The Hindu Editorial Analysis | 14th July ’21

Table of Contents

NEWS

PM Narendra Modi interacts with India’s Olympic-bound athletes
PM Modi expresses concern over huge crowds in hill stations and markets; Urges people to strictly follow COVID appropriate behaviour
Centre says, mass reduction of COVID-19 cases observed in number of districts reporting higher cases; Cautions to be vigilant to ensure 3rd wave doesn’t enter India
National COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.3 per cent
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Namgay Tshering jointly launch BHIM-UPI in Bhutan
Govt working to liberalise Market Development Assistance Policy to promote use of alternative fertilisers, says Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
15.30 lakh Metric Tonnes of food grains distributed across country under current phase of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana till date
Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh reviews progress of SVAMITVA Scheme and e-Panchayat Programmes
India’s cumulative COVID vaccination coverage exceeds 38.50 crore mark
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Varanasi on Thursday
India’s approach to development partnership with Africa guided by Kampala Principles enunciated by PM Modi, says EAM Dr S Jaishankar
64 killed in city of Nasiriyah in Iraq after fire engulfed COVID isolation Unit
30 people die in violence in parts of South Africa since former Prez Jacob Zuma handed himself in to Police custody
Google hit with EUR 500 million fine by France’s Competition Authority
Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy says, common tourism products in BRICS countries present opportunity for greater cooperation
Golden boy from Meerut Saurabh Chaudhary to show his shooting skills in 10-metre air pistol competition at Tokyo Olympics
- Son of a farmer, Sourabh has won 21 medals including 14 golds, five silvers and two bronzes in many coveted international competitions like youth Olympic, ISSF World Cup and World Championship.
- His parents, siblings and coach are very hopeful that he will definitely hit on gold this time.
- Amit Kumar Shyoran, Coach of Saurabh Chaudhary said, whole country is hopeful that he will win gold in the Olympics.

Averting Superspreaders | ToI

Uttarakhand government has cancelled kanwar yatra for this year, just as it had done last year.
Uttar Pradesh government should do the same for related congregations.
PM Narendra Modi has called out maskless tourists and those flocking to crowded markets, warning that we could be inviting a third Covid wave with such laxity.
Covid doesn’t distinguish between shopping, tourism and pilgrimage – it just loves crowds.
The Kumbh mela earlier this year turned out to be a superspreader event.
Religious events and festivals in India are almost always larger, more chaotic and less well-managed than what governments want.
Saudi Arabia, which has vaccinated just 7.1% of its population fully, has said that it will limit Hajj this year to 60,000 fully vaccinated residents, disallowing believers from abroad for a second straight year.
This is the model all states in India should also follow – either cancel large congregations or proceed only with fully vaccinated participants.
Every exception opens the door to another.

RBI’s Tightrope | IE

The latest data which shows that, contrary to expectations, retail inflation actually eased marginally in June, seems to justify the MPC’s stance of maintaining the status quo.
Several analysts expected that the sharp spurt in inflation — the consumer price index had risen to a six-month high of 6.3 per cent in May, up from 4.3 per cent in April — would force the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reassess the timing of its pivot towards policy normalisation.
But the signals from the MPC suggested that it will continue to attach primacy to growth considerations.
The status quo on both, the benchmark policy rate and the accommodative stance, will be maintained as the MPC will look through the spurt in inflation in the near term, treating it as transitory in nature.
Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) shows that headline retail inflation eased to 6.26 per cent in June.
Moreover, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, and has remained sticky so far, also moderated to 6.19 per cent.
Notwithstanding this lower print, however, inflation remained above the upper threshold of the monetary policy committee’s inflation targeting framework for the second straight month.
While much of the recent spurt in inflation stems from supply-side disruptions owing to the imposition of restrictions on economic activities, it is likely that inflation may prove to be sticky on the downside, even as restrictions ease.
With a significant section of the eligible population likely to be vaccinated by the second half of the year, household demand, especially for the contact intensive services, is likely to firm up, which along with higher commodity prices, could push up inflation.

Increase consumption by Indians…| FPJ

Former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said that India’s domestic market is small, hence it was necessary to focus on increasing exports to jumpstart the economy.
International bank J P Morgan has agreed with this prognosis and added that government expenditures, especially investments, can help.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has reported that China’s exports increased by 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the first quarter of 2019.
One exporter from Mumbai narrated to me that he had to ship a consignment before a particular date. The container reached the port in time. The customs officer, however, would not clear it. He said that he wanted to weigh each of the 1,600 jerkins of 25 kg each, to make sure that the quantity declared was correct.
Now, such weighment would take at least two days. That would lead to the exporter missing the deadline for shipment and he would incur a huge penalty. Left with no other option, he paid a bribe of Rs 50,000 and the consignment was cleared promptly.
At the same time, the same exporter also lauded the present government for forcibly retiring number of allegedly corrupt officers and promoting the honest ones.
A pincer-like movement, with the appointment of honest officials from the top, combined with public pressure from the bottom alone will beget smooth exports.
Our growth rate has been declining continuously since 2014, while the Sensex has been climbing higher and higher.
The Sensex reflects the profitability of the largest companies in the country.
Thus, we may say that the economy is contracting but big industries are booming.
Demonetisation hit the small industries hard because they operated in cash.
The GST facilitated the movement of goods from one state to another.
The large industries are able to send their products across the country.
The materials and machines used to make highways have also created demand for equipment like JCBs and materials like cement and steel, made by large industries.
The killing of small industries has led to a reduction in employment and translated into lack of demand in the domestic economy.
According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, the Purchase Managers Index for March 2021 declined to 54.6, from 55.3 in February.
This is hugely serious because the services sector accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the economy in developed countries.
The government is faced with problems on all three fronts: export, domestic and service.
Exports are down because of the stranglehold of the bureaucracy.
The domestic market is down because of the policies of the government.
Services are down because the education system sells certificates, instead of teaching.
My assessment is that taming the bureaucracy will be difficult, given the dependency of the political parties on the same bureaucracy. It may be easier to change the domestic policies.
The direction of investment in infrastructure should be changed in favour of small towns, instead of metropolises, such as making roads and providing electricity.
Education should move from secured employment of teachers to a voucher system, wherein the students can buy education from an institution of their choice.