Reports and Indices - India-Specific Reports

Economy: Reports and Indices

11. India-Specific Reports

India Skills Report 2025

About: It offers a comprehensive analysis of the employability landscape in India.
Released by: Wheebox in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

• Overall Employability: The employability rate among Indian graduates increased to 54.81% in 2025, up from 51.25% in the previous year.
• Top Performing States/UTs: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Delhi serve as major hubs for employable talent.
• Gender Disparity: The employability rate for men is expected to rise to 53.5%, while for women, it is projected to decline to 47.5%.

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2024

About: It provides a comprehensive assessment of the rural education landscape in India.
Released by: NGO Pratham Foundation.

• Over 90% of children aged 6-14 are enrolled in school, indicating sustained high enrollment levels in rural areas.
• States like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab have shown consistently higher learning outcomes, attributed to improved school infrastructure and teacher training programs.
• Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh continue to face challenges, though recent trends show some improvement in learning outcomes.

India State of Forest Report 2023

About: It provides a comprehensive assessment of India's forest and tree resources.
Released by: Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change every two years.
Prepared by: Forest Survey of India.

• The country's total forest and tree cover is 8,27,356.95 km2, which is 25.17% of the country's geographical area (GA). This includes:
  • Forest Cover: 7,15,343 sq km (21.76% of the geographical area).
  • Tree Cover: 1,12,014 sq km (3.41% of the geographical area).
• An overall increase of 1,445 sq km in forest (156 sq km) and tree cover (1289 sq km) compared to the 2021 assessment.
• States having Largest Forest and Tree Cover: Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Top States with Maximum Increase in Forest and Tree Cover: Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.
• Top States with Maximum Increase in Forest Cover: Mizoram, Gujarat and Odisha.
• States with Largest Forest Cover: Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
• Mangrove Cover: The total mangrove cover is 4,992 sq km, with a slight decrease of 7.43 sq km since 2021.
• In terms of the percentage of forest cover, Lakshadweep has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram and Andaman and Nicobar Island.

Financial Stability Report December 2024

About: It provides an assessment of the resilience of India's financial system and highlights potential risks to financial stability.
Published by: Reserve Bank of India bi-annually.

• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow at 6.6% in FY25 (2024-25).
• The union government's debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to decline from 62.7% (2020-21) to 56.8% by 2024-25.
• The Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) Ratio has fallen to a multi-year low.

National Multidimensional Poverty Index-2023

About: The MPI measures multidimensional poverty by assessing deprivations in health, education, and standard of living across states and union territories in India.
Published by: NITI Aayog.

- Health: Includes child mortality, nutrition, and maternal health.
- Education: Years of schooling and school attendance.
- Standard of Living: Access to electricity, sanitation, drinking water, housing, cooking fuel, and assets.

• 135 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
• Significant reductions in poverty were observed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.
• States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh have the lowest poverty levels.
• Despite improvements, Bihar and Jharkhand remain among the states with the highest poverty levels.

SDG India Index 2023-24

About: It is a tool to measure and track India's progress towards the SDGs.
Published by: NITI Aayog.

• India's overall SDG score improved to 71 in 2023-24 from 66 in 2020-21 and 57 in 2018.
• Top Performers: Kerala and Uttarakhand.
• Lowest Performer: Bihar followed by Jharkhand.

Fiscal Health Index 2025

About: It provides a comprehensive evaluation of the fiscal health of 18 major Indian states for 2022-23.
Published by: NITI Aayog.

- Quality of Expenditure
- Revenue Mobilization
- Fiscal Prudence
- Debt Index
- Debt Sustainability

• Top Performers: Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand and Gujarat.

High-Yield Interactive UPSC Quiz (Reports & Indices)

Q1. With reference to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, consider the following statements:

1. The total forest cover occupies more than 25% of India's overall geographical area.
2. Madhya Pradesh possesses the largest forest cover among all states, while Lakshadweep shows the highest forest cover in terms of percentage.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B. Statement 1 is incorrect because the total forest cover is 21.76% of the geographical area (total forest and tree cover combined is 25.17%). Statement 2 is correct as Madhya Pradesh leads in total forest cover area, and Lakshadweep holds the highest percentage of forest cover.

Q2. Consider the following pairs of indices and their publishing organizations:

1. National Multidimensional Poverty Index — NITI Aayog
2. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) — Pratham Foundation
3. Financial Stability Report — Ministry of Finance

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Correct Answer: B. Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched. Pair 3 is incorrectly matched because the Financial Stability Report is published bi-annually by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), not the Ministry of Finance.