#everydayquiz
The Hindu
Dark clouds & a silver lining
Making extensive(बहुत
बड़ा) preparations for
rare, extreme situations is neither easy nor economical. Both the Tamil Nadu
administration and the residents of Chennai and its neighbouring districts were
not ready for the relentlessकरुणा
रहित) spells(अवधि) of rain after the
North-East monsoon set in, flooding homes and offices, roads and malls.
Ordinarily, the worry for Chennai is a weak monsoon with deficit rainfall that
leaves little water for drinking purposes and irrigation. But, over the last 30
days, the government and the people were dealing with the ill-effects of an
unusually active monsoon that seemed intent(उद्देश्य)
on overcompensating for the deficit years with record rainfall. Even as the
city returned to some sort of normalcy after one torrential( घनघोर) downpour(मूसलाधार बारिश), it had to contend( दावे के साथ
कहना) with another
spell of rain. Displacement, traffic jams, power cuts, rising prices, and
scarcity(अभाव) of
food, the woes(उल्लंघन ,
दुःख) just would
not end for the people of Chennai. The situation was especially bad for those
in the relatively new residential areas in the suburbs where, in recent years,
real estate growth was given priority over planned development. Also, more than
the amount of rainfall, Chennai was hit badly by the overflow of water from
reservoirs and breaches(उल्लंघन)
in lakes and tanks, and the flooding of water channels that were already choked(सांस रुकने की
स्थिति) with silt and
refuse. With an unprecedented( बेमिसाल)
discharge of water, Chennai’s rivers have shown no respect for the bridges and
the roads, effectively cutting off people and places on one bank with the
people and places on the other bank. With bus and suburban railway services
becoming inoperable, Chennai had to rely heavily on the new Metro line and the
Mass Rapid Transit System.
But the rains were not all about doom(दुर्भाग्य) and gloom(निराशा). The government did
remarkably well in rescue and relief efforts, quickly requisitioning the
deployment of the armed forces to evacuate(खाली
कराना) people in
flooded areas and engaging(नियुक्त
करना) in elaborate(सविस्तार) rehabilitation( पुनर्वास कार्यक्रम) work. In the end,
even Opposition leaders readily(सरलता
से) praised the relief
measures taken up in challenging circumstances. The distress brought about by
the rain also revealed the remarkable strength and character of the people in
the city and the affected districts, with NGOs supplementing the efforts of the
government, and public- spirited individuals taking up relief work, spending
time and resources in reaching out to those left stranded(फँसा हुआ). The Hindu is privileged(गौरवान्वित) to be a part of
these efforts. Social networks were full of messages offering help or
information on where help would be available. Malls and private schools and
colleges too opened their doors to the flood victims. A radio taxi service
provider, under criticism for failing to arrange cabs, offered free boat
services. Clearly, the civic solidarity(एकता)
was in evidence everywhere, with volunteers helping to ferry(एक स्थान से
दूसरे स्थान पहुँचाना) the aged and the
sick, and distribute food packets and warm clothes. Without a doubt, this has
been the silver lining in the dark clouds(काले
बादलों में उम्मीद की
किरण) over Chennai
over the last few weeks. The lessons learnt during this extended disaster
should result in a hard look at existing policies on urban planning, and a
short-term revamp(पुनर्निर्माण
करना) of the
inadequacies in the civic infrastructure of urban areas.
The Hindu
On hold and accommodative
#everydayquiz
The central message of Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan’s latest decision to leave interest rates unchanged, and stress that the monetary stance(उद्देश्य) remains “accommodative( समायोजित)”, is that neither an economic recovery nor inflation trends are entrenched(मजबूत स्थिति बनाना) enough at the moment for more decisive action. That the signs are far from reassuring(फिर से दृढ़ करना) on both the key fronts that inform the central bank’s policy rationale(मूलाधार) is abundantly(अधिक मात्रा में) evident( प्रत्यक्ष) from the data on hand. External demand continues to remain weak — with global growth and trade becalmed(शांत हो जाना) by an anaemic(जोशरहित) Euro area, a slowing China and a U.S. economy coping with an accumulation( ढेर लगना) of inventory, year-low consumer confidence and a strengthening dollar. On the domestic front, while early results from the RBI’s survey of order books, inventories and capacity utilisation point to an uptick in new manufacturing orders in the second quarter, other indicators, especially from the sizeable rural economy, are far from reassuring. Consumption demand in the villages and smaller towns in agrarian(कृषि-संबंधी) heartlands has been weakened by two consecutive deficient monsoons, and the overall outlook for agricultural growth, as a result of deficient rains, appears at best moderate. The latest Nikkei’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled(इकट्ठा करना) by Markit, independently buttresses(चापलूसी करना) the central bank’s concern over the sustainability of the recovery as it shows demand and output continued to soften in November to damp manufacturing growth to the slowest pace in 25 months.
