 crore. ♦ India's east coast was hit by two cyclones namely Titli and Gaja, in October and November 2018, respectively. ♦ India also suffered from severe heatwaves with temperatures rising to 48 degrees Celsius. It resulted in hundreds of deaths. ♦ The Global Climate Risk Index study and analyses the extent to which the countries have been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events like storms, floods, heatwaves, etc. The top 10 countries in the list are: ♦ Japan ♦ Philippines ♦ Germany ♦ Madagascar ♦ India ♦ Sri Lanka ♦ Kenya ♦ Rwanda ♦ Canada ♦ Fiji Germanwatch: Germanwatch was established in 1992. It is located in Bonn, Germany. The organization preserves the livelihood and promotes North-South equity. It aims to represent a strong lobby for sustainable development.
India stands as fifth worst country in terms of biometric use
The Britain-based tech research firm Comparitech reported that India is the fifth worst country in terms of extensive and invasive use of biometric data. Before India stands China, Malaysia, Pakistan, and the US. India shared the fifth position along with Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Report highlights: ♦ The researchers analyzed 50 countries to find out where biometrics are being taken, the reason for the collection of the biometric data, and the process of the data storage. ♦ The countries were marked out of 25. A high score secured by a country shows an extensive and invasive use of biometrics and surveillance. A low score shows better restrictions and regulations regarding biometric use and surveillance. ♦ The researchers also checked whether the country failed to introduce a law to protect biometric data. ♦ The report said that despite knowing the sensitiveness of the biometric data, many countries accepted as the biometric use. India: India scored 19 out of 25. The country ranked relatively lower in the list of worst countries for biometric data collection. India does not permit law enforcement to get access to the national biometric database known as Aadhaar. Top 5 countries of the list: The top 5 best countries in terms of collection, storage and use of biometric data as per the report are: 1) Ireland 2) Portugal 3) Cyprus 4) The UK 5) Romania
India ranked 73rd in the 2019 E-commerce Index
India ranked 73rd in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2019. The ranking was conducted for 152 countries. The Netherlands topped the index for the second consecutive year. Report highlights: ♦ The survey was conducted among 152 countries. ♦ The index measured an economy's preparedness to support online shopping. ♦ The index marked the readiness of the countries that are engaged in online commerce. ♦ The survey also included a parameter where the portion of every country's population that uses the internet and has an account with a financial institution or mobile-money-service provider. ♦ The least developed countries occupy 18 of the 20 bottom positions. Among the 20 economies that ranked the lowest value in the 2019 index, 18 are the least developed countries. ♦ Comoros, Burundi, Chad, and Niger holds the last positions in the index. India: India has slightly improved its position from 80 in 2018 and 83 in 2017. India Internet shoppers as a share of Internet users were 11% and Internet shoppers as a share of population of 3% in 2017. Countries are measured on the access to secure internet servers, the reliability of postal services and infrastructure. Top 10 countries of the list: 1) Netherlands 2) Switzerland 3) Singapore 4) Finland 5) The United Kingdom 6) Denmark 7) Norway 8) Ireland 9) Germany 10) Australia UNCTAD: Formed on: 30 December 1964 Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland Secretary-General: Mukhisa Kituyi Parent organization: United Nations General Assembly UNCTAD deals with investment, trade, and development issues. It formulates policies for the development including trade, transport, finance, and technology.
UNEP gas emissions reports say achieving 1.5 deg C is almost impossible
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released the 2019 Emissions Gap Report. The reported stated that even if the current climate commitments are met, the world is on course to exceed 3°C in global temperature rise. The report assesses the emissions gap. The report focuses on energy transition. The report was released in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-25). Report highlights: ♦ The report said that in order to limit temperature rise, annual emissions in 2030 should be maintained at 15 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent lower than current unconditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) imply for the 2°C goal. ♦ It stated that Green House Gas (GHG) emissions continue to rise, despite scientific warnings and political commitments ♦ Many countries have announced net-zero GHG emission targets for 2050. But only a few countries have formally submitted long-term low-emission development strategies to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) so far. Recommendation of UNEP: The report highlighted that renewables and energy efficiency along with electrification of end uses are key to a successful energy transition. It will drive down energy-related CO2 emissions. Strengthening of the NDCs is needed in 2020. All the countries are recommended to increase their NDC ambitions threefold to achieve the well below 2°C goal and more than fivefold to achieve the 1.5°C goal. Note: Emissions gap: The gap between anticipated emission levels in 2030 and levels consistent with a 2°C/1.5°C target.
