Henley Passport Index 2026: Singapore Retains Top Spot; India Climbs to 84th with 55 Visa-Free Destinations

17 October 2026National

The Henley Passport Index 2026, released on 17 October 2026 and built on exclusive IATA travel data, kept Singapore at number one with visa-free access to 193 of 227 destinations. Japan, South Korea and the UAE shared second place with 188, and Sweden was third with 187. India rose one place to 84th, tied with Algeria and Mauritania, even though its visa-free count slipped from 57 to 55 destinations, so the rank improved while actual access narrowed. Afghanistan remained last at 106th with 22 destinations, below Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. The index ranks 199 passports.

Static GK

The Henley Passport Index is published by London-based Henley & Partners using exclusive International Air Transport Association (IATA) data; IATA was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada | Indian passports are issued under the Passports Act, 1967, administered by the Ministry of External Affairs | A rival ranking, the Global Passport Index, is published by Global Citizen Solutions

ShareWhatsApp Telegram

More Economy Current Affairs

WHO Releases 'State of Inequality' Report on Noncommunicable Diseases and Their Risk Factors

The World Health Organization released 'State of inequality: noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors' on 20 October 2026. Drawing on national data collected over the past decade, it examines four NCDs - cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes - alongside risk factors including tobacco and alcohol use, obesity, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and air pollution. The report finds hypertension and diabetes more common among less-educated groups in low- and middle-income countries, rural populations less likely to be diagnosed and treated than urban ones, and poorer, less-educated women least likely to receive cervical cancer screening.

GK ByteThe WHO was established on 7 April 1948 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland; its Director-General is Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus | NCDs kill about 43 million people a year, roughly three-quarters of all non-pandemic deaths worldwide | SDG target 3.4 aims to cut premature NCD mortality by one-third by 2030

📅 20 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

India's Unemployment Rate Holds at 5.0% in September 2026, PLFS Bulletin Shows

India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above stayed at 5.0% in September 2026, unchanged from August and down from 5.2% a year earlier, according to the National Statistics Office's monthly Periodic Labour Force Survey bulletin. Rural unemployment edged up to 4.2% and urban to 6.9%. The male rate held at 4.9% while the female rate rose to 5.2%; rural female unemployment fell to 3.9%, its lowest in 2026, even as urban female unemployment climbed to 9.2%. The labour force participation rate was 55.5% and the worker population ratio 52.7%, both up year-on-year. 3,70,513 persons were surveyed.

GK ByteThe Periodic Labour Force Survey was launched in April 2017 by the NSSO, replacing the quinquennial Employment-Unemployment Surveys | Unemployment rate is the unemployed share of the labour force; LFPR the share working or seeking work; WPR the employed share of population | MoSPI uses two approaches - Usual Status over 365 days and Current Weekly Status over seven days

📅 15 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

Global Hunger Index 2026: India Ranks 100th of 122 Countries with a Score of 24.1 in the 'Serious' Category

The 2026 Global Hunger Index, titled *No Security Without Food Security*, was released on 14 October 2026 at Berlin by Welthungerhilfe with IFHV and Helvetas, ahead of World Food Day. India scored 24.1 and ranked 100th of 122 countries, tied with Ethiopia, in the serious hunger band. The global score was 18.1, up from 17.6 in 2018, with hunger worsening in 32 countries and 57 off track for low hunger by 2030. Somalia had the highest score at 47.0, ahead of the DR Congo (39.5), Chad (38.0) and Madagascar (36.5).

GK ByteGHI severity bands are low (9.9 or less), moderate (10.0-19.9), serious (20.0-34.9), alarming (35.0-49.9) and extremely alarming (50.0 or more) | Welthungerhilfe is headquartered at Bonn, Germany, and the Global Hunger Index has been published since 2006 | World Food Day is observed on 16 October, marking the founding of the FAO in 1945; the FAO is headquartered at Rome

📅 14 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

Ayush Services Sector Report 2026 Values India's Ayush Services Economy at US$36.92 Billion

The Ministry of Ayush released the Ayush Services Sector Report 2026, prepared by the research body RIS, around Ayurveda Day 2026. It values India's Ayush services economy at US$36.92 billion in FY2024-25, growing at a 16.91% CAGR and supporting about 1.76 million direct livelihoods, with a projection of US$216-318 billion by 2047. Women form 43% of the workforce overall, rising above 60% in spas and wellness resorts, 58% in educational institutes and 53% in hospitals. Ayurveda alone contributes US$17.73 billion, roughly 48% of the total, while medical value travel is worth US$1.77 billion.

GK ByteAYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy; Sowa-Rigpa was added later | The Ministry of Ayush was carved out as a separate ministry on 9 November 2014 | Ayurveda Day is observed on Dhanteras and honours Lord Dhanvantari; RIS is the Research and Information System for Developing Countries

📅 10 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

See all Reports & Indices →All Current Affairs