Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Fear factor: On the inflation battle

Fear factor: On the inflation battle

Food and fuel prices may yet play spoilsport in the inflation (मुद्रा स्फ़ीति) battle

Inflation faced by consumers eased to 5% in September, bringing some relief after a sharp rally (recovery, upturn, rebound, improvement, resurgence (after decline)) in prices that began with July’s 15-month high inflation rate of 7.44%. This not only marks (represent, signify, indicate) a return to the 2% to 6% tolerance (सहनशीलता, भिन्नता) range of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but also matches the bank’s upgraded estimate (अनुमान लगना, मूल्यांकन करना) of 6.4% average inflation between July and September. Of course (बिल्कुल, निश्चित रूप से), the preferred inflation rate remains 4% and the RBI will remain “resolutely (दृढ़ता से) focused” on durably (long-lastingly, strongly, permanently) attaining (प्राप्त करना) that. By its own reckoning (गणना, अनुमान), that target appears distant (remote, unreachable, out of reach, beyond reach, unapproachable) — this quarter (तिमाही) is expected to average 5.6% inflation, followed by 5.2% between January and June 2024. Even these expectations may need to be tempered (moderate, tone down, mitigate, decrease, lessen). While the RBI has projected (परियोजना) an average inflation of 5.4% in 2023-24, the International Monetary Fund (अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष) and World Bank (विश्व बैंक) raised their estimates this month to 5.5% and 5.9%, respectively. So, September’s 5% inflation, which was partly aided (सहायता) by base effects (आधार प्रभाव) from 2022 when the inflation pace (गति, दर) was 7.4% and partly by a sharp dip (decrease, drop, decline, reduction, lessening) in volatile (turbulent, unstable, unsteady, uncertain) prices of tomatoes and vegetables, with a little help from the Centre’s LPG price cuts, is unlikely (असम्भव, संभावना नहीं) to sustain (support, encourage, give strength to, buoy up; continue, keep up, maintain, bolster up) or cool (reduce, lessen, diminish, decrease) further.

Although food inflation which had spurred (induce, prompt, stimulate, encourage) the spike (a sharp rise/increase of something) in prices through July and August, has eased to 6.6% in September, this was disproportionately (inordinately, excessively, immoderately, unduly, unreasonably, unjustifiably) influenced (impact on, effect, have an affect on; determine) by crashing (reducing, lessening, decreasing, dropping (in value suddenly)) vegetable prices even as the inflation pace accelerated (increase, rise, expedite, step up, speed up) for pulses (edible seeds (chickpeas, lentils, beans). (dals)), fruits, eggs and sugar. Cereals (a grain or plants that produce it (for example-wheat, maize, rice & etc.)) and spices (aromatic vegetable substances, in the whole, broken, or ground form, whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutrition (ginger, pepper, cloves, cumin etc.)) inflation remained sticky (awkward, difficult, tricky, problematic, delicate, embarrassing) at 11% and 23.1%, respectively. Rural inflation remained higher than that faced by urban consumers, and with the erratic (uncertain, varying, unpredictable, irregular, fluctuant, unreliable) monsoon hurting kharif season sowing (an act of seeding a plant or crop) in crops (a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence) like pulses and uncertainties (unpredictability, unreliability, riskiness/precariousness) about the El Niño (an unusual/abnormal warming of the waters across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that lies closer to the Americas). La Niña means abnormal cooling) effects on the rabi crop, weak rural demand as well as food price pressures remain a source of concern (a cause/reason of worry) for the economy. The Wholesale Price Index (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) released on Monday shows pulses prices spiked 17.7% while onions rose 55% in September, compared to 10.4% and 31.4% in August, respectively. At -0.26%, wholesale price rise just about stayed in deflationary (characterized by or tending to cause economic deflation) mode for the sixth month on the back of (because of, as a result of) double-digit upticks (a small increase or upward trend) through the same period last year. But that streak (period, time, spell, session, season, stretch) may be nearing its end. The government has held retail fuel prices since last May and may even be tempted (convince, persuade, entice, have an urge) to cut (reduce, decrease, lessen) them ahead of critical elections. But producers, facing the brunt (burden, impact, pressure, shock, effect) of higher global oil and gas prices, which rose at an eight-month high pace of 15.6% in September, have been raising prices for two months now. Global prices for urea, that India largely imports, are up 20% since March. These will start to feed into (to have an effect/influence on something) retail prices soon so it is not time to celebrate cooling inflation yet.

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.tolerance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सहनशीलता, भिन्नता
English Meaning - deviation, variation.

3.estimate (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुमान लगना, मूल्यांकन करना
English Meaning - rough calculation, estimation, valuation.

4.of course (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - बिल्कुल, निश्चित रूप से
English Meaning - certainly, obviously, definitely.

