- Badminton = Deuce ; Smash ; Drop ; Let ; Game ; Love ; Double Fault.
- Baseball = Pitcher ; Strike ; Diamond ; Bunting ; Home ; Put Out.
- Boat Race = Cox.
- Billiards = Jigger ; Break ; Scratch ; Cannons ; Pot ; Cue ; In Baulk ; In Off.
- Boating = Cox.
- Boxing = Jab ; Hook ; Punch ; Knock-out ; Upper cut ; Kidney Punch.
- Bridge = Revoke ; Ruff ; Dummy ; Little Slam ; Grand Slam ; Trump ; Diamonds ; Tricks .
- Chess = Gambit ; Checkmate ; Stalemate ; Check.
- Cricket = L.B.W ; Maiden over ; Rubber ; Stumped ; Ashes ; Hattrick ; Leg Bye ; Follow on ; Googly ; Gulley ; Silly Point ; Duck ; Run ; Drive ; No ball ; Cover point ; Leg Spinner ; Wicket Keeper ; Pitch ; Crease ; Bowling ; Leg-Break ; Hit-Wicket ; Bouncer ; Stone-Walling.
- Crocquet = Mallett ; Hoops.
- Football = Dribble ; Off-Side ; Penalty ; Throw-in ; Hat-Tick; Foul ; Touch ; Down ; Drop Kick ; Stopper ;
- Golf = Hole ; Bogey ; Put ; Stymie ; Caddie ; Tee ; Links ; Putting the green.
- Hockey = Bully ; Hat-Trick ; Short corner ; Stricks ; Striking Circle ; Penalty corner ; Under cutting ; Scoop ; Centre forward ; Carry ; Dribble ; Goal ; Carried.
- Horse Racing = Punter ; Jockey ; Place ; Win ; Protest.
- Kho-Kho = Runner ; Chaser ; Poleby ; Out ; Foul.
- Lawn Tennis = Volley ; Smash ; Service ; Back-hand-drive.
- Polo = Chukker ; Bunder ; Mallet.
- Rifle Shooting = Bull's eyes.
- Rugby Football = Drop Kick ; Screen.
- Skiing = Toboggaining.
- Swimming = Stroke.
- Volleyball = Deuce ; Booster ; Spikers ; Service ; Love.
- Wrestling = Heave ; Half Nelson.
Friday, August 28, 2009
TERMS USED IN DIFFERENT GAMES & SPORTS
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Land Acquisition Act 1894
This act which was enacted in 1894 is one of the remnants of the colonial legacy on independent India. Sure there have been amendments to the act but the character of the act still remains the same.
For those of us who are not aware of the exact contents of the act, I wish to briefly explain the act as I would to a layman. The act has various sections and without going deep into each section, I will try and simplify by going step wise.
The act is basically meant to acquire land for public purposes and for companies.
Step I
For those of us who are not aware of the exact contents of the act, I wish to briefly explain the act as I would to a layman. The act has various sections and without going deep into each section, I will try and simplify by going step wise.
The act is basically meant to acquire land for public purposes and for companies.
Step I
- appropriate govt makes a preliminary notification that land is required for public purpose or a company. This notice made under section 4(1) has to be published in official gazette and in two local news papers atleast one of them being in local language.
- Primary survey is then done to ascertain the suitability of land.
- Any interested party, meaning owner of land can within 30 days of publication of notice u/s 4(1) submit his objections to the collector who hears the objections and after making necessary enquiry submit his recommendations and report to the govt.
- The govt after considering the report of collector, the govt issues a declaration u/s 6(1) that the said land is required for public purpose or for a company. This declaration has to be made within one year of the notification u/s 4(1). This declaration is then published in official gazette and two local news papers.
- After this the collector initiates further action like measurement etc.
- Once this is done, collector acting under section 9 directs through a public notice that any claims for compensation of the land be made to him.
- These claims are heard and then collector gives his award for compensation u/s 11.
- award has to be made within 2 years from date of declaration u/s 6.
- The collector can take possession of the land after the order is made.
- On making the award u/s 11, the collector then makes payment of the compensation awarded by him.
- In case amount is not paid or deposited in court as the case be before taking possession of the land, the collector has to pay an interest @9% per annum for the first year and @15%per annum subsequently.
- Any body who is not acceptable to the amount of compensation can through the collector appeal to the district court. The court can only decide on the amount of compensation and not any thing else. The court can also not decrease the compensation awarded by the collector.
- In addition to the above compensation courts should award a sum of 30% on the market value ascertained by it. Further courts shall also award a sum of 12% of market value for the intervening period from date of notification u/s 4 to the date of actual taking possession of land/or date of award whichever is earlier.
- The act says compensation is payable only to interested parties which means the person has is interested in an easement affecting the land. This means that the agricultural labourers who are also dependant on the land but have no rights cannot be compensated.
- assumes that money is an adequate means of compensation.
- There is no standard and well defined process of fixing compensation.
- In case where local bodies are the interested parties, they do not even have the right to go to court. They simply have to surrender and can only represent regarding compensation to the collector.
- Under urgency provisions u/s 17, collector can do away with most of the above procedures and take possession of land. But what constitutes urgency or essential requirement has nowhere been defined.
- 45 discusses how notice should be served. In case notice cannot be served on the person named, it has to be served on any other male member of the family. It is not lawful to serve the notice to a female member of the family.
- How can govt acquire forcibly land and hand over to a company whose sole interest is making profit.
- The rules and norms of market are not followed. Normally in market, land is traded for an amount mutually agreed to after negotiations.
- entire process is very slow and due to inordinate delays causes great hardships to the people involved.
- Compensation is not immediately paid to the evicted people resulting in great hardship to them.
Ashoka Chakra
Ashoka Chakra - The Tale Of Twenty Four Spokes
The Ashoka Chakra means the 'wheel of the law'. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Dharma Chakra, which means wheel. It has 24 spokes.
The most prominent Indian Mauryan emperor, called Ashoka the Great, built the Ashoka Chakra during the 3rd century BC. The Ashoka Chakra is inscribed widely among the Lion Capital of Sarnath and the Ashoka Pillar. The Ashoka Chakra is placed in the center of the National Flag of the Republic of India. It was adopted on 22 July, 1947. It is rendered in a navy blue colour on a white background. In order to add historical 'depth' and separate the National Flag from that of the Indian National Congress (INC) Gandhian spinning wheel is replaced with the Spokes of Ashoka Chakra in the center of the Flag.
Ashoka Chakra can also be seen on the base of Lion Capital of Ashoka which has been adopted as the National Emblem of India. The Chakra signifies that there is a life in 'Movement' and 'Death' in stagnation. The process of the wheel stands for cycle or the self repeating process with the changing of time in our life. The Horse on the Right hand symbolizing accuracy and speed. The Bull on the Left hand stands for hard work.
Wonderful Qualities of Twenty Four Spokes:
1. Love
2.Courage
3.Patience
4.Peacefulness
5.Magnanimity
6.Goodness
7.Faithfulness
8.Gentleness
9.Selflessness
10.Self-control
11.Self sacrifice
12.Truthfulness
13.Righteousness
14.Justice
15.Mercy
16.Gracefulness
17.Humility
18.Empathy
19.Sympathy
20.Spiritual knowledge
21.Moral Values
22.Spiritual Wisdom
23.The fear of God
24.Faith or Believe or Hope
Ashoka Chakra represent the 24 Hours of the nation. Thus it governs all.
The Ashoka Chakra means the 'wheel of the law'. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Dharma Chakra, which means wheel. It has 24 spokes.
The most prominent Indian Mauryan emperor, called Ashoka the Great, built the Ashoka Chakra during the 3rd century BC. The Ashoka Chakra is inscribed widely among the Lion Capital of Sarnath and the Ashoka Pillar. The Ashoka Chakra is placed in the center of the National Flag of the Republic of India. It was adopted on 22 July, 1947. It is rendered in a navy blue colour on a white background. In order to add historical 'depth' and separate the National Flag from that of the Indian National Congress (INC) Gandhian spinning wheel is replaced with the Spokes of Ashoka Chakra in the center of the Flag.
Ashoka Chakra can also be seen on the base of Lion Capital of Ashoka which has been adopted as the National Emblem of India. The Chakra signifies that there is a life in 'Movement' and 'Death' in stagnation. The process of the wheel stands for cycle or the self repeating process with the changing of time in our life. The Horse on the Right hand symbolizing accuracy and speed. The Bull on the Left hand stands for hard work.
Wonderful Qualities of Twenty Four Spokes:
1. Love
2.Courage
3.Patience
4.Peacefulness
5.Magnanimity
6.Goodness
7.Faithfulness
8.Gentleness
9.Selflessness
10.Self-control
11.Self sacrifice
12.Truthfulness
13.Righteousness
14.Justice
15.Mercy
16.Gracefulness
17.Humility
18.Empathy
19.Sympathy
20.Spiritual knowledge
21.Moral Values
22.Spiritual Wisdom
23.The fear of God
24.Faith or Believe or Hope
Ashoka Chakra represent the 24 Hours of the nation. Thus it governs all.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Population Geography and Transport
- Khasa, Tharu and Bhotia tribes in UP
- Highest % of SC in Punjab and highest % of ST in Mizoram whereas highest SC in absolute numbers is in UP and in absolute number highest ST population in MP
- Dangs tribe in Gujarat
- Major tribes in India- Gond-Bhil-Santhal-Meena
- European+Indian= Mestizo
- Sex ratio among UTs highest in Pondicherry and lowest in Daman & Diu
- Child sex ratio among UTs highest in Dadra& Nagar Haveli and lowest in Chandigarh
- Highest decadal growth rate of population in Nagaland, then Sikkim
- Lowest decadal growth rate of population in Kerala and then Tamil Nadu
- Highest literacy rate among UTs in Lakshadweep and lowest in D &NH
- Highest IMR in India in OrissaKanis and Uralis tribes in Kerala
- Sahariya and Koli tribes in Rajasthan
- Buksa tribe can be found in UP and Warli tribe in Mahrashtra.Warlis can be found in Gujarat as well
- Most populous cities of India Mumbai-Delhi-Bangalore-Kolkata
- Denotified tribes are those which were earlier criminal
- Literacy rate wise Jains-Christians-Buddhists-Sikhs-Hindus-Muslims
- Valmiki, Nayak,Lambada tribes in Andhra Pradesh
- Munda-Koli languages belong to Austro-Asiatic type
- Toda,Irula,Badaga,Paliyan and kadar tribes in Tamil Nadu
- Birhol tribe in Jharkhand
- Konyak tribe in Nagaland
- Between 15 degree North to 45 deg North 45 % of the world population lives
- NH 17 runs entirely through desert(Pathankot to Shamiakhiali)
- Ennore in Tamil Nadu is the first corporate port in India
- Chennai port is an artificial port and it is the oldest port in India
- Maharashtra has highest number of ports in India
- Indian Railways is now reorganized into 16 Zones
- The Research, Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) at Lucknow is the R&D
wing of Indian Railways. It functions as a consultant to the Indian Railways in
technical matters - Since 1924-25, railway finances remain separated from general revenues
- Though
the National Highways, which is the responsibility of the Central Government, has
about 66,590 km (Annexure-I) length and comprises only 2 per cent of the total
length of roads, carries over 40 per cent of the total traffic - The NHDP is the largest highway project ever undertaken
in the country. The NHDP is being implemented by National Highways Authority of India - Approximately, 90 per cent of the country’s trade by volume (70 per cent in terms of
value) is moved by sea. India has the largest merchant shipping fleet among the
developing countries and ranks 20th amongst the countries - Presently 13 major ports and 200 other ports in India
- Cochin Shipyard is the largest shipyard in the country
- First private airport in Cochi
- Kandala is a tidal port.So is Kolkata
- Vizag port is the deepest port in India
- Highest % of National Highways in UP and the MP
- Rural and other roads constitute the highest % of roads in India
- India has bilateral Air Services Agreements with 103 countries
- India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) came into existence in October 1966
- The Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) located in Gwalior
- Gujarat has highest number of ports
- Dufferin, Indias first training ship.Chanakya-India's present training ship
- Length of road highest in Maharashtra
- Mundra Port, a newly developed minor port in the state of Gujarat registered a cargo traffic of around 28.8 million tonnes per annum during the financial year of 2008, which is higher than that of many major ports
- Bhopal Shatabdi is the train in India with highest speed
- Maximum airports in Gukarat
- Maximum major ports in Tamil Nadu
- 23% of the total railway route electrified
- Konkan railway passes through Maharshtra, Goa and Karnataka
Shorts Notes
1>Yakshagana- it is a popular form of dance in Karnataka, started by the Vijayanagar artists back in 14th century, also known as Aataa and Tulu.
