Daily English Vocab
PDF 6th May 2017
A populist waiver
In one of the first acts of his Government, almost replicating Congress-style populism, the UP
Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, has announced a loan-waiver (अधिकार त्याग/त्याग) up to Rs 1 lakh
for about 85 lakh small and marginal (ग़ैरमामूली) farmers in UP, covering more than 90 per cent of
the state’s farming community. This will cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 36,729 crore, fairly
close to the Rs 52,000-crore farm loanwaiver scheme announced by the Congress-led UPA
government’s Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram in the 2008 budget, ahead of the 2009 general
elections that returned the UPA to power. The UP government will have to finance this concession
through market loans, putting at risk its fiscal deficit limit of 3 per cent of GDP set by the FRBM
Act, which it has already breached. Of course, Adityanath was only fulfilling the BJP’s election
promise, and he cannot perhaps be faulted on this count. But both the election promise and the
loan-waiver raise several disturbing questions, and the nation needs to reflect.
Whether the scheme will minimise the woes of the farmers is an altogether different matter, given
the pathetic record of the state in the matter of delivery. Despite the energy that the new CM seems
to have infused into UP’s decrepit (जजजर/जीर्ज) administrative apparatus, he has to deal with the same
dysfunctional bureaucracy. It would be foolhardy (असाविान/उतावला) to expect that the delivery
system will be transformed overnight into an efficient mechanism.
Governance entails efficient and effective delivery, based on careful planning and monitoring.
Most government schemes suffer universally from wastage and leakage, financial
misappropriations, and institutionalisation of corruption, which together render the outcome of
such schemes poor and sub-optimal. The 2008 UPA loan-waiver scheme was audited by the CAG,
whose report revealed serious lapses and deficiencies in delivery. Out of 3.73 crore farmers who
were given debt relief, CAG had test-checked some 90,000 cases, and more than 20,000 (22 per
cent of checked cases) revealed serious shortcomings. Thousands of ineligible farmers received
benefits of the waiver, while deserving farmers were excluded. The benefits were irregularly
extended to microfinance institutions and banks in violation of guidelines. Tampering (interfere
with (something) in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.) with records
was widespread. In fact, the BJP had then demanded a CBI inquiry, terming the fiddle (जालसाजी)
as “a big fraud committed on the nation” involving a “huge scam of Rs 10000 crore.” The outcome
is unlikely to be different this time.
Further, NSSO data reveals that less than half of the small and marginal farmers in UP are actually
indebted to banks. The majority of farmers are indebted to informal or noninstitutional sources
like moneylenders, traders, or affluent farmers. They will not receive any benefits under the
scheme. The smaller the landholding of a farmer, it becomes less likely for him to get a bank loan.
Among farmers with less than one acre of land, just 28 per cent have outstanding bank loans; the
remaining 72 per cent owe money to non-formal creditors, mainly moneylenders. Thus the
intended relief to small and marginal farmers remains in doubt.
As regards the economic fallout of the waiver, one must remember that UP’s debt burden is next
only to West Bengal and Punjab, with its outstanding liability amounting to over 32 per cent of its
GSDP in 2014-15, in which year alone it had raised Rs 35520 crore, compared to Rs 14900 crore
in the previous year. As a result, the fiscal deficit had exceeded the FRBM limit by 0.33 per cent,
and interest payment amounted to Rs 18865 crore, or 11 per cent of revenue expenditure. With
this additional Rs 36000 to be raised in 2017-18, its debt burden and interest liability will increase
alarmingly. Servicing this debt will squeeze the availability of funds, with most of the borrowed
funds going towards repayment of the existing loans, and very little accruing to the state for use in
development. The impact on development of the impoverished state would be disastrous.
This is not to argue that distressed farmers should not be provided relief when they need it the
most, but the mode of providing such succor (राहत/सहायता) needs to be carefully thought through. It
distorts the loan discipline and encourages wilful default, as the RBI Governor has already pointed
out. It promotes a culture of irresponsibility. The banking system, already reeling under
unmanageable NPAs, is also affected while the wilful defaulters stand to benefit. There are many
other ways of providing assistance to affected farmers.
Further, this may signal the beginning of a far more serious contagion (सक्र
ं मर्) which is likely to
spread like cancer in our body politic. As Ashok Gulati and Siraj Hussain had pointed out, the
Congress manifesto in Punjab had promised a similar step. Madras High Court has suggested farm
loan-waivers to the Tamil Nadu government. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, which are
suffering from drought, might also take a similar step. With state elections due in several states
before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections ~ in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and four north-eastern states ~ it could only be a matter of time before
such waivers become an all-India norm, to be financed through state budgets, distorting (धवकृत
करना) even a semblance (आकार/आकृधत/रूप) of fiscal discipline. FRBMs, which had rescued the states
from the brink of a disastrous debt trap, might as well be scrapped.
Bad economics is not good politics. Political parties promise freebies ~ colour TV sets, laptops,
mixer-grinders, free electricity, water or loan-waivers in their election manifestos. The problem is
embedded in this spurious (false or fake) “benevolence”. Parties dole out national resources under
the garb of democracy.
In the case of S Subramaniam Balaji vs. Government of Tamil Nadu (2013), the Supreme Court
had observed, that “the reality cannot be ruled out that distribution of freebies of any kind
undoubtedly influences all people. It shakes the root of free and fair elections to a large degree.”
However, since distribution of freebies or other promises made in an election manifesto cannot be
construed as a ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,
the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to frame appropriate guidelines.
