Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A raft of concessions amid consolidation: On Budget 2023-24

A raft of concessions amid consolidation: On Budget 2023-24

While promoting (बढ़ाव देना, प्रोत्साहित करना) inclusive development, and focusing on fiscal consolidation (सुदृढ़ीकरण, एकीकरण), the Budget gives more to the affluent than to the poor

If budget making is a complex task, interpreting the Union Budget can be hazardous (खतरनाक, असुरक्षित) given (दिया गया, विचार करना) the amount of fine print (small print; it refers to some important details or conditions of an agreement/contract, but written/printed in small letters (e.g. mutual funds’ terms & conditions)) that one has to pore over (study, read, examine, scrutinize). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fifth Budget, and the current Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s final full-fledged (संपूर्ण, पूरी तरह से स्थापित) one before next year’s general election, ticks all the right boxes on the face of it. Inclusive development that ensures prosperity for all, especially the youth, women, farmers, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, a focus on infrastructure and investment that serves as a multiplier for growth and employment, policies to enable green (environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, energy-saving) or environmentally sustainable (defensible, justifiable, defendable, supportable, acceptable) growth, the rationalisation (systematisation, formalisation, rationale, justification) of direct taxes, including a raft of concessions (छूट, कमी, कटौती) to the middle and salaried classes, and pensioners, and, most importantly, doing all this while staying the course on fiscal consolidation. Terming it the “first Budget in Amrit Kaal”, Ms. Sitharaman sounded the poll bugle by emphasising the ruling dispensation’s (व्यवस्था, शासन, प्रणाली) achievements since 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first assumed office. Per capita (प्रति व्यक्ति, प्रत्येक के लिए) income, she said, had more than doubled to ₹1.97 lakh as a result of the economy’s growth to being the world’s fifth-largest and the government’s efforts to ensure a better quality of living for all. She also cited (refer to, make reference to, mention, point to) an increase in formalisation (औपचारिककरण) of the economy and the widespread adoption (स्वीकृति, समर्थन) of digital technologies, especially in the payments sphere (field of activity, area of activity, domain, territory), as other significant achievements.

With an eye on ‘India at 100’, the Budget proposals, Ms. Sitharaman said, were aimed at actualising a “technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances, and a robust financial sector”. Emphasising that the economic agenda for achieving this vision would, among other things, require a focus on giving a strong impetus to growth and job creation, the Minister laid out her Budget proposals that were heavy on this government’s trademark (a distinctive characteristic, trait, quality, attribute) acronyms (परिवर्णी शब्द, आदिवर्णिक शब्द) describing the various schemes, but relatively (अपेक्षाकृत, तुलनात्मक रूप से) light (relatively low in intensity) on details. PM VIKAS or Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (The Scheme that will offer traditional artisans and craftspeople, or Vishwakarmas, a package of assistance aimed at helping them improve the quality, scale and reach of their products), for instance (उदाहरणार्थ, उदाहरण के तौर पे), would for the first time offer traditional artisans and craftspeople, or Vishwakarmas, a package of assistance aimed at helping them improve the quality, scale and reach of their products, she said. Specifics ((precise) details, niceties, subtleties, (finer) points, particulars), including a financial outlay (व्यय, खर्च) and the likely mechanics (the way or method of doing/implementing something) of implementation, were, however, not spelt out. Similarly, a ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes’ or ‘MISHTI’, aimed at undertaking mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands leaves the funding to a “convergence between MGNREGS and a compensatory afforestation (the effort to plant trees in barren (unproductive) lands so as to create a forest) fund”. With the rural sector’s mainstay (cornerstone, foundation, chief support, buttress, pillar) employment guarantee scheme, one that was introduced during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government’s term, itself increasingly being starved (deprive, lack, deny, die from) of budgetary support, it is hard to fathom (understand, comprehend, discern, assimilate, absorb) how the new initiative to protect and regenerate the ecologically (environmentally) sensitive mangroves will be funded. The decrease in outlay comes at a time when the rural economy is still to regain vigour from the ravages of the pandemic, the fallout on incomes from the uneven distribution of last year’s monsoon rainfall, and the relatively greater impact of high food inflation (simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value) on hinterland (remote areas of a country away from the coastal areas/the banks of major rivers) households (family, house).