Mukesh Ambani ranked as the 9th richest person in the world
Reliance Industries (RIL) chief Mukesh Ambani ranked as the 9th richest person globally in the Real-Time Billionaires List of Forbes. His net worth was $60 billion. Ambani made it to the daily list of the top 10 richest people in the world because of the increase in the share price of his flagship firm Reliance Industries. Also, he became the first Indian firm to hit the Rs.10 lakh crore market valuation mark. Top 5 in the list: ♦ The list was topped by Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $113 billion ♦ Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ranked second with a net worth of $107.4 billion ♦ Bernard Arnault & family Chairman and CEO, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton ranked third with a net worth of $107.2 billion ♦ CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett stands fourth with a net worth of $86.9 billion ♦ CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg was ranked fifth with a net worth of $74.9 billion
China topped with the most diplomatic posts across the world
Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, reported that China has overtaken the United States as the country with the most diplomatic posts across the world. India ranked 12th in the diplomatic sweepstakes in the report. Report highlights: ♦ China now has 276 diplomatic posts globally whereas the US holds 273 diplomatic posts. ♦ China has just one additional embassy and high commission, 169, than the US that has 168 ♦ Beijing has 96 consulates around the world and Washington has 88. ♦ India has 123 embassies and high commissions, and 54 consulates, across the world Top 5 of the list: ♦ China ranked first ♦ The US ranked second ♦ France ranked third ♦ Japan ranked fourth ♦ Russia ranked fifth
Month: Current Affairs November 2019
India has 96 universities ranked in the QS World University Rankings 2020 Asia
India has 96 universities ranked in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2020. Out of these, 20 are new entries. The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) leads nationally at the overall 34th place, and it is followed by IIT Delhi (IIT-D) in the 43rd place and by IIT Madras (IITM) in the 50th position. The country has 31 institutes among the top 250. Report Highlights: ♦ Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) reported 8 Indian universities are placed among the top 100. ♦ The Indian higher education system has grown exponentially over the past decade. ♦ The domestic demand for tertiary education of the country's young population is growing more rapidly than the expanded provision. ♦ India's higher education system plays a vital role in driving the nation's competitiveness. ♦ The report highlighted the sustained investment in research funding, teaching, and internationalization is paramount to enhance India's competitive edge. Top 3 in the list: Overall for the second consecutive year, the National University of Singapore stands top among Asia's best universities. It is followed by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and the University of Hong Kong, China. Only Mainland China is more represented than India, with 118 featured universities. Among these, 4 stands in the top 10 list.
India Ranks 44th In 2019 Nomuras Food Vulnerability Index
Nomura's Food Vulnerability Index (NFVI) ranks countries based on their exposure to large swings in food prices. NFVI NFVI has three components: (1) the country's GDP per person, (2) the share of food in household consumption, and (3) the net food imports. The lower per capita GDP, a higher percentage of food in household consumption, and top net food imports would make a country more vulnerable to spikes in food prices. Around 50 countries most vulnerable to food price surges in the coming months mostly belong to the Emerging Market group. The top 50 together account for almost 60 percent of the global population. India ranked 44 out of 110 countries; a higher rank is worse. At 4.6%, India's retail inflation for October touched a 16-month high because of the jump in food prices. Food inflation grew by almost 8%-nearly double the rate of overall retail inflation. The essential items that contributed to this rise were pulses (inflation rate 12%) and vegetables (inflation rate 26%) and fish and meat (inflation rate 10%), the Asia-headquartered financial services group with an integrated global network spanning over 30 countries.
Ministry of Road Transport released 2018 Road Accidents in India report
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of Government of India has released the Road Accidents in India 2018. The annual publication was brought out by the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The wing reports on accidents related deaths and injuries based on information supplied by the Police Departments of States and Union Territories (UTs) calendar year-wise. The report said that road accidents are often the result of an interplay of various factors like human error, road environment, and vehicular condition. Report highlights: ♦ The report said that road accidents in the country had increased marginally by 0.46% during 2018, with the year seeing 4,67,044 road accidents as against 4,64,910 in 2017. ♦ The fatalities during the same period have also risen by about 2.37%, and 1,51,471 persons were killed in 2018 as against 1,47,913 in 2017. ♦ Road accident injuries have shown a decrease of 0.33% in 2018 as compared to 2017. ♦ The Compound annual growth rate of accidents and accident-related deaths in the period 2010-2018 dropped drastically and was the least when compared with the previous decades, despite the very high rate of growth of automobiles. ♦ National Highways comprised of 1.94% of total road network, accounted for 30.2% of total road accidents and 35.7% of deaths in 2018. ♦ State Highways accounted for 2.97% of the road length accounted for 25.2% and 26.8% of accidents and deaths, respectively. ♦ In the case of other roads, about 95.1% of the total roads were responsible for the balance 45% of accidents and 38% deaths, respectively. ♦ During 2018, young adults in the age group of 18-45 years were accounted for nearly 69.6% of road accident victims. The working-age group of 18–60 accounted for a share of 84.7% in the total road accident deaths. ♦ In 2018, the hit and run cases accounted for 18.9% of the deaths compared to 17.5% in 2017. ♦ The category which registered the maximum increase in terms of persons killed in 2018 was collision with parked vehicles. ♦ The share of males in the number of total accident deaths was 86%, and the females stood around 14% in 2018.
