Recent 6 months news in Reports

The Ministry of Tourism and NITI Aayog have jointly launched a report titled "Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Recommendations for Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms". The report provides 49 recommendations across 14 reform areas to streamline the sector.

The strategic plan aims to expand India's tourism economy to $3 trillion and attract 100 million inbound international visitors by 2047.

It is to be noted that according to the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI), India ranks 6th globally in Natural Resources and 9th in Cultural Resources. Despite this, India ranks 39th overall on the TTDI and currently accounts for less than 1.5% of global international tourist arrivals.

According to the "QS World Future Skills Index 2027" released by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), India secured the 13th position globally with a score of 89.4. It is ranked 1st in the South Asia region and is the only country from the region to feature among the top 15.

The report evaluated 89 countries. India ranked 18th in Skills Alignment, 22nd in Academic Readiness, 5th in Future of Work, and 14th in Economic Transformation. The USA led the overall rankings with a score of 99.2, followed by Australia and the UK.

According to the 'Review of Maritime Transport 2025' report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India has become the world's leading ship recycling nation in 2025. India increased its global share in ship recycling to 35.4% (up from 30.1% in 2024).

The recycling volume reached 2.99 million gross tons (GT), marking a nearly 60% increase from 1.86 million GT. With this development, India has surpassed its Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 target five years ahead of schedule.

The Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme (SbCN) offers credits worth 40% of the scrap value, which are usable up to 5% of the cost of a new vessel. Additionally, the government provided ₹53.5 crore in modernization support, enabling the establishment of 115 Hong Kong International Convention (HKC)-compliant facilities.

According to the "State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2026" report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the theme "Blue Transformation: Turning Vision into Impact", India has emerged as the world's second-largest producer of aquatic animals, contributing 9% of the total global production in 2024.

India ranks first globally in inland water catches, producing 2.2 million tonnes (MT) from rivers, lakes, and freshwater systems. The top five aquaculture-producing countries globally are China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations (UN) Women have released the "2026 Women in Politics map" which provides global rankings on the representation of women in executive and government positions as of January 2026.

India ranks 151st globally in parliamentary representation, with women holding 13.8% of the seats. In terms of representation of women among Cabinet ministers, India ranks 173rd globally, with women occupying 5.6% of Cabinet positions.

The 5th edition of the "Burgundy Private Hurun India 500" report, a collaboration between Axis Bank's Burgundy Private and Hurun India, values the 500 most valuable non-state-run companies in India at $3.4 trillion.

Reliance Industries Ltd is the most valuable company in India, followed by HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel. The Tata Group is the leading conglomerate, with 14 companies valued at ₹24.9 lakh crore. Bharti Airtel is the top wealth creator over a 5-year period, adding ₹7.64 trillion in value.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is the most valuable unlisted firm in India, with a valuation of ₹4.86 lakh crore. The report also featured 5 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises as new entrants, with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ranked as the most valuable franchise at ₹20,850 crore, followed by Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals, and Punjab Kings.

According to the "Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026" (GSER 2026) released by Startup Genome, Bengaluru is ranked 15th globally among the top startup ecosystems. It has also emerged as the second-best AI-native cluster in Asia, positioned behind Beijing (China).

Silicon Valley (USA) topped the global rankings, followed by New York City (USA) and London (UK).

The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with Accenture, has released the “Energy Transition Index (ETI) 2026: Insight Report June 2026”. India is ranked 70th in the index with an overall score of 54.9.

Sweden topped the index with a score of 75.3, followed by Finland, Denmark, Estonia, and Norway. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is ranked last at 120th place.

According to the "20th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI)" released by the The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India is ranked 127th globally with an overall score of 2.4.

Iceland has retained the position as the most peaceful country in the world for the 19th consecutive year, with a score of 1.16. It is followed by New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Ireland. Russia is ranked 163rd, placing it at the bottom of the index.

According to the “QS World University Rankings 2027” released by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (USA) has secured the top position globally for the 15th consecutive year.

It is followed by Stanford University (USA), Imperial College London (UK), the University of Oxford (UK), and Harvard University (USA). The National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked 10th globally, remaining the highest-ranked university in Asia.

Among Indian institutions, the IIT Delhi is the top-ranked institution for the second consecutive year, securing the 118th position globally. It is followed by IIT Bombay at 134th and IIT Madras at 170th.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its “2026 Technology Pioneers” cohort, which features 100 early-stage companies from 23 countries. The USA leads the list with 43 startups, followed by China and the UK.

