Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Staying watchful: On inflation risks

Staying watchful: On inflation risks

Inflation (मुद्रा स्फ़ीति) risks undermining (कमजोर करना, तोड़ना) growth and macroeconomic stability (व्यापक आर्थिक स्थिरता).

The concerted (involving a lot of people coming together & doing something with great effort; strenuous, vigorous, energetic, determined, active, intense; coordinated, collaborative, collective, combined, joint) efforts made by the Reserve Bank and the Union government to contain inflation appear to be having some impact, albeit (यद्यपि, हालांकि) marginal (मामूली, न्यूनतम), in slowing the pace of price gains (मूल्य लाभ), the latest retail inflation data show. Price gains as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) (उपभोक्ता मूल्य सूचकांक) eased (कम करना, आसान करना) almost imperceptibly (अदृश्य रूप से, अनजाने में) to 7.01% in June, from May’s 7.04%, with food price inflation slowing by a distinct 22 basis points (बुनियादी निर्देश) to 7.75%. Of the 12 items comprising the food and beverages basket (टोकरी) — almost half the weight of the CPI — the prices of pulses (edible seeds (chickpeas, lentils, beans). (dals)) and edible oils (cooking oil; fat of plant, animal or microbial origin, which is liquid at room temperature and is suitable for food use) both shrank from a month earlier. Prices of the key cooking medium, which had been on a boil amid (के बीच, घिरा हुआ) a supply shock (आपूर्ति झटका) (from Ukraine and Indonesia), have cooled (lessen, moderate, abate, diminish, reduce, dampen), helped by import duty reductions. Year-on-year (साल दर साल) inflation in oils and fats decelerated (slow down, reduce, lessen, slow up) last month by a whopping (huge, massive, very large, substantial) 390 basis points to 9.4%, with the index (an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; pointer, indicator) shrinking 0.7% on a sequential (consecutive, continuous, unbroken, uninterrupted) basis. And prices of pulses contracted (decline, decrease, diminish, reduce) both from a year earlier and the preceding (previous, prior, earlier) month. The other major positive sign of a policy measure (action, step, procedure) translating (change, convert, transform) to softer prices was with transportation fuels. The Centre’s reduction of 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)) on petrol and diesel in May manifested (indicate, show, reflect, prove, establish, substantiate, corroborate, verify, confirm) in a significant easing (reduction, moderation, lessening, decrease) in inflation in the transport and communication index: year-on-year, the rate slowed by 260 basis points to 6.9%, while sequentially (in succession, successively, continuously) it shrank by 120 basis points.

Still, it would be way too premature (untimely, early, too soon, too early, before time; ill-timed, ill-considered) for policymakers to drop their guard. With nine of the 12 items in the food and beverages basket, representing almost 80% of the sub index (sub-indicator) and spanning (extend over, stretch across, spread over, cover, range over, comprise) cereals, milk and meat to vegetables, sugar and spices (aromatic vegetable products (e.g. pepper) used to season/flavor foods), experiencing sequential price gains, the Government would need to maintain vigil (watch, close watch, monitoring, surveillance) to ward off (avert, rebuff, rebut, fend off, stave off, oppose, resist, prevent, hinder, obstruct, thwart, check, stop) any build-up (increase, growth, expansion, spread, enlargement, escalation) of inflationary pressures (the demand and supply-side pressures that can cause a rise in the general price level; cost-push inflation, hot-economy, deficit finance) in consumers’ kitchens. Year-on-year inflation in cereals (a grain or plants that produce it (for example-wheat, maize, rice & etc.)), meat and milk all accelerated (increase, rise, escalate) in June from May’s pace, and price gains in vegetables still remained in double digits at 17.4%. The progress of monsoon rains give hope that the prices of farm produce (all agricultural products) may moderate (lessen, decrease, diminish) in the coming months, provided (if, on condition that, provided that, presuming that, assuming, assuming that, on the assumption that, given that) the extreme rainfall and flooding seen in some States does not adversely (unfavourably, disadvantageously, badly) hit (affect badly, damage) crop growing regions. And while an appreciable (sizeable, considerable, significant) softening (decrease, reduction, lessening, moderation) in global 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 in recent sessions offers some respite (rest, break, interval, intermission, halt), the rupee’s sharp depreciation against the dollar means India will continue to face the spectre (threat, menace, danger/peril) of ‘imported inflation (when the general price level rises in a country because of the rise in prices of imported commodities, inflation is termed as “imported inflation”)’ as the bill for imports, including crude, keeps rising. The decision of the GST Council to raise tariffs on a range of goods including some items of mass consumption is also bound to (sure, likely, guaranteed) add upward pressure (burden, load, weight, strain, stress) on prices. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks on Tuesday reflect authorities (officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the government the bureaucracy)’ recognition ((formal) acknowledgement, acceptance, admission) that any let up (respite, break, interval, stop, pause, breathing space, lull, interlude, intermission) in the fight against inflation risks undermining growth and broader macroeconomic stability.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.watchful (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सतर्क, चौकस
English Meaning - alert, vigilant, hypervigilant, attentive, perceptive, observant.