India ranked 59th in the 2019 IMD World Talent Ranking
Switzerland topped the 2019 IMD World Talent Ranking. India ranked 59 on the global annual list of 63 countries. The list was released by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Parameters: The ranking was based on the performance in three main categories, namely investment and development, appeal, and readiness. India's decline: India has witnessed one of the sharpest declines among Asian economies that were owing to a low quality of life, the negative impact of brain drain, and the low priority of its economy on attracting and retaining talents. The drop includes various factors like expenditure on education, pollution issues, and the quality of education that can be linked to the gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Top 10: The top countries on the list share strong levels of investment in education and a high quality of life. Top 10 Countries in the 2019 IMD World Talent Ranking list are: Rank 1-Switzerland Rank 2-Denmark Rank 3-Sweden Rank 4-Austria Rank 5-Luxembourg Rank 6-Norway Rank 7-Iceland Rank 8-Finland Rank 9-The Netherlands Rank 10-Singapore
Mumbai named as the worlds worst cities to drive
The Driving Cities Index released by European car parts retailer Mister Auto, a part of the PSA Group, reported that Mumbai and Kolkata had been rated as the world's worst cities to drive in 2019. The retailer released a detailed study on the best and worst places in the world to drive in. Parameters: The three main parameters that were considered by the study that impacts the driving condition are Infrastructure, Safety, and Costs. These three main categories were then broken down into 15 sub-categories. Report Highlights: ♦ As per the report, Calgary in Canada has been named as the best city for driving, considering low congestion, fatalities, and affordability. ♦ The other best places among the 100 for driving conditions are Dubai and Ottawa. ♦ Bern in Switzerland and El Paso in Texas, USA, respectively hold the third and fourth position on the list. The worst cities to drive in and the last ranked cities are: ♦ Karachi in Pakistan ranked 96th, Nigeria ranked 97th, Kolkata ranked 98th, Mongolia ranked 99th, and Mumbai ranked 100th in the list.
AirVisual data showed Delhi as the most polluted city
IQAirVisual, a Swiss-based group, named India's Capital Delhi, is the most polluted city in the world. The report also showed that Kolkata and Mumbai on its list as the world's sixth and ninth most polluted cities. Top 10 polluted cities: The top 10 polluted cities include Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, the Chinese cities, namely Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Beijing, and Pakistan's Lahore, Uzbekistan's Tashkent, and Nepal's Kathmandu. AirVisual data: IQAirVisual data gathers air-quality data globally. It is updated frequently, so the Air Quality Index (AQI) count and the ranking changes during the day.
NITI Aayog to release Health Reform report
NITI Aayog is to release Health System for a New India: Building Blocks-Potential Pathways to Reform Report on 18 November 2019. The report was initiated at the national-level workshop Development Dialogue held in 2018. The report will be released by Dr. Rajiv Kumar. NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman. Report Highlights: ♦ The report aims to bring together all the valuable findings of these studies, including supporting data from this analysis. ♦ The report will reveal the health system at the level of payers and risk pools, healthcare services, and at digital backbone running it. ♦ The report integrates viewpoints on the concerted efforts required to strengthen the existing fractured health system, to meet the challenges that lie ahead of the nation. ♦ The report was based on the data collected and provided by: ⇔ ACCESS Health International for the public sector ⇔ PWC India for the private sector. Development Dialogues: The Development Dialogues series have been initiated to generate debate and discussions on the vision of the nation. On 30 November 2018, NITI Aayog launched the series with a workshop titled Health System for a New India: Building Blocks. The dialogue engaged international and national experts and key stakeholders to discuss the trajectory of India's health system. It aims to facilitate multi-sectoral and stakeholder conversations on a systemic approach to reforming healthcare in India, looking at interlinked changes across the multiple building blocks of its health system.