2>The Statue of Liberty-Situated in New York,USA,symbol of liberty of mankind, presented to the people of France to USA in 1886.Its a statue of a lady with a torch in her raised hand.
3>Know India Program:It is a program to introduce Indian cultural,socio religious,architectural,geographical and historical heritage to the foreigners to attract more tourists to India
4>Footloose Industry-is a general term for an industry that can be placed and located at any location without effect from factors such as resources or transport.These industries often have spatially fixed costs, which means that the costs of the products do not change despite where the product is assembled. Diamonds and computer chips are some examples of footloose industries.
5>MERCOSUR- It is a regional trade agreement among 5 South American nations, Brazil,Argentina,Paraguay,Uruguay.Started in 1991 with Asunción agreement.Venezuela will soon be the 5th full member.Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru currently have associate member status.
6>Eiffel Tower-Named after its designer Gustave Eiffel, situated in Paris beside the Seine river it has become a symbol of French culture and a favourite tourist destination.Completed in 1889.
7>Euro Control-It is the international norm for vehicular pollution control.Presently Euro III is in operation but will soon be replaced by Euro V.In India it exists in the name of BHARAT III.
8>Mekong Ganga Cooperation-It is an economic cooperation existing between India, Myanmar,Vietnam,Thailand,Laos and Cambodia, established in 2000.It is an evidence of India's increasing participation in South East Asian economy.
9>Central Vigilance Commission-Established in 1964, it is vested with the power and authority to eradicate corruption in central departments and units, now a constitutional body.
10>Reverse Migration- Reverse migration is a phenomenon in bird migration. Although some large birds such as swans learn migration routes from their parents, in most small species, such as passerines, the route is genetically programmed, and young birds can innately navigate to their wintering area.Sometimes it denotes the return of the people who have settled in other countries to their own country.
11>Chilka Lake:It is a brackish water lagoon in Orissa,at the mouth of Daya river, the largest in India and the second largest lagoon in the world, in 1981 it got the status of the first Indian wetland of international importance under Ramsar convention.
12>Mau Mau rebellion- Lasted from 1952 to 1960, rebellion against British colonial group by the Kikuyu ethnic group in Kenya, brutally repressed by the British
13>Sanand-It is a small municipal city in Ahmedabad district Gujarat, came in news when Tata group shifted the manufacturing units of Nano car from Singur in West Bengal to there.
14>Idi Amin-The notorious Ugandan dictator, died in 2003,responsible for many massacres in Uganda and also for compelling the people of Indian origin and other Asians in Uganda to flee leaving behind their properties without any compensation in 70s.
15>G 77- Originally founded by 77 developing nations in 1963 under the UN banner for better political, economic and social cooperation.Presently it has 130 members.G-24 is a part of it.
2>The Statue of Liberty-Situated in New York,USA,symbol of liberty of mankind, presented to the people of France to USA in 1886.Its a statue of a lady with a torch in her raised hand.
3>Know India Program:It is a program to introduce Indian cultural,socio religious,architectural,geographical and historical heritage to the foreigners to attract more tourists to India
4>Footloose Industry-is a general term for an industry that can be placed and located at any location without effect from factors such as resources or transport.These industries often have spatially fixed costs, which means that the costs of the products do not change despite where the product is assembled. Diamonds and computer chips are some examples of footloose industries.
5>MERCOSUR- It is a regional trade agreement among 5 South American nations, Brazil,Argentina,Paraguay,Uruguay.Started in 1991 with Asunción agreement.Venezuela will soon be the 5th full member.Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru currently have associate member status.
6>Eiffel Tower-Named after its designer Gustave Eiffel, situated in Paris beside the Seine river it has become a symbol of French culture and a favourite tourist destination.Completed in 1889.
7>Euro Control-It is the international norm for vehicular pollution control.Presently Euro III is in operation but will soon be replaced by Euro V.In India it exists in the name of BHARAT III.
8>Mekong Ganga Cooperation-It is an economic cooperation existing between India, Myanmar,Vietnam,Thailand,Laos and Cambodia, established in 2000.It is an evidence of India's increasing participation in South East Asian economy.
9>Central Vigilance Commission-Established in 1964, it is vested with the power and authority to eradicate corruption in central departments and units, now a constitutional body.
10>Reverse Migration- Reverse migration is a phenomenon in bird migration. Although some large birds such as swans learn migration routes from their parents, in most small species, such as passerines, the route is genetically programmed, and young birds can innately navigate to their wintering area.Sometimes it denotes the return of the people who have settled in other countries to their own country.
11>Chilka Lake:It is a brackish water lagoon in Orissa,at the mouth of Daya river, the largest in India and the second largest lagoon in the world, in 1981 it got the status of the first Indian wetland of international importance under Ramsar convention.
12>Mau Mau rebellion- Lasted from 1952 to 1960, rebellion against British colonial group by the Kikuyu ethnic group in Kenya, brutally repressed by the British
13>Sanand-It is a small municipal city in Ahmedabad district Gujarat, came in news when Tata group shifted the manufacturing units of Nano car from Singur in West Bengal to there.
14>Idi Amin-The notorious Ugandan dictator, died in 2003,responsible for many massacres in Uganda and also for compelling the people of Indian origin and other Asians in Uganda to flee leaving behind their properties without any compensation in 70s.
15>G 77- Originally founded by 77 developing nations in 1963 under the UN banner for better political, economic and social cooperation.Presently it has 130 members.G-24 is a part of it.
PLASTIC HAZARDS
Plastic is a synthetic substance produced by chemical reactions.Almost all types of plastics are produced from petroleum except a few experimental resins prepared from corn or other sources.Plastic is widely used in packaging materials or for preparing bags or containers.Its easy availability and cost effectiveness make it a popular choice for various purposes.However the hazards associated with plastics are plenty.
Hazards:
Hazards:
- The "use and throw away" culture associated with plastics causes its improper disposal and is one of the cardinal reasons for unclean, unhygienic environment
- Improper disposal of plastics causes blockage in the drainage system,unclean water and water borne diseases
- They remain in the soil for long period and cause infertility of soil.
- Certain plastics when burnt produces carcinogenic substances and Green House Gases
- The littering of plastic reduces rain water percolating and causes low ground water level
- Consumption of plastic by animals and fishes causes death or other health hazards.
- Exposure to the chemicals in plastic produces toxicological effects on human health.The circulatory,endocrine, reproductive and urinary systems are most affected.
- Educating people on proper disposal of plastics
- More R& D activities to produce cheap bio degradable plastics
- Subsidizing bags or containers made from traditional materials
- Taxation on the use of plastics
- Penalties for improper disposal of plastics
Economic Terms
Absolute advantage: A country has an absolute advantage if its output per unit of input of all goods and services produced is higher than that of another country.
Ad valorem taxin Latin: to the value added) - a tax based on the value (or assessed value) of property.
Aggregate demand is the sum of all demand in an economy. This can be computed by adding the expenditure on consumer goods and services, investment, and not exports (total exports minus total imports).
Aggregate supply is the total value of the goods and services produced in a country, plus the value of imported goods less the value of exports.
Alternative minimum tax: An IRS mechanism created to ensure that high-income individuals, corporations, trusts, and estates pay at least some minimum amount of tax, regardless of deductions, credits or exemptions. It operates by adding certain tax-preference items back into adjusted gross income. While it was once only important for a small number of high-income individuals who made extensive use of tax shelters and deductions, more and more people are being affected by it. The AMT is triggered when there are large numbers of personal exemptions on state and local taxes paid, large numbers of miscellaneous itemized deductions or medical expenses, or by Incentive Stock Option (ISO) plans.
Asset: Anything of monetary value that is owned by a person. Assets include real property, personal property, and enforceable claims against others (including bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, and so on).
Average propensity to consume is the proportion of income the average family spends on goods and services.
Average propensity to save is the proportion of income the average family saves (does not spend on consumption).
Average total cost is the sum of all the production costs divided by the number of units produced.
Balance of trade: The difference in value over a period of time between a country's imports and exports.
Barter system: System where there is an exchange goods without involving money.
Base year: In the construction of an index, the year from which the weights assigned to the different components of the index is drawn. It is conventional to set the value of an index in its base year equal to 100.
Bear: An investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price
Bid price: The highest price an investor is willing to pay for a stock.
Bill of exchange: A written, dated, and signed three-party instrument containing an unconditional order by a drawer that directs a drawee to pay a definite sum of money to a payee on demand or at a specified future date. Also known as a draft. It is the most commonly used financial instrument in international trade.
Birth rate: The number of births in a year per 1,000 population.
Bond: A certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal.
Boom: A state of economic prosperity
Break even: This is a term used to describe a point at which revenues equal costs (fixed and variable).
Bretton Woods: An international monetary system operating from 1946-1973. The value of the dollar was fixed in terms of gold, and every other country held its currency at a fixed exchange rate against the dollar; when trade deficits occurred, the central bank of the deficit country financed the deficit with its reserves of international currencies. The Bretton Woods system collapsed in 1971 when the US abandoned the gold standard.
Budget: A summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them. A budget can provide guidelines for managing future investments and expenses.
Budget deficit is the amount by which government spending exceeds government revenues during a specified period of time usually a year.
Bull: An investor with an optimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to rise and so buys now for resale later
c.i.f., abbrev: Cost, Insurance and Freight: Export term in which the price quoted by the exporter includes the costs of ocean transportation to the port of destination and insurance coverage.
Call money: Price paid by an investor for a call option. There is no fixed rate for call money. It depends on the type of stock, its performance prior to the purchase of the call option, and the period of the contract. It is an interest bearing band deposits that can be withdrawn on 24 hours notice.
Capital: Wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value. Capital is the contribution to productive activity made by investment is physical capital (machinery, factories, tools and equipments) and human capital (eg general education, health). Capital is one of the three main factors of production other two are labour and natural resources.
Capital account; Part of a nation's balance of payments that includes purchases and sales of assets, such as stocks, bonds, and land. A nation has a capital account surplus when receipts from asset sales exceed payments for the country's purchases of foreign assets. The sum of the capital and current accounts is the overall balance of payments.
Capital budget: A plan of proposed capital outlays and the means of financing them for the current fiscal period. It is usually a part of the current budget. If a Capital Program is in operation, it will be the first year thereof. A Capital Program is sometimes referred to as a Capital Budget.
Capital gain tax: Tax paid on the gain realized upon the sale of an asset. It is a tax on profits from the sale of capital assets, such as shares. A capital loss can be used to offset a capital gain, reducing any tax you would otherwise have to pay.
Cartel: An organization of producers seeking to limit or eliminate competition among its members, most often by agreeing to restrict output to keep prices higher than would occur under competitive conditions. Cartels are inherently unstable because of the potential for producers to defect from the agreement and capture larger markets by selling at lower prices.
Census: Official gathering of information about the population in a particular area. Government departments use the data collected in planning for the future in such areas as health, education, transport, and housing..
Central bank: Major financial institution responsible for issuing currency, managing foreign reserves, implementing monetary policy, and providing banking services to the government and commercial banks.
Centrally planned economy: An economic system in which the production, pricing, and distribution of goods and services are determined by the government rather than market forces. Also referred to as a "non market economy." Former Soviet Union, China, and most other communist nations are examples of centrally planed economy
Classical economics: The economics of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, and later followers such as John Stuart Mill. The theory concentrated on the functioning of a market economy, spelling out a rudimentary explanation of consumer and producer behaviour in particular markets and postulating that in the long term the economy would tend to operate at full employment because increases in supply would create corresponding increases in demand.
