Current Affairs October 2018 - Reports
1 - India Ranks 5th in Pictorial Warnings on Cigarette Packets
As per the report published by Canadian Cancer Society, India stands fifth among 206 countries in terms of the largest pictorial warning on cigarette packs. On India’s cigarette packets, about 85 per cent of both sides of the packets are covered with the warning.
Though India has maintained the size of the pictorial warning on tobacco packaging, it slipped two places because other countries have improved on the parameter.
As per this report, Timor-Leste ranked first, as it has the largest warnings on cigarette packages in the world with 92.5 per cent on front and back, followed by Nepal and Vanuatu (with 90 per cent) and New Zealand at fourth with 87.5 per cent.
2 - Among Most Valuable Nation Brand India ranked 9th
According to Brand Finance’s annual Nation Brands 2018 report, India lost one spot (last year on 8) and ranked 9th among the 10 most valuable nation brands in the world for the year 2018.
| Rank |
Nation |
Brand Value (in USD BN) |
| 1 |
The United States |
25,899 |
| 2 |
China |
12,779 |
| 3 |
Germany |
5,147 |
| 4 |
United Kingdom |
3,750 |
| 5 |
Japan |
3,598 |
| 6 |
France |
3,224 |
| 7 |
Canada |
2,224 |
| 8 |
Italy |
2,214 |
| 9 |
India |
2,159 |
| 10 |
South Korea |
2,001 |
On the contrary, India’s brand value has increased to $2,159 billion in 2018 from the value of $2,046 billion in 2017. US tops the list with a brand value of $25,899 billion, which rose by 23% from the last year followed by China and Germany.
3 - ADB Report: India Has the Largest Outward Migrants
As per the Asian Economic Integration Report 2018 published by the Asian Development Bank, most of the outbound migrants were from India in 2017, followed by China and Bangladesh.
The report displays that with 17 million, India had the most outward migrants in 2017, followed by China with 10 million, and Bangladesh with 7.5 million. The report also reveals that the outward migration in Asia has overtaken inward migration.
The ADB report also illustrated that the intraregional migrants to India largely come from neighbouring countries; in decreasing order - Bangladesh (3.1 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), and Nepal (0.5 million). Major host economies for intraregional migration include India (5 million); Thailand (3.5 million); Pakistan (3.4 million); Australia (3.2 million); and Hong Kong, China (2.7 million).
