Memory Hacks: Reports of International Organisations

There are various important reports published by international organisations across the globe that hold important for IAS Exam. This article will provide you with the names of international reports that are important for both UPSC Prelims and Mains examination.

UPSC aspirants can get the List of Important International Organisations along with their headquarters at the linked article.

UPSC Questions on International Organisational Reports

UPSC has quite frequently tested the knowledge of aspirants regarding the names of the various reports published by international organisations in both Civil Services Examination Prelims and as well as Mains. The prelims of 2014 and 2015 saw a couple of questions based on this. Even in mains an aspirant can use this information along with the findings of these official reports in descriptive answers and in essays to add weight to answers.

Please find below some of the questions that appeared in prelims –

Question: Which of the following organizations brings out the publication known as ‘World Economic Outlook’?(In UPSC CSE Prelims 2014)

(a) The International Monetary Fund
(b) The United Nations Development Programme
(c) the World Economic Forum
(d) The World Bank

Answer: (a) the International Monetary Fund

 Question: Which one of the following issues the ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report periodically?(In UPSC CSE Prelims 2015)

(a) The Asian Development Bank
(b) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(c) the US Federal Reserve Bank
(d) The World Bank

Answer: (d) the World Bank

Names of Reports Published by Organisations for UPSC

Once you are familiar with these reports and the organization publishing it, you can proceed to understand some of the important findings of these reports by regularly tracking newspaper updates.

For example, the Human Development Report published by UNDP comes up with the Human Development index. HDI and its associated parameters are very important from a public policy perspective. So while reading the newspaper and current affairs look out for the following points –

• The HDR helps measure and analyse developmental progress.
• In addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local Human Development Reports.
• The report was first launched in 1990 by the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
• HDI focuses on three basic dimensions of human development –
• Education – access to knowledge and
• Health and Nutrition – a long and healthy life
• Employment skills – a decent standard of living.

• The 2010 Human Development Report introduced three new indices

1. Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index,
2. Gender Inequality Index, and
3. Multidimensional Poverty Index

• India ranks 131 among 189 countries in Human Development Report 2020
• India’s HDI value for 2020 is  0.645, which puts the country in the medium human development category
• Gender Inequality Index (GII) – India has a GII value of 0.488, ranking it 123 out of 162 countries in the 2020 index.
• Life expectancy at birth in India between 1990 and 2018 increased by 11.6 years.
• Standard of living is measured by Gross National Income Per Capita
• Mean year of schooling in India between 1990 and 2019 increased by 3.5 years, and expected years of schooling increased by 4.7 years.

Based on these lines if you are able to keep track of all relevant information for some of the important reports then you will be able to handle any question related to these topics, both in prelims and mains.

UPSC Preparation: