Reports & Indices Current Affairs August 2026

Yale University (with Columbia University) released the Environmental Performance Index (EPI 2026), in which India ranked 176th out of 177 countries with an overall score of 22.46 — the second-lowest, ahead only of Laos (21.78). Estonia topped the index with 74.79, followed by Luxembourg (74.24) and the United Kingdom (71.51); Finland (4th) and the Netherlands (5th) complete a top five made up entirely of European nations. India improved marginally by +7.47 points over the last decade. India scored poorly on air quality and biodiversity (174th in both) but performed better in Climate Change (130th, +13.98 points) and Waste Management & Sanitation (141st). The EPI ranks countries on 47 indicators across 11 issue categories. The bottom five are Laos, India, Bangladesh (175th), Mali (174th) and Vietnam (173rd).

NITI Aayog released a report titled Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub, identifying four high-potential sectors - Chemicals, Textiles, Telecom & Networking equipment, and Solar Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing. NITI assessed 62 sectors and shortlisted 12 on strategic importance, investment potential and supply-chain opportunity, with eight more to follow. It cites India's telecom scale (1.2 billion+ subscribers, ~85% penetration), flags National Telecom Policy 2025 (NTP-25) goals and recommends industrial clusters and lower manufacturing costs.

The National Statistics Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), released the Quarterly Bulletin of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for April-June 2026. The Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons aged 15 years and above rose to 5.4%, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter. The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for those aged 15+ stood at 54.6% (down from 55.5%). Rural LFPR was 56.9% (down from 58.2%), while Urban LFPR was unchanged at 50.2%.

NITI Aayog released the report Reimagining Care: Strategies for Empowering Caregivers in Viksit Bharat@2047 (August 2026), a roadmap for an organised, professional caregiving ecosystem. Released by Vice Chairperson Ashok Kumar Lahiri, it recommends a National Policy on Caregiving (NPC) and a National Caregiver Council (NCC) to regulate training, accreditation, quality standards and a National Caregiver Registry.

SBI Research (Economic Research Department, State Bank of India), in its pre-policy report titled *Prelude to Monetary Policy Committee Meeting: August 3-5, 2026*, projected India's Q1 FY27 (April-June 2026) GDP growth at around 7% - higher than the RBI's estimate of 6.6%. The upward view rests on strong high-frequency indicators: passenger-vehicle sales +24.1% YoY, electricity demand +11.5%, exports +15.5% and the IIP +7.3% (June 2026). Q1 FY27 inflation stood at 3.9%, with full-year FY27 CPI seen near 5%, within the RBI's 2-6% band.

India Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 7.3% year-on-year in June 2026, the fastest in nearly two years and the third straight month of acceleration, driven by strong manufacturing (automobiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics) and a revival in capital goods. IIP data is released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI; the Core Industries Index grew 5% in June 2026.

NITI Aayog released its report “Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047” in August 2026, estimating that 87 million (8.7 crore) youth aged 15–29 in India are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Built on data from the 78th round of the National Sample Survey (2021), it groups India's learners and workforce into five categories, including NEET youth and women. It flags a weak link between education and jobs, noting that only 8.25% of graduates work in roles matching their qualifications, and that fewer than 1 in 12 secondary schools offer vocational subjects despite NEP 2020. Over 7.67 crore people have been trained since 2014-15.

Per the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, released by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), India became the world's 2nd-largest supplier of seafarers with 311,936 professionals (12.16% of the global workforce) — ranking behind the Philippines and ahead of China, Russia and Indonesia. India rose from 5th in 2015 (5.2% share) to 2nd in 2026, contributing 140,718 officers (13.41% of global officers) and 171,218 ratings (11.29% of global ratings). The report estimates global seafarer supply at 2.57 million against demand of 2.55 million.