Closed economy: An economy in which there are no foreign trade transactions or any other form of economic contacts with the rest of the world.
Collateral security: Additional security a borrower supplies to obtain a loan.
Commercial Policy: encompassing instruments of trade protection employed by countries to foster industrial promotion, export diversification, employment creation, and other desired development-oriented strategies. They include tariffs, quotas, and subsidies.
Comparative advantage: The ability to produce a good at a lower cost, relative to other goods, compared to another country. With perfect competition and undistorted markets, countries tend to export goods in which they have a Comparative Advantage and hence make gains from trading
Compound interest: Interest paid on the original principal and on interest accrued from time it became due.
Conditionality: The requirement imposed by the International Monetary Fund that a borrowing country undertake fiscal, monetary, and international commercial reforms as a condition to receiving a loan for balance of payments difficulties.
Copyright: A legal right (usually of the author or composer or publisher of a work) to exclusive publication production, sale, distribution of some work. What is protected by the copyright is the "expression," not the idea. Notice that taking another's idea is plagiarism, so copyrights are not the equivalent of legal prohibition of plagiarism.
Correlation coefficient: Denoted as "r", a measure of the linear relationship between two variables. The absolute value of "r" provides an indication of the strength of the relationship. The value of "r" varies between positive 1 and negative 1, with -1 or 1 indicating a perfect linear relationship, and r = 0 indicating no relationship. The sign of the correlation coefficient indicates whether the slope of the line is positive or negative when the two variables are plotted in a scatter plot.
Cost benefit analysis: A technique that assesses projects through a comparison between their costs and benefits, including social costs and benefits for an entire region or country. Depending on the project objectives and its the expected outputs, three types of CBA are generally recognised: financial; economic; and social. Generally cost-benefit analyses are comparative, i.e. they are used to compare alternative proposals. Cost-benefit analysis compares the costs and benefits of the situation with and without the project; the costs and benefits are considered over the life of the project.
Countervailing duties: duties (tariffs) that are imposed by a country to counteract subsidies provided to a foreign producer Current account: Part of a nation's balance of payments which includes the value of all goods and services imported and exported, as well as the payment and receipt of dividends and interest. A nation has a current account surplus if exports exceed imports plus net transfers to foreigners. The sum of the current and capital accounts is the overall balance of payments.
Cross elasticity of demand: The change in the quantity demanded of one product or service impacting the change in demand for another product or service. E.g. percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good divided by the percentage change in the price of another good (a substitute or complement)
Cross elasticity of demand: The change in the quantity demanded of one product or service impacting the change in demand for another product or service. E.g. percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good divided by the percentage change in the price of another good (a substitute or complement)
Crowding out: The possible tendency for government spending on goods and services to put upward pressure on interest rates, thereby discouraging private investment spending.
Currency appreciation: An increase in the value of one currency relative to another currency. Appreciation occurs when, because of a change in exchange rates; a unit of one currency buys more units of another currency. Opposite is the case with currency depreciation.
Currency board: Form of central bank that issues domestic currency for foreign exchange at fixed rates.
Currency substitution: The use of foreign currency (e.g., U.S. dollars) as a medium of exchange in place of or along with the local currency (e.g., Rupees).
Customs duty: Duty levied on the imports of certain goods. Includes excise equivalents Unlike tariffs customs duties are used mainly as a means to raise revenue for the government rather than protecting domestic producers from foreign competition.
Death rate: numbers of people dying per thousand population.
Deflation: a reduction in the level of national income and output, usually accompanied by a fall in the general price level.
Developed country is an economically advanced country whose economy is characterized by a large industrial and service sector and high levels of income per head.
Developing country, less developed country, underdeveloped country or third world country: a country characterized by low levels of GDP and per capita income; typically dominated by agriculture and mineral products and majority of the population lives near subsistence levels.
Dumping occurs when goods are exported at a price less than their normal value, generally meaning they are exported for less than they are sold in the domestic market or third country markets, or at less than production cost.
Direct investment: Foreign capital inflow in the form of investment by foreign-based companies into domestic based companies. Portfolio investment is foreign capital inflow by foreign investors into shares and financial securities. It is the ownership and management of production and/or marketing facilities in a foreign country.
Direct tax: A tax that you pay directly, as opposed to indirect taxes, such as tariffs and business taxes. The income tax is a direct tax, as are property taxes. See also Indirect Tax.
Double taxation: Corporate earnings taxed at both the corporate level and again as a stockholder dividend Economic growth: Quantitative measure of the change in size/volume of economic activity, usually calculated in terms of gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product(GDP).
Duopoly: A market structure in which two producers of a commodity compete with each other.
Econometrics: The application of statistical and mathematical methods in the field of economics to test and quantify economic theories and the solutions to economic problems.
Economic development: The process of improving the quality of human life through increasing per capita income, reducing poverty, and enhancing individual economic opportunities. It is also sometimes defined to include better education, improved health and nutrition, conservation of natural resources, a cleaner environment, and a richer cultural life.
Economic growth: An increase in the nation's capacity to produce goods and services.
Economic infrastructure: The underlying amount of physical and financial capital embodied in roads, railways, waterways, airways, and other forms of transportation and communication plus water supplies, financial institutions, electricity, and public services such as health and education. The level of infrastructural development in a country is a crucial factor determining the pace and diversity of economic development.
Economic integration: The merging to various degrees of the economies and economic policies of two or more countries in a given region. See also common market, customs union, free-trade area, trade creation, and trade diversion.
Economic policy: A statement of objectives and the methods of achieving these objectives (policy instruments) by government, political party, business concern, etc. Some examples of government economic objectives are maintaining full employment, achieving a high rate of economic growth, reducing income inequalities and regional development inequalities, and maintaining price stability. Policy instruments include fiscal policy, monetary and financial policy, and legislative controls (e.g., price and wage control, rent control).
Elasticity of demand: The degree to which consumer demand for a product or service responds to a change in price, wage or other independent variable. When there is no perceptible response, demand is said to be inelastic.
Excess capacity: Volume or capacity over and above that which is needed to meet peak planned or expected demand.
Excess demand: the situation in which the quantity demanded at a given price exceeds the quantity supplied. Opposite: excess supply
Exchange control: A governmental policy designed to restrict the outflow of domestic currency and prevent a worsened balance of payments position by controlling the amount of foreign exchange that can be obtained or held by domestic citizens. Often results from overvalued exchange rates
Exchange rate: The price of one currency stated in terms of another currency.
Export incentives: Public subsidies, tax rebates, and other kinds of financial and nonfinancial measures designed to promote a greater level of economic activity in export industries.
Exports: The value of all goods and nonfactor services sold to the rest of the world; they include merchandise, freight, insurance, travel, and other nonfactor services. The value of factor services (such as investment receipts and workers' remittances from abroad) is excluded from this measure. See also merchandise exports and imports.
Exchange control A governmental policy designed to restrict the outflow of domestic currency and prevent a worsened balance of payments position by controlling the amount of foreign exchange that can be obtained or held by domestic citizens. Often results from overvalued exchange rates.
Externalities: A cost or benefit not accounted for in the price of goods or services. Often "externality" refers to the cost of pollution and other environmental impacts.
Fiscal deficit is the gap between the government's total spending and the sum of its revenue receipts and non-debt capital receipts. It represents the total amount of borrowed funds required by the government to completely meet its expenditure
Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and taxation to try to influence the level of economic activity. An expansionary (or reflationary) fiscal policy could mean: cutting levels of direct or indirect tax increasing government expenditure The effect of these policies would be to encourage more spending and boost the economy. A contractionary (or deflationary) fiscal policy could be: increasing taxation - either direct or indirect cutting government expenditure These policies would reduce the level of demand in the economy and help to reduce inflation
Fixed costs: A cost incurred in the general operations of the business that is not directly attributable to the costs of producing goods and services. These "Fixed" or "Indirect" costs of doing business will be incurred whether or not any sales are made during the period, thus the designation "Fixed", as opposed to "Variable".
Fixed exchange rate: The exchange value of a national currency fixed in relation to another (usually the U.S. dollar), not free to fluctuate on the international money market.
Foreign aid The international transfer of public funds in the form of loans or grants either directly from one government to another (bilateral assistance) or indirectly through the vehicle of a multilateral assistance agency like the World Bank. See also tied aid, private foreign investment, and nongovernmental organizations.
Foreign direct investment (FDI): Overseas investments by private multinational corporations.
Foreign exchange reserves: The stock of liquid assets denominated in foreign currencies held by a government's monetary authorities (typically, the finance ministry or central bank). Reserves enable the monetary authorities to intervene in foreign exchange markets to affect the exchange value of their domestic currency in the market. Reserves are invested in low-risk and liquid assets, often in foreign government securities.
Free trade: Trade in which goods can be imported and exported without any barriers in the forms of tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions. Free trade has often been described as an engine of growth because it encourages countries to specialize in activities in which they have comparative advantages, thereby increasing their respective production efficiencies and hence their total output of goods and services.
Free-trade area A form of economic integration in which there exists free internal trade among member countries but each member is free to levy different external tariffs against non-member nations.
Free-market exchange rate Rate determined solely by international supply and demand for domestic currency expressed in terms of, say, U.S. dollars.
Fringe benefit: A benefit in addition to salary offered to employees such as use of company's car, house, lunch coupons, health care subscriptions etc.
Gains from trade The addition to output and consumption resulting from specialization in production and free trade with other economic units including persons, regions, or countries.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) An international body set up in 1947 to probe into the ways and means of reducing tariffs on internationally traded goods and services. Between 1947 and 1962, GATT held seven conferences but met with only moderate success. Its major success was achieved in 1967 during the so-called Kennedy Round of talks when tariffs on primary commodities were drastically slashed and then in 1994 with the signing of the Uruguay Round agreement. Replaced in 1995 by World Trade Organization (WTO).
Global warming Theory that world climate is slowly warming as a result of both MDC and LDC industrial and agricultural activities.
Gross domestic product: (GDP) Gross Domestic Product: The total of goods and services produced by a nation over a given period, usually 1 year. Gross Domestic Product measures the total output from all the resources located in a country, wherever the owners of the resources live.
Gross national product (GNP) is the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year, plus income earned by its citizens abroad, minus income earned by foreigners from domestic production. The Fact book, following current practice, uses GDP rather than GNP to measure national production. However, the user must realize that in certain countries net remittances from citizens working abroad may be important to national well being. GNP equals GDP plus net property income from abroad. Globalisation: The process whereby trade is now being conducted on ever widening geographical boundaries. Countries now trade across continents and companies also trade all over the world.
Human capital Productive investments embodied in human persons. These include skills, abilities, ideals, and health resulting from expenditures on education, on-the-job training programs, and medical care.
Imperfect competition A market situation or structure in which producers have some degree of control over the price of their product. Examples include monopoly and oligopoly. See also perfect competition.
Imperfect market A market where the theoretical assumptions of perfect competition are violated by the existence of, for example, a small number of buyers and sellers, barriers to entry, nonhomogeneity of products, and incomplete information. The three imperfect markets commonly analyzed in economic theory are monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition.
Import substitution A deliberate effort to replace major consumer imports by promoting the emergence and expansion of domestic industries such as textiles, shoes, and household appliances. Import substitution requires the imposition of protective tariffs and quotas to get the new industry started.
Income inequality The existence of disproportionate distribution of total national income among households whereby the share going to rich persons in a country is far greater than that going to poorer persons (a situation common to most LDCs). This is largely due to differences in the amount of income derived from ownership of property and to a lesser extent the result of differences in earned income. Inequality of personal incomes can be reduced by progressive income taxes and wealth taxes.
Index of industrial production: A quantity index that is designed to measure changes in the physical volume or production levels of industrial goods over time.
Inflation is the percentage increase in the prices of goods and services.
Indirect tax: A tax you do not pay directly, but which is passed on to you by an increase in your expenses. For instance, a company might have to pay a fuel tax. The company pays the tax but can increase the cost of its products so consumers are actually paying the tax indirectly by paying more for the merchandise.
