The Hindu Editorial (A faltering recovery) – Feb 14, 2022

Production levels in India’s industries appear to be hitting a roadblock amid what the government has described in the Union Budget as an ‘overall,… For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (A faltering recovery) – Feb 14, 2022.

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The Hindu Editorial (A faltering recovery) – Feb 14, 2022:

faltering (adjective) – delaying, uncertain, unsteady/weak, precarious, irresolute, hesitant.
flailing (adjective) – floundering, struggling, stumbling, blundering.
rebound (noun) – recovery, rallying, picking up (from decline).
hit (verb) – reach a particular level; crash into, bang into, smash into, bump into, collide with.
roadblock (noun) – barrier, barricade, blockade; hindrance, obstruction.
hit a roadblock (phrase) – If you hit a roadblock, it stops you from making progress.
amid (preposition) – in the middle of, surrounded by; during.
reflect (verb) – indicate, show, display, demonstrate, reveal, exhibit.
resilience (noun) – the ability to bounce back quickly from difficulties; strength of character, strength, toughness.
measure (verb) – calculate, estimate, evaluate, rate, assess.
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) (noun) – a composite (combined/complex) indicator that measures the changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to the volume of production in a chosen base period.
fell past of fall (verb) – decrease, decline, diminish, lessen, dwindle; plummet, plunge, slump.
Omicron variant (noun) – On 26 November 2021, WHO designated the (new coronavirus) variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, named Omicron, on the advice of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). The first known confirmed Omicron infection was from a specimen collected on November 9. In recent weeks, infections in South Africa have increased steeply, coinciding with the detection.
contact-intensive (adjective) – relating to the industries/sectors that have an average physical proximity index over 60. E.g. hospitality, travel, beauty and wellness, aviation etc. (Physical proximity index quantifies/measures the extent to which different occupations require physical proximity for work to be carried out).
non-contact intensive (adjective) – relating to the industries/sectors that have an average physical proximity index below 60. E.g. financial, real estate and professional services etc. (Physical proximity index quantifies/measures the extent to which different occupations require physical proximity for work to be carried out).
-intensive (adjective/usually in combination) – (in business) concentrating on a particular thing.
pose (verb) – constitute, present, create, cause (a problem or danger or risk).
year-on-year (adjective) – year over year (for comparison).
thanks to (phrase) – as a result of, owing to, due to, because of.
lockdown-hit (adjective) – affected badly by the lockdown.
lockdown (noun) – an emergency protocol implemented by the authorities that prevents people from leaving from a place; An extended state of confinement/encirclement/isolation of a person by the authority.
taper off/down (phrasal verb) – decrease, lessen, reduce something gradually.
recall (verb) – remember, recollect, call to mind, think of.
plague (verb) – bother, disturb, trouble, irritate, worry, annoy, vex.
ease (verb) – reduce, moderate, lessen, decrease.
perhaps (adverb) – maybe, possibly.
shock (noun) – blow, upset, disturbance, source of distress (causing volatility/uncertainty in an economy).
hiccup (noun) – (temporary) difficulty, issue, trouble.
largely (adverb) – mostly, mainly, predominantly.
deadly (adjective) – fatal, lethal, life-threatening.
recede (verb) – diminish, lessen, decrease.
indeed (adverb) – in fact, actually, undeniably.
pick-up (noun) – rally, revival, improvement, advancement, betterment.
in play (phrase) – in action; in operation.
mere (adjective) – just, only, minimal.
bump up (phrasal verb) – increase something.
inflation (noun) – simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value.
moreover (adverb) – besides, furthermore, in addition.
persistently (adverb) – continuously.
decipher (verb) – interpret, comprehend, understand.
volatility (noun) – unpredictability, instability, unreliability.
month-on-month (adjective) – used to compare data for one month with that in previous months.
index (noun) – an (economic) data figure reflecting something (e.g. price/quantity) compared with a standard or base value; pointer, indicator.
contraction (noun) – In economics, it refers to a decline in national output as measured by gross domestic product.
