1. 1.53 lakh people died in 4.12 lakh road accidents in 2021: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Report
According to a report released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on 28 December 2022 a total of 4,12,432 road accidents occurred in the 2021 calendar year which claimed 1,53,972 lives while 3,84,448 people were injured.
The report titled 'Road accidents in India — 2021', said major indicators related to accidents have performed better in 2021 when compared to 2019.
According to the report, "Road accidents decreased by 8.1 percent and injuries decreased by 14.8 percent in 2021 compared to 2019. Fatalities, however, on account of road accidents increased by 1.9 percent in 2021 corresponding to the same period in 2019,”
Not wearing seat belt and helmet a reason for road fatalities
- According to the report a total of 16,397 persons were killed in road accidents in 2021 due to not wearing seat belt, of which 8,438 were drivers and remaining 7,959 were passengers.
- A total of 46,593 persons were killed in road accidents due to not wearing a helmet, of which 32,877 were drivers and 13,716 were passengers.
- According to the report, not wearing a helmet caused injuries to 93,763 persons and not wearing seat belts caused injuries to 39,231 persons during 2021.
- Not using safety devices such as helmet and seat belt does not cause accidents but are critical for averting fatal and grievous injuries in the event of road accidents.
- Although not wearing a seat belt by passengers sitting in the rear seats attracts a fine of Rs 1,000 under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), most people are either unaware of this mandatory rule or just ignore it.
The country saw an unprecedented decrease in accidents, fatalities, and injuries. This was due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant stringent nationwide lockdown particularly during March-April, 2020 followed by gradual unlocking and phasing out of the containment measures, it said.
The report is based on the data/information received from police departments of states/Union Territories collected on a calendar year basis in standardized formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways: Nitin Gadkari
2. India to become 3rd largest Economy in the world by 2037; CEBR
Tags: Reports Economy/Finance
The United Kingdom based economics consultancy firm Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has predicted that India will become the third-largest economy by 2037.
Its annual report titled ‘World Economic League Table’ tracks macroeconomic developments globally and countrywise. It presents forecasts for 191 countries of the world.
According to the 14th edition of the report released on 26 December 2022, it says that in the next five years India's annual economic growth is expected to average 6.4%. After that, the growth is expected to average 6.5% in the subsequent nine years.
It expects the Indian economy to grow by 6.8% in 2022-23.
The reported growth trajectory will see India rise from fifth place on the World Economic League Table’ in 2022 to third in the global rankings by 2037 after China and the United States of America.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India is expected to become the 3rd largest economy in the world by 2027-28. According to the SBI EcoWrap report India is likely to become the 3rd largest economy in 2029.
According to the IMF India is likely to overtake Great Britain and become the 5th largest economy in 2022-23 after the United States, China, Japan and Germany.
3. Puducherry and Aizawl (Mizoram) adjudged best performing State and District in Social Progress Index
-adjudged-best-performing-State-and-District-in-Social-Progress-Index.jpg)
The Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) on 20 December 2022 released the Social Progress Index (SPI) for States and Districts prepared by the Institute for Competitiveness and Social Progress Imperative.
The index assesses states and districts based on 12 components across three critical dimensions of social progress - Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. The index uses an extensive framework comprising 89 indicators at the state level and 49 at the district level.
- Basic Human Needs assess the performance of states and districts in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Water and Sanitation, Personal Safety and Shelter.
- Foundations of Wellbeing evaluates the progress made by the country across the components of Access to Basic Knowledge, Access to Information and Communication, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Quality.
- Opportunity focuses on Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, Inclusiveness, and Access to Advanced Education.
Based on the SPI scores, states and districts have been ranked under six tiers of social progress. The tiers are Tier 1: Very High Social Progress; Tier 2: High Social Progress; Tier 3: Upper Middle Social Progress; Tier 4: Lower Middle Social Progress; Tier 5: Low Social Progress; and Tier 6: Very Low Social Progress.
