The Hindu Editorial (​​Acceptable contrast) – Mar 14, 2025

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The Hindu Editorial (​​​​​​​Acceptable contrast) – Mar 14, 2025:

1. contrast (noun) – difference, dissimilarity, variation, contradiction, distinction.
2. real economy (noun) – it refers to the production, transportation, and selling of goods and services, contrasting with the financial sector (like banks, stock markets) and focusing on the tangible aspects of an economy.
3. buoyancy (noun) – high level of activity, growth, development, progress, improvement, vigour/strength.
4. Retail or Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation (noun) – The change in the price index of the basket of consumer goods and services over a period of time is referred to as CPI-based inflation or retail inflation.
5. Wholesale or Wholesale price Index (WPI) inflation (noun) – The change in the price index of the basket of wholesale goods (and no services) over a period of time is referred to as WPI-based inflation or wholesale inflation.
6. inflation (noun) – simply meaning “cost of living”; increase of price level of goods & services and vice versa decrease of currency value.
7. mutual fund (noun) – a pool of money collected from a large number of investors that are invested in specific equities and assets by the professional mutual fund managers.
8. concerning (adjective) – worrying, alarming, unsettling, disquieting, distressing, disturbing.     
9. heartening (adjective) – encouraging, promising, hopeful, reassuring.
10. aid (verb) – help, assist, support.
11. welcome (adjective) – pleasing, agreeable, favourable, promising, much needed.
12. fall (noun) – decline, drop, decrease, slump, reduction.
13. food inflation (noun) – the condition of an increase in the wholesale price index of a necessary food item relative to the general index or the consumer price index (CPI) is referred to as food inflation. In layman’s language, it is basically the rise in the cost of an essential food item relative to the previous price.
14. barometer (noun) – measure, index, indicator, criterion, indicator, gauge, point of reference.
15. grocery (noun) – a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products.
16. fell past of fall (verb) – decrease, decline, reduce, plunge, plummet, lessen.
17. spike (verb) – a sharp rise/increase.
18. consumption demand (noun) – the demand for goods and services by individuals and households in the economy.
19. investment demand (noun) – the demand by businesses for physical capital goods and services used to maintain or expand its operations.
20. buttress (verb) – make/become stronger, reinforce, strengthen, fortify, bolster up, shore up, underpin.
21. Gross domestic product (GDP) (noun) – a measure of economic activity in a country. It is the total value of a country’s annual output of goods and service.
22. signal (verb) – indicate, show, declare.
23. probable (adjective) – likely, possible, potential, predictable.
24. albeit (conjunction) – though, even though, however.
25. repo rate (noun) – the rate at which the central bank of a country (RBI in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds.
26. repo rate cut (noun) – a decision by a central bank (like RBI in India) to reduce its main interest rate to the banks (like SBI, ICICI & etc in India) when these commercial banks get money from the central bank. Once this rate goes down, the banks are in a position to give loans at lower interest rates to individuals and the industry.
27. liquidity (noun) – the availability of liquid assets; liquidity means liquid assets; cash; (liquid asset is an asset which can be easily sold/converted into cash without losing its value); a measure of activity (i.e. the ability to buy or sell easily) in a market. 
28. liquidity (noun) – (in the banking system) it refers to readily available cash that banks need to meet short-term business and financial needs.
29. liquidity squeeze (noun) – credit crunch; a problem related to the availability of the money in the short-term (debt/dues) and which is giving hesitation to the money lending institutions to give out loans (funds) from their reserves.
30. squeeze (verb) – a strong financial pressure, mainly a restriction on borrowing, spending, or investment in a financial crisis.
31. crunch (noun) – severe shortage.
32. due to (phrase) – because of, as a result of, thanks to, on account of, owing to.
33. worrisome (adjective) – distressing, upsetting, worrying, troublesome, unpleasant, dismal/awful.
34. flight (noun) – exit, departure, disappearance, vanishing, fleeing, escape.
35. hedge(verb) – safeguard, protect, shield, guard, cushion, cover (you from risks of any potential losses of your finances with an investment)
