Reports and Indexes in News: UPSC Prelims

World Economic Outlook

October 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO) released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
WEO is a biannual survey of prospects and policies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff. It presents analyses and projections of the world economy in the near and medium term.

Key Highlights

Revised upward to 3.2% for 2025, reflecting economic resilience despite trade shocks and rising protectionism.
Growth forecast increased to 6.6% for 2025 but lowered to 6.2% for 2026, due to strong first quarter performance but waning momentum.

Read More > International Monetary Fund

World Investment Report 2025

World Investment Report is an annual flagship report that analyses global trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) and international production.
Published by: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Current Affairs

Key Findings

Decline in FDI: Global FDI fell by 11% in 2024 to $1.5 trillion, with declines in most developing economies.
- India ranked 16^th, while the US remained the top recipient.
Uneven Growth: FDI surged 75% in Africa, while Latin America & the Caribbean saw a 12% decline.
Decline in SDG-Critical Sectors: A sharp fall in renewable energy (-31%) and water and sanitation (-30%) threatens SDG progress.

Indian Specific Findings

India remained South Asia’s largest FDI recipient, accounting for 80% of regional inflows. It moved up from 16^th to 15^th place globally in FDI inflows.
FDI Outflows: India moved up to 18^th rank globally in outward FDI, with $24 billion, up from $14 billion.

Global Economic Prospects Report 2025

World Bank has released its mid-year Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report, 2025.

Key Highlights

Global GDP is projected to slow to 2.3% in 2025, the lowest since 2008 (excluding global recessions).
Global trade would grow by 1.8% in 2025 (down from 3.4% in 2024) due to tariff effects. US-China trade frictions continue to disrupt supply chains and dampen global demand.
- Halving global tariffs could improve world GDP growth by 0.2% in 2025 and 2026.

India Specific Findings

India’s GDP is expected to grow at 6.3% in FY26, maintaining its status as the world’s fastest-growing large economy.
Despite supportive domestic factors, investment growth may moderate due to global policy uncertainty.
Fiscal consolidation will likely continue, driven by rising tax revenues and reduced spending.
Public debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to fall from 56.1% in FY26 to around 50% by FY31.

Future of Jobs 2025 Report

World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs 2025” report highlights the top 10 fastest-growing jobs by 2030, emphasising technology-driven roles.

Highlights from the Report

Fastest Growing Jobs by 2030: Big Data Specialists, FinTech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Software and Application Developers, and Security Management Specialists.
Other High-Demand Roles: Data Warehousing Specialists, Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialists, UI/UX Designers, Light Truck/Delivery Services Drivers, and IoT Specialists.
Skills in demand, with AI & Big Data (87%) and Cybersecurity (70%) leading, while Manual Dexterity saw a 24% decrease, and Attention to Detail increased by 12%. Creative Thinking & Resilience also grew by 66%.
Key Drivers of Job Growth: Digital access and technological advancements (AI, big data); Economic shifts like geopolitical tensions and climate change; Green transition and automation’s impact on workforce restructuring.

Financial Inclusion Index

Reserve Bank of India released the Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) for 2025.

The FI-Index, developed by the RBI, measures financial inclusion on a scale of 0 (exclusion) to 100 (full inclusion) and is released annually in July.
Aim: To capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country.
Parameter: Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%).
It has no designated base year and reflects the cumulative efforts of all stakeholders over time.

Current Affairs

Future of Jobs 2025 Report

By: World Economic Forum. It highlights the top 10 fastest-growing jobs by 2030.

Based on data from 55 economies, the report forecasts a net gain of 78 million jobs by 2030.
Fastest Growing Jobs by 2030: Big Data Specialists, FinTech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Software and Application Developers, and Security Management Specialists.
Skills in demand: With AI & Big Data (87%) and Cybersecurity (70%) leading, while Manual Dexterity saw a 24% decrease, and Attention to Detail increased by 12%. Creative thinking & Resilience grew by 66%.

Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, ranking 139 economies based on their innovation capabilities and outputs.

Since 2007, the GII has been co-published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Cornell University, and INSEAD.

WIPO: Established in 1967, WIPO is a UN agency headquartered in Geneva with 193 members, guiding global intellectual property policy and cooperation.

Findings of GII 2025

Global R&D growth declined to 2.9% in 2024, with a projection of 2.3% in 2025, marking the weakest research expansion since 2010.
Fifteen European economies are in the top 25, with Switzerland ranked first and Sweden second, United States ranks 3^rd while China is 10^th.
- India rose to 38^th rank in 2025 from 48^thin 2020, securing the top rank among lower-middle-income economies and in Central and Southern Asia.

India’s Innovation Landscape

India ranks as the third-highest producer of research papers globally, but its H-index (publication impact) is relatively low at 925.
In 2023, India ranked sixth with 64,480 patent applications.
Gross expenditure on R&D stayed at 0.64% of GDP.
India is the world’s third-largest startup hub.

