Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Deficit doubts: On concern over current account deficit

Deficit doubts: On concern over current account deficit

Fretting (चिंता करना, चिड़चिड़ाना) about the current account deficit (चालू खाता घाटा) is warranted; fiscal space must also be reassessed

In its latest review of the economy encompassing (cover, include, incorporate, take in, contain, comprise, involve) the period from June till July 10, the Finance Ministry is sanguine (उत्साही, आत्मविश्वासी, सकारात्मक) about India’s economic recovery and has asserted that major macro-economic (relating to the branch of economics concerned with large-scale factors (interest rates/national productivity)) risks have subsided (कम होना, घटाना) over the past six weeks. The Government’s cautious optimism is tinged (influence, affect, modify, distort) with impending (आसन्न, निकट, आने वाला) concerns of a speedier tightening of monetary policies (मौद्रिक नीति) by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the resultant (परिणामी, आगामी) dip (गिरावट, डुबोना, उतार) in asset markets, which can mar sentiment (भाव, दृष्टिकोण, सोचने का तरीका) and consumption, on top of (के शीर्ष पर, इसके अलावा) persistent geopolitical (भू-राजनैतिक) strife (संघर्ष, कलह, असहमति). But for now, interest rate hikes and measures (action, step, procedure) to curtail (reduce, diminish, decrease, cut, lower, lessen) the outflow of dollars announced by the central bank (केंद्रीय बैंक), with several steps from the government such as the imposition (आरोपण, लगान, चार्ज करना) of windfall (अप्रत्याशित) taxes and higher import duties on forex-drainers like gold, have been credited (ascribe, attribute, acknowledge (publicly); believe, accept; rely on, depend on) for lifting (remove, end, terminate, cancel) some of the dark clouds (thread, menace, state of worry) over the economy. Despite excise duty (the taxes levied on the manufacture of goods within the country, (as opposed to custom duty that is levied on goods coming from outside the country)) cuts on petrol and diesel, the Ministry believes India’s fiscal math (the application of mathematical methods to financial problems) for the year will not unravel (fail, collapse, go wrong, fall apart) thanks to (as a result of, owing to, due to, because of) the recent tax levies, and healthy Goods and Services Tax collections (that could get healthier as some GST rate hikes kick in (come into operation, come into effect) from Monday). Industrial metal prices slipping to 16-month lows, prices for some food items falling off their peaks and crude oil (the raw natural resource that is extracted from the earth and refined into products such as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other petroleum products) prices descending (fall, sink, drop, slip, fall off, go down, decrease) in the face of (despite, notwithstanding, regardless of; when confronted with) fears of a recession (economic decline, slowdown, downturn, depression, slump) in many developed nations, have helped. However, if these fears do not translate (change, convert, transform) into ‘a sustained (continuous, constant, relentless, persistent) and meaningful’ drop (decrease, reduction, decline, lowering, lessening, falling off, fall-off, downturn, slump) in food and energy prices, India’s current account deficit (shortfall, deficiency, shortage, undersupply, slippage) will deteriorate in 2022-23 on account of (because of, owing to, as a result of) costlier imports and tepid exports on the merchandise account, the Ministry has cautioned.

India’s high import dependence for fuel means oil price trajectories (track/course, route, path, direction, approach) affect most macro (large-scale) parameters, including inflation (simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value), growth, current account balances (the current account balance of payments is a record of a country’s international transactions with the rest of the world. The current account includes all the transactions (other than those in financial items) that involve economic values and occur between resident and non-resident entities), fiscal management and the rupee. And economic policymakers are rightfully concerned about the current account deficit (CAD) widening sharply from the 1.2% of GDP last year. There is a vicious circle at work (in action) here that may take a while to break (stop). Slowing exports and costlier inelastic imports of oil have triggered record merchandise trade deficits (a trade deficit (a deficit in the balance of trade) occurs when the value of a country’s imports exceeds that of its exports. It is also called a trade gap) for two consecutive months, exacerbating (increase, raise, aggravate) the CAD which is tripping (unsettle, throw off balance; tumble, topple, fall) the rupee, making imports even costlier and widening the CAD further. The CAD may have hit 2.7% of GDP in the first quarter (a three month period on a financial calendar/year), some reckon (forecast, predict, estimate, calculate, expect), but if developed economies slow down as expected and shale (shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock in which natural gas is trapped underground) oil supplies pick up, crude oil prices could drop lower and the full-year deficit may improve. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has assured the country of a pointed (sharp; relevant, relative, germane, applicable) ‘item by item’ attack on inflation to ensure growth prospects (chance, possibility) are not hindered (obstruct, impede, hamper, block, interrupt, thwart, stop). If the fiscal deficit (the difference between total expenditure and total income of the government) is not a concern, and tax revenues may, in fact, overshoot (go beyond, go a little further than, pass over (a limit); overrun, overreach, overpass) Budget estimates owing to (as a result of, due to, because of) high inflation, the Government can consider reviewing its fiscal capacity (fiscal capacity is a measure of the potential ability of a particular government to generate revenue from their own sources (in order to provide public goods and carry out other functions)) and think of more measures to stimulate growth and mitigate (reduce, diminish, lessen) the detrimental (harmful, damaging, unfavourable, dangerous, destructive, ruinous) effects of high inflation and interest rates on consumption and investments.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.current account deficit (CAD) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चालू खाता घाटा
English Meaning - the amount by which money relating to trade, investment etc going out of a country is more than the amount coming in.