2.inflation (noun)

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

3.undermine (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कमजोर करना, तोड़ना
English Meaning - weaken, subvert, sabotage, damage.

4.macroeconomic stability (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यापक आर्थिक स्थिरता
English Meaning - it describes a national economy that has minimized vulnerability to external shocks, which in turn increases its prospects for sustained growth. ‘Macroeconomic stability’ means that government budgets need to be broadly in balance so that borrowings to finance the deficit are kept to the minimum.

5.albeit (conjunction)

Hindi Meaning - यद्यपि, हालांकि
English Meaning - though, even though, however.

6.marginal (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मामूली, न्यूनतम
English Meaning - slight, small, minimal, insignificant, negligible.

7.price gain (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मूल्य लाभ
English Meaning - a general increase in the price of something.

8.Consumer Price Index (CPI) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उपभोक्ता मूल्य सूचकांक
English Meaning - The CPI looks at the basket of consumer goods and services and it measures the change in price of this basket over a period of time. To put it simply, the CPI monitors retail prices at a certain level for a particular commodity.

9.ease (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कम करना, आसान करना
English Meaning - decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, lower.

10.imperceptibly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - अदृश्य रूप से, अनजाने में
English Meaning - unnoticeably, invisibly, gradually, slightly, minutely.

11.basis point (BPS) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बुनियादी निर्देश
English Meaning - a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value or rate of a financial instrument. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent). Used for measuring change in interest rate/yield.

12.basket (noun)

Hindi Meaning - टोकरी
English Meaning - a group of something (taxes, investments, commodities, etc.).

13.amid (preposition)

Hindi Meaning - के बीच, घिरा हुआ
English Meaning - in the middle of, surrounded by; during.

14.supply shock (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आपूर्ति झटका
English Meaning - a sudden and unexpected change in a cost variable, such as oil prices, commodity prices or wages (or) an event that suddenly increases or decreases the supply of a commodity or service, or of commodities and services in general.

15.year-on-year (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - साल दर साल
English Meaning - year over year (for comparison).

16.macroeconomic (adjective)

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

17.concerted (adjective)

English Meaning - involving a lot of people coming together & doing something with great effort; strenuous, vigorous, energetic, determined, active, intense; coordinated, collaborative, collective, combined, joint.

18.contain (verb)

English Meaning - limit, restrict, control, restrain, curb.

19.Retail or Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation (noun)

English Meaning - The change in the price index of the basket of consumer goods and services over a period of time is referred to as CPI-based inflation or retail inflation.

20.Wholesale or Wholesale price Index (WPI) inflation (noun)

English Meaning - The change in the price index of the basket of wholesale goods (and no services) over a period of time is referred to as WPI-based inflation or wholesale inflation.

21.Wholesale Price Index (WPI) (noun)

English Meaning - The WPI looks at a basket of wholesale goods (goods purchased in large quantities by businesses directly from manufacturers with the intent of reselling them to retailers). the WPI tracks prices at the factory gate before the retail level.

