Topic of the day:-“Timely recognition: on the Moody’s upgrade”
Moody’s decision to upgrade India’s sovereign credit rating by a notch after a gap of almost 14 years is undoubtedly a welcome recognition of the country’s enormous economic potential. It has been driven by some of the recent structural reforms — including the implementation of a long-delayed nationwide goods and services tax (GST), and moves to address the logjam of mounting bad loans in the banking sector through an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. These are expected to help ensure a healthier enabling environment to realise this potential over the longer term. The ratings agency has said the reforms undertaken until now would “advance the government’s objective of improving the business climate, enhancing productivity, stimulating foreign and domestic investment, and ultimately fostering strong and sustainable growth.” And viewed in conjunction with the sizeable foreign exchange reserves, India’s overall capacity to absorb shocks is now seen as much better. The market reaction — with the stock indices and the rupee posting handsome gains intraday — signals that local businesses and overseas investors see the upgrade as a vote of confidence in the economy and the policy approach to economic management and reforms, especially at a time when momentum has slowed to a 13-quarter low. Still, as Moody’s has flagged in explaining why it has opted to change the ratings outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘positive’, the “high public debt burden remains an important constraint on India’s credit profile relative to peers.” At 68% of its GDP in 2016, general government debt in India is significantly higher than the 44% median for other similarly ranked economies, according to the New York-based agency, which sees the debt-to-GDP ratio widening by about 1 percentage point this fiscal year to 69%. Moody’s cites “the large pool of private savings available to finance government debt”, the steps taken to enlarge the formal economy by mainstreaming more and more businesses from the informal sector, and measures aimed at improving spending efficiency through better targeting of welfare measures, as all broadly supportive of a gradual strengthening of the fiscal metrics over time. But it is this very same ‘time’ element that holds the key to how the macro-economic situation could evolve. With economists and monetary authorities warning of the likelihood of fiscal slippages as a consequence of farm loan waivers by States, the Centre’s implementation of the pay commission’s award and even weaker tax receipts amid teething issues with the GST, there is a danger that the government may end up missing its fiscal deficit targets in the near term. And therein lies the challenge. For the economy to capitalise on this upgrade, the political leadership must stay the reform course, electorally alluring temptations to resort to populism notwithstanding.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Logjam
Meaning: A situation that seems irresolvable.
Example: “the president can use his power to break the logjam over this issue”
Synonyms: A backlog
2) Enhancing
Meaning: Intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of.
Example: “his refusal does nothing to enhance his reputation”
Synonyms: Increase, Intensify
Antonyms: Diminish, Mar
3) Fostering
Meaning: Encourage the development of (something, especially something desirable).
Example: “the teacher’s task is to foster learning”
Synonyms: Encourage, Promote
Antonyms: Neglect, Suppress
4) Conjunction
Meaning: The action or an instance of two or more events or things occurring at the same point in time or space.
Example: “a conjunction of favourable political and economic circumstances”
Synonyms: Concurrence, Coincidence
5) Therein
Meaning: In that place, document, or respect.
Example: “it shall be sufficient evidence of the facts therein contained”
6) Temptations
Meaning: The desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.
Example: “he resisted the temptation to call Celia at the office”
Synonyms: Desire, Impulse
7) Distinctive
Meaning: Characteristic of one person or thing, and so serving to distinguish it from others.
Example: “juniper berries give gin its distinctive flavour”
Synonyms: Typical, Individual
Antonyms: Common
8) Veritable
Meaning: Used for emphasis, often to qualify a metaphor.
Example: “the early 1970s witnessed a veritable price explosion”
9) Messiah
Meaning: A leader regarded as the saviour of a particular country, group, or cause.
Example: “the club’s supporters have been tempted to regard him as a messiah rather than a manager”
10) Disdaining
Meaning: Consider to be unworthy of one’s consideration.
Example: “he disdained his patients as an inferior rabble”
Synonyms: Scorn, Deride
Antonyms: Respect, Value
11) Inchoate
Meaning: Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary; confused or incoherent.
Example: “a still inchoate democracy”
12) Steered
Meaning: Guide or control the movement of (a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft), for example by turning a wheel or operating a rudder.
Example: “he steered the boat slowly towards the busy quay”
Synonyms: Guide, Direct
13) Manoeuvring
Meaning: Move skillfully or carefully.
Example: “the lorry was unable to manoeuvre comfortably in the narrow street”
Synonyms: Guide, Navigate
14) Thickets
Meaning: A dense group of bushes or trees.
Example: “a horned owl perfectly camouflaged in a dense thicket”
Synonyms: Grove, Covert
15) Patronised
Meaning: Give financial or other support to (a person, organization, or cause).
Example: “she patronizes worthy causes”
Synonyms: Sponsor, Support
16) Heckled
Meaning: Interrupt (a public speaker) with derisive or aggressive comments or abuse.
Example: “he was booed and heckled when he tried to address the demonstrators”
Synonyms: Taunt, Disrupt
Antonyms: Cheer
17) Disparagingly
Meaning: Regard or represent as being of little worth.
Example: “he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors”
Synonyms: Belittle, Denigrate
Antonyms: Praise, Overrate
18) Wracked (past tense of rack)
Meaning: Cause extreme pain, anguish, or distress to.
Example: “he was racked with guilt”
Synonyms: Torment, Afflict
19) Belittled
Meaning: Dismiss (someone or something) as unimportant.
Example: “she belittled Amy’s riding skills whenever she could”
Synonyms: Disparage, Denigrate
Antonyms: Praise, Magnify
20) Mists of time
Meaning: Used to show that something happened a very long time ago and is difficult to remember clearly
Example: The precise details of what happened have been lost in the mists of time.
