11. Which country is the frontrunner in climate mitigation, as per the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI)?
[A] Norway
[B] Germany
[C] Denmark
[D] Australia
Answer: C [Denmark]
Notes:
As per the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), the current frontrunner in climate mitigation continues to be Denmark.
Denmark is the only country with a ‘high’ national and even ‘very high’ rated international climate policy. No country is ranked first to third while Denmark is ranked fourth followed by Sweden. India is ranked eighth.
12. Which institution issued a working paper on decline of India’s rankings on global indices?
[A] NITI Aayog
[B] Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
[C] Department of Economic Affairs
[D] Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
Answer: B [Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister]
Notes:
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, EAC-PM has issued a working paper titled ‘Why India does poorly on global perception indices: Case study of three opinion-based indices’.
It says that the decline in India’s rankings on a number of global indices is due to the problems with the methodology used in these opinion-based indices. The Paper has analysed – Freedom in the World Index, V-DEM indices, and EIU Democracy Index.
13. Which is the only Indian educational institution among top 50 in the Global University Employability Rankings by Times Higher Education (THE)?
[A] IIT Bombay
[B] IIT Delhi
[C] IISc Bengaluru
[D] AIIMS New Delhi
Answer: B [IIT Delhi]
Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi is the only Indian educational institution among top 50 in the Global University Employability Rankings by Times Higher Education (THE).
The Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS) list the world’s top 250 universities for producing employable graduates. IISc Bengaluru is at the second spot (58) in India followed by IIT-Bombay at 72.
14. Which country tops the ‘Global minority index’ published by Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA)?
[A] Sri Lanka
[B] India
[C] Pakistan
[D] Afghanistan
Answer: B [India]
Notes:
Patna-based research institute Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) placed India on top of the ‘Global minority index’.
It is followed by South Korea, Japan, Panama and the US, in the Global Minority Report listing 110 countries. Maldives, Afghanistan and Somalia are placed at the bottom of the list. The report was released by former vice president of India M. Venkaiah Naidu.
15. Which cities are ranked at the top of the Economic Intelligence Unit releases Cost of Living Index 2022?
[A] Singapore and Dubai
[B] New York and Singapore
[C] New York and Tokyo
[D] Singapore and London
Answer: B [New York and Singapore]
Notes:
As per the Economic Intelligence Unit Cost of Living Index 2022, New York and Singapore rank as the world’s most expensive cities.
As per the index, the average cost of living is up by 8.1 per cent in 2022, due to the Russian war in Ukraine and the effects of the pandemic. The EIU evaluates more than 400 individual prices across more than 200 products and services in 172 cities, to produce the list.
16. Which institution released the report titled ‘Preventing injuries and violence: an overview’?
[A] UNICEF
[B] WHO
[C] UNESCO
[D] UN Women
Answer: B [WHO]
Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report titled ‘Preventing injuries and violence: an overview’.
The report says that injuries and violence cause about 12, 000 deaths around the world each day. It also highlighted the need for scaling up efforts for prevention of injury related deaths, which account for 1 in 12 deaths worldwide. Road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide were listed among the top 5 causes of death among people aged 5-29 years.
17. As per the recent India Skills Report 2023, what is the percentage of India’s employable workforce?
[A] 40.5 %
[B] 50.3 %
[C] 65.5 %
[D] 72.5 %
Answer: B [50.3 %]
Notes:
According to The Wheebox India Skills Report 2023, India’s employable talent has risen in the past one year.
According to the report, India’s employable workforce has increased from 46.2 per cent to 50.3 per cent. The percentage of women who were found to be employable has increased to 52.8 per cent, compared to 47.2 per cent for men.
18. Which institution released the ‘World Malaria Report 2022’?
[A] FAO
[B] WHO
[C] NITI Aayog
[D] UNICEF
Answer: B [WHO]
Notes:
Each year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) releases the ‘World Malaria Report’, which provides a comprehensive assessment of trends in malaria control and elimination across the globe.
The 2022 report is based on information received from 84 malaria-endemic countries in all WHO regions. There were an estimated 619 000 malaria deaths globally in 2021 compared to 625 000 in 2020. The global tally of malaria cases reached 247 million in 2021 compared to 245 million in 2020.
19. As per a recent report by Coin Switch, which Indian city leads the country with highest crypto adoption?
[A] Mumbai
[B] Delhi
[C] Hyderabad
[D] Bengaluru
Answer: B [Delhi]
Notes:
Delhi has the highest crypto adoption in India, measured in terms of value invested, as per the annual investor report by crypto investing platform Coin Switch.
Delhi at 7.87 per cent, Bangalore at 4.87 per cent and Hyderabad at 3.27 percent were the metro cities with the highest crypto adoption. Jaipur has the highest adoption among tier-2 cities. CRE8 or Crypto Rupee Index (CRE8) is a benchmark index to measure the performance of the Indian Rupee-based crypto market.
20. Which institution releases the ‘Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)’?
[A] NITI Aayog
[B] Pratham
[C] Oxfam International
[D] UNICEF
Answer: B [Pratham]
Notes:
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 has been released by the NGO Pratham. As per the report, student enrolments increased to more than pre-pandemic levels.
The report however warned that the learning gap widened for foundational skills in reading and arithmetic, reversing several years of improvement.