www.gradeup.co 1 www.gradeup.co GK Capsule for SSC & Railways Exams-2019 Dear Aspirants, This GK Capsule is a complete docket of important Current Affairs news and events that occurred in last 6 months (1st January 2019 – 25th June 2019). This file is important and relevant for all competitive exams like SSC and Railways Exams 2019. Rank of India in different Indexes 1. Global Peace Index 2019: India Ranks 141 • The Index is developed by Equal Measures • India’s ranked141 among 163 countries on the 2030, a partnership effort of regional and Global Peace Index 2019. global organisations. • Iceland remains the most peaceful country and • Indicators: It includes 51 indicators across 14 Afghanistan the least peaceful nation. of 17 official Sustainable Development Goals • New Zealand has been ranked the second most (SDG). peaceful country. 4. End of Childhood Index 2019 – • Portugal was ranked third, and Austria fourth • India was ranked 113 in 176 countries on and Denmark was fifth most peaceful country the wellbeing of children. in the world. • The Index was released by ‘Save the • The report is prepared by Australian think Children’, a United Kingdom (UK) based non- tank Institute for Economics & Peace. profit organisation which works for child 2. Traffic Index-2018: rights. • Mumbai ‘most congested’ among 403 global • The Index was topped by Singapore. th cities, Delhi ranks 4 . 5. IIT Bombay has emerged the country’s best • Mumbaikars spend 65% extra time caught in university: QS Rankings traffic. • IIT Bombay has emerged the country’s best • New Delhi ranked fourth with a congestion university for the second consecutive year in rank of 58%. the 2019 QS World University Ranking. • Bogota (63%) in Colombia and Lima in Peru • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (58%) were ranked second and third on the list respectively, while the Russian capital was named the world’s best for a record Moscow (56%) ranked fifth. eighth consecutive year. • Traffic Index-2018’, compiled by location • Twenty-three Indian institutes feature in the technology specialist TomTom. sixteenth edition of the QS World University 3. Global Gender Equality Index Released: India Ranking in which IIT Bombay (152), IIT Ranks 95 Delhi (182) and Indian Institute of Science • India ranked 95th out of 129 countries in a Bangalore (184) are ranked in the global top new index that measures global gender 200. equality looking at aspects such as poverty, • The ranking is produced by global higher health, education, literacy, political education consultancy Quacquarelli representation and equality at the workplace. Symonds, QS ranks the world’s top 1,000 • The list was topped by Denmark followed by universities. Finland and Sweden. 6. IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2019 • Chad was placed at bottom most position • India ranked at 43rd position in the most (129th). competitive economy in the world. 2 www.gradeup.co • In 2018 India was ranked at 44th place. • Top three countries are: United States, • Singapore has grabbed the top position. United Kingdom and Canada. • Hong Kong SAR is in second position and US 11. India Ranks 140th In World Press Freedom Index – has slipped to the third place in 2019. • India ranked 140th out of 180 countries in • The ranking is compiled by International the World Press Freedom Index 2019. Institute for Management Development (IMD). • Index is released by Reporters Without 7. Kids Right Index 2019: India Ranks 117 Borders. • India stands in a lowly 117th position out of • The index is topped by Norway followed 181 countries in the KidsRight Index. by Finland and Sweden. • The index ranks how countries adhere to and 12. WEF Global Energy Transition Index – India rank are equipped to improve child rights. 76th on a global energy transition index. • Iceland secured the top position in the index • The report stated that India is amongst the followed by Portugal. countries with high pollution levels and • KidsRights Index is an initiative of Kids Right has a relatively high CO2 intensity in its Foundation in cooperation with Erasmus energy system. University, Rotterdam. • Sweden remains on the top and is followed 8. India ranked 20th among the top capital importing by Switzerland and Norway in the top countries: Knight Frank three. • With investment of $2.6 billion, India was • The index is compiled by Geneva-based ranked 20th among the top capital importing World Economic Forum (WEF). countries globally, while China was at the 13. World Happiness Report 2019 – India is ranked 6th position with an investment of $14.30 140th out of 156 nations. billion. • The World Happiness Report was released • The US was the top capital importing by the Sustainable Development Solutions country globally with an investment of Network for the United Nations. $80.89 billion. • For the second consecutive year, Finland topped the list. • The report noted that the US also topped the • Denmark ranked second followed by list of capital exporting countries globally, Norway. with an investment of $59.62 billion, • Pakistan ranked 67th, Bhutan 95th, China followed by Canada ($50.41 billion) and 93rd, Bangladesh 125th, and Sri Lanka Germany ($24.50 billion). 