36. depreciate (verb) – decrease, decline, drop/lose value.
37. tariff (noun) – a tax imposed by one country on the goods and services imported from another country.
38. tariffs-induced (adjective) – caused by tariffs.
39. uncertainty (noun) – unpredictability, unreliability, riskiness/precariousness.
40. basis point (BPS) (noun) – a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value or rate of a financial instrument. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent). Used for measuring change in interest rate/yield.
41. 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).
42. capital inflow (noun) – a steady movement of capital (amount) into a place, economy, activity etc.
43. capital outflow (noun) – money/assets flowing out of (or leaving) a particular country’s economy.
44. spur (verb) – stimulate, encourage, prompt, galvanize.
45. moderation (noun) – reduction, contraction, lessening, decrease.
46. amid (preposition) – in the middle of, surrounded by; during.
47. portfolio (noun) – a range of investments (like shares, holdings, securities, equities, bonds).
48. portfolio (noun) – a range of products or services.
49. foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) (noun) – investments in financial assets, such as shares, government bonds, corporate bonds, convertible securities, infrastructure securities etc in a foreign country.
50. foreign portfolio investor (noun) – Investors investing in financial assets, such as shares, government bonds, corporate bonds, convertible securities, infrastructure securities etc. in a foreign country.
51. foreign institutional investors (FII) (noun) – companies established or incorporated outside India and make proposals for investments in India. These include hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds and insurance companies.
52. tranche (noun) – part, section, portion (of something).
53. swap (noun) – exchange, interchange, trade-off.
54. currency swap (noun) – a currency swap contract (also known as a cross-currency swap contract) is a derivative contract between two parties that involves the exchange of interest payments, as well as the exchange of principal amounts in certain cases, that are denominated in different currencies.
55. slate (verb) – schedule; plan.
56. inject (verb) – introduce, instil, bring in, infuse, imbue, inculcate.
57. address (verb) – tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out.
58. concern (noun) – problem, issue.
59. print (verb) – mark, record, register.
60. resilience (noun) – the ability to bounce back quickly from difficulties; strength of character, strength, toughness.
61. infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.
62. palpable (adjective) – visible, clear, evident, noticeable, apparent, striking.
63. equity mutual fund (noun) – a mutual fund scheme that invests predominantly in shares/stocks of companies. 
64. inflow (noun) – a flow of a large amount of something to a particular place.
65. plunge (verb) – decrease, slide, drop, decline, slump, tumble, slip, plummet.
66. retail investors (noun) – they are individual, non-professional investors who buy and sell securities for their personal accounts rather than on behalf of a large institution.
67. largely (adverb) – mostly, mainly, generally.
68. flock (verb) – come together, get together, assemble,  gather, go in large numbers.
69. stock market (noun) – equity market, share market, a stock exchange. It is where traders buy and sell shares of companies on a public exchange.
70. Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) (noun) – an investment method offered by Mutual Funds wherein one can invest a fixed amount in a Mutual Fund scheme at regular intervals– say once a month or once a quarter, instead of making a lump-sum investment.
71. dip (verb) – decrease, drop, diminish, decline, plunge, plummet, slump.
72. fiscal year (noun) – financial year.
73. financial volatility (noun) – a measure of the variation in the price of an asset over time.
74. volatility (noun) – unsteadiness, unpredictability, instability, unreliability.
75. hit (noun) – impact, blow, crash, shock, setback.
76. bearable (adjective) – tolerable, acceptable, sustainable, manageable.

Note : 

1. Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc. from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/.

2. Definitions (elementary level) & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press. Tentative definitions/meanings are provided for study purposes only and they may vary in a different context.  

3. This word list is for personal use only. Reproduction in any format and/or Commercial use of it is/are strictly prohibited.

The Hindu Editorial (​​​​Acceptable contrast) – Mar 14, 2025: