The Hindu Editorial Newspaper Analysis Free PDF

Table of Contents

Is the Indian economy really that strong?

 The improving fundamentals owe more to favourable external circumstances than
to domestic policy choices
 Indian economy is currently growing at about 7%, after dipping below 6% following demonetisation.
 It is projected to grow over 7% this year.
 That is faster than China‟s growth rate and makes India effectively the fastest growing economy in the world
 Indian economy‟s foundations- strengthened in the last few years.
• 1)-Inflation has come down to the 4-5% range.
• 2)-Trade balances with the rest of the world have improved, and
• 3)-the current account deficit has come down to about 1.5% of GDP.
• 4)-India has also systematically built up its foreign exchange reserves
— now a comfortable $420 billion

 Deeper analysis indicates that growth may be overstated and the economy prone
to significant vulnerabilities.
• Building infrastructure and
• Enhancing the skill of the workforce.
 However, the striking fact about India is the weakness in investment
, reflected in the sharp decline in the rate of investment in recent years.
 Lowest in about 15 year- Decline in investment of this magnitude is difficult to
reconcile(समाधान करना) with a 7% growth rate
 Weakness in industrial production- following demonetisation.
 Bank financing is important for growth in India.
 This is particularly true of small and medium sized enterprises and parts
of the agricultural sector where the bulk of the labour force is employed.
 When there are stresses in the banking system- NPA Problem

 Demonetisation and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, which is a long term
positive for the Indian economy, had far greater adverse effects on the informal rather than
the formal sector.
 However, the improving fundamentals are on slippery ground
 Policy measures have helped control inflation
 Oil, gold and coal constitute almost 50% of total imports in India
 Fiscal position in India constitutes a hidden vulnerability

Building trust among real estate buyers

 Stopping short of implementing the Real Estate Act will adversely affect State governments
and builders
 Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, mandatorily requires promoters to regist
er all real estate projects with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)
in their respective States.
 This registration is vital for any real estate project, because even
the marketing of a project without this registration is illegal
 Almost two years have passed since the enactment of the Act, but there are
still some States which are yet to put in place these basic requirements
 In Kerala, for instance, there is only an authority and no rules,
 While in West Bengal, the draft rules haven‟t been notified yet.
 Utilising Section 91- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
 Section 91 can be availed of only for two years from the date of commencement of the
Act, i.e. May 1, 2016- window for using this option will come to a close on April 30
 Buyers and builders will be the immediate sufferers.

Shaken to the core in Kathua

The chilling details of the Kathua rape are important, but so is the disturbing politics behind it
Bakherwals, a nomadic tribe based in the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountains

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

 Page-1- Make BCCI a public body: law panel
 90-year-old Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should be declared a
public body, the Law Commission of India recommended to the government
on Wednesday.
 It also wanted the board and all its member cricket associations to be
brought under the Right to Information law regime

 Page-1- No pollution-reduction targets in Central plan
 Environmentalists surprised by omission in draft
 In a strange move that is unlikely to impress anyone concerned over the worsening
air quality in our cities, the government has refrained from specifying
pollution-reduction targets in its draft National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

 Centre proposes relaxation of coastal regulation zone norms
 States to get leeway in developing tourism, industrial infrastructure

 Modi and May resolve to reduce barriers
 Prime Minister offers to discuss free trade agreement on the basis of „mutual benefit‟; talks cover Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi

 CIA director Mike Pompeo, U.S. President Donald Trump‟s nominee to become
the top U.S. diplomat, visited North Korea last week and met leader Kim Jong-un with
whom he formed a “good relationship”, Mr. Trump said
 Beijing seeks common ground with New Delhi for the Himalayan nation‟s growth
 China on Wednesday proposed an understanding with India on Nepal, to help
develop a trilateral partnership, which would include setting up a trans-Himalayan
economic corridor.