Interdependence Interrelationship between economic and noneconomic variables. Also, in international affairs, the situation in which one nation's welfare depends to varying degrees on the decisions and policies of another nation, and vice versa. See also dependence.
International commodity agreement Formal agreement by sellers of a common internationally traded commodity (coffee, sugar) to coordinate supply to maintain price stability.
International Labor Organization (ILO) One of the functional organizations of the United Nations, based in Geneva, Switzerland, whose central task is to look into problems of world labor supply, its training, utilization, domestic and international distribution, etc. Its aim in this endeavor is to increase world output through maximum utilization of available human resources and thus improve levels of living.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) An autonomous international financial institution that originated in the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. Its main purpose is to regulate the international monetary exchange system, which also stems from that conference but has since been modified. In particular, one of the central tasks of the IMF is to control fluctuations in exchange rates of world currencies in a bid to alleviate severe balance of payments problems.
International poverty line An arbitrary international real income measure, usually expressed in constant dollars (e.g., $270), used as a basis for estimating the proportion of the world's population that exists at bare levels of subsistence.
Land reform A deliberate attempt to reorganize and transform existing agrarian systems with the intention of improving the distribution of agricultural incomes and thus fostering rural development. Among its many forms, land reform may entail provision of secured tenure rights to the individual farmer, transfer of land ownership away from small classes of powerful landowners to tenants who actually till the land, appropriation of land estates for establishing small new settlement farms, or instituting land improvements and irrigation schemes.
Macroeconomic stabilization Policies designed to eliminate macroeconomic instability.
Macroeconomics The branch of economics that considers the relationships among broad economic aggregates such as national income, total volumes of saving, investment, consumption expenditure, employment, and money supply. It is also concerned with determinants of the magnitudes of these aggregates and their rates of change over time.
Market economy A free private-enterprise economy governed by consumer sovereignty, a price system, and the forces of supply and demand.
Market failure A phenomenon that results from the existence of market imperfections (e.g., monopoly power, lack of factor mobility, significant externalities, lack of knowledge) that weaken the functioning of a free-market economy--it fails to realize its theoretical beneficial results. Market failure often provides the justification for government interference with the working of the free market.
Market-friendly approach: World Bank notion that successful development policy requires governments to create an environment in which markets can operate efficiently and to intervene selectively in the economy in areas where the market is inefficient (e.g., social and economic infrastructure, investment coordination, economic "safety net").
Market mechanism: The system whereby prices of commodities or services freely rise or fall when the buyer's demand for them rises or falls or the seller's supply of them decreases or increases.
Market prices: Prices established by demand and supply in a free-market economy.
Merchandise exports and imports: All international changes in ownership of merchandise passing across the customs borders of the trading countries. Exports are valued f.o.b. (free on board). Imports are valued c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight).
Merchandise trade balance: Balance on commodity exports and imports.
Microeconomics: The branch of economics concerned with individual decision units--firms and households--and the way in which their decisions interact to determine relative prices of goods and factors of production and how much of these will be bought and sold. The market is the central concept in microeconomics.
Middle-income countries (MICs): LDCs with per capita income above $785 and below $9,655 in 1997 according to World Bank measures.
Mixed economic systems: Economic systems that are a mixture of both capitalist and socialist economies. Most developing countries have mixed systems. Their essential feature is the coexistence of substantial private and public activity within a single economy.
Monetary policy: The regulation of the money supply and interest rates by a central bank in order to control inflation and stabilize currency. If the economy is heating up, the central bank (such as RBI in India) can withdraw money from the banking system, raise the reserve requirement or raise the discount rate to make it cool down. If growth is slowing, it can reverse the process - increase the money supply, lower the reserve requirement and decrease the discount rate. The monetary policy influences interest rates and money supply.
Money supply: the total stock of money in the economy; currency held by the public plus money in accounts in banks. It consists primarily currency in circulation and deposits in savings and checking accounts. Too much money in relation to the output of goods tends to push interest rates down and push inflation up; too little money tends to push rates up and prices down, causing unemployment and idle plant capacity. The central bank manages the money supply by raising and lowering the reserves banks are required to hold and the discount rate at which they can borrow money from the central bank. The central bank also trades government securities (called repurchase agreements) to take money out of the system or put it in. There are various measures of money supply, including M1, M2, M3 and L; these are referred to as monetary aggregates.
Monopoly A market situation in which a product that does not have close substitutes is being produced and sold by a single seller.
Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) A set of nontariff bilateral quotas established by developed countries on imports of cotton, wool, and synthetic textiles and clothing from individual LDCs
Multinational corporation (MNC) An international or transnational corporation with headquarters in one country but branch offices in a wide range of both developed and developing countries. Examples include General Motors, Coca-Cola, Firestone, Philips, Volkswagen, British Petroleum, Exxon, and ITT. Firms become multinational corporations when they perceive advantages to establishing production and other activities in foreign locations. Firms globalize their activities both to supply their home-country market more cheaply and to serve foreign markets more directly. Keeping foreign activities within the corporate structure lets firms avoid the costs inherent in arm's-length dealings with separate entities while utilizing their own firm-specific knowledge such as advanced production techniques.
National debt: Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and other debt obligations that constitute the debt owed by the federal government. It represents the accumulation of each year's budget deficit Public debt: Borrowing by the Government of India internally as well as externally. The total of the nation's debts: debts of local and state and national governments is an indicator of how much public spending is financed by borrowing instead of taxation
Newly industrializing countries (NICs) A small group of countries at a relatively advanced level of economic development with a substantial and dynamic industrial sector and with close links to the international trade, finance, and investment system (Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and Taiwan).
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Privately owned and operated organizations involved in providing financial and technical assistance to LDCs. See foreign aid.
Nontariff trade barrier: A barrier to free trade that takes a form other than a tariff, such as quotas or sanitary requirements for imported meats and dairy products.
Official development assistance (ODA) Net disbursements of loans or grants made on concessional terms by official agencies of member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Official exchange rate: Rate at which the central bank will buy and sell the domestic currency in terms of a foreign currency such as the U.S. dollar.
Open economy An economy that encourages foreign trade and has extensive financial and nonfinancial contacts with the rest of the world in areas such as education, culture, and technology. See also closed economy.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD):An organization of 20 countries from the Western world including all of those in Europe and North America. Its major objective is to assist the economic growth of its member nations by promoting cooperation and technical analysis of national and international economic trends.
Overvalued exchange rate An official exchange rate set at a level higher than its real or shadow value--for example, 7 Kenyan shillings per dollar instead of, say, 10 shillings per dollar. Overvalued rates cheapen the real cost of imports while raising the real cost of exports. They often lead to a need for exchange control.
Perfect competition A market situation characterized by the existence of very many buyers and sellers of homogeneous goods or services with perfect knowledge and free entry so that no single buyer or seller can influence the price of the good or service.
Performance budget is a budget format that relates the input of resources and the output of services for each organizational unit individually. Sometimes used synonymously with program budget. It is a budget wherein expenditures are based primarily upon measurable performance of activities.
Political economy The attempt to merge economic analysis with practical politics--to view economic activity in its political context. Much of classical economics was political economy, and today political economy is increasingly being recognized as necessary for any realistic examination of development problems.
Portfolio investment Financial investments by private individuals, corporations, pension funds, and mutual funds in stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, and notes issued by private companies and the public agencies of LDCs. See also private foreign investment.
Poverty gap: The sum of the difference between the poverty line and actual income levels of all people living below that line.
Poverty line: A level of income below, which people are deemed poor. A global poverty line of $1 per person per day was suggested in 1990 (World Bank 1990). This line facilitates comparison of how many poor people there are in different countries. But, it is only a crude estimate because the line does not recognize differences in the buying power of money in different countries, and, more significantly, because it does not recognize other aspects of poverty than the material, or income poverty.
Price: The monetary or real value of a resource, commodity, or service. The role of prices in a market economy is to ration or allocate resources in accordance with supply and demand; relative prices should reflect the relative scarcity of different resources, goods, or services.
Price elasticity of demand: The responsiveness of the quantity of a commodity demanded to a change in its price, expressed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price.
Price elasticity of supply: The responsiveness of the quantity of a commodity supplied to a change in its price, expressed as the percentage change in quantity supplied divided by the percentage change in price.
Quota: A physical limitation on the quantity of any item that can be imported into a country, such as so many automobiles per year. Also a method for allocating limited school places by noncompetitive means--for example, by income or ethnicity.
Repo rate: This is one of the credit management tools used by the Reserve Bank to regulate liquidity in South Africa (customer spending). The bank borrows money from the Reserve Bank to cover its shortfall. The Reserve Bank only makes a certain amount of money available and this determines the repo rate. If the bank requires more money than what is available, this will increase the repo rate - and vice versa.
Revenue expenditure: This is expenditure on recurring items, including the running of services and financing capital spending that is paid for by borrowing. This is meant for normal running of governments' maintenance expenditures, interest payments, subsidies and transfers etc. It is current expenditure which does not result in the creation of assets. Grants given to State governments or other parties are also treated as revenue expenditure even if some of the grants may be meant for creating assets. Subsidy : Financial assistance (often from the government) to a specific group of producers or consumers.
Revenue receipts: Additions to assets that do not incur an obligation that must be met at some future date and do not represent exchanges of property for money. Assets must be available for expenditures. These include proceeds of taxes and duties levied by the government, interest and dividend on investments made by the government, fees and other receipts for services rendered by the government.
Stabilization policies: A coordinated set of mostly restrictive fiscal and monetary policies aimed at reducing inflation, cutting budget deficits, and improving the balance of payments. See conditionality and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Subsidy: A payment by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry (e.g., as a result of continuous unprofitable operations) or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor (as in the case of a wage subsidy). Examples are export subsidies to encourage the sale of exports; subsidies on some foodstuffs to keep down the cost of living, especially in urban areas; and farm subsidies to encourage expansion of farm production and achieve self-reliance in food production.
Tax avoidance: A legal action designed to reduce or eliminate the taxes that one owes.
Tax base: the total property and resources subject to taxation.
Tax evasion: An illegal strategy to decrease tax burden by underreporting income, overstating deductions, or using illegal tax shelters.
Terms of trade The ratio of a country's average export price to its average import price; also known as the commodity terms of trade. A country's terms of trade are said to improve when this ratio increases and to worsen when it decreases, that is, when import prices rise at a relatively faster rate than export prices (the experience of most LDCs in recent decades).
Treasury bill: A short-term debt issued by a national government with a maximum maturity of one year. Treasury bills are sold at discount, such that the difference between purchase price and the value at maturity is the amount of interest.
VAT: A form of indirect sales tax paid on products and services at each stage of production or distribution, based on the value added at that stage and included in the cost to the ultimate customer.
World Bank: An international financial institution owned by its 181 member countries and based in Washington, D.C. Its main objective is to provide development funds to the Third World nations in the form of interest-bearing loans and technical assistance. The World Bank operates with borrowed funds.
WTO: The World Trade Organization is a global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. It was set up in 1995 at the conclusion of GATT negotiations for administering multilateral trade negotiations.
Ad valorem taxin Latin: to the value added) - a tax based on the value (or assessed value) of property.
Aggregate demand is the sum of all demand in an economy. This can be computed by adding the expenditure on consumer goods and services, investment, and not exports (total exports minus total imports).
Aggregate supply is the total value of the goods and services produced in a country, plus the value of imported goods less the value of exports.
Alternative minimum tax: An IRS mechanism created to ensure that high-income individuals, corporations, trusts, and estates pay at least some minimum amount of tax, regardless of deductions, credits or exemptions. It operates by adding certain tax-preference items back into adjusted gross income. While it was once only important for a small number of high-income individuals who made extensive use of tax shelters and deductions, more and more people are being affected by it. The AMT is triggered when there are large numbers of personal exemptions on state and local taxes paid, large numbers of miscellaneous itemized deductions or medical expenses, or by Incentive Stock Option (ISO) plans.
Asset: Anything of monetary value that is owned by a person. Assets include real property, personal property, and enforceable claims against others (including bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, and so on).
Average propensity to consume is the proportion of income the average family spends on goods and services.
Average propensity to save is the proportion of income the average family saves (does not spend on consumption).
