New Glenn Rocket of Blue Origin

Context: Blue Origin has launched its New Glenn rocket on its first test flight sending up a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

About New Glenn Rocket

• The New Glenn rocket is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin.
• The Rocket is named after John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth more than 60 years ago.
• Specifications: It is approximately 320 feet high, two stage engine rocket.
• • The first stage is reusable and powered by seven BE-4 engines, which are liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engines. 
  • New Glenn’s second stage is powered by two BE-3U engines, which use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
• Reusability: Designed to be reused for a minimum of 25 flights, significantly reducing launch costs.
• New Glenn is expected to challenge Falcon 9’s — also a partially reusable launch vehicle of SpaceX.

Blue Origin

• Blue Origin is a private aerospace and space exploration company founded by Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos in 2000.

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QS World Future Skills Index 2025

Context: The QS World Future Skills Index 2025 has been released recently.

About QS World Future Skills Index

• The Index evaluates a country’s readiness to recruit for the skills needed in the jobs of tomorrow. 
• Released By: It is developed by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)
• Assessment: The assessment of the ‘future of work’ indicator has been done largely from the demand side, that is, job postings.
• Measurement: The future of work score measures the extent to which future-focused skills (like digital, AI, and green competencies) have permeated global job advertisements compared to traditional skill sets.
  • This score is derived from an analysis of over 280 million job postings worldwide
• Parameters: The Report measures 4 main parameters like,
  • Skills Fit; Academic Readiness; Future of Work; Economic Transformation.

Key Highlights of the Report

• India’s overall ranking puts it as a “future skills contender” ranking  25th across all indicators.
  • Countries like the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, and Canada, among others in the top ten have been categorised as “future skills pioneers”.
• India’s Performance: 
  • Jobs of the Future: India was ranked second in terms of preparedness for jobs of the future including artificial intelligence (AI) and green skills, only behind the United States
  • Skills Fit: India scored 59.1 out of 100 and is the worst performance among the top 30 countries overall. 
    • The poor performance is because of  India’s higher education system struggling to keep pace with evolving employer needs.
  • Economic Transformation: India scored 58.3 on this parameter,
    • It is driven by the interplay of growth, workforce efficiency, and the evolving role of higher education 
    • Challenges: There are gaps in investment and innovation capacity that pose challenges that could slow long-term growth.

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