Top Ranked States/Union Territories
State /Union Territories | SPI | Rank |
Puducherry | 65.99 | 1 |
Lakshadweep | 65.89 | 2 |
Goa | 65.53 | 3 |
Sikkim | 65.10 | 4 |
Mizoram | 64.19 | 5 |
Bottom Ranked State
Jharkhand was ranked at the bottom, 36th with SPI score of 43.95 and Bihar was ranked at 35th with a score of 44.47.
Uttar Pradesh with a SPI score of 49.16 was ranked 31st and was put in the Low Social progress category.
Top performing districts
Aizawl (Mizoram), Solan (Himachal Pradesh), and Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) are the top 3 best-performing districts.
4. India ranked 3rd globally in the publication of scientific papers; Union Minister Jitendra Singh
Tags: Reports National Science and Technology Person in news
According to the Union Minister for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh India has been ranked 3rd globally in the publication of scientific papers. Quoting the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Science & Engineering Indicators 2022 report of the United States, India’s position globally in scientific publications, has improved from 7th position in 2010 to 3rd position in 2020. He also said that India’s scholarly output increased from 60,555 papers in 2010 to 1, 49,213 papers in 2020.
China leads the world in the publication of the maximum number of scientific papers followed by The United States of America.
Dr Jitendra Singh also said that India now ranks 3rd in terms of the number of PhDs in science and engineering.
The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.
5. ADB keeps India growth rate forecast at 7% for 2022-23
Tags: Reports Economy/Finance
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report “Asian Development Outlook” Supplement December 2022 issued on 14 December 2022 has kept its forecast on the Indian economy growth rate for 2022-23 to 7%. In 2021-22 the Indian economy grew by 8.7%.
The ADB in its last report issued in September had forecasted the growth rate of 7% for the Indian economy in 2022-23. The ADB expects India to grow by 7.2% in 2023-24.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), the Indian economy grew by 6.3% in Q2 (July-September) of the fiscal year 2022-23.
However in its recent Monetary policy statement the Reserve Bank of India had revised the Indian economy growth rate in 2022-23 to 6.8% from its earlier 7% forecast.
Other key points of the report
ADB expects the Asia Pacific region to grow by 4.2% in 2022 (January -December) and 4.6% in 2023.
The South Asian region is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2022 and by 6.3% in 2023 due to slow down in the Bangladesh economy and flooding in Pakistan.
Asia’s largest economy China is expected to grow by 3% in 2022 down from its earlier forecast of 3.3%.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
It is a regional multilateral financial institution which focuses on the countries of Asia and Pacific region.
It was set up after a resolution was passed at the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in 1963.
It started functioning from 19 December 1966 with 31 member countries.
At present it has 68 members—of which 49 members are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
Japan is the largest shareholder of the ADB and a Japanese has always been the head of the ADB.
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters: Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
6. Nirmala Sitharaman among 6 Indians on Forbes list of world's most powerful women
Tags: Reports International News
Forbes on December 7 released its annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, 2022, in which six women from India feature.
Important facts
It includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, HCL Tech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Nykaa CEO Falguni Nair along with two more names.
The Finance Minister of India has been included in this list for the fifth time in a row.
This list also includes 39 CEOs and 10 heads of state, apart from this it includes 11 billionaires, whose total assets are $ 115 billion.
The list was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence.
Name of six Indians
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman - ranked 36, is on the list for the fourth time in a row.
Roshini Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCLTech - ranked 53rd.
Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) -ranked 54th.
Soma Mondal, Chairperson of the Steel Authority of India - ranked 67.
Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson and founder of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited - ranked 72.
Falguni Sanjay Nayar, the founder and CEO of the beauty and lifestyle retail company Nykaa - ranked 89th.
Top 3 women in the world in Forbes list
The list was topped by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who played a key role in handling COVID -19 crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war, etc.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stood at second position on the list.
US Vice President Kamala Harris ranked third on the list.
Iran's Zina "Mahsa" Amini was posthumously ranked 100th on the influential list. His death in September sparked one of Iran's worst public protests.