Average total cost is the sum of all the production costs divided by the number of units produced.
Balance of trade: The difference in value over a period of time between a country's imports and exports.
Barter system: System where there is an exchange goods without involving money.
Base year: In the construction of an index, the year from which the weights assigned to the different components of the index is drawn. It is conventional to set the value of an index in its base year equal to 100.
Bear: An investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price
Bid price: The highest price an investor is willing to pay for a stock.
Bill of exchange: A written, dated, and signed three-party instrument containing an unconditional order by a drawer that directs a drawee to pay a definite sum of money to a payee on demand or at a specified future date. Also known as a draft. It is the most commonly used financial instrument in international trade.
Birth rate: The number of births in a year per 1,000 population.
Bond: A certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal.
Boom: A state of economic prosperity
Break even: This is a term used to describe a point at which revenues equal costs (fixed and variable).
Bretton Woods: An international monetary system operating from 1946-1973. The value of the dollar was fixed in terms of gold, and every other country held its currency at a fixed exchange rate against the dollar; when trade deficits occurred, the central bank of the deficit country financed the deficit with its reserves of international currencies. The Bretton Woods system collapsed in 1971 when the US abandoned the gold standard.
Budget: A summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them. A budget can provide guidelines for managing future investments and expenses.
Budget deficit is the amount by which government spending exceeds government revenues during a specified period of time usually a year.
Bull: An investor with an optimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to rise and so buys now for resale later
c.i.f., abbrev: Cost, Insurance and Freight: Export term in which the price quoted by the exporter includes the costs of ocean transportation to the port of destination and insurance coverage.
Call money: Price paid by an investor for a call option. There is no fixed rate for call money. It depends on the type of stock, its performance prior to the purchase of the call option, and the period of the contract. It is an interest bearing band deposits that can be withdrawn on 24 hours notice.
Capital: Wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value. Capital is the contribution to productive activity made by investment is physical capital (machinery, factories, tools and equipments) and human capital (eg general education, health). Capital is one of the three main factors of production other two are labour and natural resources.
Capital account; Part of a nation's balance of payments that includes purchases and sales of assets, such as stocks, bonds, and land. A nation has a capital account surplus when receipts from asset sales exceed payments for the country's purchases of foreign assets. The sum of the capital and current accounts is the overall balance of payments.
Capital budget: A plan of proposed capital outlays and the means of financing them for the current fiscal period. It is usually a part of the current budget. If a Capital Program is in operation, it will be the first year thereof. A Capital Program is sometimes referred to as a Capital Budget.
Capital gain tax: Tax paid on the gain realized upon the sale of an asset. It is a tax on profits from the sale of capital assets, such as shares. A capital loss can be used to offset a capital gain, reducing any tax you would otherwise have to pay.
Cartel: An organization of producers seeking to limit or eliminate competition among its members, most often by agreeing to restrict output to keep prices higher than would occur under competitive conditions. Cartels are inherently unstable because of the potential for producers to defect from the agreement and capture larger markets by selling at lower prices.
Census: Official gathering of information about the population in a particular area. Government departments use the data collected in planning for the future in such areas as health, education, transport, and housing..
Central bank: Major financial institution responsible for issuing currency, managing foreign reserves, implementing monetary policy, and providing banking services to the government and commercial banks.
Centrally planned economy: An economic system in which the production, pricing, and distribution of goods and services are determined by the government rather than market forces. Also referred to as a "non market economy." Former Soviet Union, China, and most other communist nations are examples of centrally planed economy
Classical economics: The economics of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, and later followers such as John Stuart Mill. The theory concentrated on the functioning of a market economy, spelling out a rudimentary explanation of consumer and producer behaviour in particular markets and postulating that in the long term the economy would tend to operate at full employment because increases in supply would create corresponding increases in demand.
Closed economy: An economy in which there are no foreign trade transactions or any other form of economic contacts with the rest of the world.
Collateral security: Additional security a borrower supplies to obtain a loan.
Commercial Policy: encompassing instruments of trade protection employed by countries to foster industrial promotion, export diversification, employment creation, and other desired development-oriented strategies. They include tariffs, quotas, and subsidies.
Comparative advantage: The ability to produce a good at a lower cost, relative to other goods, compared to another country. With perfect competition and undistorted markets, countries tend to export goods in which they have a Comparative Advantage and hence make gains from trading
Compound interest: Interest paid on the original principal and on interest accrued from time it became due.
Conditionality: The requirement imposed by the International Monetary Fund that a borrowing country undertake fiscal, monetary, and international commercial reforms as a condition to receiving a loan for balance of payments difficulties.
Copyright: A legal right (usually of the author or composer or publisher of a work) to exclusive publication production, sale, distribution of some work. What is protected by the copyright is the "expression," not the idea. Notice that taking another's idea is plagiarism, so copyrights are not the equivalent of legal prohibition of plagiarism.
Correlation coefficient: Denoted as "r", a measure of the linear relationship between two variables. The absolute value of "r" provides an indication of the strength of the relationship. The value of "r" varies between positive 1 and negative 1, with -1 or 1 indicating a perfect linear relationship, and r = 0 indicating no relationship. The sign of the correlation coefficient indicates whether the slope of the line is positive or negative when the two variables are plotted in a scatter plot.
Cost benefit analysis: A technique that assesses projects through a comparison between their costs and benefits, including social costs and benefits for an entire region or country. Depending on the project objectives and its the expected outputs, three types of CBA are generally recognised: financial; economic; and social. Generally cost-benefit analyses are comparative, i.e. they are used to compare alternative proposals. Cost-benefit analysis compares the costs and benefits of the situation with and without the project; the costs and benefits are considered over the life of the project.
Countervailing duties: duties (tariffs) that are imposed by a country to counteract subsidies provided to a foreign producer Current account: Part of a nation's balance of payments which includes the value of all goods and services imported and exported, as well as the payment and receipt of dividends and interest. A nation has a current account surplus if exports exceed imports plus net transfers to foreigners. The sum of the current and capital accounts is the overall balance of payments.
Cross elasticity of demand: The change in the quantity demanded of one product or service impacting the change in demand for another product or service. E.g. percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good divided by the percentage change in the price of another good (a substitute or complement)
Cross elasticity of demand: The change in the quantity demanded of one product or service impacting the change in demand for another product or service. E.g. percentage change in the quantity demanded of a good divided by the percentage change in the price of another good (a substitute or complement)
Crowding out: The possible tendency for government spending on goods and services to put upward pressure on interest rates, thereby discouraging private investment spending.
Currency appreciation: An increase in the value of one currency relative to another currency. Appreciation occurs when, because of a change in exchange rates; a unit of one currency buys more units of another currency. Opposite is the case with currency depreciation.
Currency board: Form of central bank that issues domestic currency for foreign exchange at fixed rates.
Currency substitution: The use of foreign currency (e.g., U.S. dollars) as a medium of exchange in place of or along with the local currency (e.g., Rupees).
Customs duty: Duty levied on the imports of certain goods. Includes excise equivalents Unlike tariffs customs duties are used mainly as a means to raise revenue for the government rather than protecting domestic producers from foreign competition.
Death rate: numbers of people dying per thousand population.
Deflation: a reduction in the level of national income and output, usually accompanied by a fall in the general price level.
Developed country is an economically advanced country whose economy is characterized by a large industrial and service sector and high levels of income per head.
Developing country, less developed country, underdeveloped country or third world country: a country characterized by low levels of GDP and per capita income; typically dominated by agriculture and mineral products and majority of the population lives near subsistence levels.
Dumping occurs when goods are exported at a price less than their normal value, generally meaning they are exported for less than they are sold in the domestic market or third country markets, or at less than production cost.
Direct investment: Foreign capital inflow in the form of investment by foreign-based companies into domestic based companies. Portfolio investment is foreign capital inflow by foreign investors into shares and financial securities. It is the ownership and management of production and/or marketing facilities in a foreign country.
Direct tax: A tax that you pay directly, as opposed to indirect taxes, such as tariffs and business taxes. The income tax is a direct tax, as are property taxes. See also Indirect Tax.
Double taxation: Corporate earnings taxed at both the corporate level and again as a stockholder dividend Economic growth: Quantitative measure of the change in size/volume of economic activity, usually calculated in terms of gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product(GDP).
Duopoly: A market structure in which two producers of a commodity compete with each other.
Econometrics: The application of statistical and mathematical methods in the field of economics to test and quantify economic theories and the solutions to economic problems.
Economic development: The process of improving the quality of human life through increasing per capita income, reducing poverty, and enhancing individual economic opportunities. It is also sometimes defined to include better education, improved health and nutrition, conservation of natural resources, a cleaner environment, and a richer cultural life.
Economic growth: An increase in the nation's capacity to produce goods and services.
Economic infrastructure: The underlying amount of physical and financial capital embodied in roads, railways, waterways, airways, and other forms of transportation and communication plus water supplies, financial institutions, electricity, and public services such as health and education. The level of infrastructural development in a country is a crucial factor determining the pace and diversity of economic development.
Economic integration: The merging to various degrees of the economies and economic policies of two or more countries in a given region. See also common market, customs union, free-trade area, trade creation, and trade diversion.
Economic policy: A statement of objectives and the methods of achieving these objectives (policy instruments) by government, political party, business concern, etc. Some examples of government economic objectives are maintaining full employment, achieving a high rate of economic growth, reducing income inequalities and regional development inequalities, and maintaining price stability. Policy instruments include fiscal policy, monetary and financial policy, and legislative controls (e.g., price and wage control, rent control).
Elasticity of demand: The degree to which consumer demand for a product or service responds to a change in price, wage or other independent variable. When there is no perceptible response, demand is said to be inelastic.
Excess capacity: Volume or capacity over and above that which is needed to meet peak planned or expected demand.
Excess demand: the situation in which the quantity demanded at a given price exceeds the quantity supplied. Opposite: excess supply
Exchange control: A governmental policy designed to restrict the outflow of domestic currency and prevent a worsened balance of payments position by controlling the amount of foreign exchange that can be obtained or held by domestic citizens. Often results from overvalued exchange rates
Exchange rate: The price of one currency stated in terms of another currency.
Export incentives: Public subsidies, tax rebates, and other kinds of financial and nonfinancial measures designed to promote a greater level of economic activity in export industries.
Exports: The value of all goods and nonfactor services sold to the rest of the world; they include merchandise, freight, insurance, travel, and other nonfactor services. The value of factor services (such as investment receipts and workers' remittances from abroad) is excluded from this measure. See also merchandise exports and imports.
Exchange control A governmental policy designed to restrict the outflow of domestic currency and prevent a worsened balance of payments position by controlling the amount of foreign exchange that can be obtained or held by domestic citizens. Often results from overvalued exchange rates.
Externalities: A cost or benefit not accounted for in the price of goods or services. Often "externality" refers to the cost of pollution and other environmental impacts.
Fiscal deficit is the gap between the government's total spending and the sum of its revenue receipts and non-debt capital receipts. It represents the total amount of borrowed funds required by the government to completely meet its expenditure
Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and taxation to try to influence the level of economic activity. An expansionary (or reflationary) fiscal policy could mean: cutting levels of direct or indirect tax increasing government expenditure The effect of these policies would be to encourage more spending and boost the economy. A contractionary (or deflationary) fiscal policy could be: increasing taxation - either direct or indirect cutting government expenditure These policies would reduce the level of demand in the economy and help to reduce inflation
Fixed costs: A cost incurred in the general operations of the business that is not directly attributable to the costs of producing goods and services. These "Fixed" or "Indirect" costs of doing business will be incurred whether or not any sales are made during the period, thus the designation "Fixed", as opposed to "Variable".
Fixed exchange rate: The exchange value of a national currency fixed in relation to another (usually the U.S. dollar), not free to fluctuate on the international money market.
Foreign aid The international transfer of public funds in the form of loans or grants either directly from one government to another (bilateral assistance) or indirectly through the vehicle of a multilateral assistance agency like the World Bank. See also tied aid, private foreign investment, and nongovernmental organizations.
Foreign direct investment (FDI): Overseas investments by private multinational corporations.