22.beverage (noun)

English Meaning - a drink, such as tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice, or soft drinks, usually excluding water.

23.pulses (noun)

English Meaning - edible seeds (chickpeas, lentils, beans). (dals).

24.edible oil (noun)

English Meaning - cooking oil; fat of plant, animal or microbial origin, which is liquid at room temperature and is suitable for food use.

25.shrank past of shrink (verb)

English Meaning - lessen, reduce, decrease.

26.on the boil (phrase)

English Meaning - it refers to a situation which is very strong or active or intense.

27.cool (verb)

English Meaning - lessen, moderate, abate, diminish, reduce, dampen.

28.decelerate (verb)

English Meaning - slow down, reduce, lessen, slow up.

29.whopping (adjective)

English Meaning - huge, massive, very large, substantial.

30.index (noun)

English Meaning - an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; pointer, indicator.

31.sequential (adjective)

English Meaning - consecutive, continuous, unbroken, uninterrupted.

32.contract (verb)

English Meaning - decline, decrease, diminish, reduce.

33.preceding (adjective)

English Meaning - previous, prior, earlier.

34.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

35.translate (verb)

English Meaning - change, convert, transform.

36.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).

37.manifest (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, show, reflect, prove, establish, substantiate, corroborate, verify, confirm.

38.easing (noun)

English Meaning - reduction, moderation, lessening, decrease.

39.sequentially (adverb)

English Meaning - in succession, successively, continuously.

40.premature (adjective)

English Meaning - untimely, early, too soon, too early, before time; ill-timed, ill-considered.

41.drop one’s guard (phrase)

English Meaning - to become less careful, to become less vigilant, to become less alert.

42.sub index (noun)

English Meaning - sub-indicator.

43.span (verb)

English Meaning - extend over, stretch across, spread over, cover, range over, comprise.

44.spice (noun)

English Meaning - aromatic vegetable products (e.g. pepper) used to season/flavor foods.

45.vigil (noun)

English Meaning - watch, close watch, monitoring, surveillance.

46.ward off (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - avert, rebuff, rebut, fend off, stave off, oppose, resist, prevent, hinder, obstruct, thwart, check, stop.

47.build-up (noun)

English Meaning - increase, growth, expansion, spread, enlargement, escalation.

48.Inflationary/price pressures (noun)

English Meaning - the demand and supply-side pressures that can cause a rise in the general price level; cost-push inflation, hot-economy, deficit finance.

49.cereal (noun)

English Meaning - a grain or plants that produce it (for example-wheat, maize, rice & etc.).

50.accelerate (verb)

English Meaning - increase, rise, escalate.

51.produce (noun)

English Meaning - all agricultural products.

52.moderate (verb)

English Meaning - lessen, decrease, diminish.

53.provided (conjunction)

English Meaning - if, on condition that, provided that, presuming that, assuming, assuming that, on the assumption that, given that.

54.adversely (adverb)

English Meaning - unfavourably, disadvantageously, badly.

55.hit (verb)

English Meaning - affect badly, damage.

56.appreciable (adjective)

English Meaning - sizeable, considerable, significant,.

57.softening (noun)

English Meaning - decrease, reduction, lessening, moderation.

58.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.

59.respite (noun)

English Meaning - rest, break, interval, intermission, halt.

60.depreciation (noun)

English Meaning - devaluation, decrease in value.

61.spectre (noun)

English Meaning - threat, menace, danger/peril.

62.imported inflation (noun)

English Meaning - when the general price level rises in a country because of the rise in prices of imported commodities, inflation is termed as “imported inflation”.

63.bound to (adjective)

English Meaning - sure, likely, guaranteed.

64.pressure (noun)

English Meaning - burden, load, weight, strain, stress.

65.authorities (noun)

English Meaning - officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the government the bureaucracy.

66.recognition (noun)

English Meaning - (formal) acknowledgement, acceptance, admission.

67.let-up (noun)

English Meaning - respite, break, interval, stop, pause, breathing space, lull, interlude, intermission.