Reports & Indices Current Affairs September 2026

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru is India's top institution in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, placed joint 254th globally and the only Indian entry in the world's top 300. India fielded 143 universities, its largest representation yet and third-highest after the United States (168) and Turkiye (124). Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences came next in the 326-350 band, followed by Shoolini University (451-500) and Jamia Millia Islamia and KIIT (501-550). Oxford retained first place for an 11th straight year, ahead of MIT, with Princeton and Stanford tied third. The edition ranked 2,297 universities across 118 countries.

India ranked 38th of 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2026, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), retaining its place as the top-ranked lower-middle-income economy and the leader in Central and Southern Asia. Switzerland topped the table for a 16th consecutive year, followed by Sweden, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, with China at 10th. India ranks 25th on innovation outputs against 49th on inputs, converting inputs unusually efficiently. It leads the world in ICT services exports and has four clusters in the global top 100, led by Bengaluru at 25th.

Singapore Airlines was named the World's Best Airline for 2026 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremony in London, followed by Qatar Airways (2nd), Cathay Pacific (3rd), ANA (4th) and Turkish Airlines (5th). Air India ranked 57th globally, a 27-place jump from 2025, making it the highest-ranked Indian and South Asian carrier, while IndiGo placed 61st and retained the Best Low-Cost Airline in India and South Asia title. The Skytrax awards, introduced in 1999 and based on a global passenger satisfaction survey, are widely described as the 'Oscars of the aviation industry'. The result follows Delhi airport's 11-place climb in the OAG Megahubs 2026 connectivity rankings.

India climbed nine places to 31st among 110 economies in the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, the index's 10th edition, prepared with Zurich Insurance Group. Japan topped the ranking, followed by the United States, Spain, Australia and France, while Mali finished last at 110th. India's score of 4.42 was lifted by a highly cost-competitive travel environment, rich cultural resources — it is among the global top 10 for World Heritage cultural sites — and improving air and tourism infrastructure, though gaps persist in tourist services and environmental sustainability. In all, 101 of 110 economies improved their scores since 2024.

Gautam Adani and family topped the 15th M3M Hurun India Rich List 2026 with Rs 9.23 lakh crore, reclaiming first place from Mukesh Ambani and family (Rs 8.63 lakh crore). L.N. Mittal and family ranked third at Rs 3.39 lakh crore, followed by Cyrus S. Poonawalla and Roshni Nadar Malhotra. Released on 23 September 2026 with a wealth snapshot as of 24 August 2026, the list covers 1,810 individuals worth at least Rs 1,000 crore. Mumbai led with 465 entrants, ahead of New Delhi (236) and Bengaluru (129). Artificial Intelligence debuted as a sector with 19 entrants worth Rs 3.07 lakh crore.

India was ranked first in business climate among 41 global markets in the Global Business Climate Survey 2026, reflecting strong confidence among Swedish companies operating in the country. Ireland ranked second and Vietnam third. The survey was jointly conducted by Business Sweden, the Swedish Chambers of Commerce, and Swedish embassies and consulates, in partnership with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India (SCCI). The 2026 edition covers markets across Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and the Americas. By respondent profile, 53% were large companies, 16% medium-sized and 31% small firms — a result that adds to a run of positive external assessments of India's growth environment.

GIFT City, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, has risen nine places to 37th globally in the 40th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 40), released in September 2026, up from 46th in GFCI 39. It is now the only Indian financial centre in the Asia-Pacific top 15, and also climbed three places to 26th in the index's FinTech rankings. Mumbai moved up three places to 49th. GFCI 40 assessed 139 financial centres using 144 quantitative measures and 39,531 professional assessments, and is published jointly by Z/Yen Partners of London and the China Development Institute.

India has retained 131st position among 145 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2026, closing 64.5% of its overall gender gap against a global average of 69.2%. Iceland, Finland and Norway again took the top three places, with only 14 countries ranked below India. India scored 96.6% parity in educational attainment and 95.6% in health and survival, but only 41.2% in economic participation and opportunity and 24.5% in political empowerment, where it ranks 67th. India has improved parity by 4.3 percentage points since 2006, and the WEF estimates full global parity is still about 120 years away.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its Electrification Special Report 2026, projecting India's electrification rate — the share of electricity in final energy consumption — to rise from 19% to 32% by 2035, driven by transport electrification, electric vehicle adoption and policy support. Southeast Asia is projected to move from 25% to 37%. The report was prepared at the request of Turkiye and Australia under the IEA's strategic partnership with COP31 of the UNFCCC. IEA estimates accelerated electrification could cut global energy import bills by over USD 400 billion by 2035, with India alone saving nearly 30% of its 2025 energy import expenditure.

The Official Airline Guide (OAG) released Megahubs 2026, in which Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport climbed 11 places from 39th to 28th among the world's most connected international airports. Istanbul Airport, linking 337 destinations, took first place for the first time, ahead of London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol. Delhi overtook Dubai, which slid from 15th to 31st as the West Asia conflict cut flights. Asia-Pacific dominates with 8 of the world's top 20 megahubs, followed by EMEA (6), North America (5) and Latin America (1). Kuala Lumpur topped the Low-Cost Megahubs index with nearly 15,000 possible low-cost connections across 154 destinations.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its State of Global Water Resources 2025 report, finding that 2025 was the fourth consecutive year in which every major glaciated region recorded a net loss of ice. Global glacier loss was estimated at 408 ± 132 gigatonnes, equivalent to a sea-level rise of 1.1 ± 0.4 millimetres. Six of the seven largest annual losses on record fell in the last seven years, and glaciers shed a cumulative 1,400 gigatonnes between 2023 and 2025 — roughly one-third of annual global freshwater withdrawals. Mountain glaciers have lost about 6.2% of total ice mass between 2000 and 2025, signalling shrinking freshwater reserves and an erratic water cycle.

BirdLife International released the State of the World's Birds 2026 report on 11 September 2026 at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, co-hosted with Nature Kenya. It is the first edition devoted entirely to migratory birds and the flyways they depend on, and finds that 45% of migratory bird species are in decline and roughly one in nine is threatened with extinction. Governments, scientists, NGOs and financial institutions adopted the Nairobi Flyways Declaration, pledging stronger cross-border cooperation, alongside over US$6 billion in conservation finance mobilised by development banks since 2021.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI released 'Unincorporated Sector at the District Level: Insights from ASUSE 2025', the first-ever district-level estimates of India's unincorporated non-agricultural sector. Based on the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025 covering January-December 2025, it finds the top 10 districts account for about one-tenth and the top 50 districts for about one-third of all establishments, workers and Gross Value Added in the sector. The top 10 districts lie in only four states - Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal - while the top 50 span twelve states, underlining sharp geographic concentration. It follows MoSPI's Quarterly Progress Report portal on Data Harmonisation.