Data on the prices front is equally unnerving(कमजोर करना). Retail inflation
as measured by the consumer price index accelerated for the third successive
month in October, pushed up by a sharp increase in food costs. Initial
indications of rabi sowing, coupled with low reservoir( जलाशय ) levels, also
squarely laid the onus(दायित्व)
on astute(कुशाग्र-बुद्धि) supply management by
the government to help minimise any shortfall in winter crop output and the
resultant risk to prices. And taking a benign oil price environment for
granted, given the potential for geopolitical shocks from the volatile Middle
East, has its own inherent hazards. More significantly, the RBI has for the
moment opted to trust the government’s commitment to its fiscal consolidation
goals in its calculus of the inflationary(मुद्रास्फीति)
impact of the Seventh Pay Commission’s proposals. Voluntary(स्वैच्छिक) budgetary
restraint(अवरोध), the
central bank believes, will offset(कमी
पूरी होना या करना)
the impact on aggregate demand from higher wages and rents. That this
assumption is only partly predicated on good faith is evident in the comment in
the policy statement that the implementation of the pay panel’s recommendations
will “be a factor in the Reserve Bank’s future deliberations(विचार-विमर्श)”. Dr. Rajan has his
task cut out as he focusses on unclogging(मुक्त
करना) the monetary
transmission pipeline at banks. With only about half of the 125 basis points
cut in the policy rate conveyed to borrowers, the RBI is racing to ensure that
a clean-up of lenders’ balance sheets can help free up funds toward productive
credit flows. For now though, it will be a vigilant(एहतियाती) watch at the RBI.
Business Standard
Food safety regulator must follow global practices
#everydayquiz
The indication(निशान)
by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that it would
reintroduce the system of pre-launch product approvals by issuing new
regulations has dealt a blow to the food processing sector. This issue was
deemed(विचारना) to
have been settled after the Supreme Court upheld a Bombay High Court verdict
that the system of product approvals introduced by the FSSAI through advisories
was arbitrary(एकपक्षीय)
and illegal( ग़ैरक़ानूनी).
However, the uncertainty and confusion over this issue resurfaced with the
FSSAI declaring that even while respecting the court’s decree(आदेश) over its advisories,
it will come up with new regulations to revive(दोबारा
प्रचलित करना) the approval
procedure. This has turned prospective investors – both domestic and foreign –
wary(खबरदार) of
committing resources in this sector. For the first time in several years, the
festival season hardly saw the launch of any fresh food product, variant of an
existing product or a new health food or food supplement despite over 700 such
products being in the pipeline. The industry bodies are once again knocking at
the doors of the government to get the FSSAI’s intended move quashed(अमान्य घोषित करना).
India’s food regulation law, the FSSAI Act of 2006, in fact
does not require a new product to be formally approved by the regulator if its
ingredients(घटक) are
as per the law – the generally accepted global practice. The industry
maintains that the regulator cannot bring back the product approval system
unless the law is amended(संशोधन
करना). Even the food
processing ministry feels that some of the recent actions of the FSSAI,
including those against Nestle India’s Maggi noodles, created a “fear psychosis(पागलपन)” in the industry,
killing innovation. There have been allegations(आरोप)
of harassment of companies by FSSAI officials on trivial(तुच्छ) grounds. Objections
are often raised to the quality of the products without getting them tested at
recognised laboratories. Thus, the basic objective of the FSSAI Act of putting
in place a transparent and scientific system of food safety seems to have been
belied( झूठा साबित करना).
This does not bode( शकुन
बताना) well for a
sector that, after a prolonged(दीर्घकालीन)
period of infancy(प्रारंभिक अवस्था), had begun to grow
at over eight per cent a year. Food processing not only adds value to, and
prolongs the shelf life of, farm produce, but it helps reduce the huge wastage
of perishable products like fruits and vegetables, estimated at anywhere
between 20 and 40 per cent. The FSSAI has already finalised 12,000 standards
for food ingredients and additives, which are in harmony with the globally
recognised Codex norms. It should also follow the global convention of allowing
the industry to self-certify compliance with these standards. Such a system
would end the need for cumbersome(जटिल)
product-by-product approval, which takes years to complete. The FSSAI could
monitor adherence to these standards by getting randomly selected samples
tested in a non-controversial manner at accredited(विश्वास करना)
laboratories. The ultimate objective, after all, is to ensure that consumers
get food products and health supplements that are good in quality, safe to
consume, and varied in nature. Adventurism(जोखिम
भरा अनुभव) by the regulator is
in the interest of neither the industry nor consumers.
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