THE HINDU EDITORIAL : JUNE 29, 2018

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – June 29, 2018 is one of the must read for the competitive exams like SBI PO Prelims , SBI CLERK Prelims Exam, BOB PO Manipal Online Exam and South Indian Bank PO Manipal Exam. These topics are widely expected to be asked in the reading comprehension , Cloze Test or in Error Detection topics in the forthcoming exams. So gear up for your Exam preparation and learn new words daily.

a) Sinking rupee

The rupee’s troubles just do not seem to end. On Thursday, the currency weakened past 69 intraday against the U.S. dollar, an all-time low. The rupee, which has lost almost 8% in value since January 1, is the worst-performing currency in Asia this year. It is, however, not the only currency to be in the doldrums. Emerging market currencies as a group have witnessed a sharp correction in their value against the dollar this year. The MSCI Emerging Markets currency index, for instance, is down about 6% since the beginning of April. The rise in international crude oil prices is one of the reasons behind the rupee’s decline as importers have had to shell out more dollars to fund their purchases. India’s current account deficit, which jumped to 1.9% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 from just 0.6% a year earlier, is now expected to widen to 2.5% in FY 2019. This could spell even more trouble for the rupee as the demand for dollars could turn out to be overwhelming. The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar against a host of major global currencies, is up about 7.5% since February. The rise in global trade tensions amidst the ongoing trade war could be another factor behind the rout in emerging market currencies, but its impact on the rupee remains unclear as of now. But by far the most important reason behind the fall in the rupee and other emerging market currencies is the tightening of U.S. monetary policy. Investors attracted by higher yields in the United States have been pulling their capital out of India at an increasing pace over the last few months. Foreign portfolio investors, in fact, took out ₹29,714 crore in May, almost a doubling of outflow compared to ₹15,561 crore in April. Most of the foreign fund outflow this year has come out of the bond market, which explains the steep fall in Indian bond prices. None of this turbulence in emerging markets, however, is surprising. The tightening of monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve has traditionally caused the turning of the global credit cycle, which eventually leads to various crises around the world. It is hard to determine if the worst is over yet for emerging market currencies. But the fact that the American central bank expects to raise interest rates further this year suggests that more pain could be in store. The government, as well as the Reserve Bank of India, which recently raised domestic interest rates in response to rising external economic risks, may need to think out of the box to avoid a crisis similar to the taper tantrum of 2013.

b) Tectonic shift: On U.S. political funding

A quiet but accelerating movement protesting the savage effects of corporate funding in politics appears to be under way within the broad swathe of the U.S. Democratic Party. This week it claimed its latest victim in the form of Congressman Joe Crowley of the House of Representatives, whose re-election campaign primary in New York bit the dust when 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez swept to victory. It was telling that, in sealing her win she spent a mere $200,000 compared to his $3.4 million war chest and won despite this being the first time in 14 years that Mr. Crowley, who is 56, faced a primary challenger. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s win will likely reverberate through the Democratic Party, and possibly put the Republicans on notice as well, for it was built on an entirely different ethos from the unfettered rein given to corporate America by the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court in 2010. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez rejected corporate donations throughout her campaign for the Democratic nomination to the House seat, arguing, “You can’t really beat big money with more money… You have to beat them with a totally different game.” She made it a different game regarding campaign finance, where she contrasted her strategy of connecting with communities to Mr. Crowley’s considerable donations from corporate Political Action Committees, and also seized the momentum on immigration. President Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” approach towards undocumented migrants on the southern border has resulted in the unconscionable separation of at least 2,300 children from their parents. While the separations are being vigorously challenged in court, energised progressives such as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez have gone on to call for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and to join protests at the child migrant detention facilities. When she emerged as the embodiment of these multiple strands of progressive politics, she gained tremendously from campaign endorsements by Justice Democrats and Brand-New Congress, PACs linked to socialist-Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid. Firm in their rejection of dark pools of corporate money, Justice Democrats has officially endorsed 58 other candidates, some of whom have registered early victories in primaries, for the House and in one case for a gubernatorial race. However, there appear to be more forces at play than simply this eschewing of Wall Street bucks. In constituencies such as Queens and Bronx in New York, and innumerable such neighbourhoods across the U.S., a multi-racial, gender-balanced social fabric has taken hold, replacing an older white-centric, male-dominated space that threw up the political representatives demanded by the system. The Democratic Party would do well to look closely at these insurgencies and shifts occurring beneath its feet and adapt to accommodate sparky leaders such as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Their opponents across the aisle are anyway in a different mood.

WORDS/ VOCABULARY

1) Intraday

Meaning: Occurring within one day.

Example: “The dollar slipped from an intraday high of 104”

2) Doldrums

Meaning: A state or period of stagnation or depression.

Example: “The mortgage market has been in the doldrums for three years”

Synonyms: Depression, Melancholy.

3) Deficit

Meaning: The amount by which something, especially a sum of money, is too small.

Example: “An annual operating deficit”

Synonyms: Shortfall, Deficiency.

4) Gauges

Meaning: Estimate or determine the amount, level, or volume of.

Example: “Astronomers can gauge the star’s intrinsic brightness”

Synonyms: Measure, Calculate.

5) Amidst

Meaning: Surrounded by; in the middle of.