India ranked 78th in the Global Bribery Risk Index
India ranked 78th in the Global Bribery Risk Index out of 178 countries. The index was released by Trace Bribery Risk Matrix. India scored with a total risk score of 48. TRACE provides a score from 1 to 100 to each country for each domain. If a country gets a higher score it means it is at a higher risk of business bribery. Index Highlights: ♦ The Matrix identified as the country with the highest risk in terms of bribery threats in South Asia. Bangladesh scored 72 out of 100 in 2019, which is two points higher than its score in 2018. The global average score is 51. ♦ According to the list, the 5 countries with the lowest bribery risk in the world are New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. ♦ The countries with the highest risk are Venezuela, Yemen, North Korea, South Sudan, and Somalia. ♦ Afghanistan ranked 168 and Pakistan ranked 153 are the South Asian countries with a high bribery risk rate. Bhutan ranked 52 and has the least risk of bribery among the South Asian countries. TRACE Matrix: TRACE Matrix is headquartered in the United States and registered in Canada. It is a globally recognized anti-bribery business association. TRACE Matrix will provide multidimensional, actionable insights that the business bribery risk will be used by companies to develop a more targeted compliance procedure.
India is partly free in using its internet freedom status
The Freedom House released its Freedom on the Net (FoTN) report for the year 2019. The title of the report is The Crisis of Social Media. The report recorded an overall decline in global internet freedom between June 2018 and May 2019. Highlights: ♦ The international internet rights group said that China was ranked as the world's worst abuser of internet freedom for the fourth consecutive year. ♦ India secured an overall score of 55 in the Freedom on the Net 2019 report. India was declared partly free in its internet freedom status. ♦ It also declared Pakistan as not free in terms of internet freedom status for the ninth consecutive year. Pakistan was listed among the worst 10 countries in the world for internet and digital media freedom. Freedom on the net: Freedom on the Net consists of cutting-edge analysis, fact-based advocacy, and on-the-ground capacity building. It is a comprehensive study of internet freedom in 65 nations across the globe. The report chose specific countries to represent diverse geographical regions. It covers 87% of the world's total internet users. The 2019 edition is the ninth report in the series. It focused on internet freedom in the period between June 2018 and May 2019.
Ministry of Tourism participated in WTM in London
India is participating in the three-day-long World Travel Market (WTM) from 4 November 2019 in London, UK. The delegations were lead by Secretary of Union Ministry of Tourism Shri Yogendra Tripathi and Additional Director General of Tourism Ms. Rupinder Brar. India Pavilion: India Pavilion at WTM 2019 was jointly inaugurated by the Secretary (Tourism) and High Commissioner of India to the UK Ms. Ruchi Ghanashyam on 4 November 2019. Theme: The theme for the India Pavilion at 2019 WTM is Incredible India-Find Incredible India. A panel discussion was held based on the theme. Participants: A total of 32 stakeholders, including State Governments, Union Territory Administrations, IRCTC, Hotels, Air India, Wellness resorts, and tour operators are participating in the India Pavilion. World Travel Market: WTM is one of the business-to-business Exhibitions for the travel and tourism industry worldwide. WTM has grown as the world's largest Exhibition in the last four decades. It has attracted over 5,000 exhibitors from 182 countries and regions and more than 51,000 participants. WTM aims to network, negotiate, and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM London.
RIL becomes the worlds sixth largest energy entity with high m cap
Mukesh Ambani led-Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has become the world's sixth-largest energy entity with high market capitalization. RIL overtook British oil major BP Plc in terms of market capitalization to become the world's sixth-largest energy entity. RIL hit a market cap (m-cap) of $130.76 billion on 30 October compared with BP Plc's $128 billion. The shares of RIL traded at Rs.1,466 on the BSE. It has gained over 31% so far in 2019. Saudi Aramco, the world's largest energy entity, that pumps about 10% of the world's crude. It has emerged as the most profitable company in 2018. BP Plc and RIL partnership: British major BP is a partner of RIL in its exploration and production ventures in India. The two companies operate an equal joint venture (JV) called India Gas Solutions. Both the companies are planning to partner to set up fuel retail outlets. The companies also plan to invest Rs.40,000 crore in the Krishna Godavari block. The project is expected to begin its production in 2022.
Month: Current Affairs October 2019
IIM Calcutta ranked 17th in the Financial Times Masters in Management Rankings
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM (C)) secured the 17th rank globally in the Financial Times Masters in Management Rankings 2019. The institute secured the ranking for its 2-Year Masters in Business Administration. IIM Calcutta topped among the 5 Indian B-Schools. IIM (C) has advanced by six ranks in 2019, and the institute bagged the 1st place among the five Indian B-Schools listed in the rankings. The ranking recognizes the quality of education provided by the institute and the final outcome of successful employment among the 2-Year MBA program's alumni. Parameters: The parameters considered for the rankings: ♦ Employability among students within three months of completing the course ♦ Involvement of women in the institute's board ♦ International student in-take ♦ Value for money ranking ♦ Aims achieved by alumni on taking the course ♦ Career services ranking
NSE Indices Ltd launched Nifty Midcap150 Quality 50 Index
NSE Indices Ltd launched the Nifty Midcap150 Quality 50 Index, a new smart beta index, on 24 October. It will track the performance of mid-cap companies based on profitability, leverage, and earnings growth variability. Nifty Midcap150 Quality 50 Index: ♦ The new smart-beta mid-cap index includes top-50 companies from Nifty Midcap 150 Index. The 50 companies are selected based on their quality scores, NSE Indices. ♦ The quality score of each company is determined based on various parameters, including financial leverage, return on equity, and earning per share growth variability of each stock analyzed in the past 5 financial years. ♦ The weight of every stock in the index is based on a combination of stock's quality score and its free-float market capitalization. ♦ The base date for the index is 1 April 2005, and the base value for the index is 1,000. The index value is reconstituted on a semi-annual basis.
