The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– June 14, 2021; Day 82

We hope that these editorial articles are helping you in your exam preparation. This series of Editorials’ Difficult Words will help you to understand the editorials of The Hindu in a better way. Today we have come up with the explanation of difficult words/phrases of the below editorial. Have a look and update your word power & general awareness by going through this editorial.

Difficult Word/ Phrase	Contextual Sense
Bleak	little or no hope for the future
Rocky	difficult and full of obstacles or problems
Index of Industrial Production (IIP)	an index which shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a stipulated period of time
Draw	to make or show a comparison between things
Rut	a fixed or established mode of procedure or course of life, usually dull or unpromising
Testify	give evidence as a witness in a law court
Prognosis	the likely course of a disease or ailment
Constrain	compel or force (someone) to follow a particular course of action
Stagnate	cease to flow or move
Tell-tale	important because of showing information

Renewed uncertainty: On the economy’s bleak (little or no hope for the future) prospects

A near-term revival in consumption-led demand appears bleak now

The latest factory output data released by the National Statistical Office is yet another sign of the rocky (difficult and full of obstacles or problems) start that the economy is having in the new fiscal year. April’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) (an index which shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a stipulated period of time) estimates show all three sectoral constituents of the index — mining, manufacturing and electricity — suffered reverses, as output slid below the preceding month’s levels. With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic increasing in intensity that month and several key industrial hubs coming under renewed local lockdowns, all six end-use categories — primary, capital, intermediate and construction goods and consumer durables and non-durables — endured month-on-month contractions. Manufacturing, which accounts for 77.6% of the IIP, saw production shrink 12.6% from March, and contributed significantly to a 13% sequential contraction in overall industrial output. The NSO advised against drawing (to make or show a comparison between things) a year-on-year comparison, which it said would be affected by the fact that the nationwide lockdown had prevented many establishments from operating in April 2020. Figures from April 2019 indicate the IIP registered a marginal 0.08% growth, aided by a 6.8% increase in electricity output from two years earlier. However, from the pre-pandemic level, manufacturing shrank 0.9%, reflecting the deep rut (a fixed or established mode of procedure or course of life, usually dull or unpromising) it finds itself in. Output of capital goods and consumer durables also lagged the corresponding 2019 levels by 14.3% and 11.6%, respectively, signalling that the outlook for investment in production capacity and discretionary consumption remains disconcertingly weak.

Consumer non-durables, comprising household essentials, witnessed an almost 11% contraction from March, testifying (give evidence as a witness in a law court) to the demand destruction that has accompanied the second wave. To be sure, the IIP arrives with a lag of six weeks and may likely be viewed as more of an indicator of past economic activity than as a tool to assist in providing an accurate prognosis (the likely course of a disease or ailment). Still, other data from May, including manufacturing and services PMI and retail automobile sales, underline the extent to which economic activity has been constrained (compel or force (someone) to follow a particular course of action) since the start of this quarter. With IHS Markit’s surveys showing manufacturing stagnating (cease to flow or move) last month and services contracting for the first time in eight months, the Composite PMI Output Index slid from 55.4 in April to 48.1 in May indicating a moderate reduction in activity. New vehicle registrations more than halved in May from the previous month, another tell-tale (important because of showing information) sign of the demand drought. With job losses accelerating, and consumer spending hit by a combination of falling real incomes, depleted savings and increasing health-care costs, the broader outlook for a near-term revival in consumption-led demand appears bleak right now. To ensure an abiding recovery, the government needs to expedite targeted, demand-creating fiscal support measures and drastically quicken the pace of vaccinations.

Hope you got to know some new words/phrases which will definitely be useful in the English section of upcoming competitive exams. Wishing you all the best for your preparation!

Want to improve your vocabulary further? Download the Lists of Word-Meanings of Previous Months here.

Nikunj Barnwal