Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Economic encomium: On the Finance Ministry’s 10-year review of the economy

Economic encomium: On the Finance Ministry’s 10-year review of the economy

A glowing 10-year report card must not stoke complacency on what remains undone

Ahead of the Interim Budget for 2024-25 on Thursday, the Finance Ministry’s 10-year review of the economy with some forward outlook (दृष्टिकोण), serves as a proxy (A written document that officially gives someone the authority to do something for another person, for example by voting at a meeting for them) to the annual Economic Survey. The review signals GDP will grow close to 7% in 2024-25, with scope to go ‘well above’ 7% by 2030. From about $3.7 trillion this year, India’s economy will expand to $5 trillion in three years, making it the world’s third largest, and could hit the $7 trillion dollar mark by 2030, it reckons. Splicing India’s growth story into two phases — 1950-2014, and a ‘decade of transformative (परिवर्तनकारी) growth’ since 2014 — the review stresses that the state of the economy was ‘far from encouraging’ when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘assumed (स्वीकृत, ग्रहण) power’. Growth was hobbled (बंधन) by structural constraints (प्रतिबंध) such as tardy decision-making, ill-targeted subsidies and a large informal sector, while inflation was unpalatably high. Post-2014 reforms have restored the economy’s ability to grow healthily with “longer and stronger” economic and financial cycles, and made India the fastest growing G-20 nation, it argues. The review asserts that India’s 7% growth when the world is growing 2%, is ‘qualitatively (गुणात्मक) superior’ to 8%-9% achieved when the global economy grows 4%, perhaps, hinting at a few years of the UPA era. This is debatable (विवादास्पद) as India’s economy is generally delinked (अलग कर) from the world with domestic activity driving growth more than exports.

Now that the twin-balance sheet problem inherited (वंशागत) from the UPA days has turned into an ‘advantage’, as the review stresses, it must translate into a wider private investment revival. That would hinge on a broad-based consumption rebound (प्रतिक्षेप) rather than the K-shaped recovery the government vehemently (In a strong and emotional way) dismisses. Four years of 7%-plus growth, post-pandemic, would be commendable (सराहनीय, प्रशंसनीय) indeed. However, India needs to grow faster to create jobs at the scale its youth need and ensure that a rising growth tide lifts most boats, if not all. The review expects an ‘all-inclusive welfare approach’ to help enlarge the consumption base by expanding the middle class. But those dependent on handouts, such as the 800 million that need free food by the Centre’s reckoning, must progressively (उत्तरोत्तर) shrink for growth to be meaningful and equitable. The report rightly mentions reforms in learning outcomes, health, easier compliances (अनुपालन) for smaller firms, as priorities, with some critical changes at the ‘sub-national government’ level to accelerate growth. It is also essential that flaws in reforms such as GST are fixed and some of the blunt policy tools deployed, for instance, import licences and price controls on deregulated (नियंत्रण-मुक्त करना) products, that send convoluted (जटिल, पेचीदा) signals about India’s ‘open market with predictable policies’ pitch, are reconsidered.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Outlook (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दृष्टिकोण
English Meaning - The likely future situation.

2.Transformative (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिवर्तनकारी
English Meaning - Causing a major change to something or someone, especially in a way that makes it or them better.

3.Assumed (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्वीकृत, ग्रहण
English Meaning - To accept something to be true without question or proof.

4.Hobbled (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बंधन
English Meaning - To limit something or control the freedom of someone.

5.Constraints (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिबंध
English Meaning - Something that controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits.

6.Qualitatively (abverb)

Hindi Meaning - गुणात्मक
English Meaning - In a way that relates to how good or bad something is.

7.Debatable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विवादास्पद
English Meaning - Not clear or certain because different people may have different opinions.

8.Delinked (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अलग कर
English Meaning - Break the connection between (something) and something else.

9.Inherited (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - वंशागत
English Meaning - To begin to have responsibility for a problem or situation that previously existed or belonged to another person.

10.Rebound (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिक्षेप
English Meaning - To bounce back after hitting a hard surface.

11.Commendable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सराहनीय, प्रशंसनीय
English Meaning - Deserving praise.

12.Progressively (abverb)

Hindi Meaning - उत्तरोत्तर
English Meaning - Slowly over a period of time or a distance.

13.Compliances (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुपालन
English Meaning - Slowly over a period of time or a distance.

14.Deregulated (verb)

Hindi Meaning - नियंत्रण-मुक्त करना
English Meaning - To remove government controls or rules from a business or other activity.

15.Convoluted (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जटिल, पेचीदा
English Meaning - Very twisted.

16.Proxy (noun)

English Meaning - A written document that officially gives someone the authority to do something for another person, for example by voting at a meeting for them.

17.Vehemently (abverb)

English Meaning - In a strong and emotional way.