THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 14, 2016- Topic 2
The Centre’s decision to waive import
duty on wheat has predictably attracted flak. Opposition parties have
questioned the move, which comes days after the government’s assertion that
demonetisation of high-value currency notes did not impact the sowing of the
rabi crop, with a greater area being cultivated compared to the same time a
year ago. Assembly polls are due soon in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, both large
wheat-producing States, making this a plausible rallying point for the
Opposition. Farmer unions have warned of dumping of wheat stock in India at a
time when the minimum support price (Rs.1,625 a quintal) is higher than
international prices. This, they argue, could lead to distress sales when the
current crop is harvested over March-April. The government, on its part, has
noted concerns about the warmer winter forecast, which could affect wheat
output and trigger inflation. This February, when prices of food articles that
make up 46 per cent of the consumer price index were cooling off, the government
expected the trend to continue if the monsoon was normal after two years of
drought. Now at year-end, following a normal monsoon, inflation remains under
control but wheat prices have been moving up swiftly.
There is no doubt that fiddling too
often with wheat import duties — from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, then back to
10 per cent and finally to zero, all within 500 days — sends mixed signals to
farmers and traders, though the latter group will be pleased with the duty-free
regime. But equally, it is necessary to change one’s mind when the situation so
demands, which it currently does. A record global harvest has lowered wheat
prices internationally. With a higher MSP, and speculation about a
less-than-adequate harvest domestically, the government is obviously keen on
avoiding a surge in inflation following the demonetisation process. With
imports remaining duty-free, it is now clear to traders that hoarding reserves
and profiteering from the systemic stress won’t pay for long, even though it
will take a couple of months or so for the first such shipments to arrive from
overseas. Farmers busy with the rabi sowing season may not rally to political
provocations immediately. But by the time they harvest the crop four months
from now, the Centre would be well-advised to spruce up its procurement act,
and raise awareness about the MSP mechanism. A longer-term action plan is
needed to increase India’s wheat yields, which in most States are lower than in
China and Bangladesh.
Vocabulary
Waive: refrain from insisting on or using (a right or claim).
Example: He will waive all rights to the money
Synonyms: relinquish, renounce, give up, abandon, surrender, cede
Assertion: a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.
Example: His assertion that his father had deserted the family
Synonyms: declaration, contention, statement, claim, opinion, proclamation
Plausible: seeming reasonable or probable.
Example: A plausible explanation
Synonyms: credible, reasonable, believable, likely, feasible, tenable, possible
Distress: extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
Example: To his distress he saw that she was trembling
Synonyms: anguish, suffering, pain, agony, torment, heartache, heartbreak
Harvested: gather a crop as a harvest.
Example: After harvesting, most of the crop is stored in large buildings
Synonyms: gather (in), bring in, reap, pick, collect
Fiddling: touch or fidget with something in a restless or nervous
way.
Example: Laura fiddled with her cup
Synonyms: fidget, play, toy, twiddle, fuss, finger, thumb, handle
Adequate: satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity.
Example: This office is perfectly adequate for my needs
Synonyms: sufficient, enough, requisite; acceptable, passable, reasonable
Provocation: action or speech that makes
someone annoyed or angry, especially deliberately.
Example: You should remain calm and not respond to provocation
Synonyms: goading, prodding, egging on, incitement, pressure, annoyance
Procurement: the action of obtaining or
procuring something.
Example:
Financial assistance for
the procurement of legal advice