Thematic CA

Durable Economy, Reports and Indices

The major global and Indian indices and reports mapped to the body that publishes each, plus the Indian economic data publishers, a high-yield durable table; verify the latest rank or value separately

CAPF wiki4 min read8 sections
At a glance
PaperPaper ISubjectCurrent EventsSyllabusCurrent Events of National and International Importance: governance, societal and developmental issues, business and globalisationImportanceHigh
IndicesReportsPublishersHDIRankingsEconomic SurveyRBINITI Aayog

Quick anchor

The "index in the news" question is among the most reliable in CAPF current events and almost always tests the durable fact (who publishes the index and what it measures), not India's exact rank, which moves every year. This note maps each major index and report to its publishing body and leaves the rank as a "verify the latest" item. It also lists the Indian bodies that publish core economic data, which CAPF tests as institution-to-output matching. It complements reports indices and their publishers and the economy module. Sources: the publishing bodies, the Economic Survey, RBI, MoSPI and PIB.

Global development and rights indices

Index / report Publisher What it measures
Human Development Index (HDI), Human Development Report UNDP Life expectancy, education, income
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) UNDP and OPHI (Oxford) Health, education, living standards
Gender Inequality Index (GII) UNDP Reproductive health, empowerment, labour
Global Gender Gap Report World Economic Forum (WEF) Gender parity across four pillars
Global Hunger Index (GHI) Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe Undernourishment, child wasting, stunting, mortality
World Happiness Report UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Self-reported well-being
Press Freedom Index Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press freedom
Corruption Perceptions Index Transparency International Perceived public-sector corruption
Democracy Index The Economist Intelligence Unit Quality of democracy

Economy, business and competitiveness

Index / report Publisher What it measures
World Economic Outlook IMF Global growth projections
Global Economic Prospects World Bank Growth and development outlook
Human Capital Index World Bank Health and education outcomes
Global Competitiveness Report WEF National competitiveness
Global Innovation Index WIPO (with partners) Innovation capability
World Investment Report UNCTAD Foreign direct investment trends
Logistics Performance Index World Bank Trade logistics
World Inequality Report World Inequality Lab Income and wealth inequality
Global Financial Stability Report IMF Financial-system risk

Environment and energy indices

Index / report Publisher What it measures
Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Yale and Columbia universities Environmental health and ecosystem vitality
Emissions Gap Report UNEP Gap between pledges and required cuts
Global Climate Risk Index Germanwatch Exposure to extreme weather
World Energy Outlook International Energy Agency (IEA) Global energy projections

Indian economic data publishers (institution to output)

Body What it publishes
Ministry of Finance The Union Budget and the Economic Survey (the Survey is authored by the Chief Economic Adviser)
MoSPI (Statistics and Programme Implementation) GDP estimates, the CPI, the Index of Industrial Production, periodic labour surveys
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary policy, the WPI-linked context, the Financial Stability Report, forex and balance-of-payments data
NITI Aayog The SDG India Index, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (India), the Aspirational Districts dashboards
Office of the Economic Adviser (Commerce and Industry) The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
Census / Registrar General Population, and the Sample Registration System for vital rates

The clean CAPF distinction: the Economic Survey is produced by the Ministry of Finance (Chief Economic Adviser) and tabled before the Budget; the CPI is compiled by MoSPI while the WPI is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser. For the underlying concepts see inflation and prices and basics national income and growth.

CAPF traps and reminders

  • The HDI, MPI, GII are all UNDP; the Gender Gap Report and the Competitiveness Report are WEF; do not confuse the two gender measures.
  • The Global Innovation Index is WIPO, not the WEF.
  • The Global Hunger Index is published by two European NGOs (Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe), a frequently missed pairing.
  • The Corruption Perceptions Index is Transparency International; the Democracy Index is the EIU.
  • Every rank and value is dated; record it as "verify the latest" rather than asserting a stale number.

Authored practice

  1. Which organisation publishes the Global Innovation Index? (Authored practice, not a verbatim PYQ.) Answer: WIPO (with partner institutions).
  2. The Economic Survey is prepared by which office and tabled when? (Authored practice, not a verbatim PYQ.) Answer: the Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance, ordinarily a day before the Union Budget.
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