Foreign exchange reserves: The stock of liquid assets denominated in foreign currencies held by a government's monetary authorities (typically, the finance ministry or central bank). Reserves enable the monetary authorities to intervene in foreign exchange markets to affect the exchange value of their domestic currency in the market. Reserves are invested in low-risk and liquid assets, often in foreign government securities.
Free trade: Trade in which goods can be imported and exported without any barriers in the forms of tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions. Free trade has often been described as an engine of growth because it encourages countries to specialize in activities in which they have comparative advantages, thereby increasing their respective production efficiencies and hence their total output of goods and services.
Free-trade area A form of economic integration in which there exists free internal trade among member countries but each member is free to levy different external tariffs against non-member nations.
Free-market exchange rate Rate determined solely by international supply and demand for domestic currency expressed in terms of, say, U.S. dollars.
Fringe benefit: A benefit in addition to salary offered to employees such as use of company's car, house, lunch coupons, health care subscriptions etc.
Gains from trade The addition to output and consumption resulting from specialization in production and free trade with other economic units including persons, regions, or countries.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) An international body set up in 1947 to probe into the ways and means of reducing tariffs on internationally traded goods and services. Between 1947 and 1962, GATT held seven conferences but met with only moderate success. Its major success was achieved in 1967 during the so-called Kennedy Round of talks when tariffs on primary commodities were drastically slashed and then in 1994 with the signing of the Uruguay Round agreement. Replaced in 1995 by World Trade Organization (WTO).
Global warming Theory that world climate is slowly warming as a result of both MDC and LDC industrial and agricultural activities.
Gross domestic product: (GDP) Gross Domestic Product: The total of goods and services produced by a nation over a given period, usually 1 year. Gross Domestic Product measures the total output from all the resources located in a country, wherever the owners of the resources live.
Gross national product (GNP) is the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year, plus income earned by its citizens abroad, minus income earned by foreigners from domestic production. The Fact book, following current practice, uses GDP rather than GNP to measure national production. However, the user must realize that in certain countries net remittances from citizens working abroad may be important to national well being. GNP equals GDP plus net property income from abroad. Globalisation: The process whereby trade is now being conducted on ever widening geographical boundaries. Countries now trade across continents and companies also trade all over the world.
Human capital Productive investments embodied in human persons. These include skills, abilities, ideals, and health resulting from expenditures on education, on-the-job training programs, and medical care.
Imperfect competition A market situation or structure in which producers have some degree of control over the price of their product. Examples include monopoly and oligopoly. See also perfect competition.
Imperfect market A market where the theoretical assumptions of perfect competition are violated by the existence of, for example, a small number of buyers and sellers, barriers to entry, nonhomogeneity of products, and incomplete information. The three imperfect markets commonly analyzed in economic theory are monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition.
Import substitution A deliberate effort to replace major consumer imports by promoting the emergence and expansion of domestic industries such as textiles, shoes, and household appliances. Import substitution requires the imposition of protective tariffs and quotas to get the new industry started.
Income inequality The existence of disproportionate distribution of total national income among households whereby the share going to rich persons in a country is far greater than that going to poorer persons (a situation common to most LDCs). This is largely due to differences in the amount of income derived from ownership of property and to a lesser extent the result of differences in earned income. Inequality of personal incomes can be reduced by progressive income taxes and wealth taxes.
Index of industrial production: A quantity index that is designed to measure changes in the physical volume or production levels of industrial goods over time.
Inflation is the percentage increase in the prices of goods and services.
Indirect tax: A tax you do not pay directly, but which is passed on to you by an increase in your expenses. For instance, a company might have to pay a fuel tax. The company pays the tax but can increase the cost of its products so consumers are actually paying the tax indirectly by paying more for the merchandise.
Interdependence Interrelationship between economic and noneconomic variables. Also, in international affairs, the situation in which one nation's welfare depends to varying degrees on the decisions and policies of another nation, and vice versa. See also dependence.
International commodity agreement Formal agreement by sellers of a common internationally traded commodity (coffee, sugar) to coordinate supply to maintain price stability.
International Labor Organization (ILO) One of the functional organizations of the United Nations, based in Geneva, Switzerland, whose central task is to look into problems of world labor supply, its training, utilization, domestic and international distribution, etc. Its aim in this endeavor is to increase world output through maximum utilization of available human resources and thus improve levels of living.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) An autonomous international financial institution that originated in the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. Its main purpose is to regulate the international monetary exchange system, which also stems from that conference but has since been modified. In particular, one of the central tasks of the IMF is to control fluctuations in exchange rates of world currencies in a bid to alleviate severe balance of payments problems.
International poverty line An arbitrary international real income measure, usually expressed in constant dollars (e.g., $270), used as a basis for estimating the proportion of the world's population that exists at bare levels of subsistence.
Land reform A deliberate attempt to reorganize and transform existing agrarian systems with the intention of improving the distribution of agricultural incomes and thus fostering rural development. Among its many forms, land reform may entail provision of secured tenure rights to the individual farmer, transfer of land ownership away from small classes of powerful landowners to tenants who actually till the land, appropriation of land estates for establishing small new settlement farms, or instituting land improvements and irrigation schemes.
Macroeconomic stabilization Policies designed to eliminate macroeconomic instability.
Macroeconomics The branch of economics that considers the relationships among broad economic aggregates such as national income, total volumes of saving, investment, consumption expenditure, employment, and money supply. It is also concerned with determinants of the magnitudes of these aggregates and their rates of change over time.
Market economy A free private-enterprise economy governed by consumer sovereignty, a price system, and the forces of supply and demand.
Market failure A phenomenon that results from the existence of market imperfections (e.g., monopoly power, lack of factor mobility, significant externalities, lack of knowledge) that weaken the functioning of a free-market economy--it fails to realize its theoretical beneficial results. Market failure often provides the justification for government interference with the working of the free market.
Market-friendly approach: World Bank notion that successful development policy requires governments to create an environment in which markets can operate efficiently and to intervene selectively in the economy in areas where the market is inefficient (e.g., social and economic infrastructure, investment coordination, economic "safety net").
Market mechanism: The system whereby prices of commodities or services freely rise or fall when the buyer's demand for them rises or falls or the seller's supply of them decreases or increases.
Market prices: Prices established by demand and supply in a free-market economy.
Merchandise exports and imports: All international changes in ownership of merchandise passing across the customs borders of the trading countries. Exports are valued f.o.b. (free on board). Imports are valued c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight).
Merchandise trade balance: Balance on commodity exports and imports.
Microeconomics: The branch of economics concerned with individual decision units--firms and households--and the way in which their decisions interact to determine relative prices of goods and factors of production and how much of these will be bought and sold. The market is the central concept in microeconomics.
Middle-income countries (MICs): LDCs with per capita income above $785 and below $9,655 in 1997 according to World Bank measures.
Mixed economic systems: Economic systems that are a mixture of both capitalist and socialist economies. Most developing countries have mixed systems. Their essential feature is the coexistence of substantial private and public activity within a single economy.
Monetary policy: The regulation of the money supply and interest rates by a central bank in order to control inflation and stabilize currency. If the economy is heating up, the central bank (such as RBI in India) can withdraw money from the banking system, raise the reserve requirement or raise the discount rate to make it cool down. If growth is slowing, it can reverse the process - increase the money supply, lower the reserve requirement and decrease the discount rate. The monetary policy influences interest rates and money supply.
Money supply: the total stock of money in the economy; currency held by the public plus money in accounts in banks. It consists primarily currency in circulation and deposits in savings and checking accounts. Too much money in relation to the output of goods tends to push interest rates down and push inflation up; too little money tends to push rates up and prices down, causing unemployment and idle plant capacity. The central bank manages the money supply by raising and lowering the reserves banks are required to hold and the discount rate at which they can borrow money from the central bank. The central bank also trades government securities (called repurchase agreements) to take money out of the system or put it in. There are various measures of money supply, including M1, M2, M3 and L; these are referred to as monetary aggregates.
Monopoly A market situation in which a product that does not have close substitutes is being produced and sold by a single seller.
Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) A set of nontariff bilateral quotas established by developed countries on imports of cotton, wool, and synthetic textiles and clothing from individual LDCs
Multinational corporation (MNC) An international or transnational corporation with headquarters in one country but branch offices in a wide range of both developed and developing countries. Examples include General Motors, Coca-Cola, Firestone, Philips, Volkswagen, British Petroleum, Exxon, and ITT. Firms become multinational corporations when they perceive advantages to establishing production and other activities in foreign locations. Firms globalize their activities both to supply their home-country market more cheaply and to serve foreign markets more directly. Keeping foreign activities within the corporate structure lets firms avoid the costs inherent in arm's-length dealings with separate entities while utilizing their own firm-specific knowledge such as advanced production techniques.
National debt: Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and other debt obligations that constitute the debt owed by the federal government. It represents the accumulation of each year's budget deficit Public debt: Borrowing by the Government of India internally as well as externally. The total of the nation's debts: debts of local and state and national governments is an indicator of how much public spending is financed by borrowing instead of taxation
Newly industrializing countries (NICs) A small group of countries at a relatively advanced level of economic development with a substantial and dynamic industrial sector and with close links to the international trade, finance, and investment system (Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and Taiwan).
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Privately owned and operated organizations involved in providing financial and technical assistance to LDCs. See foreign aid.
Nontariff trade barrier: A barrier to free trade that takes a form other than a tariff, such as quotas or sanitary requirements for imported meats and dairy products.
Official development assistance (ODA) Net disbursements of loans or grants made on concessional terms by official agencies of member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Official exchange rate: Rate at which the central bank will buy and sell the domestic currency in terms of a foreign currency such as the U.S. dollar.
Open economy An economy that encourages foreign trade and has extensive financial and nonfinancial contacts with the rest of the world in areas such as education, culture, and technology. See also closed economy.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD):An organization of 20 countries from the Western world including all of those in Europe and North America. Its major objective is to assist the economic growth of its member nations by promoting cooperation and technical analysis of national and international economic trends.
Overvalued exchange rate An official exchange rate set at a level higher than its real or shadow value--for example, 7 Kenyan shillings per dollar instead of, say, 10 shillings per dollar. Overvalued rates cheapen the real cost of imports while raising the real cost of exports. They often lead to a need for exchange control.
Perfect competition A market situation characterized by the existence of very many buyers and sellers of homogeneous goods or services with perfect knowledge and free entry so that no single buyer or seller can influence the price of the good or service.
Performance budget is a budget format that relates the input of resources and the output of services for each organizational unit individually. Sometimes used synonymously with program budget. It is a budget wherein expenditures are based primarily upon measurable performance of activities.
Political economy The attempt to merge economic analysis with practical politics--to view economic activity in its political context. Much of classical economics was political economy, and today political economy is increasingly being recognized as necessary for any realistic examination of development problems.
Portfolio investment Financial investments by private individuals, corporations, pension funds, and mutual funds in stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, and notes issued by private companies and the public agencies of LDCs. See also private foreign investment.
Poverty gap: The sum of the difference between the poverty line and actual income levels of all people living below that line.
Poverty line: A level of income below, which people are deemed poor. A global poverty line of $1 per person per day was suggested in 1990 (World Bank 1990). This line facilitates comparison of how many poor people there are in different countries. But, it is only a crude estimate because the line does not recognize differences in the buying power of money in different countries, and, more significantly, because it does not recognize other aspects of poverty than the material, or income poverty.
Price: The monetary or real value of a resource, commodity, or service. The role of prices in a market economy is to ration or allocate resources in accordance with supply and demand; relative prices should reflect the relative scarcity of different resources, goods, or services.
Price elasticity of demand: The responsiveness of the quantity of a commodity demanded to a change in its price, expressed as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price.
Price elasticity of supply: The responsiveness of the quantity of a commodity supplied to a change in its price, expressed as the percentage change in quantity supplied divided by the percentage change in price.
Quota: A physical limitation on the quantity of any item that can be imported into a country, such as so many automobiles per year. Also a method for allocating limited school places by noncompetitive means--for example, by income or ethnicity.