expansion (noun) – growth, increase, development.
Economic Survey (noun) – Economic Survey, presented in the Parliament ahead of the Union Budget, is the Ministry of Finance’s flagship document. The Economic Survey detailed information about the Indian economy over the past year. The Economic Survey also offers glimpses into the current state of the economy, and occasional insights into the economic outlook. Although the Constitution does not bind (impose a legal obligation on) the government to present the Economic Survey, over the years, it has become common practice for every government to present the Economic Survey before the Union Budget.
landscape (noun) – a particular field of activity.
nascent (adjective) – just beginning, emerging, rising, advancing, burgeoning.
accelerate (verb) – increase, escalate, expedite.
boom (verb) – figuratively “do well”.
private consumption or consumption expenditure (noun) – the spending by households (consumers) on goods and services, excluding new housing.
propel (verb) – spur, drive, prompt, precipitate, catapult, motivate.
utilisation (noun) – effective use of something.
capacity utilisation (noun) – Capacity utilization refers to the manufacturing and production capabilities that are being utilized by a nation or enterprise at any given time. It is the relationship between the output produced with the given resources and the potential output that can be produced if capacity was fully used.
thereby (adverb) – as a result of that.
fuel (verb) – stimulate, encourage, intensify.
cite (verb) – refer to, adduce, make reference to, invoke.
optimism (noun) – hopefulness, hope, confidence, positive attitude, buoyancy.
quarter (noun) – a period of three months (considered as one-fourth of a year).
bet (noun) – option, choice, course of action, plan.
public (adjective) – government, state-owned.
capital spending/capital expenditure (CAPEX) (noun) – the money spent on the acquisition of assets like land, buildings, machinery, equipment, as well as investment in shares.
public/government capital expenditure (noun) – it refers to the outlay of government funds in the form of investments or development spending towards creation of assets for the long term. An example of capital expenditure could be the money spent on, say, Railways or building national highways and roads.
catalyse (verb) – to cause/accelerate some action/process.
footing (noun) – standing, status, state, position, rank, grade.
shrank past of shrink (verb) – lessen, reduce, decrease.
capital goods (noun) – the fixed or tangible assets, which are purchased by a business, used in the productive process in order to produce a finished ‘consumer’ goods.
contract (verb) – decline, decrease, diminish, reduce.
pre-pandemic (noun) – before the pandemic.
pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.
consumer durables (noun) – manufactured products/goods (such as TV, fridge, AC, motorbike, car & etc) which last for an extended period of time.
consumer non-durables (noun) – products/goods (such as food, clothing, fuel, etc.) which are produced for immediate use and frequently replaced by the consumer.
consecutive (adjective) – successive, in a row, one after the other, back-to-back, continuous.
tank (verb) – fail, collapse, tumble/plunge, decline (in value rapidly).
insipid (adjective) – uninteresting, boring, unexciting, lacklustre, pathetic.
cramp (verb) – hinder, impede, inhibit.
cautious (adjective) – careful, wary, watchful, heedful.
steep (adjective) – sudden, sharp, rapid.
loom (verb) – appear/emerge as a large/threaten one; (looming (adj.) means imminent, impending, forthcoming, fast approaching).
going (noun) – condition (for progress/advancement).
likely (adverb) – probably, in all probability, presumably, doubtlessly.
the central bank (noun) – The banking regulator of a county’s banking system. (e.g. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India).
accommodative (adjective) – aimed to encourage economic activity by reducing interest rates.
change gear (phrase) – choose a different method/approach.
durability (noun) – permanence, longevity, ability to last, strength.
reboot (verb) – restart, reintroduce, restore.
rose-tinted (adjective) – rose-coloured; referring to a viewpoint which is optimistic, confident, promising but with a lack of experience.
recalibrate (verb) – reevaluate, reassess, revamp.
on paper (phrase) – in theory, theoretically, supposedly.
billowing (verb) – (of smoke) move slowly upwards or across the sky (like ocean waves); flow; swirl, spiral.
chimney (noun) – a funnel for discharging smoke from a factory; smokestack.