At a broader level, the Budget estimate for expenditure on rural development in 2023-24 is pegged at ₹2.38 lakh crore, a marginal 0.1 percentage point (the difference between two percentages is termed as percentage point. (for example: “Interest Rates Jump From 10% to 12%”. In this case, the interest rate increased by “2 percentage points” or you can say that the interest rate is increased by 20%)) increase when measured as a proportion of overall expenditure at 5.3%, compared with the 5.2% in the previous Budget Estimate. When viewed against the revised estimate, the outlay is a good 0.6 percentage point lower. Food subsidy (also called subvention; a financial contribution granted to help an industry or business, mostly given by a government, in order to keep the price of service/goods at a low level) too has been sharply pared (reduce, decrease, cut, lessen): at ₹1.97 lakh crore, it is almost 5% lower than the 2022-23 Budget estimate and a steep (sudden, sharp, rapid) 31% down from the revised estimate. To be sure (certainly), the government’s resolve (determination, willpower, firmness, resolution, courage) to stay the course (accomplish the work completely) on fiscal consolidation, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic had led it to spend more even as revenue receipts dipped amid (के बीच) the unprecedented economic contraction, left Ms. Sitharaman with little leeway on the expenditure front (a particular situation or a particular sphere of operation) once she had decided that the government would concentrate its resources on increased public outlays on infrastructure and investment. Capital expenditure has been allocated ₹10 lakh crore, a 33% jump from this fiscal’s (financial) Budget estimate. If one adds the almost ₹3.7 lakh crore set aside (keep, reserve, earmark, withhold, save, reserve, put aside) for grants-in-aid to States for the creation of capital assets, the Minister’s laudable intent to apply the force multiplier of government capital spending (the money spent on the acquisition of assets like land, buildings, machinery, equipment, as well as investment in shares) as the primary lever to spur economic activity becomes clearly evident. With global demand uncertain this year on account of (because of) the slowdown (economic decline, recession, slump/depression) in the developed economies, as the Economic Survey (Economic Survey, presented in the Parliament ahead of the Union Budget, is the Ministry of Finance’s flagship document. The Economic Survey detailed information about the Indian economy over the past year. The Economic Survey also offers glimpses into the current state of the economy, and occasional insights into the economic outlook. Although the Constitution does not bind (impose a legal obligation on) the government to present the Economic Survey, over the years, it has become common practice for every government to present the Economic Survey before the Union Budget) pertinently (relevantly, suitably, appropriately, germanely) pointed out (identify, mention, indicate, draw attention to), India’s domestic market will necessarily have to serve as the economy’s bulwark. Ms. Sitharaman has also attempted to woo the middle class with a raft of changes in personal income tax that would, in combination with tweaks to customs duties, in total cost the government ₹ 37,000 crore in foregone direct tax revenue. Some of these changes are aimed at leaving more money in the hands of the salaried and pensioners, cash that the Budget planners hope would find its way back either as savings or increased spending on vital (key, crucial, essential) consumption (the use of goods and services by households). The biggest beneficiaries (recipient, receiver) of the income-tax changes though are likely to be those in the highest income bracket, where the effective rate has been cut by 3.74 percentage points reinforcing (strengthen, fortify, support, buttress) a perception (understanding, thought, belief, or opinion) that this government bats for (take the side of, support, defend) the affluent.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.concession (noun)

Hindi Meaning - छूट, कमी, कटौती
English Meaning - allowance, rebate, reduction, cut.

2.amid (preposition)

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

3.consolidation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सुदृढ़ीकरण, एकीकरण
English Meaning - strengthening, reinforcement, fortification.

4.promote (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बढ़ाव देना, प्रोत्साहित करना
English Meaning - further, advance, facilitate, encourage, foster.

5.hazardous (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - खतरनाक, असुरक्षित
English Meaning - dangerous, risky, unsafe, perilous.

6.given (preposition)

Hindi Meaning - दिया गया, विचार करना
English Meaning - considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.

7.full-fledged (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - संपूर्ण, पूरी तरह से स्थापित
English Meaning - fully established/developed.

8.dispensation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यवस्था, शासन, प्रणाली
English Meaning - government, regime, system, establishment.

9.per capita (adverb & adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रति व्यक्ति, प्रत्येक के लिए
English Meaning - per person, for each; relating to each person.

10.formalisation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - औपचारिककरण
English Meaning - the extent/degree/level to which rules and procedures are followed in an organization.

11.adoption (noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्वीकृति, समर्थन
English Meaning - acceptance, endorsement.

12.acronym (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिवर्णी शब्द, आदिवर्णिक शब्द
English Meaning - an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word.

13.relatively (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - अपेक्षाकृत, तुलनात्मक रूप से
English Meaning - comparatively, to a certain extent, somewhat.

14.for instance (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - उदाहरणार्थ, उदाहरण के तौर पे
English Meaning - as an example.