Political parties reacted to this judgment, saying it hurt their common interest by limiting their
authority to dole out national resources for petty electoral gains. Article 324 of the Constitution
gives the Election Commission unfettered (not confined or restricted.) powers to superintend
(सच
ं ालन करना/धनरीक्षर् करना), direct and control the election process. This implies monitoring activities
of political parties including promises made in their manifestos for conducting free and fair
elections. In accord with the Supreme Court directive, the EC introduced its Model Code of
Conduct ~ “The Election Manifesto shall not contain any promises that go against the ideals and
principles enshrined in the Constitution. There can be no bar on the state adopting welfare
measures. But, political parties must refrain from making promises that undermine the purity of
the election process or aim to exert undue influence on the voters. There must be transparency with
respect to the promises and how the parties aim to implement their promises. The promises must
also be credible. Wherever freebies are offered, parties must broadly state how they plan to gather
the funds and finances to fulfil such promises.”The wording of the guidelines thus leaves the field
wide open for parties to make any promises, including freebies to voters, which goes against the
spirit of the Supreme Court ruling. Apparently the Commission had succumbed (failed) to the
pressure of political parties, forgetting that in a mature democracy, a party owes good and
corruption-free governance and nothing else to the electorate. It also undermines the fact that loanwaivers or subsidised power are at best temporary measures. They do not address the larger
problem of scarcity, input costs, and capacity. The Election Commission ought to crack down on
freebies.
Courtesy: The Statesman (National)
1. Waiver (noun): The act of intentionally relinquishing or abandoning a known right, claim, or
privilege (अधिकार त्याग/त्याग)
Synonyms: Disclaimer, Quitclaim, Abandonment, Relinquishment.
Antonyms: Sanction, Claim.
Example: The bank will waive the monthly account fee if I use my debit card five times in a
thirty-day period.
Verb forms: Waive, Waived, Waived.
Related words:
Waive (verb) - to give up one’s rights or claims
2. Marginal (adjective): Minor and not important; not central. (ग़ैरमामूली)
Synonyms: Small, Minute, Minor, Insignificant
Antonyms: Important, Major, Significant, Central.
Example: The pay raise is marginal and will increase my salary by only a few dollars.
Origin: from Latin margin.
3. Distort (verb): To twist out of the true meaning or proportion / to alter to give a false or
unnatural picture or account. (धवकृत करना)
Synonyms: Warp, Contort, Bend, Buckle, Deform, Misshape, Disfigure.
Antonyms: Be Tenacious, Straighten.
Example: Growing up without a family caused her to distort her views on familial relationships.
Verb forms: Distort, Distorted, Distorted.
Related words:
Distortion (noun) - विकृ वि
Origin: From Latin word distorquere, from dis- ‘apart’ + torquere ‘to twist’.
4. Foolhardy (adjective): Recklessly bold or rash./ making hasty decisions without regard to
danger or possible consequences. (असाविान/उतावला)
Synonyms: Reckless, Rash, Incautious, Careless, Heedless, Unwise, Imprudent.
Antonyms: Careful, Cautious, Heedful, Prudent.
Example: It was foolhardy of Rick to think he could pass the college entrance exam without
studying.
Origin: From Old French folhardi, from fol ‘foolish’ + hardi ‘bold’
5. Fiddle (noun): An act of defrauding, cheating, or falsifying. (जालसाजी)
Synonyms: Fraud, Swindle, Wangle, Ruse, Wile, Deceptive Trick.
Antonyms: Honesty, Transparency.
Example: A con has to fiddle to achieve his deceptive goals.
Verb forms: Fiddle, Fiddled, Fiddled.
Related words:
Fiddle (verb) – falsify
6. Succor (noun): Assistance and support in times of hardship and distress. (राहत/सहायता)
Synonyms: Aid, Help, Assistance, Support.
Antonyms: Hurt, Injury.
Example: While they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Beth did whatever she could to succor
the people who had been injured in the crash.
Verb forms: Succor, Succored, Succored.
Related words:
Succor (verb)- To give assistance.
7. Contagion (noun): Literal - spread by close contact (a disease) figurative - The spreading of a
harmful idea or theory. (सक्र
ं मर्)
Synonyms: Contamination, Infection, Transmission (Of Disease Or A Theory)
Example: Washing your hands is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the fatal
contagion.
Origin: From Latin contagion (n-), from con- ‘together with’ + the base of tangere ‘to touch’.
8. Semblance (noun): The outward appearance or apparent form of something (आकार/आकृधत/रूप)
Synonyms: Form, Shape, Façade, Face.
Example: Even though I was nervous during my presentation, I tried to project a semblance of
calmness while speaking.
Origin: From Latin simulare means ‘simulate’.
9. Fetter (verb): Confine or restrict (someone). (रोक लगाना)
Synonyms: Restrict, Restrain, Constrain, Limit, Hinder, Hamper, Impede, Obstruct.
Antonyms: Let Go, Liberate, Allow, Permit.
Example: Your fear is the fetter preventing you from going after your dream.
Verb forms: Fetter, Fettered, Fettered.
Origin: From Dutch veter means ‘a lace’.
10. Superintend (verb): Be responsible for the management or arrangement of (an activity or
organization) (सच
ं ालन करना/धनरीक्षर् करना)
Synonyms: Supervise, Oversee, Watch, Conduct.
Antonyms: Ignore, Neglect.
Example: Parents should superintend their children's education for their good upbringing.
Verb forms: Superintend, Superintended, Superintended.
Related words:
Origin: Late Latin superintendere, from Latin super- + intendere to stretch out, direct.
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