Recent 6 months news in Reports

The Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has released the “National Report on Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)” to assess marine resources.

The publication was edited by Dr VN Sanjeevan (former Director of CMLRE) and Dr Baban Ingole (retired Scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)), under the leadership of Dr RS Maheshkumar (Head of CMLRE).

The assessment studies were largely supported by the flagship research vessel of India, the Fishery and Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV) 'Sagar Sampada'.

According to a report titled “Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub” released by NITI Aayog, which provides a data-driven assessment of the manufacturing sector in India, 12 manufacturing sectors have been identified to accelerate the transition of India into a global manufacturing hub.

Among the 12 key sectors, four high-potential sectors identified to drive manufacturing growth and strengthen the position of India in global value chains are chemicals, textiles, telecom and networking equipment, and solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing. The study conducted for the report followed a 4-phase methodology.

The NITI Aayog has released the third report under its Services Thematic series, titled “India’s Services Sector: Insights on Regulatory Regime in Professional Services”.

According to the report, professional services account for 25% (nearly one-fourth) of the total services exports of India. The report proposes a four-pronged strategy to enhance the sector, which includes harnessing emerging trends, elevating professional services in the wider value chain, adopting global best practices, and promoting continuous professional development.

According to the Quarterly Bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for April-June 2026 released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above rose to 5.4% in the April-June 2026 quarter.

The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for individuals aged 15 years and above decreased to 54.6% compared to 55.5% in the preceding quarter. The rural LFPR declined to 56.9% from 58.2% in the previous quarter, while the urban LFPR remained unchanged at 50.2%.

According to the 3rd edition of the “2026 Barclays Private Clients Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses List” released by Hurun India, in partnership with Barclays Private Bank India, the Ambani family, led by Mukesh Ambani, emerged as the richest business family in India for the 3rd consecutive year with a net worth of ₹25.8 lakh crore.

The 1st-generation category was led by the Adani family, headed by Gautam Adani, with a total valuation of ₹19.6 lakh crore. Hindustan Zinc, led by Priya Agarwal Hebbar, emerged as the most-valuable women-led business in India.

According to the international benchmarking data released by the Community of Metros (COMET), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) recorded a train punctuality rate of 99.95%.

It outperformed several major global transit networks in punctuality, including the New York Subway, Paris Metro, and Hong Kong MTR. It is to be noted that COMET is an international consortium comprising 45 major global transit systems.

According to the 11th edition of the report titled “Kroll Celebrity Brand Valuation 2025” released by the US-based Kroll, Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood actor, has emerged as the most valuable celebrity in India, with a brand value of $177.9 million.

He is followed in the rankings by Ranveer Singh, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and MS Dhoni. Actress Alia Bhatt secured the sixth position, emerging as the most valued female celebrity in the country.

According to a report titled “Reimagining Care: Strategies for Empowering Caregivers in Viksit Bharat@2047” released by NITI Aayog in New Delhi, a comprehensive roadmap has been outlined to establish an organized, professional, and future-ready caregiving ecosystem.

The report recommends the formulation of a National Policy on Caregiving (NPC) and the establishment of a National Caregiver Council (NCC) to regulate training, accreditation, certification, and quality standards. It also suggests maintaining a National Caregiver Registry to streamline professional development and institutional support across the country.

According to the “Environmental Performance Index (EPI 2026)” released by the Yale University, India is ranked at 176th out of 177 countries with a score of 22.46.

Estonia is ranked first with a score of 74.7, followed by Luxembourg, the United Kingdom (UK), Finland, and the Netherlands. Laos is ranked lowest in the index with a score of 21.78.

Candere, a luxury online jewellery brand by Kalyan Jewellers, in partnership with Hurun India, has released the 2nd edition of the 'Candere Hurun India Women Leaders List 2026'. The list recognizes 117 women achievers across 12 categories.

Meena Bindra, founder of BIBA, is ranked top on the overall leaderboard, followed by Tushara Shankar and Rajni Bector. Paralympian Avani Lekhara is the youngest individual to be featured in the top 10 overall leaderboard.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCLTech, leads the 'Wealth Multipliers' segment, while Priya Nair, CMD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), tops the 'Professional CEOs' category. The 12 category leaders possess a combined 464 years of active professional experience. Manju D. Gupta (Lupin) and Ritu Kumar contributed 58 and 57 years of experience, respectively.

Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, stated that over 12,000 e-Zero First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against cyber financial fraud across 18 states and Union Territories (UTs) in 2025.

Delhi recorded the highest number of e-Zero FIRs with 6,115, followed by Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Rajasthan.

According to the “BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026” released by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), India has emerged as the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers, with 3.1 lakh professionals accounting for 12.16% of the global workforce.

The Philippines ranks top in seafarer supply, followed by India, China, Russia, and Indonesia.

According to the "20th-anniversary edition of the Henley Passport Index (HPI)" released by Henley & Partners, India is ranked 81st globally, declining from its previous 75th position, sharing the rank with Mauritania and Algeria.

Singapore retains the top position with access to 192 destinations, followed by Japan, South Korea, and the UAE in second place, and Sweden in third. Indian passport holders currently have access to 55 destinations. Afghanistan is ranked lowest in the HPI, with access to only 22 destinations.

According to the report "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2026): Understanding and Addressing the High Cost of a Healthy Diet" released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 645 million people (7.8% of the global population) faced hunger in 2025.

Under a quick-recovery scenario, the report projects that the number of chronically undernourished people could decrease to nearly 511 million by 2030. It is to be noted that the report was prepared by 5 specialized UN agencies: FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and WHO.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the quarterly update of the Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building (PAIMANA) performance dashboard. It now includes 44 new indicators, bringing the total to 165.

In the Civil Aviation sector, 98,920 tonnes of cargo were transported in April 2026, marking a 115% year-on-year increase. The number of aerodromes has increased from 81 in 2014 to 165 at present.

Regarding the Road, Transport and Highways sector, 9,360 kms of National Highways (NHs) were constructed during FY26. Electronic toll collection transactions reached ₹88 crore, a 39.7% year-on-year growth up to May 2026.

In the Power sector, storage requirements are projected to increase more than 10-fold, rising from 87 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) in 2027–28 to 888 GWh by 2035–36.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) presented data in the Lok Sabha regarding the establishment of manufacturing units under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile and auto component industry.

As of March 2026, Maharashtra leads the country with 66 manufacturing units, followed by Tamil Nadu with 38 units, while Haryana and Karnataka account for 35 units each.

According to the 15th edition of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the overall unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 and above remained unchanged at 5.5% in June 2026.

The unemployment rate in rural areas decreased from 5.1% in May 2026 to 5% in June 2026, while the rate in urban areas increased from 6.4% to 6.6%. The Labour Force Participation Rate for persons aged 15 and above stood at 54.4% in June 2026, and the Worker Population Ratio at the all-India level was 51.4%.

According to the 'Brand Finance India 100 Report 2026', Tata Group is ranked as the most valuable brand in India for the 10th consecutive year, with a brand value of $33.6 billion. It is followed by Infosys and LIC Group.

Adani Group is ranked 8th in the list, becoming the fastest company to enter India's 'Top 10 Most Valuable Brands'. Suzlon Energy is the fastest-growing Indian brand in 2026, while Taj Hotels is ranked as India's strongest brand for the 5th consecutive year.

The United Nations (UN) has released the Preliminary Report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, which is the first UN-commissioned scientific assessment of AI. The report was prepared by a 40-member panel co-chaired by Turing Award laureate Yoshua Bengio and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.

The assessment highlights a global AI imbalance, noting that the USA leads with 75% of global compute capacity and 59 AI models.

NITI Aayog has released its first-ever "Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026", unveiled by its Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri.

Gujarat emerged as the top overall performer with a score of 56.6, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Odisha. Among large states, Gujarat is the leader, while Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are the worst performers.

Uttarakhand is the leader among Hilly & Northeastern states, and Goa is the leader among City States & UTs. Lakshadweep recorded the lowest overall score nationwide, followed by Ladakh and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The index evaluates all 28 states and 8 Union Territories (UTs) based on 84 indicators across 8 economic pillars: Infrastructure, Business Climate, Government Policy, Resources, Regulatory Ease, Institutional Environment, Financial Health, and Environmental Resilience.