15.outlay (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यय, खर्च
English Meaning - expenditure, expenses, spending, outgoings, money spent.

16.raft (noun)

English Meaning - a large quantity of something.

17.fine print (noun)

English Meaning - small print; it refers to some important details or conditions of an agreement/contract, but written/printed in small letters (e.g. mutual funds’ terms & conditions).

18.pore over (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - study, read, examine, scrutinize.

19.green (adjective)

English Meaning - environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, energy-saving.

20.sustainable (adjective)

English Meaning - defensible, justifiable, defendable, supportable, acceptable.

21.rationalisation (noun)

English Meaning - systematisation, formalisation, rationale, justification.

22.stay the course (phrase)

English Meaning - accomplish the work completely.

23.Amrit Kaal (phrase)

English Meaning - It indicates a sort of golden era (available to all for achieving highest human potential). A Vedic astrology term which signifies the perfect time to start a new venture.

24.cite (verb)

English Meaning - refer to, make reference to, mention, point to.

25.sphere (noun)

English Meaning - field of activity, area of activity, domain, territory.

26.trademark (noun as modifier)

English Meaning - a distinctive characteristic, trait, quality, attribute.

27.light (adjective)

English Meaning - relatively low in intensity.

28.Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS) (noun)

English Meaning - The Scheme that will offer traditional artisans and craftspeople, or Vishwakarmas, a package of assistance aimed at helping them improve the quality, scale and reach of their products.

29.specifics (noun)

English Meaning - (precise) details, niceties, subtleties, (finer) points, particulars.

30.mechanics (noun)

English Meaning - the way or method of doing/implementing something.

31.spell out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - explain, make clear, elucidate/clarify.

32.afforestation (noun)

English Meaning - the effort to plant trees in barren (unproductive) lands so as to create a forest.

33.mainstay (noun)

English Meaning - cornerstone, foundation, chief support, buttress, pillar.

34.starve (verb)

English Meaning - deprive, lack, deny, die from.

35.fathom (verb)

English Meaning - understand, comprehend, discern, assimilate, absorb.

36.ecologically (adverb)

English Meaning - environmentally.

37.inflation (noun)

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

38.hinterland (noun)

English Meaning - remote areas of a country away from the coastal areas/the banks of major rivers.

39.household (noun)

English Meaning - family, house.

40.peg at (verb)

English Meaning - fix, set, hold, limit (a price, rate, or amount) at a particular level.

41.percentage point (noun)

English Meaning - the difference between two percentages is termed as percentage point. (for example: “Interest Rates Jump From 10% to 12%”. In this case, the interest rate increased by “2 percentage points” or you can say that the interest rate is increased by 20%).

42.subsidy (noun)

English Meaning - also called subvention; a financial contribution granted to help an industry or business, mostly given by a government, in order to keep the price of service/goods at a low level.

43.pare (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, decrease, cut, lessen.

44.steep (adjective)

English Meaning - sudden, sharp, rapid.

45.to be sure (phrase)

English Meaning - certainly.

46.resolve (noun)

English Meaning - determination, willpower, firmness, resolution, courage.

47.front (noun)

English Meaning - a particular situation or a particular sphere of operation.

48.capital spending/capital expenditure (CAPEX) (noun)

English Meaning - the money spent on the acquisition of assets like land, buildings, machinery, equipment, as well as investment in shares.

49.fiscal (adjective)

English Meaning - financial.

50.set aside (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - keep, reserve, earmark, withhold, save, reserve, put aside.

51.grant-in-aid (noun)

English Meaning - a sum of money coming from a central government to a state government for a specific project.

52.on account of (phrase)

English Meaning - because of.

53.slowdown (noun)

English Meaning - economic decline, recession, slump/depression.

54.Economic Survey (noun)

English Meaning - Economic Survey, presented in the Parliament ahead of the Union Budget, is the Ministry of Finance’s flagship document. The Economic Survey detailed information about the Indian economy over the past year. The Economic Survey also offers glimpses into the current state of the economy, and occasional insights into the economic outlook. Although the Constitution does not bind (impose a legal obligation on) the government to present the Economic Survey, over the years, it has become common practice for every government to present the Economic Survey before the Union Budget.

55.pertinently (adverb)

English Meaning - relevantly, suitably, appropriately, germanely.

56.point out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - identify, mention, indicate, draw attention to.

57.vital (adjective)

English Meaning - key, crucial, essential.

58.consumption (noun)

English Meaning - the use of goods and services by households.

59.beneficiary (noun)

English Meaning - recipient, receiver.

60.reinforce (verb)

English Meaning - strengthen, fortify, support, buttress.