5.resolutely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - दृढ़ता से
English Meaning - firmly, determinedly, diligently, seriously, intensively,

6.attain (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्राप्त करना
English Meaning - reach, get, obtain, realize, achieve, accomplish.

7.reckoning (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गणना, अनुमान
English Meaning - calculation, estimation, computation.

8.quarter (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तिमाही
English Meaning - a period of three months (considered as one-fourth of a year).

9.project (verb)

Hindi Meaning - परियोजना
English Meaning - predict, indicate, forecast, prognose, speculate, calculate (of future events or trends).

10.International Monetary Fund (IMF) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष
English Meaning - an international organization of 189 countries, headquartered in Washington, D.C., working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

11.World Bank (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विश्व बैंक
English Meaning - The World Bank is an international development organization owned by 187 countries. Its role is to reduce poverty by lending money to the governments of its poorer members to improve their economies and to improve the standard of living of their people. The World Bank was established in 1944 to help rebuild Europe and Japan after World War II. Its official name was the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

12.aid (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सहायता
English Meaning - help, assist, support.

13.pace (noun)

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

14.base effect (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आधार प्रभाव
English Meaning - it relates to inflation in the corresponding period of the previous year, if the inflation rate was too low in the corresponding period of the previous year, even a smaller rise in the Price Index will arithmetically give a high rate of inflation now.

15.unlikely (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - असम्भव, संभावना नहीं
English Meaning - doubtful, implausible, improbable, questionable.

16.spoilsport (noun)

English Meaning - a selfish act which spoils pleasure of others.

17.ease (verb)

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

18.rally (noun)

English Meaning - recovery, upturn, rebound, improvement, resurgence (after decline).

19.mark (verb)

English Meaning - represent, signify, indicate.

20.durably (adverb)

English Meaning - long-lastingly, strongly, permanently.

21.distant (adjective)

English Meaning - remote, unreachable, out of reach, beyond reach, unapproachable.

22.temper (verb)

English Meaning - moderate, tone down, mitigate, decrease, lessen.

23.dip (noun)

English Meaning - decrease, drop, decline, reduction, lessening.

24.volatile (adjective)

English Meaning - turbulent, unstable, unsteady, uncertain.

25.Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (noun)

English Meaning - a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases in liquid form used as fuel in heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles.

26.sustain (verb)

English Meaning - support, encourage, give strength to, buoy up; continue, keep up, maintain, bolster up.

27.cool (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, lessen, diminish, decrease.

28.food price inflation (noun)

English Meaning - the rise in the prices of most goods and services of food & related things.

29.spur (verb)

English Meaning - induce, prompt, stimulate, encourage.

30.spike (noun)

English Meaning - a sharp rise/increase of something.

31.disproportionately (adverb)

English Meaning - inordinately, excessively, immoderately, unduly, unreasonably, unjustifiably.

32.influence (verb)

English Meaning - impact on, effect, have an affect on; determine.

33.crashing (adjective)

English Meaning - reducing, lessening, decreasing, dropping (in value suddenly).

34.accelerate (verb)

English Meaning - increase, rise, expedite, step up, speed up.

35.pulses (noun)

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

36.cereal (noun)

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

37.spices (noun)

English Meaning - aromatic vegetable substances, in the whole, broken, or ground form, whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutrition (ginger, pepper, cloves, cumin etc.).

38.sticky (adjective)

English Meaning - awkward, difficult, tricky, problematic, delicate, embarrassing.

39.erratic (adjective)

English Meaning - uncertain, varying, unpredictable, irregular, fluctuant, unreliable.

40.kharif sowing/crops (noun)

English Meaning - monsoon crops; seeds sowing in the beginning (Jun) of the monsoon and harvesting at the end of the season (Oct) in the South Asia.

41.rabi sowing/crops (noun)

English Meaning - winter crops; seeds sowing in the beginning (Nov) of the winter and harvesting at the end of the season (Apr) in the South Asia.

42.sowing (noun)

English Meaning - an act of seeding a plant or crop.

43.crop (noun)

English Meaning - a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence.

44.uncertainty (noun)

English Meaning - unpredictability, unreliability, riskiness/precariousness.

45.El Nino (noun)

English Meaning - an unusual/abnormal warming of the waters across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that lies closer to the Americas). La Niña means abnormal cooling.

46.Inflationary/price/cost 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.

47.source of concern (phrase)

English Meaning - a cause/reason of worry.

48.Consumer Price Index (CPI) (noun)

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.

49.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.

50.deflationary (adjective)

English Meaning - characterized by or tending to cause economic deflation.

51.on the back of (phrase)

English Meaning - because of, as a result of.

52.uptick (noun)

English Meaning - a small increase or upward trend.

53.streak (noun)

English Meaning - period, time, spell, session, season, stretch.

54.held past tense of hold (verb)

English Meaning - remain unchanged; continue without changing, carry on, keep up.

55.tempt (verb)

English Meaning - convince, persuade, entice, have an urge.