Topic Of The Day:-“Getting the record straight”
Analysts also fret over repeated bailouts of PSBs and the costs to the exchequer. They seem to think that bank bailouts have to do with government ownership and inefficiency and the answer is to privatise some of our PSBs. They couldn’t be more wrong. The overwhelming majority of bank systems worldwide are privately owned. And yet these systems are prone to periodic bouts of bank failures. The International Monetary Fund has documented 140 episodes of banking crises in 115 economies in the world in the period 1970-2011. The median cost of bank recapitalisation in these crises was 6.8% of GDP. India’s cost of recapitalisation over a 20-year period is less than 1% of the average GDP during this period. The Modi government has shown courage in opting for substantial recapitalisation of banks. This is not something that fits into the ‘reform’ mantra whereby private is good and public is bad. Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has welcomed the move in effusive terms: “The Government of India’s decisive package to restore the health of the Indian banking system is in the view of the [RBI] a monumental step forward in safeguarding the country’s economic future.” Indeed. The government’s recapitalisation move promises to do more to quickly usher in ‘acche din’ than any other single measure it has initiated during its tenure.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Faltering
Meaning: Lose strength or momentum.
Example: The music faltered, stopped, and started up again.
Synonyms: Hesitate, Delay
Antonyms: Oscillate, Stall
2) Seems
Meaning: Used to suggest in a cautious or polite way that something is the case.
Example: It would seem that he has been fooling us all.
3) Reckoning
Meaning: The action or process of calculating or estimating something.
Example: The sixth, or by another reckoning eleventh, Earl of Mar.
Synonyms: Calculation, Estimation
4) Perhaps
Meaning: Used to express uncertainty or possibility.
Example: Perhaps I should have been frank with him.
Synonyms: Maybe, Possibly
5) Fiscal
Meaning: Relating to government revenue, especially taxes.
Example: Monetary and fiscal policy.
Synonyms: Tax, Revenue
6) Revive
Meaning: Restore interest in or the popularity of.
Example: Many pagan traditions are being revived.
Synonyms: Reintroduce, Re-establish
Antonyms: Abolish
7) Rapturous
Meaning: Characterized by, feeling, or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm.
Example: He was greeted with rapturous applause.
Synonyms: Ecstatic, Joyful
Antonyms: Bored, Indifferent
8) Primer
Meaning: An elementary textbook that serves as an introduction to a subject of study or is used for teaching children to read.
Example: A first-year philosophy primer.
9) Equity
Meaning: The quality of being fair and impartial.
Example: Equity of treatment.
Synonyms: Fairness, Justice
Antonyms: Inequality, Imbalance
10) Ascribe
Meaning: Regard something as being due to (a cause).
Example: He ascribed Jane’s short temper to her upset stomach.
Synonyms: Attribute, Assign
11) Recognised
Meaning: Acknowledge the existence, validity, or legality of.
Example: The defence is recognized in British law.
Synonyms: Acknowledge, Accept
Antonyms: Overlook
12) Swiftly
Meaning: At high speed; quickly.
Example: She got up and walked swiftly to the door.
Synonyms: Rapidly, Quickly
Antonyms: Slowly
13) Messed up
Meaning: Unhappy and emotionally confused.
Example: She was really messed up as a teenager.
14) Consolidation
Meaning: The action or process of making something stronger or more solid.
Example: The permanent consolidation of peace.
15) Malfeasance
Meaning: An example of dishonest and illegal behaviour, especially by a person in authority.
Example: Several cases of malpractice and malfeasance in the financial world are currently being investigated.