130th while South Sudan ranked last in the th 9. Cancer Preparedness Index 2019 - India Ranks 19 World Happiness Report. • India was ranked 19th out of 28 countries 14. India Ranks 11th in Gold Holding: WGC Report – in the Index. The World Gold Council its latest report highlights the • Index is released by the Economist quantum of gold holding by the different countries. Intelligence Unit (EIU). • India has the 11th largest gold reserve and • Top 3 countries are Australia (1st), the current holding pegged at 607 tonnes. Netherlands (2nd) and Germany (3rd). • The top spot is occupied by US gold • Bottom three are Saudi Arabia (28th), reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes, followed by Romania (27th) and Egypt (26th). Germany with 3,369.7 tonnes. 10. Global Startup Ecosystem – India was ranked 17th • International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks position among 100 countries. third on the list with total gold reserves of • It was released by StartupBlink. 2,814 tonnes. • The report ranks countries based on the • The World Gold Council is the market strength of its startup ecosystem. development organisation for the gold • China was ranked 27th. industry and it aims to stimulate and • Bangalore, New Delhi, and Mumbai were sustain demand for gold, provide industry the top cities in the Indian startup leadership, and be the global authority on ecosystem. the gold market. 3 www.gradeup.co • The members of the World Gold Council • For the first time ever, India has been ranked include gold mining companies. in Bloomberg’s 2019 list of most innovative 15. India ranks 16th in terms of Highest Number of countries in the world. impacted Species in Hotspots – A recent study • India has grabbed the 54th spot among 60 published in PLOS Biology found that human impacts countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index on species occur across 84% of the earth’s surface and with a score of 47.93 out of 100. India ranks 16th in such impacts, with 35 species • South Korea has topped the Bloomberg impacted on an average. Innovation Index for the sixth time in a row • Malaysia ranks 1st among the countries with a total score of 87.38. with the highest number of impacted • Germany ranked second, Finland stood on the species (125). third spot. • Southeast Asian tropical forests, including 20. Global Talent Competitive Index 2019: those in India’s Western Ghats, Himalaya, • India ranked at 80th positions on the Global and north-east, are among the ‘hotspots’ of Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) 2019. threatened species. • The index is released by INSEAD business • However, these very areas are also ‘cool- school in partnership with Tata spots’ (the world’s last refuges where high Communications and Adecco Group. numbers of threatened species still • Switzerland topped the index which is persist). followed by Singapore and the US. 16. Inclusive Internet Index 2019 – India has been • Last year in 2018, India was ranked at 81st ranked 47th. position. • Sweden has topped the rankings followed 21. Democracy Index 2019: The Economist Intelligence by Singapore and the US. Unit (EIU) has released the Democracy Index which • The Inclusive Internet Index 2019 was ranks 167 countries by 60 indicators across five broad prepared by the Economist Intelligence categories. Unit (EIU) for Facebook. • Top 3 countries in the list are – Norway, • The ‘Inclusive Internet’ score was based on Iceland and Sweden. the scores of availability, affordability, • Australia and New Zealand are the only “full relevance and readiness categories. democracies” in the entire Asia-Pacific region 17. International IP index 2019 • India was at the 41st place with a score of • India has jumped eight places to 36th position 7.23/10 and was placed in the flawed on the International Intellectual Property (IP) democracies category. Index. 22. India Ranks 79th, Japan Tops List of Most Powerful • The US, the UK, Sweden, France and Germany Passports - According to the Henley Passport Index, remained the top five economies on the India jumped two positions from 81st in 2018 to 79th intellectual property index in 2019 in 2019. Japan retained its top spot as the world’s most • In 2018, India was ranked at 44th position. travel-friendly passport. 18. Corruption Perception Index 2018 23. India 6th in GDPR Readiness Index: CISCO - Nearly • India has improved its ranking by 3 points by 65% of Indian organizations are better prepared for moving onto 78th position in the Corruption the European Union’s General Data Protection Perceptions Index 2018 published by Regulation (GDPR), making the country the sixth Transparency International. leading nation globally in the GDPR readiness index, • China and Pakistan, in a list of 180 countries, global networking leader, according to CISCO.