Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Base boost: On inflation and the consumer

Base boost: On inflation and the consumer

Inflation (मुद्रा स्फ़ीति) should not be allowed to erode the purchasing power (क्रय-शक्ति) of the poor

The pace (गति, दर) of retail inflation slowed to a 25-month low of 4.25% in May, propelled largely (काफी हद तक, मुख्य रूप से) by the elevated (increased, raised) level of year-on-year (साल-दर-साल) price gains (a general increase in the price of something) in May 2022, when the month’s print (mark) had exceeded 7%. Headline inflation (it is a measure of the total inflation within an economy, including commodities such as food and energy prices) extended its decelerating (धीमा करना, कम करना) trend for a fourth month, in some measure validating (मान्यता देना, बनाए रखना) the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s decision to pause (stop temporarily/briefly) monetary tightening (an act of making something stricter/rigorous) till it could assess the impact of past interest rate increases. Still, month-on-month (महीने-दर-महीने), the provisional (अस्थायी, अल्पकालिक) Consumer Price Index (CPI) (उपभोक्ता मूल्य सूचकांक) showed price gains at 0.51% in May, unchanged in pace from April’s six-month high sequential (आनुक्रमिक) inflation reading (पढ़ना, अध्ययन). A key contributor to the deceleration (slowing down, easing off, reduction, diminishing, lessening) in year-on-year price gains in May was the inflation in food items, which slowed by 93 basis points (बुनियादी निर्देश) to 2.91%. Oils and fats contributed to the easing (reduction, lessening, decrease, moderation) in food item prices, posting a 16% deflation (अपस्फीति). A continuing deflation in the cereals (a grain or plants that produce it (for example-wheat, maize, rice & etc.)) and products category, which has an almost 10% weight (larger number, bulk, lion’s share) in the CPI, also helped. Cereals inflation eased (lessen, reduce, decrease, moderate) by more than 100 basis points from April’s print to 12.7%. The risk of reading too much into the year-on-year moderation (reduction, lessening, decrease, easing) in inflation was, however, most evident in the food and beverages (a drink, such as tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice, or soft drinks, usually excluding water) group that accounts for 46% of the CPI, with nine of its 12 sub-groups witnessing (indicate, show, reveal, confirm, be evidence/proof of) sequential increases in price levels.

Crucial food items including vegetables and the key protein sources of milk, meat and pulses (edible seeds (chickpeas, lentils, beans). (dals)) all posted appreciable (considerable, substantial, significant, sizeable) quickening in prices from a month earlier. Vegetable prices, which deflated (reduce, slow down, lessen price levels in (an economy)) 8.2% from the year-earlier levels, logged 3.35% sequential inflation, a pace that was almost twice April’s 1.7% month-on-month gains. Milk and dairy (relating to the products made from milk), and pulses are the other food categories of concern (चिंता का विषय). While year-on-year inflation in milk hovered (remain at a level) close to the 9% level in May, sequentially (in succession, successively, continuously) too the reading was at a three-month high at 0.67%. Prices of pulses, the primary protein source in vegetarian consumers’ diets, have also been rising at a disconcerting (discomfiting, unsettling, disturbing, troubling) clip (rate, speed, pace), with the year-on-year rate quickening by 128 basis points to a 31-month high of 6.56%. Sequentially, the category that includes lentils such as tur and urad dal, posted 1.21% inflation. Acknowledging (accept, recognize, realize) the sensitivity (responsiveness, vulnerability, reactivity, susceptibility) of dal prices, especially when key State elections are due (expected, anticipated, scheduled for), the Centre, on June 2, imposed limits on the holding of stocks of urad and tur till October 31. With households (family, house)’ perception (understanding, discernment, recognition/realization; interpretation) of current inflation found to be running (range, continue, maintain) at 8.8%, and three-month and year-ahead forecasts (prediction, indication, projection, calculation, speculation, prognosis (of future events or trends)) pegging price gains at more than 10% in the May round of the RBI’s inflation expectations survey, policymakers have their task cut out to convince consumers that inflation will be tamed (control, curb, mitigate, moderate) so as to (in order to) not erode their purchasing power and savings.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.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.