Government Initiatives to Foster Innovation

Anusandhan National Research Foundation: Expands research capacity by funding basic and applied projects in universities, national laboratories, and R&D institutions.
VigyanDhara Scheme: Upgrades academic research infrastructure and builds thematic clusters to develop science-based solutions for societal challenges.
National Deep-Tech Startup Policy: Supports deep-tech ventures by improving early-stage funding, strengthening IP protection, and promoting academia–industry linkages.
Research, Development & Innovation Scheme: Incentivises private R&D with public funding and concessional finance in AI, quantum, biotechnology, energy, and other strategic fields.
Atal Innovation Mission: Nurtures an innovation culture through tinkering labs in schools, incubation centres in universities, and national mentoring networks.

QS World Future Skills Index

India ranks 2^nd for Digital Skills in the QS World Future Skills Index, only behind the United States and ahead of Canada & Germany.

QS World Future Skills Index is a global ranking system evaluating countries’ readiness to meet future job market demands through skill development, education, and economic transformation.
Released by: Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a London-based organisation.
Aim: To assess how countries prepare their workforce for future skills like coding, cybersecurity, data analysis, digital competencies, AI, green technologies, and sustainability.

Key findings

Countries like the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, and Canada, among others in the top ten, have been categorised as “future skills pioneers”.

Overall, India ranked 25th (“future skills contender”) across all indicators, including the alignment between skills and employer needs, academic readiness, and economic transformation.

ILO Report on International Migrant Workers

The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) 2025 “Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers” highlights labour market trends and migrant contributions to the global economy.

Key Findings

International migrants (IM) accounted for 4.7% of the global labour force, totalling 167.7 million workers, a rise of 30 million since 2013.
IM men represented 4.7% of global male employment, while IM women accounted for 4.4% of global female employment. Around 12.1 million international migrants were unemployed in 2022.
Annual growth rate of migrant workers fell to below 1% between 2019-2022, mainly due to the pandemic.
Prime-age adults (25-54 years) accounted for 74.9% of all migrant workers.
Young workers (15-24 years old) accounted for 9.3% of the migrant labour force.
Women’s participation in the global migrant workforce continues to rise, but women’s unemployment (8.7%) remains higher than men’s (6.2%).

Current Affairs

Other Reports in News

Reports

Details

World Water Development Report 2025

By UNESCO.

Towards Resilient and Prosperous Cities in India

By World Bank, in partnership with the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, stressing urgent urban climate resilience.

India Electric Mobility Index

NITI Aayog launched India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI), India’s first-of-its-kind tool.

IEMI is a composite index measuring the electric mobility ecosystem maturity across states & UTs.
Objective: It supports evidence-based policymaking & promotes inter-state learning on EV transition.
Score Range: Each state or UT is rated from 0 to 100 using weighted metrics.
Indicator Set: Uses 16 indicators grouped under three key thematic pillars – Electrification, Charging Readiness, Innovation.
Findings:
- Delhi ranked highest overall, followed by Maharashtra and Chandigarh.
- Chandigarh led among small states and UTs, followed by Goa and Delhi.

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Index

NITI Aayog is creating a Manufacturing & Infrastructure Index.

It will integrate policies, infrastructure, logistics, and approvals into a scorecard to foster competitive–cooperative federalism by enabling comparisons among states.
Research inspired by the European Coal and Steel Community aims to develop resilient critical minerals supply chains in the Indian Ocean to reduce chokepoint vulnerabilities.

The European Coal and Steel Community, founded in 1951 by six nations, managed coal and steel to foster peace and eventually evolved into the European Union.

Women’s Economic Empowerment Index

Uttar Pradesh introduced India’s first district-level Women’s Economic Empowerment Index to mainstream data-driven gender-inclusive policymaking.

It evaluates all 75 districts using 49 indicators across five segments: employment, education & skilling, entrepreneurship, livelihood & mobility, and safety with inclusive infrastructure.
Objective: It functions as a governance tool to reveal participation gaps and structural barriers, enabling cross-departmental corrective action.

Women and Men in India 2024

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the 26^th edition of its publication titled “Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data”.

Key Highlights

Sex ratio increased from 943 in 2011 to a projected 952 in 2036.
Between 2014-16 and 2018-20, the sex ratio in urban areas (910) surpassed that of rural areas (907), suggesting increasing female migration alongside urbanisation.
Literacy Rate improved for both genders in urban and rural regions, reaching 84.7% for males and 70.3% for females in 2017. Kerala has the lowest literacy gender gap, while Rajasthan has the highest.

IMR refers to the measurement of mortality in the first year of life and is computed by relating the number of deaths under one year to 1000 live births in a given year.
MMR refers to the number of women who die as a result of complications of pregnancy or childbearing each year per 10,000 live births in that year.
In India, a person aged 7 years and above who can read and write with understanding in any language is considered literate.