Credit Suisse released 2019 global wealth report
Credit Suisse released the annual global wealth report for the year 2019. Credit Suisse's report provides a comprehensive review of the world's wealth. The report said, for the first time, China has overtaken the US and became the country with the largest number of people in the top 10% of the world's most wealthy people. Report Highlights: The report said that China now has a group of 100 million individuals who are in the top 10% of global wealth distribution as compared to 99 million for the U.S. China also overtook Japan as the country with the second-largest number of millionaires. According to the report, in 2010, the number of Chinese millionaires was only 38 thousand. The number rose to 4.4 million in 2019. The number of millionaires as per the report in the rest of the world mentioned in the report are: ♦ North America has 19,946 millionaires ♦ Europe has 13,290 millionaires ♦ Asia-Pacific has 7,505 millionaires ♦ India has 759 millionaires ♦ Latin America has 673 millionaires ♦ Africa has 171 millionaires
India secured 63rd rank in World Banks Ease of Doing business ranking
India has ranked 63rd position on the World Bank's ease of doing business ranking. India ranked 77th among 190 countries in the previous ranking. World Bank's Ease Doing Business 2020 report commended the reform efforts undertaken by the country. The World Bank ranked the countries by considering ten indicators. India in Ease of Doing business: India proved its capability of rank in 7 out of 10 indicators. It has moved closer to international best practices. India has registered significant improvements in resolving insolvency, Dealing with Construction Permits, Registering Property, Trading across Boards, and Paying Taxes indicators.
IIT Bombay topped the 2020 QS India University Rankings
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) published the annual university rankings on 23 October. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay topped the QS India University Rankings for the year 2020. Several IITs dominated the QS India University Rankings 2020. Parameters: The rankings are based on various parameters like faculty/student ratio, academic reputation, employer reputation, staff with a Ph.D., papers per faculty, citations per paper, international faculty/students. The top 5 QS India University Rankings 2020 are: ♦ Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay ♦ Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore ♦ Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi ♦ Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras ♦ Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur About QS World University Rankings: Publisher: Quacquarelli Symonds Limited First issue: 2004 Country: UK Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings is a think tank that is famous for bringing out world rankings of institutions. QS ranking is one of the three most widely read university rankings in the world. The top world ranking agencies are Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Uttar Pradesh topped the NCRB list of crimes against women
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the list of states with the most number of crimes against women for the year 2017. Uttar Pradesh topped the list, and Assam registered the highest total rate of crime against women. The annual report was delayed by a year. Report highlights: Unsafe States: ♦ The list reported Assam as Most Unsafe State and Lucknow as Most Unsafe City. ♦ In 2017, there were 3,59,849 crimes against women, among which 2,44,382 cases were filed in the country. In 2016, the rate was 3,38,954. ♦ In 2017, India registered a 6.16% rise in crimes against women compared to 2016 report. ♦ In India, 32,559 rape cases were recorded, of which 10,221 involved minor victims. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of rape incidents category with 5,562 cases. It is followed by Rajasthan and Odisha with 3,305 and 2,070 cases of rape, respectively. It is followed by Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, and Assam. Safest States: ♦ The lowest rate of crimes committed against women was recorded in Nagaland. Seven women faced crimes for every one lakh of them. In 2017, the State recorded the lowest number of rapes with ten reported cases. ♦ It is followed by Sikkim with 17 cases and Mizoram with 25 cases. States were crime against women were reduced: ♦ Despite holding a high crime rate, Rajasthan also recorded a notable drop in crimes against women to 25,993 in 2017. In 2016, the recorded cases were 27,422. ♦ It is followed by West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. Union Territories: ♦ Across all the Union Territories (UTs) in India, 1,322 cases of rape were recorded. Among the recorded cases, 1,229 were in Delhi UT and 65 in Chandigarh.
