Current Affairs January 2016 - Reports

News 1 - Forbes released the list of achievers under 30 for the year 2016; 45 Indian and Indian-origin people figured.

Forbes

04-Jan − Forbes released the 2016 – 30 Under 30 List. The annual report features 600 men and women, who achieved extraordinary professional success before they reached the age of 30 years. Forty-five Indians and Indian-origin people have made it to Forbes' annual list. Following are a few of their names −

  • Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms CEO
  • Karishma Shah, Alphabet’s Google X
  • Divya Nettimi, Viking Global Investors
  • Nisha Chittal, MSNBC
  • Ashish Patel, NowThis Media
  • Saagar Govil, CEO of Cemtrex

News 2 - UN launches new dataset titled Trends in International Migrant Stock − The 2015 Revision.

United Nations

12-Jan − The UN launched the new dataset titled Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 Revision. It was released at the UN DESA (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs) headquarters in New York. The dataset evaluated trends in migration flows across the world, both country and region wise, between 2000 and 2015.

Key highlights of the dataset:

  • The number of international migrants reached 244 million in 2015, which is 41% more than that of 2000. About 172 million or 72% of these are of working age.

  • Around 20 million out of 244 million are refugees

  • India has the largest diaspora in the world, followed by Mexico and Russia. In 2015, 16 million people from India migrated to other parts of the world.

News 3 - Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2015-2016 launched by INSEAD.

INSEAD

19-Jan − Global Business School, INSEAD, released the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 in Davos, Switzerland. The theme of this report was Talent Attraction and International Mobility. Out of the 109 countries surveyed, the top ranked countries were – Switzerland (1), Singapore (2), Luxembourg (3), the USA (4) and Denmark (5). Similarly, the bottom rankers were – Mali (105), Tanzania (106), Ethiopia (107), Burkina Faso (108) and Madagascar (109). India slipped 11 places to rank 89th in the GTCI 2015-16 as compared to 2014-15.

News 4 - Health Ministry releases results for 1st Phase of NFHS-4 Survey.

National Family Health Survey

19-Jan − The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released today the results from the first phase of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16. These are available on Ministry’s website, www.mohfw.gov.in. The 1st Phase included 13 States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and 2 Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.

Key Findings of Phase-1 of NFHS-4 Survey:

  • The Infant Mortality rate is 51 deaths per 1000 live births, which ranges from a low of 10 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to a high of 51 deaths per 1000 live births in Madhya Pradesh.

  • The total fertility rates (TFR) or the average number of children per woman, range from 1.2 in Sikkim to 3.4 in Bihar.

News 5 - UNESCAP published World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 report.

UNESCAP

19-Jan − The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) published World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2016 report. The report highlights that the world economy tripped in 2015 and only a marginal development is projected for 2016-17. As per the report, the world economy is projected to grow by 2.9 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017 whereas South Asia region is estimated to be the world’s fastest-growing region. India, with a growth rate at 7.3% and 7.5%, will be the fastest growing economy in the world in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

News 6 - 2015 declared as Earth’s warmest year since 1880 by NOAA.

Noaa and Nasa

20-Jan − According to a report released by NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), 2015 was the Earth’s warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880. 15 of the top 16 warmest years have occurred since 2000. El Niño was a major driver of the heat this year. Similarly, the change also was largely driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

News 7 - India ranked 22nd among world's best countries.

World Economic Forum Annual meeting

21-Jan − The inaugural Best Countries report, released on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual meeting is topped by Germany. India is placed 22nd in the list. The other countries in the top five are Canada (2), the UK (3), the US (4) and Sweden (5). China is ranked 17th in the list. This report was prepared by the US News and World Report and New York-based brand consultancy BAV Consulting and Wharton School of Business on the basis of sustainability, adventure, cultural influence, entrepreneurship and economic influence.

News 8 - Umaid Bhawan Palace of Jodhpur named the world's best hotel of 2016.

Umaid Bhawan

21-Jan − Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur was awarded the world's best hotel at the Travellers' Choice award organized by TripAdvisor. The winner was decided on the basis of the reviews and opinions collected in a single year from TripAdvisor travelers’ worldwide. Umaid Bhawan Palace is named after Maharaja Umaid Singh. The Palace has 347 rooms.

News 9 - UN Report: India to be the fastest growing economy in 2016.

UN Report

22-Jan − According to a United Nation’s world economic report (World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016), India will be the world's fastest growing large economy at 7.3 percent in 2016, improving further to 7.5 percent in 2017. These calculations are made on a calendar year basis, but extrapolated for the financial year. India's economy accounts for over 70 per cent of the GDP in all of South Asia.

News 10 - Sri Lanka tops South Asia Region in 2015 HDI.

Global Human Development Report

23-Jan − The Global Human Development Report (HDR) 2015 released by the UN Development Program (UNDP) has ranked Sri Lanka 73rd with an HDI value of 0.757. The report includes Iran in the South Asia Region apart from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives.

The other countries are ranked as follows:

  • Iran − 69th
  • Maldives − 104th
  • India − 130th
  • Pakistan − 147th

News 11 - NTI releases 2016 Nuclear Security Index.

Nuclear Threat Initiative

24-Jan − Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a non-profit, non-partisan organization released the 2016 Nuclear Security Index. The theme is Building a Framework for Assurance, Accountability, and Action.

In the theft ranking:

  • As in 2012 and 2014, Australia takes the top spot among the 24 states with weapons-usable nuclear materials.

  • Japan is the most improved state.

  • France, the United States, and the United Kingdom score the highest among nuclear-armed states.

  • The United States, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom are the most improved nuclear-armed states.

  • Sweden earns the first place ranking among states with less than one kilogram of or no weapons-usable nuclear materials. Djibouti is the most improved of those states.

Finland ranks first among the 45 states that have nuclear facilities, such as power plants or research reactors, in need of protection against sabotage.

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