2.purchasing power (noun)

Hindi Meaning - क्रय-शक्ति
English Meaning - the ability to buy something (goods/services).

3.pace (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गति, दर
English Meaning - rate, speed.

4.largely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - काफी हद तक, मुख्य रूप से
English Meaning - mostly, mainly, generally.

5.year-on-year (adjective)

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

6.decelerating (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - धीमा करना, कम करना
English Meaning - slowing, reducing, diminishing, lessening.

7.validate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - मान्यता देना, बनाए रखना
English Meaning - uphold, support, justify, endorse, confirm.

8.month-on-month (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - महीने-दर-महीने
English Meaning - used to compare data for one month with that in previous months.

9.provisional (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अस्थायी, अल्पकालिक
English Meaning - temporary, short-term, interim, transitional.

10.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.

11.sequential (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आनुक्रमिक
English Meaning - happened in sequence/order/succession.

12.reading (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पढ़ना, अध्ययन
English Meaning - figure, indication, record, measurement.

13.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.

14.deflation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अपस्फीति
English Meaning - a decrease in the general price level of goods and services.

15.of concern (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - चिंता का विषय
English Meaning - If something is of concern, then it is worrying & unsatisfactory.

16.erode (verb)

English Meaning - (gradually) undermine, weaken, spoil, deteriorate, destroy.

17.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.

18.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.

19.propel (verb)

English Meaning - prompt, drive, spur, impel, force.

20.elevated (adjective)

English Meaning - increased, raised.

21.price gain (noun)

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

22.print (noun)

English Meaning - mark.

23.headline inflation (noun)

English Meaning - it is a measure of the total inflation within an economy, including commodities such as food and energy prices.

24.core inflation (noun)

English Meaning - it is a measure of the total inflation within an economy, excluding commodities such as food and energy prices (which change frequently).

25.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, act, move, step, procedure.

26.pause (verb)

English Meaning - stop temporarily/briefly.

27.tightening (noun)

English Meaning - an act of making something stricter/rigorous.

28.deceleration (noun)

English Meaning - slowing down, easing off, reduction, diminishing, lessening.

29.easing (noun)

English Meaning - reduction, lessening, decrease, moderation.

30.cereal (noun)

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

31.weight (noun)

English Meaning - larger number, bulk, lion’s share.

32.ease (verb)

English Meaning - lessen, reduce, decrease, moderate.

33.moderation (noun)

English Meaning - reduction, lessening, decrease, easing.

33.beverage (noun)

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

34.account for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - constitute, make up, comprise, form, compose, represent.

35.witness (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, show, reveal, confirm, be evidence/proof of.

36.pulses (noun)

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

37.appreciable (adjective)

English Meaning - considerable, substantial, significant, sizeable.

38.acceleration (noun)

English Meaning - increase, quickening, stepping up.

39.deflate (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, slow down, lessen price levels in (an economy).

40.log (verb)

English Meaning - achieve, attain; register, record.

41.dairy (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the products made from milk.

42.hover (verb)

English Meaning - remain at a level.

43.sequentially (adverb)

English Meaning - in succession, successively, continuously.

44.disconcerting (adjective)

English Meaning - discomfiting, unsettling, disturbing, troubling.

45.clip (noun)

English Meaning - rate, speed, pace.

46.acknowledge (verb)

English Meaning - accept, recognize, realize.

47.sensitivity (noun)

English Meaning - responsiveness, vulnerability, reactivity, susceptibility.

48.due (adjective)

English Meaning - expected, anticipated, scheduled for.

49.household (noun)

English Meaning - family, house.

50.perception (noun)

English Meaning - understanding, discernment, recognition/realization; interpretation.

51.run (verb)

English Meaning - range, continue, maintain.

52.forecast (noun)

English Meaning - prediction, indication, projection, calculation, speculation, prognosis (of future events or trends).

53.peg (at) (verb)

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

54.have one’s task cut out (phrase)

English Meaning - be faced with a tough task/work to do; faced with a lot of hard work to accomplish something.

55.tame (verb)

English Meaning - control, curb, mitigate, moderate.

56.so as to (phrase)

English Meaning - in order to.