7. IPL remains the most searched query on Google in India on 2022
According to Google’s annual yearend report titled “Year in Search 2022," on 7 December 2022, the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament remained the top trending query for the third consecutive year.
It was followed by CoWIN, a government web portal that facilitates registrations and appointments for COVID-19 vaccines and issues digital vaccine certificates.
The third most searched trending topic in India was the FIFA World Cup, which kicked off on November 20 in Qatar.
The fourth and fifth positions too were occupied by sports events namely the Cricket Asia Cup and ICC Men's T20 World Cup, respectively. Bollywood blockbuster Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva secured the sixth rank.
Most searched personalities in India in 2022
The most searched personalities in India in 2022 included suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who bagged the first spot.
She was followed by President of India Droupadi Murmu, new United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and at the 4th spot was Lalit Modi.
8. World Bank increases India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.9% for 2022-23
Tags: Reports Economy/Finance
The World Bank has forecasted 6.9% growth rate for the Indian economy in 2022-23, saying the economy was showing higher resilience to global shocks. In October, it had cut India's GDP growth forecast to 6.5 percent from 7.5 percent earlier.
In its India Development Update released on 6 December 2022, the World Bank said the revision was due to higher resilience of the Indian economy to global shocks and better-than-expected second quarter numbers.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.7 percent in the previous 2021-22 financial year.
In the second quarter of 2022-23 (July-September) fiscal year it grew by 6.3%.
The Reserve Bank of India expects the Indian economy to grow by 7 % in 2022-23.
9. India to become 8th largest advertising market in 2023; GroupM
Tags: Reports National Economy/Finance
India is expected to overtake Brazil become the eighth-largest advertising market in 2023, according to GroupM’s global end-of-year forecast.
In 'This Year, Next Year 2022' report, GroupM has ranked India as the ninth-largest advertising market globally.
It says India's total advertising revenue in 2022 has grown by 15.8% to touch $14.9 billion, led by growth in pure-play digital advertising. In 2023, it is expected to grow by 16.8%
According to the report, the retail media in India is estimated at $551 million in 2022 and is expected to nearly double by 2027. TV advertising, representing 36% of the advertising market share, is expected to grow 10.8% this year and continue growing double digits, driven by strong growth in both traditional and connected TV.
Top Advertising market in the world
The United States is the largest advertising market in the world followed by (2) China, (3) Japan, (4) the United Kingdom, (5) Germany, (6) France, (7) Canada, (8) Brazil and (9th) India.
10. HAL and BEL in the top 100 defence companies list of SIPRI
Tags: Reports Defence International News
Two Indian government owned defence companies Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have been included by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute((SIPRI) in its list of 100 top defence companies in the world 2021. In a report released by SIPRI on 5 December 2022 HAL was ranked 42nd with $3.3 billion in arms sales and HAL was ranked at 63rd Rank with $1.8 billion sales in 2021.
HAL is the manufacturer of fighter aircrafts like LCA Tejas, Su-30MKI, helicopters like LCH Prachand etc, and trainer aircrafts for the Indian Air Force. BEL manufactures advanced electronics equipment for the armed forces.
Last year apart from HAL and BEL, Indian Ordnance Factories were included in the top 100 defence companies.
Highlights of SIPRI report
In 2021, the total arms sales of the world’s Top 100 totalled $592 billion in 2021, marking an increase of 1.9 per cent in their arms sales compared with 2020.
The United States has 40 companies in the top 100 defence companies in the world.
The top 5 companies are all American.
China has 8 companies in the top 100 companies.
Country-wise, in the 2021 list,
- US companies topped with a share of 51 per cent of the total arms sales, followed by Chinese companies with 18 per cent,
- UK firms with 6.8 per cent, and
- French companies with 4.9 per cent share.
Russian companies garnered only 3 per cent of the global share.
India is the world’s second-biggest importer of weapons after Saudi Arabia and is also the world’s third-biggest spender on defence after the US and China.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. It is funded mainly by the Swedish Government.
It was set up in 1966
Headquarters: Solana, Sweden