2.fret (verb)

Hindi Meaning - चिंता करना, चिड़चिड़ाना
English Meaning - worry, be anxious, feel uneasy, be distressed, be upset, feel unhappy (about someone/something).

3.sanguine (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - उत्साही, आत्मविश्वासी, सकारात्मक
English Meaning - optimistic, hopeful, confident, positive, cheerful (particularly in a difficult situation).

4.subside (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कम होना, घटाना
English Meaning - abate, lessen, diminish, decline.

5.impending (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आसन्न, निकट, आने वाला
English Meaning - nearing, approaching, forthcoming.

6.monetary policy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मौद्रिक नीति
English Meaning - monetary policy refers to the use of monetary instruments under the control of the central bank to regulate magnitudes such as interest rates, money supply, and availability of credit with a view to achieving the ultimate objective of economic policy mentioned in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

7.resultant (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - परिणामी, आगामी
English Meaning - ensuing, consequent.

8.dip (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गिरावट, डुबोना, उतार
English Meaning - decrease, fall, drop, decline, slump, reduction, lessening.

9.sentiment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भाव, दृष्टिकोण, सोचने का तरीका
English Meaning - point of view, way of thinking, feeling, attitude, thought, opinion, belief.

10.on top of (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के शीर्ष पर, इसके अलावा
English Meaning - in addition to, as well as, besides.

11.geopolitical (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भू-राजनैतिक
English Meaning - relating to (the study of) the geographical factors (a country’s position on the earth, size, climate, and natural resources &, etc.) in world politics and inter-state relations.

12.strife (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संघर्ष, कलह, असहमति
English Meaning - conflict, friction, discord, disagreement.

13.central bank (noun)

Hindi Meaning - केंद्रीय बैंक
English Meaning - the banking regulator of a county’s banking system. (e.g. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India).

14.imposition (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोपण, लगान, चार्ज करना
English Meaning - levying, charging, applying; enforcement.

15.windfall (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अप्रत्याशित
English Meaning - a large amount of money received unexpectedly; jackpot, bonanza, unexpected gain.

16.deficit (noun)

English Meaning - shortfall, deficiency, shortage, undersupply, slippage.

17.warrant (verb)

English Meaning - justify, vindicate, validate, uphold, support, endorse.

18.fiscal space (noun)

English Meaning - it is commonly defined as the budgetary room that allows a government to provide resources for public purposes without undermining fiscal sustainability.

19.encompass (verb)

English Meaning - cover, include, incorporate, take in, contain, comprise, involve.

20.macro-economic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the branch of economics concerned with large-scale factors (interest rates/national productivity).

21.optimism (noun)

English Meaning - hopefulness, hope, confidence, positive attitude, buoyancy.

22.tinge (verb)

English Meaning - influence, affect, modify, distort.

23.tighten (verb)

English Meaning - make stricter, make more rigorous, make more stringent, stiffen, toughen, heighten.

24.Federal Reserve (US) (noun)

English Meaning - the central banking system of the United States (The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India’s central banking institution).

25.mar (verb)

English Meaning - spoil, ruin, destroy, impair.

26.persistent (adjective)

English Meaning - continuous, constant, unending, unrelenting, unceasing.

27.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

28.curtail (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, diminish, decrease, cut, lower, lessen.

29.foreign reserve or forex (noun)

English Meaning - Foreign exchange. Forex or Foreign exchange reserves are the amounts of assets /money in foreign currencies that a country has in its central bank (in India, it is Reserve bank of India).

30.drainer (noun)

English Meaning - something that uses up resources.

31.credit (verb)

English Meaning - ascribe, attribute, acknowledge (publicly); believe, accept; rely on, depend on.

32.lift (verb)

English Meaning - remove, end, terminate, cancel.