Repo rate: This is one of the credit management tools used by the Reserve Bank to regulate liquidity in South Africa (customer spending). The bank borrows money from the Reserve Bank to cover its shortfall. The Reserve Bank only makes a certain amount of money available and this determines the repo rate. If the bank requires more money than what is available, this will increase the repo rate - and vice versa.
Revenue expenditure: This is expenditure on recurring items, including the running of services and financing capital spending that is paid for by borrowing. This is meant for normal running of governments' maintenance expenditures, interest payments, subsidies and transfers etc. It is current expenditure which does not result in the creation of assets. Grants given to State governments or other parties are also treated as revenue expenditure even if some of the grants may be meant for creating assets. Subsidy : Financial assistance (often from the government) to a specific group of producers or consumers.
Revenue receipts: Additions to assets that do not incur an obligation that must be met at some future date and do not represent exchanges of property for money. Assets must be available for expenditures. These include proceeds of taxes and duties levied by the government, interest and dividend on investments made by the government, fees and other receipts for services rendered by the government.
Stabilization policies: A coordinated set of mostly restrictive fiscal and monetary policies aimed at reducing inflation, cutting budget deficits, and improving the balance of payments. See conditionality and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Subsidy: A payment by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry (e.g., as a result of continuous unprofitable operations) or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor (as in the case of a wage subsidy). Examples are export subsidies to encourage the sale of exports; subsidies on some foodstuffs to keep down the cost of living, especially in urban areas; and farm subsidies to encourage expansion of farm production and achieve self-reliance in food production.
Tax avoidance: A legal action designed to reduce or eliminate the taxes that one owes.
Tax base: the total property and resources subject to taxation.
Tax evasion: An illegal strategy to decrease tax burden by underreporting income, overstating deductions, or using illegal tax shelters.
Terms of trade The ratio of a country's average export price to its average import price; also known as the commodity terms of trade. A country's terms of trade are said to improve when this ratio increases and to worsen when it decreases, that is, when import prices rise at a relatively faster rate than export prices (the experience of most LDCs in recent decades).
Treasury bill: A short-term debt issued by a national government with a maximum maturity of one year. Treasury bills are sold at discount, such that the difference between purchase price and the value at maturity is the amount of interest.
VAT: A form of indirect sales tax paid on products and services at each stage of production or distribution, based on the value added at that stage and included in the cost to the ultimate customer.
World Bank: An international financial institution owned by its 181 member countries and based in Washington, D.C. Its main objective is to provide development funds to the Third World nations in the form of interest-bearing loans and technical assistance. The World Bank operates with borrowed funds.
WTO: The World Trade Organization is a global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. It was set up in 1995 at the conclusion of GATT negotiations for administering multilateral trade negotiations.
National Savings Certificate (NSC)
National Savings Certificate, popularly known as NSC, is a time-tested tax saving instrument that combines adequate returns with high safety.
National Savings Certificate can be purchased by the following:
Period of maturity of a certificate is six years. Presently, maturity value of a certificate of Rs. 100 denomination is Rs. 160.10. Maturity value of a certificate of any other denomination is at proportionate rate. Premature encashment of the certificate is not permissible except at a discount in the case of death of the holder(s), forfeiture by a pledgee and when ordered by a court of law.
Interest accrued on the certificates every year is liable to income tax but deemed to have been reinvested. Income Tax rebate is available on the amount invested and interest accruing under Section 88 of Income Tax Act, as amended from time to time. Income tax relief is also available on the interest earned as per limits fixed vide section 80L of Income Tax, as amended from time to time.
National Savings Certificate can be purchased by the following:
- An adult in his own name or on behalf of a minor,
- A minor,
- A trust
- Two adults jointly,
- Hindu Undivided Family
Period of maturity of a certificate is six years. Presently, maturity value of a certificate of Rs. 100 denomination is Rs. 160.10. Maturity value of a certificate of any other denomination is at proportionate rate. Premature encashment of the certificate is not permissible except at a discount in the case of death of the holder(s), forfeiture by a pledgee and when ordered by a court of law.
Interest accrued on the certificates every year is liable to income tax but deemed to have been reinvested. Income Tax rebate is available on the amount invested and interest accruing under Section 88 of Income Tax Act, as amended from time to time. Income tax relief is also available on the interest earned as per limits fixed vide section 80L of Income Tax, as amended from time to time.
12th Finance Commission Recommendations
MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TWELFTH FINANCE COMMISSION
- RESTRUCTURING PUBLIC FINANCES
* with the recommended scheme of debt relief in place, fiscal reform not to continue over the period of 2005-10.
- RESTRUCTURING PUBLIC FINANCES
- centre & states to improve teh combined tax-GDP ratio to 17.6% of 2009-10
- fiscal deficit to GDP targets for centre & state to be fixed at 3%
- revenue difict of the centre & states to be brought down to zero by 2008-09
- interest payments relative to revenue receipts to be brought down to 28% & 15% incase of centre & states, respectively.
- the share of states in the net proceeds of sharable central taxes fixed at 30.5%, treating additional excise duties in lieu of sales tax as part of general pool of central taxes.
- share of states to come down to 29.5%, when states are allowed to levy sales tax on sugar, textiles & tobacco.
- in case of any legislation enacted in respect of service tax, after the notification of the 88 amendment to the constitution, revenue accruing to a state should not be less than the share that would accrue to it, had the entire service tax proceedes been part of the sharable pool.
- a grant of Rs.20,000 crore for panchayati raj institutions & Rs.5000 crore for urban local bodies to be given to state for a period of 2005-10.
- priority to be given to expenditure on opeartion & maintenance costs of water supply & sanitation, while utilising the grants for the panchayats.
- The scheme of calamity relief fund (CRF) to continue in its present form with contributions from center & states in ratio of 75:25, the size of the fund owrked out at Rs.21,333 crore for the period of 2005-10.
- the outgo from the fund to be replenished by way of collection of national calamity contingent duty & levy of special surcharges.
- Non-plan revenue deficit grant of Rs.56.856 crore recommended to 15 states for the period 2005-10.
- grants amounting to Rs.10,172 crore recommended for the education sector to 8 states.
- grants to education & health sectors & additonalities over & above the normal expenditure to be incurred by states.
- a grant of Rs.15,000 crore recommended for roads & bridges, which is in addition to the normal expenditure of states.
- grants recommended for maintenance of public buildings, forests, heritage conservation & specific needs of states are Rs.500 crore, Rs.1000 crore, Rs.625 crore, & Rs.7100 crore, respectively.
* with the recommended scheme of debt relief in place, fiscal reform not to continue over the period of 2005-10.
What is Currency swap?
What is Currency swap ?
A swap that involves the exchange of principal and interest in one currency for the same in another currency. It is considered to be a foreign exchange transaction and is not required by law to be shown on the balance sheet.
A Currency swap (or cross Currency swap) is a foreign exchange agreement between two parties to exchange a given amount of one currency for another and, after a specified period of time, to give back the original amounts swapped.
In a Currency swap, the holder of an unwanted currency exchanges that currency for an equivalent amount of another currency to improve the market liquidity of a currency owned or to obtain bank financing at a lower rate.
A swap that involves the exchange of principal and interest in one currency for the same in another currency. It is considered to be a foreign exchange transaction and is not required by law to be shown on the balance sheet.
A Currency swap (or cross Currency swap) is a foreign exchange agreement between two parties to exchange a given amount of one currency for another and, after a specified period of time, to give back the original amounts swapped.
In a Currency swap, the holder of an unwanted currency exchanges that currency for an equivalent amount of another currency to improve the market liquidity of a currency owned or to obtain bank financing at a lower rate.
What is SDR?
SDR (Special Drawings Rights) :
this were created by the IMF in 1969 as a type of reserve assets to supplement international reserves of gold & national currencies for setting balance of payment accounts. today, teh SDR is the IMFs main reserve asset, & is held by member-countries of the IMF as part of their international reserves. a member may use their special account to obtain needed foreign currency from another member. SDR is not a real money & has no gold backing. unlike gold & foreign exchange, it doest not have tangible life of its own. it is created by IMF itself, & takes the form of book-keeping entries in a special account managed by the fund.
- it is valued in terms of 5 currencies:
this were created by the IMF in 1969 as a type of reserve assets to supplement international reserves of gold & national currencies for setting balance of payment accounts. today, teh SDR is the IMFs main reserve asset, & is held by member-countries of the IMF as part of their international reserves. a member may use their special account to obtain needed foreign currency from another member. SDR is not a real money & has no gold backing. unlike gold & foreign exchange, it doest not have tangible life of its own. it is created by IMF itself, & takes the form of book-keeping entries in a special account managed by the fund.
- it is valued in terms of 5 currencies:
- US Dollar
- German Deutsche marc
- UK sterling
- French Franc
- Japanese Yen
What is PL 480 Programme?
What is PL 480 Programme?
- the full name is Public Law 480 also known as "Food for Peace" is a funding avenue by which US food can be used for Overseas Aid.
- the full name = Public Law 480 is " Agricultural Trade Development Assistence Act", signed on Law on july 10, 1954 by President Dwight D Eisenhower.
- in 1961, president John F.Kennedy renamed it as "Food For Peace".
- it has 4 parts:
Title 1
Title 2
Title 3
Title 5
- PURPOSE OF PL 480 PROGRAMME :
TITLE 1 IS TRADE & DEVELOPMENT ASSISTENCE (managed by USDA):
- it allows concessional sales of agriculture products to friendly developing nations, either by government to government or government to private activities.
- concessional terms are very favourable it can be long term credit upto 30 years, with no minimum repayment for 10 years, grace period for payment of principle upto 5 years at low interest of 2-4%.
- programme is flexible & allow facilitate collaboration with international bodies such as world bank in support of development programme.
PRIORITIES GIVEN ARE:
- main use is -- allow donation of US agri products meet humanitarian food needs, emergency & non-emergency food aid activities support broader USAID.
RECIPANTS CAN BE ANY OF FOLLOWING :
- development food aid (non-emergency)
- health & nutrition program
- agriculture (food-for-work, food-for-agriculture)
- educational programe
- humanitarian relief
- vulenrable population
- micro enterprise development
TITLE 3 IS FOOD FOR DEVELOPMENT (manage by USAID) :
- it is a government to government grants to least developed countries.
- aim at addressing food & nutrition problem, countries most in need of food to enhance long term food security.
PROGRAMMAS ARE:
- established in 1986, re-authorised by 1996 Farm Bill Act.
- it is not a food program, but a short term technical assistance by linking american volunter farmer with developing countries farmers.
- program was established aimed mainly at the NIS of ex Soviet Union.
- the full name is Public Law 480 also known as "Food for Peace" is a funding avenue by which US food can be used for Overseas Aid.
- the full name = Public Law 480 is " Agricultural Trade Development Assistence Act", signed on Law on july 10, 1954 by President Dwight D Eisenhower.
- in 1961, president John F.Kennedy renamed it as "Food For Peace".
- it has 4 parts:
Title 1
Title 2
Title 3
Title 5
- PURPOSE OF PL 480 PROGRAMME :
- combat world hunger & malnutrition
- promote sustainable development including agricultural development.
- expand international trade
- develop & expand market for US Agriculture commodities & products.
- foster private enterprise & democratic participation.
TITLE 1 IS TRADE & DEVELOPMENT ASSISTENCE (managed by USDA):
- it allows concessional sales of agriculture products to friendly developing nations, either by government to government or government to private activities.
- concessional terms are very favourable it can be long term credit upto 30 years, with no minimum repayment for 10 years, grace period for payment of principle upto 5 years at low interest of 2-4%.
- programme is flexible & allow facilitate collaboration with international bodies such as world bank in support of development programme.
PRIORITIES GIVEN ARE:
- countries with little foreign exchange
- countries with food security problems
- program with alleviate poverty as the core.
- countries with agriculture developmental needs.
- receipent's countries must also demostrate potential to become commercial markets for US Agri Products.
- main use is -- allow donation of US agri products meet humanitarian food needs, emergency & non-emergency food aid activities support broader USAID.
RECIPANTS CAN BE ANY OF FOLLOWING :
- PVO = Private Voluntary Organisation
- NGO = Non Government Organisation
- IO = International Organisation & World Food Programme.