India is represented by 9 startups in the 2026 cohort (compared to 10 in the 2025 list), bringing the total number of Indian firms in the WEF cohort to 28. The selected companies will contribute to WEF initiatives through a two-year engagement program.

According to the ‘Second Advance Estimates of Horticulture Crops for 2025-26’ released by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), the total horticulture production is projected at 3,777.76 lakh tonnes (LT) across an area of 301.51 lakh hectares (ha). This indicates a 1.90% rise in production and a 0.05% increase in area compared to 2024–25.

Fruit production is estimated at 1,214.75 LT, reflecting an increase of 3.25%. Vegetable production is projected at 2,210 LT (a 1.47% growth) across an area of 118.79 lakh ha, which is an increase of 0.75%. Onion production is estimated to remain stable at 307.37 LT, while the area under cultivation is expected to rise by 2.31% to 20.14 lakh ha.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released the National Family Health Survey – 6 (NFHS-6). The survey was conducted during 2023-24 by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai, which served as the nodal agency.

The survey covered 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts in all States and Union Territories (UTs), excluding Manipur. It focuses on 101 major indicators to provide a comprehensive snapshot of health and demographic trends across India.

According to the “SIPRI Yearbook 2026: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security” released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditure surged to $2.9 trillion in 2025. The USA remained the world’s largest military spender with an expenditure of $954 billion, followed by China and Russia.

India ranked as the world’s 5th largest military spender in 2025, with a defence expenditure of $92.1 billion, representing an 8.9% increase compared to 2024. Furthermore, the nuclear arsenal of India increased to 190 warheads as of January 2026.

According to the “State of India’s Digital Economy (SIDE) 2026” report released by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)-Prosus Centre for Internet and Digital Economy (IPCIDE), India ranks as the world’s 5th most digitalised economy.

In the Connect, Harness, Innovate, Protect and Sustain (CHIPS) index for AI, India is positioned 4th globally, behind USA, China, and Singapore. India also recorded an 8.8% growth in internet users. It is to be noted that India accounts for 19.9% of global AI users and possesses the 2nd largest concentration of AI talent worldwide.

According to the latest rankings of the World’s Top 10 Richest People, released by the Forbes, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, retains the top position with an estimated net worth of $835 billion.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Alphabet Inc. (the parent company of Google), hold the second and third positions. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, is ranked fourth, followed by Larry Ellison, the co-founder and Chairman of Oracle Corporation, in the fifth position.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has launched the Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) for FY25 during the 37th Foundation Day celebrations of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Mumbai.

The LPPI, based on the ‘Sagar Aankalan’ framework, serves as a national benchmark to measure efficiency across key cargo sectors. The index recognized top performers: Paradip Port Authority (Odisha) for dry bulk, Sikka Port (Gujarat) for liquid bulk, and Mundra Port (Gujarat) for container cargo.

The Directorate General of Shipping has introduced 4 digital initiatives to strengthen the maritime sector: the 24x7 Grievance Redressal Module (e-Navik) for complaints from seafarers, the Ship Registration Module (e-Samudra) for electronic vessel registration, a Medical Practitioner Module for digitizing health check certifications, and the Unified Ship Recycling Credit Note Module, which offers a 40% credit note on scrap value for recycling at compliant Indian yards.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) has released the 10th National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates for FY23. The Total Health Expenditure (THE) of India in FY23 is estimated at ₹8.81 lakh crore, which constitutes 3.37% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Government Health Expenditure (GHE) has increased from ₹1.3 lakh crore in FY14 to ₹3.85 lakh crore in FY23. The report was prepared by the National Health Accounts Technical Secretariat (NHATS) under the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC).

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPP&P), has launched the portal for the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) 2025.

NeSDA is a biennial assessment framework developed by the DARPG to measure the depth and effectiveness of existing e-Governance (electronic governance) service delivery mechanisms from the perspective of citizens.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released findings from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), highlighting India’s progress in maternal and child health, nutrition, and financial protection. Institutional deliveries have reached 90.6%, while Antenatal Care (ANC) coverage has improved from 92.6% to 95.9%.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remains stable at 2.0, while the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased from 66.7% to 69.1%. Full immunization coverage has improved from 83.8% to 87.1%, with vaccination rates for children aged 12-23 months remaining consistently high at over 96%.

Public health facilities remain the preferred choice for immunization, with 95.6% of children receiving most vaccinations through these channels. Child nutrition indicators have shown improvement, with stunting reduced by 17% and severe wasting reduced by 32%.