33.dark cloud (noun)

English Meaning - thread, menace, state of worry.

34.excise duty (noun)

English Meaning - the taxes levied on the manufacture of goods within the country, (as opposed to custom duty that is levied on goods coming from outside the country).

35.fiscal (adjective)

English Meaning - financial.

36.fiscal math (noun)

English Meaning - the application of mathematical methods to financial problems.

37.unravel (verb)

English Meaning - fail, collapse, go wrong, fall apart.

38.thanks to (phrase)

English Meaning - as a result of, owing to, due to, because of.

39.levy (noun)

English Meaning - imposition, charging, collection (of a tax, fee, fine).

40.kick in (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - come into operation, come into effect.

41.fall off (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - slip, drop, go down, slump, tumble, plunge, plummet, decrease.

42.crude oil (noun)

English Meaning - the raw natural resource that is extracted from the earth and refined into products such as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other petroleum products.

43.descend (verb)

English Meaning - fall, sink, drop, slip, fall off, go down, decrease.

44.in the face of (phrase)

English Meaning - despite, notwithstanding, regardless of; when confronted with.

45.recession (noun)

English Meaning - economic decline, slowdown, downturn, depression, slump.

46.translate (verb)

English Meaning - change, convert, transform.

47.sustained (adjective)

English Meaning - continuous, constant, relentless, persistent.

48.drop (noun)

English Meaning - decrease, reduction, decline, lowering, lessening, falling off, fall-off, downturn, slump.

49.deteriorate (verb)

English Meaning - worsen, collapse, decline, slump.

50.on account of (phrase)

English Meaning - because of, owing to, as a result of.

51.tepid (adjective)

English Meaning - unconcerned, unenthusiastic, uninterested, lukewarm.

52.merchandise (noun)

English Meaning - goods, commodities, produce, product.

53.trajectory (noun)

English Meaning - track/course, route, path, direction, approach.

54.macro (adjective)

English Meaning - large-scale.

55.inflation (noun)

English Meaning - simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value.

56.current account balance (noun)

English Meaning - the current account balance of payments is a record of a country’s international transactions with the rest of the world. The current account includes all the transactions (other than those in financial items) that involve economic values and occur between resident and non-resident entities.

57.Gross domestic product (GDP)(noun)

English Meaning - a measure of economic activity in a country. It is the total value of a country’s annual output of goods and service.

58.vicious cycle (noun)

English Meaning - also known as a vicious circle; a chain of negative events reinforce themselves. The situation spirals in a downward loop, becoming increasingly worse with time. A situation in which the solution to one problem creates a chain of problems, each making it more difficult to solve the original one.

59.at work (phrase)

English Meaning - in action.

60.break (verb)

English Meaning - stop.

61.price-inelastic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to supply/demand which is unconcerned to changes in price.

62.trigger (verb)

English Meaning - cause, give rise to, lead to, bring about, generate.

63.trade deficit (noun)

English Meaning - a trade deficit (a deficit in the balance of trade) occurs when the value of a country’s imports exceeds that of its exports. It is also called a trade gap.

64.exacerbate (verb)

English Meaning - increase, raise, aggravate.

65.trip (verb)

English Meaning - unsettle, throw off balance; tumble, topple, fall.

66.hit (verb)

English Meaning - reach a particular level/point.

67.quarter (noun)

English Meaning - a three month period on a financial calendar/year.

68.reckon (verb)

English Meaning - forecast, predict, estimate, calculate, expect.

69.slow down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - reduce, lessen growth (in an economy).

70.shale (noun)

English Meaning - shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock in which natural gas is trapped underground.

71.shale producer (noun)

English Meaning - producer of shale oil. Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock in which natural gas is trapped underground. Shale oil is an unconventional (crude) oil produced from this type sedimentary rock.

72.pointed (adjective)

English Meaning - sharp; relevant, relative, germane, applicable.

73.prospect (noun)

English Meaning - chance, possibility.

74.hinder (verb)

English Meaning - obstruct, impede, hamper, block, interrupt, thwart, stop.

75.fiscal deficit (noun)

English Meaning - the difference between total expenditure and total income of the government.

76.overshoot (verb)

English Meaning - go beyond, go a little further than, pass over (a limit); overrun, overreach, overpass.

77.owing to (phrase)

English Meaning - as a result of, due to, because of.

78.fiscal capacity (noun)

English Meaning - fiscal capacity is a measure of the potential ability of a particular government to generate revenue from their own sources (in order to provide public goods and carry out other functions).

79.mitigate (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, diminish, lessen.

80.detrimental (adjective)

English Meaning - harmful, damaging, unfavourable, dangerous, destructive, ruinous.