NITI Aayog launches India Innovation Index 2019: Karnataka tops the Index
NITI Aayog -Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019. Karnataka is the innovative primary state in India. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh are the remaining ten major states respectively. The ten states in southern and western India. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the northeastern & hill states and union territories/city-states/small states, respectively. Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states in translating inputs into output. The index released in the presence of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Amitabh Kant. The India Innovation Index would create synergies between different stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, and India would shift to good competitive governance. India has a unique opportunity among its myriad challenges to become the innovation leader in the world. History of NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness The role of innovation as a key driver of growth and prosperity for India, NITI Aayog with the Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner, has released the India Innovation Index 2019. Main Aim: The aim is to create a holistic tool that used by policymakers across the country to identify the challenges to build the economic growth policies for regions. The index to create an extensive framework of 29 states and seven union territories in India and intends to perform the following three functions- 1) Ranking of states and UTs based on their index scores, 2) Recognizing opportunities and challenges 3) To assist in tailoring governmental policies to foster innovation. India Innovation Index 2019 The India Innovation Index 2019 is calculated as the average of the scores of its two dimensions - Enablers and Performance. The Enablers are grouped in five pillars: (1) Human Capital, (2) Investment, (3) Knowledge Workers, (4) Business Environment, and (5) Safety and Legal Environment. The Performance dimension captures benefits that a nation derives from the inputs, divided into two pillars: (6) Knowledge Output and (7) Knowledge Diffusion. The industrial policies at the state level should focus more on innovation. At present, only a few policies exist for innovation, even in the most innovative states and union territories.
World Bank reported that India had halved its poverty rate
World Bank reported that India achieved annual growth, exceeding 7% in the past 15 years. The country has put efforts to pull millions of people out of poverty. Report highlights: ♦ In the past 30 decades, India has halved its poverty rate. ♦ Great improvements in most human development outcomes has been highlighted by the World Bank. ♦ The report also said that growth is expected to continue, and the elimination of extreme poverty in the next decade is within reach. ♦ It also warned that India's development trajectory might face considerable challenges. ♦ There is an immense need to achieve greater resource efficiency as it sustains growth ♦ Water management is necessary to prepare for shifting water allocation to higher-value uses and for policies to improve the value of water use within sectors.
Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2019 was released
The Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR) was jointly released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It is a biennial publication. The report provides insights into the impact of recent and emerging developments in trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) on countries' abilities to meet the challenges of achieving sustainable development. Theme: The theme of 2019 APTIR is Navigating Non-tariff Measures (NTMs) towards Sustainable Development. Report highlights: ♦ The Report provided an overview of NTM trends and developments in Asia and the Pacific region. ♦ It explored the relationships between NTMs and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). ♦ The report said that Non-tariff measures (NTMs) have increased in the past two decades and are affecting trade and SDGs in Asian countries ♦ The report evaluates the impacts of NTMs on trade and investment, based on both quantitative analysis and private-sector surveys. ♦ It showed the importance of aligning NTMs with international standards and introducing simplifying procedures related to these regulatory measures. ♦ The report closes by offering sets of national-and regional-level policy recommendations for streamlining NTMs for sustainable benefits.
India ranks 3rd in the 2019 Hurun Global Unicorn List
India ranked third in the 2019 Hurun Global Unicorn List. It accounts for 21 of the world's 494 unicorns. China topped the list with 206 Unicorns, followed by the US with 203 Unicorns. The first edition of the Hurun Global Unicorn List 2019 was released by the Hurun Research Institute. The list is a ranking of the world's billion-dollar tech start-ups that were founded in the 2000s and not yet listed on a public exchange. Unicorns: Hurun Research found 494 Unicorns across the world based in 25 countries and 118 cities. The unicorns were worth $3.4 billion on average and $1.7 trillion in total. Indian unicorns are led by One97 Communications of worth $10 billion, followed by Ola Cabs with $ 6 billion, Byju's with $6 billion, and OYO Rooms $5 billion.
India ranked 82nd in the 2019 World Giving Index
India ranked 82nd in the 2019 World Giving Index (WGI). The survey ranking was released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), an international organization. It aims to promote giving to transform lives and communities across the world. WGI 2019: The survey was conducted by CAF over the past decade, 2009 to 2018. The survey covered 1.3 million people worldwide. Key findings: In India: ♦ As per the WGI report, India showed that 34% of people helped a stranger, 24% donated money, and 19% volunteered or donated their time. ♦ India's ranking might not be representing the exact ranking as much of the giving is informal, and the survey might have missed many. ♦ India remains unorganized and informal. In India, giving is viewed as a community/ religious obligation. ♦ It needs to be more strategic so that philanthropy will create a strong and healthy economy. WGI 2019 list: Top 10 countries: USA topped the WGI 2019 list. It is followed by Myanmar, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Canada, UK, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. India's neighboring countries: Nepal ranked 53, and Pakistan ranked 69. Bottom 3 countries: The bottom three countries on the list are Yemen, Greece, and China. Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): Founded: UK, 1974 Headquarters: Kent, UK CAF is a registered UK charity. It promotes general donation to charities.
