TOPIC – Long Haul Ahead
Factory output continued to contract in July, albeit marginally slower than in June, reflecting the depressed economic conditions as the pandemic rages on. Quick estimates for the IIP show output across the three sectoral components of the index — mining, manufacturing and electricity — all shrank, dragging the overall index to a 10.4% year-onyear contraction. While this is slower than June’s 15.8% shrinkage, a closer look reveals that the rebound in momentum witnessed in the fiscal first quarter’s last month — when the economy reopened and the contraction narrowed sharply from May’s 33.9% fall — has dissipated appreciably. The most telltale sign of this flattening is the more than halved pace of growth in the solitary usebased industrial activity of the IIP’s six product groups, in which output had turned positive in June. Growth in consumer nondurables — it includes essential household consumables — slid back to 6.7% from the preceding month’s 14.3%, betraying the abiding weakness in private consumption spending. The other five groups posted double digit contractions, with consumer durables and capital goods shrinking 23.6% and 22.8%, respectively. If the trend in durables attests to the RBI’s evaluation last month that “private consumption has lost its discretionary elements across the board”, the capital goods data point to a dismal picture on the investment front. With demandstarved companies operating their factories well below capacity, there is little indication that the protracted six quarter slump in this key sector, which encompasses the plants and machinery that manufacturers order when expanding or starting new ventures, is anywhere close to reversing momentum. Electricity generation, however, provides some relief, with the contraction narrowing to 2.5% in July from June’s 10%. A deeper look at the 23 subcategories of manufacturing shows that only tobacco products and pharmaceuticals posted expansions in July, with the latter benefitting from the increased global demand for medicines, including generic drugs, in the wake of the pandemic. The manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products climbed 22% in July, making it the solitary product to post an expansion of 1.8% over AprilJuly. Textiles and garment manufacturing, employment intensive segments shrunk to 14.8% and 28.7%, respectively. To be sure, the IIP data come with a lag of six weeks and a few more recent indicators give room for some guarded hope. For one, the latest IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI survey based outlook signals that the sector likely posted some expansion for the first time in five months in August. And auto-makers reported growth in shipments of passenger vehicles to dealers last month in anticipation of festive season demand. Still, to help sustain any incipient revival, the Centre will need to enact demandsupportive fiscal policies or risk seeing the slowdown prolong.
The Hindu Editorial Words with meanings, synonyms and antonyms
Albeit (conjunction) – Even though, Although
Synonyms – nevertheless, still, howbeit, whilst, in spite of
Antonyms – so, as such, consequently, therefore, because of this
Rage (noun) – A feeling of intense anger
Synonyms – fury, wrath, passion, vogue, temper
Antonyms – peace, serenity, happiness, tranquility, mildness
Contraction (noun) – The act or process of contracting, shortening or shrinking
Synonyms – abbreviation, decline, constriction, spasm, elision
Antonyms – extension, dilation, augmentation, distension, amplification
Dissipated (adjective) – Wasteful of health, money
Synonyms – profligate, degenerate, libertine, depraved, reprobate
Antonyms – ethical, virtuous, intact, maidenly, huddled
Flatten (verb) – To become or grow flat
Synonyms – squash, crush, demolish, devastate, bulldoze
Antonyms – sharpen, elevate, break, crumple, roughen
Betray (verb) – Reveal unintentionally
Synonyms – disclose, divulge, deceive, manifest, denounce
Antonyms – protect, dote, abide, undeceive, veil
Discretionary (adjective) – Using the ability to decide according to your own discretion or judgment
Synonyms – voluntary, discretional, arbitrary, facultative, capricious
Antonyms – mandatory, imperative, stringent, requisite, imperious
Starved (verb) – Suffering from lack of food
Synonyms – hungry, famished, ravenous, esurient, emaciated
Antonyms – replete, nourished, satiate, energetic, surfeited
Protracted (adjective) – Relatively long in duration
Synonyms – extended, lingering, spun out, prolix, extensive
Antonyms – fleeting, abrupt, little, condense, taciturn
Encompasses (verb) – Include as part of something broader
Synonyms – comprises, encloses, contains, incorporates, environs
Antonyms – excludes, omits, releases, lacks, frees
Venture (verb) – Proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
Synonyms – risk, adventure, gamble, jeopardize, speculation
Antonyms – safety, safety, setback, hitch, deterrence
Incipient (adjective) – Beginning to be or to show itself
Synonyms – inchoate, embryonic, embryonic, inceptive, rudimentary
Antonyms – end, tardy, terminal, mellow, serotinous
Revival (noun) – Bringing again into activity and prominence
Synonyms – recovery, revitalization, resurrection, revivification, upturn
Antonyms – suppression, abeyance, destruction, annulment, carcass
Prolong (verb) – To extend the duration of
Synonyms – protract, sustain, stretch, elongate, preserve
Antonyms – shorten, abbreviate, curtail, dwindle, abridge