Example: “Our dream home set amid magnificent rolling countryside”

Synonyms: In the middle of, Surrounded by.

6) Tightening

Meaning: Make or become tight or tighter.

Example: “He tightened up the clips”

Synonyms: Secure, Make fast.

7) Pulling

Meaning: Exert force on (someone or something) so as to cause movement towards oneself.

Example: “He pulled her down on to the couch”

Synonyms: Tug, Haul.

8) Pace

Meaning: Move or develop (something) at a particular rate or speed.

Example: “The action is paced to the beat of a perky march”

9) Turbulence

Meaning: A state of conflict or confusion.

Example: “Political turbulence”

Synonyms: Turmoil, Instability.

10) Out of the box

Meaning: Unusually good.

Example: “The novel is nothing out of the box”

11) Taper tantrum

Meaning: Taper tantrum is the term used for the 2013 surge in U.S. Treasury yields, which resulted from the Federal Reserve’s use of tapering to gradually reduce the amount of money it was feeding into the economy.

12) Accelerating

Meaning: Increase in rate, amount, or extent.

Example: “Inflation started to accelerate”

Synonyms: Speed up, Hurry up.

13) Savage

Meaning: (Of something bad or negative) very great; severe.

Example: “The decision was a savage blow for the town”

Synonyms: Severe, Crushing.

14) Swathe

Meaning: A broad strip or area of something.

Example: “Vast swathes of countryside”

15) Swept

Meaning: Move or push (someone or something) with great force.

Example: “I was swept along by the crowd”

Synonyms: Carry, Pull.

16) Reverberate

Meaning: Have continuing and serious effects.

Example: “The statements by the professor reverberated through the Capitol”

17) Ethos

Meaning: The characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its attitudes and aspirations.

Example: “A challenge to the ethos of the 1960s”

Synonyms: Spirit, Character.

18) Unfettered

Meaning: Not confined or restricted.

Example: “His imagination is unfettered by the laws of logic”

Synonyms: Unrestrained, Unrestricted.

19) Rein

Meaning: Power and control of a business or other activity:

Example: “These are the councillors who hold the reins of power”

20) Unconscionable

Meaning: Not right or reasonable.

Example: “The unconscionable conduct of his son”

Synonyms: Unethical, Amoral.

21) Vigorously

Meaning: In a way that involves physical strength, effort, or energy; strenuously.

Example: “She shook her head vigorously”

Synonyms: Strenuously, With great vigour.

22) Energised

Meaning: Give vitality and enthusiasm to.

Example: “People were energized by his ideas”

Synonyms: Enliven, Liven up.

23) Progressions

Meaning: The process of developing or moving gradually towards a more advanced state.

Example: “Good opportunities for career progression”

Synonyms: Development, Progress.

24) Abolition

Meaning: The action of abolishing a system, practice, or institution.

Example: “The abolition of the death penalty”

Synonyms: Scrapping, Ending.

25) Immigration

Meaning: The action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.

Example: “A barrier to control illegal immigration from Mexico”

26) Detention

Meaning: The action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody.

Example: “The fifteen people arrested were still in police detention”

Synonyms: Custody, Imprisonment.

27) Embodiment

Meaning: A tangible or visible form of an idea, quality, or feeling.

Example: “She seemed to be a living embodiment of vitality”

Synonyms: Personification, Incarnation.

28) Strands

Meaning: An element that forms part of a complex whole.

Example: “The journal has carried articles representing many different strands of opinion on the left”

Synonyms: Element, Component.

29) Tremendously

Meaning: To a very great extent.

Example: “Costs vary tremendously from area to area”

30) Endorsement

Meaning: The action of endorsing someone or something.

Example: “The issue of full independence received overwhelming endorsement”

Synonyms: Support, Backing.

31) Bid

Meaning: Offer (a certain price) for something, especially at an auction.

Example: “A consortium of dealers bid a world record price for a snuff box”

Synonyms: Offer, Make an offer of.

32) Gubernatorial

Meaning: Relating to a governor, particularly that of a state in the US.

Example: “A gubernatorial election”

33) Eschewing

Meaning: Deliberately avoid using; abstain from.

Example: “He appealed to the crowd to eschew violence”

Synonyms: Abstain from, Refrain from.

34) Innumerable

Meaning: Too many to be counted (often used hyperbolically).

Example: “Innumerable flags of all colours”

Synonyms: Countless, Numerous.

35) Threw up

Meaning: To produce new problems or ideas.

Example: “The meeting threw up some interesting ideas”

36) Insurgencies

Meaning: An active revolt or uprising.

Example: “Rebels are waging an armed insurgency to topple the monarchy”

37) Beneath

Meaning: Extending or directly underneath something.

Example: “A house built on stilts to allow air to circulate beneath”

Synonyms: Underneath, Below.

38) Accommodate

Meaning: Fit in with the wishes or needs of.

Example: “Any language must accommodate new concepts”

Synonyms: Help, Fit in with.

39) Sparky

Meaning: Lively and high-spirited.

Example: “Her sparky personality”

40) Aisle

Meaning: A passage between rows of seats in a building such as a church or theatre, an aircraft, or train.

Example: “The musical had the audience dancing in the aisles”

Synonyms: Passage, Passageway.

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