India ranked 102nd in 2019 on the Global Hunger Index
India ranked 102nd in 2019 on the Global Hunger Index (GHI). It had slipped from 95th rank in 2010. Seventeen countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba, and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores. The report said Ethiopia and Rwanda had shown notable progress. Prepared by: The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2019 was jointly prepared by Concern Worldwide, an Irish aid agency, and Welt Hunger Hilfe, a German organization. India: ♦ India has shown poor performance with the increase in the prevalence of wasting low weight for height among children under five ♦ In 2000, India ranked 83rd out of 113 countries. Apart from the fall, the improvement in India's GHI score has also decelerated. ♦ The improvement from 38.9 in 2005 to 32 in 2010 has been reduced to 30.3 between 2010 and 2019.
TCS named Indias most outstanding company
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been selected as the overall most outstanding company in India's IT services sector in Asiamoney's 2019 outstanding companies poll. Asiamoney's various investor surveys recognized TCS as the most awarded company of the decade in India including awards like the best-managed companies award, the corporate governance poll. Parameters: Asiamoney's outstanding companies poll has been designed to acknowledge listed companies in 12 countries in Asia. The companies that have excelled in areas such as financial performance, management team excellence, investor relation activities, and CSR initiatives will be considered. Around 800 bankers, fund managers, buy-side analysts, and research analysts participated in the 2019 poll, casting over 4,000 votes.
SBI re entered top 10 most valued domestic firms
State Bank of India (SBI) re-entered the elite club of the top-10 most valued domestic firms by market valuation after a gap of two weeks on 14 October. On 1 October, SBI lost its spot to Bajaj Finance in the club of top-10 most valued domestic companies. The market capitalization (m-cap) SBI was at Rs.2,27,979.20 crore, which is Rs 2,899.12 crore more than that of Bajaj Finance Rs.2,25,080.08 crore valuation on the BSE. Shares of SBI closed flat at Rs.255.45, up 0.37%, while those of Bajaj Finance fell 2.37% to Rs.3,881.65. Top-10 most valued domestic firms: ♦ Reliance Industries Ltd is the country topped the most valued firm with a valuation of Rs.8,60,631.07 crore. ♦ It was followed by TCS with an m-cap of Rs.7,58,338.19 crore. ♦ Other firms in the top-10 most valued domestic firms list are HDFC Bank, Infosys Kotak Mahindra, and SBI. ♦ Bajaj Finance is currently on the 11th spot in the ranking of the top 100 companies by m-cap.
India ranked 7th most valuable nation brand in the world
India became the seventh most valuable nation brand in the world. The annual report on the world's most valuable nation brands was compiled by Brand Finance. The report showed India's brand value increased by 19% in the year 2018-2019 to $2,562 billion. The Indian economy recovered quickly after the global financial crisis. The economic growth of India has now reduced by a recent slowdown in both the manufacturing and construction sectors. The US topped as the most valuable nation brand, with a brand value of $27,715 billion. It is followed by China and Germany ranked third. The top 20 contries are listed below: <img src='' class='imgresp'>
Forbes India Rich List Mukesh Ambani retains top position for 12th straight year
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani bagged the number one spot with $51.4 billion net worth on Forbes list of richest Indians for the year 2019. Gautam Adani came a close second as he jumped 8 spots on the list with a net worth of $15.7 billion. This is the 12th consecutive year that Ambani has topped the list despite being a challenging year' for the Indian economy According to the American business magazine. Ambani's wealth swelled to $51.4 billion this year.Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian for the 12th year in a row. Reliance Industries is became one of India's biggest mobile carriers with 340 million subscribersAdani who rose 8 spots to bag the second place on the list saw his fortune rise on account of venturing into a slew of new businesses from airports to data centres.Ashok Leyland owners Hinduja brothers came third with a net worth of $15.6 billion, Shapoorji Pallonji Group's Pallonji Mistry was on the fourth spot with a $15 billion net worth, Kotak Mahindra Bank's Uday Kotak ranked fifth with $14.8 billion net worth followed by HCL Technologies Shiv Nadar with a net worth of $14.4 billion. This year also spelled an 8% drop in the total wealth of business tycoons on the Forbes' 2019 list to $452 billion. It had been a challenging year for the nation's wealthiest" owing to the economic slowdown.
