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The Hindu Vocab On Borrowings & Kerala’s Suit

Kerala’s suit raises questions on States’ right to borrow and the Centre’s power to limit it

The Supreme Court of India order referring a suit filed by Kerala, challenging the Centre’s decisions curtailing its borrowings (to get or receive something from someone with the intention of giving it back after a period of time), to a Constitution (the set of political principles by which a state or organization is governed, especially in relation to the rights of the people it governs) Bench is a welcome development. The Court declined to grant an interim (temporary and intended to be used or accepted until something permanent exists) order to restore the position prior to the imposition (a situation in which someone expects another person to do something that they do not want to do or that is not convenient) of borrowing limits by the Centre, but the referral will give a larger Bench an opportunity to examine the extent to which the Union government may regulate a State’s borrowings. The litigation (the process of taking a case to a court of law so that a judgment can be made) is much more than a tussle over the Centre’s charge of fiscal mismanagement (the process of organizing or controlling something badly) against the Left Front regime (a particular government or a system or method of government) in the State. The Court has recognised that it is also a constitutional question on Centre-State relations: an apparent (able to be seen or understood) conflict between efforts to maintain the country’s fiscal health on the one hand and moves that undermine (to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually) the fiscal space of States on the other. At the heart of this dispute is Article 293, which confers executive power on the States to borrow money within limits prescribed by the State legislature. It also allows the Union to extend (to add to something in order to make it bigger or longer) loans and guarantees to the States, and requires the Centre to give its consent and impose conditions for States to raise further loans while earlier ones are outstanding. Kerala contends that the Article does not confer on the Centre any power to regulate all State loans and that it can impose conditions only on borrowings from the Centre.

Kerala also challenges the Union’s decision to include borrowings by State-owned enterprises and the liabilities on its public account under its ‘Net Borrowing Ceiling’ (quantified as 3% of its projected Gross State Domestic Product for 2023-24, or ₹32,442 crore). A 2018 amendment to the Fiscal (connected with (public) money)Responsibility and Budget Management Act capped the ‘general government debt’, or the sum total of the debts (something, especially money, that is owed to someone else, or the state of owing something) of the Central and State governments, at 60% of the GDP. The Union government argues that public finance being a national issue, it wanted to prevent the use of off-budget borrowings to bypass the borrowing ceiling. It also claims that unlimited borrowing by State governments will have the spillover effect of raising the cost of borrowing and crowding out private sector borrowers. The issue comes at a time when the current formula for distribution of revenue is seen as one that penalises States that perform better on social indicators. It is no surprise that Kerala, a topper in social advancement, faces this crisis. In an era in which a major revenue source for the States has been subsumed by a system in which they share the proceeds of a common Goods and Services Tax with the Centre, fiscal space has become precious (of great value because of being rare, expensive, or important). It is now up to the highest court to determine how strict the Centre should be on borrowing limits and giving consent to hold States to their fiscal obligations (the fact that you are obliged to do something) without violating (to break or act against something, especially a law, agreement, principle, or something that should be treated with respect) federal norms.

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary Wordlist 4th April 2024

Do you want to learn new words? Follow The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 4th April 2024 for contextual meanings of difficult words

• Borrowings: To get or receive something from someone with the intention of giving it back after a period of time.
• Constitution: The set of political principles by which a state or organization is governed, especially in relation to the rights of the people it governs.
• Interim: Temporary and intended to be used or accepted until something permanent exists.
• Imposition: A situation in which someone expects another person to do something that they do not want to do or that is not convenient.
• Litigation: The process of taking a case to a court of law so that a judgment can be made.
• Mismanagement: The process of organizing or controlling something badly.
• Regime: A particular government or a system or method of government.
• Apparent: Able to be seen or understood.
• Undermine: To make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually.
• Extend: To add to something in order to make it bigger or longer.
• Fiscal: Connected with (public) money.
• Debts: Something, especially money, that is owed to someone else, or the state of owing something.
• Precious: Of great value because of being rare, expensive, or important.
• Obligations: The fact that you are obliged to do something.
• Violating: To break or act against something, especially a law, agreement, principle, or something that should be treated with respect.

The Hindu Vocabulary 4th April 2024 with Synonyms & Antonyms

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 4th April 2024 with synonyms and antonyms list of difficult words compiled in the table.

Difficult Words	Synonyms & Antonyms
Borrowings	Synonyms: Obtain, Acquire. Antonyms: Lose, Forefeit.
Constitution	Synonyms: Nature, Structure. Antonyms: Disarrangement, Disorganization.
Interim	Synonyms: Provisional, Caretaker. Antonyms: Finished, Permanent.
Imposition	Synonyms: Cheating, Con. Antonyms: Honestly, Reality.
Litigation	Synonyms: Lawsuit, Dispute. Antonyms: Cohesion, Compromise.
Mismanagement	Synonyms: Blunder, Failure. Antonyms: Achievement, Accuracy.
Regime	Synonyms: Administration, Establishment. Antonyms: Disorder, Chaos.
Apparent	Synonyms: Probable, Possible. Antonyms: Doubtful, Unlikely.
Undermine	Synonyms: Erode, Frustate. Antonyms: Assist, Aid.
Extend	Synonyms: Boost, Broaden. Antonyms: Abbreviate, Abridge.
Fiscal	Synonyms: Budgetary, Financial. Antonyms: Nonfinancial.
Precious	Synonyms: Adored, Beloved. Antonyms: Cheap, Common.
Obligations	Synonyms: Agreement, Bond. Antonyms: Disagreement, Disbelief.
Violation	Synonyms: Contravention, Abuse. Antonyms: Obedience, Observance.