Mumbai 12th wealthiest city in the world New york won 1st place with 65 billionaires
According to a report by New World Health Mumbai is the 12th richest city in the world with a total wealth of $960 billion, It is the only Indian city to feature in the top 20 list of wealthiest cities in the world. Delhi is on 22nd position and second Indian city after Mumbai on the wealth intelligence firm's The Wealthiest Cities Worldwide in 2019 list. Bangalore is on 26th spot while Hyderabad came last at 28. Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad were expected to grow strongly over the next 10 years. The three cities have been named under the 'cities to watch' category in the report. New York City (NYC) topped the list with a total wealth of $3.0 trillion. The city is home to the highest number of millionaires and billionaires than any other city in the world. NYC has 65 billionaires and 3,80,000 millionaires, the report added. The city is also home to two largest stock exchanges in the world. Tokyo won a second with a total wealth amounting to $2.5 trillion. The city is home to the 3rd largest stock exchange in the world. The total wealth as mentioned in the report pertains to the private wealth held by all individuals living in each city. It comprises all their assets namely property, cash, equities, business interests less any liabilities. New World Health New World Wealth is a global market research group, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. They provide management consulting and public relations services to our clients. Our research covers 90 countries and 150 cities worldwide. They are the researchers behind the Africa Wealth Report and the Global Wealth Migration Review.
India ranked 68th in the 2019 Global Competitiveness Index
Singapore topped the 2019 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and pushed the US to the second place. India ranked 68th on the GCI. The list is compiled by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). Top 5 countries of the list: 1) Singapore 2) The US 3) Hong Kong SAR 4) Netherlands 5) Switzerland Report highlights about India: ♦ India ranked 58th in the 2018 GCI report. It is among the worst-performing BRICS nations. The reports suggested that India should grow its skills base. ♦ India's product market efficiency has been undermined by a lack of trade openness. ♦ About Indian's labour market, WEF said that it is characterized by a lack of worker rights' protections, insufficiently developed active labour market policies and critically low participation of women. ♦ In the innovation area, India has proved above its development status with several advanced economies. ♦ Limited information, communications, and technology (ICT) adoption, poor health conditions and low healthy life expectancy are among the major shortcomings of the country. Global Competitiveness Index (GCI): GCI was launched in 1979. It analyzes the competitiveness landscape of 141 economies. It measures through 103 indicators including inflation, digital skills, life expectancy and trade tariffs.
Alice Walton topped as the richest woman in the world in the Forbes 400 list
Forbes released its 2019 edition of the Forbes 400 list that ranks the wealthiest people in America. Alice Walton of the Walmart dynasty topped as the richest woman in the world. She has a net worth of $51.4 billion. She is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The Waltons are the wealthiest family dynasty in the US. To make it into the list, the individuals need a minimum net worth of $2.1 billion. Top 10 richest woman in the world in the Forbes 400 list: ♦ Alice Walton topped as the richest woman in the world in the Forbes 400 list ♦ Julia Koch stood second with a net worth of $41 billion ♦ MacKenzie Bezos stood 3rd with a net worth of $41 billion ♦ Jacqueline Mars stood 4th with a net worth of $41 billion ♦ Laurene Powell stood 5th with a net worth of $21.3 billion ♦ Abigail Johnson stood 6th with a net worth of $14 billion ♦ Blair Parry-Okeden stood 7th with a net worth of $9.6 billion ♦ Christy Walton stood 8th with a net worth of $8.5 billion ♦ Ann Walton stood 9th with a net worth of $7.5 billion ♦ Marijke Mars, Pamela Mars, Valerie Mars, Victoria Mars stood 10th with a net worth of $7.4 billion
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List of Indian Satellites Launched From 1975
List of National Symbols of India
List of International and domestic Airports in India
List of Major ports in India
National Parks in India
List of Tiger Reserves in India
List of Dams and Reservoirs in India
List of major Industries in India
List of Insurance Companies in India
Famous Temples in India - Top Hindu Temples Places & States
List of Republic Day Chief Guest from 1950
List of Revolutions in India
UNESCO World Heritage in India
List of office holders in India
List of Indian Rivers and their States
GK World Today
List of countries and Captial, Currencies and Continent
List of International Organizations and their Headquaters
List of National Animals of all Countries
List of National Birds of different Countries
List of National Flowers of all Countries
Legislatures of the World - National Assembly
List of Famous Sports Personalities in the World
Stock exchanges list in the world
Food Festival All Over World
Countries and their main Industries List
Cricket Stadium In World
Most Popular Newspaper in the World
Important Cups and Trophies Related to Sports
List of Richest Persons in the world,Highest Paid Persons in the world
Famous Personalities and Their NickNames
List of World President and Prime Ministers
List of Countries and their National Games
Central banks of Various Countries in World
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