- development food aid (non-emergency)
- health & nutrition program
- agriculture (food-for-work, food-for-agriculture)
- educational programe
- humanitarian relief
- vulenrable population
- micro enterprise development
TITLE 3 IS FOOD FOR DEVELOPMENT (manage by USAID) :
- it is a government to government grants to least developed countries.
- aim at addressing food & nutrition problem, countries most in need of food to enhance long term food security.
PROGRAMMAS ARE:
- privatisation of food market
- attract poor children to school
- address chromic food short fall.
- infrastructure development - Roads.
- established in 1986, re-authorised by 1996 Farm Bill Act.
- it is not a food program, but a short term technical assistance by linking american volunter farmer with developing countries farmers.
- program was established aimed mainly at the NIS of ex Soviet Union.
What are Participatory Notes or the P-Notes?
There are many online resource available, however, there are some complicated definition all over. Therefore, I am extracting the simplest of it.
- What are Participatory Notes? Participatory Notes are instruments used by foreign funds, not registered in India for trading in the domestic market. The investor who buys PN, deposit fund in the international FII against the security deposit like in US or Europe, and in turn the FII buys stock in India. Thus the FII acts like an exchange since it execute the trade and uses its internal account to settle this.
- Why investor uses Participatory Notes?
- It keeps the investor anonymous
- It saves cost of record keeping, transaction cost, and regulatory compliance overseas especially for small investors.
- Thus investor use PN to enter the Indian market in a small way and then when they are established, they shift to full-fleged FII structure.
- What are the Problem with the instrument? It is tough to establish the beneficial ownership or the identity of original investor. The investor may sell the PN to others, and thus further layers. PN is also becoming favorite with many Indian Money Launderers, who use it to first ship out money of country through Hawala and then get it back using PNs.
- What is the extent to which PN's are used? Over the years the use of PNs have increased from 17 FII issuing it in 2005 to over 2 dozen funds now.Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Credit Lyonnais, citigroups and Goldman Sachs are the biggest issuers. Currently 51.4% of all assets under FII are under PN now a days.
Budget: Glossary of terms
Ad-valorem duties: These are the duties determined as a certain percentage of the price of the product.
Appropriation bill: This bill is like a green signal enabling the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund to pay off expenses. These are instruments that Parliament clears after the demand for grants has been voted by the Lok Sabha.
Budgetary deficit: Such a situation arises when the expenses exceed the revenues. Here the entire budgetary exercise falls short of allocating enough funds to a certain area.
Budget estimates: These estimates contain an estimate of Fiscal Deficit and the Revenue Deficit for the year. The term is associated with the estimates of the Center's spending during the financial year and the income received as proceeds of tax revenues.
Capital goods: Capital Goods are those goods that are used in the manufacturing of finished products.
Capital budget: The word, capital, is long-term in nature. Capital Budget keeps track of the government's capital receipts and payments. This accounts for market loans, borrowings from the Reserve Bank and other institutions through the sale of Treasury Bills, loans acquired from foreign governments and recoveries of loans granted by the Central government to state governments and Union Territories.
Capital payments: Expenses incurred on acquisition of assets are termed capital payments.
Cenvat: This is a replacement for the earlier MODVAT scheme and is meant for reducing the cascade effect of indirect taxes on finished products. The scheme is a more extensive one with most goods brought under its preview.
Current account deficit: This deficit shows the difference between the nation's exports and imports.
Custom duties: These duties are levied on goods whenever they are either brought into the country or exported from the country. The importer or the exporter pays custom duties.
Countervailing duties: This is levied on imports that may lead to price rise in the domestic market. It is imposed with the intention of discouraging unfair trading practices by other countries.
Consolidated fund: This is one big reservoir where the government pools all its funds together. The fund includes all government revenues, loans raised and recoveries of loans granted.
Contingency fund: It is more or less similar to that extra little bit of savings that all mothers set aside in case of an emergency. Likewise, the government has created this fund to help it tide over difficult situations. The fund is at the disposal of the President to meet unforeseen and urgent expenditure, pending approval from Parliament. The amount that is withdrawn from the fund is recouped.
Capital expenditure: Long-term in nature they are used for acquiring fixed assets such as land, building, machinery and equipment. Other items that also fall under this category include loans and advances sanctioned by the Center to the State governments, union territories and public sector undertakings.
Capital receipt: Loans raised by the Center from the market, government borrowings from the RBI and other parties, sale of Treasury Bills and loans received from foreign governments all form a part of Capital Receipt. Other items that also fall under this category include recovery of loans granted by the Center to State governments & Union Territories and proceeds from the dilution of the government’s stake in Public Sector Undertakings.
Central plan: It refers to the government’s budgetary support to the Plan and, the internal and extra budgetary resources raised by the Public Sector Undertakings.
Direct taxes: Taxes imposed directly on the customers such as the Income Tax and the Corporate Tax fall under this category.
Disinvestment: The dilution of the government’s stake in Public Sector Undertakings is called as disinvestment.
Demand for grants: It is a statement of estimate of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund. This requires the approval of the Lok Sabha.
Excise duties: These duties refer to duties imposed on goods manufactured within the country.Fiscal deficit: It is the difference between the Revenue Receipts and Total Expenditure.
Finance bill: Consists the government’s proposals for the imposition of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the existing tax structure beyond the period approved by the Parliament
Gross domestic product: Total market value of the goods and services manufactured within the country in a financial year.
Gross national product: Total market value of the finished goods and services manufactured within the country in a given financial year, plus income earned by the local residents from investments made abroad, minus the income earned by foreigners in the domestic market.
Indirect taxes: Taxes imposed on goods manufactured, imported or exported such as Excise Duties and Custom Duties.
Modvat: It stands for Modified Value Added Tax and is a way of giving some relief to the final manufacturers of goods on Excise Duties borne by their suppliers.
Monetized deficit: Measures the level of support the RBI provides to the Centre’s borrowing program.
Non-plan expenditure: Consists of Revenue and Capital Expenditure on interest payments, Defense Expenditure, subsidies, postal deficit, police, pensions, economic services, loans to public sector enterprises and loans as well as grants to State governments, Union territories and foreign governments.
Peak rate: It is the highest rate of Custom Duty applicable on an item.
Performance budget: It is a compilation of programs and activities of different ministries and departments.
Public account: It is an account where money received through transactions not relating to consolidated fund is kept.
Plan expenditure: Consists of both Revenue Expenditure and Capital Expenditure of the Center on the Central Plan, Central Assistance to States and Union Territories.
Primary deficit: Fiscal Deficit minus Interest payments.
Revenue deficit: It is the difference between Revenue Expenditure and Revenue Receipts.
Revenue surplus: Opposite of Revenue Deficit, it is the excess of Revenue Receipts over Revenue Expenditure.
Revised estimates: Usually given in the following budget, it is the difference between the Budget Estimates and the actual figures.
Revenue budget: Consists of Revenue Receipts and Revenue Expenditure of the government.
Revenue receipt: Consists of duties imposed by the Centre, interest and dividend on investments made by the government.
Revenue expenditure: Expenditure incurred for the normal functioning of the government departments and various other services such as interest charges on debt incurred by the government.
Subsidies: Financial aid provided by the Center to individuals or a group of individuals to be competitive. The grant of subsidies is also aimed at improving their skills of those who benefit from the subsidies.
Appropriation bill: This bill is like a green signal enabling the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund to pay off expenses. These are instruments that Parliament clears after the demand for grants has been voted by the Lok Sabha.
Budgetary deficit: Such a situation arises when the expenses exceed the revenues. Here the entire budgetary exercise falls short of allocating enough funds to a certain area.
Budget estimates: These estimates contain an estimate of Fiscal Deficit and the Revenue Deficit for the year. The term is associated with the estimates of the Center's spending during the financial year and the income received as proceeds of tax revenues.
Capital goods: Capital Goods are those goods that are used in the manufacturing of finished products.
Capital budget: The word, capital, is long-term in nature. Capital Budget keeps track of the government's capital receipts and payments. This accounts for market loans, borrowings from the Reserve Bank and other institutions through the sale of Treasury Bills, loans acquired from foreign governments and recoveries of loans granted by the Central government to state governments and Union Territories.
Capital payments: Expenses incurred on acquisition of assets are termed capital payments.
Cenvat: This is a replacement for the earlier MODVAT scheme and is meant for reducing the cascade effect of indirect taxes on finished products. The scheme is a more extensive one with most goods brought under its preview.
Current account deficit: This deficit shows the difference between the nation's exports and imports.
Custom duties: These duties are levied on goods whenever they are either brought into the country or exported from the country. The importer or the exporter pays custom duties.
Countervailing duties: This is levied on imports that may lead to price rise in the domestic market. It is imposed with the intention of discouraging unfair trading practices by other countries.
Consolidated fund: This is one big reservoir where the government pools all its funds together. The fund includes all government revenues, loans raised and recoveries of loans granted.
Contingency fund: It is more or less similar to that extra little bit of savings that all mothers set aside in case of an emergency. Likewise, the government has created this fund to help it tide over difficult situations. The fund is at the disposal of the President to meet unforeseen and urgent expenditure, pending approval from Parliament. The amount that is withdrawn from the fund is recouped.
Capital expenditure: Long-term in nature they are used for acquiring fixed assets such as land, building, machinery and equipment. Other items that also fall under this category include loans and advances sanctioned by the Center to the State governments, union territories and public sector undertakings.
Capital receipt: Loans raised by the Center from the market, government borrowings from the RBI and other parties, sale of Treasury Bills and loans received from foreign governments all form a part of Capital Receipt. Other items that also fall under this category include recovery of loans granted by the Center to State governments & Union Territories and proceeds from the dilution of the government’s stake in Public Sector Undertakings.
Central plan: It refers to the government’s budgetary support to the Plan and, the internal and extra budgetary resources raised by the Public Sector Undertakings.
Direct taxes: Taxes imposed directly on the customers such as the Income Tax and the Corporate Tax fall under this category.
Disinvestment: The dilution of the government’s stake in Public Sector Undertakings is called as disinvestment.
Demand for grants: It is a statement of estimate of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund. This requires the approval of the Lok Sabha.
Excise duties: These duties refer to duties imposed on goods manufactured within the country.Fiscal deficit: It is the difference between the Revenue Receipts and Total Expenditure.
Finance bill: Consists the government’s proposals for the imposition of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the existing tax structure beyond the period approved by the Parliament
Gross domestic product: Total market value of the goods and services manufactured within the country in a financial year.
Gross national product: Total market value of the finished goods and services manufactured within the country in a given financial year, plus income earned by the local residents from investments made abroad, minus the income earned by foreigners in the domestic market.
Indirect taxes: Taxes imposed on goods manufactured, imported or exported such as Excise Duties and Custom Duties.
Modvat: It stands for Modified Value Added Tax and is a way of giving some relief to the final manufacturers of goods on Excise Duties borne by their suppliers.
Monetized deficit: Measures the level of support the RBI provides to the Centre’s borrowing program.
Non-plan expenditure: Consists of Revenue and Capital Expenditure on interest payments, Defense Expenditure, subsidies, postal deficit, police, pensions, economic services, loans to public sector enterprises and loans as well as grants to State governments, Union territories and foreign governments.
Peak rate: It is the highest rate of Custom Duty applicable on an item.
Performance budget: It is a compilation of programs and activities of different ministries and departments.
Public account: It is an account where money received through transactions not relating to consolidated fund is kept.
Plan expenditure: Consists of both Revenue Expenditure and Capital Expenditure of the Center on the Central Plan, Central Assistance to States and Union Territories.
Primary deficit: Fiscal Deficit minus Interest payments.
Revenue deficit: It is the difference between Revenue Expenditure and Revenue Receipts.
Revenue surplus: Opposite of Revenue Deficit, it is the excess of Revenue Receipts over Revenue Expenditure.
Revised estimates: Usually given in the following budget, it is the difference between the Budget Estimates and the actual figures.
Revenue budget: Consists of Revenue Receipts and Revenue Expenditure of the government.
Revenue receipt: Consists of duties imposed by the Centre, interest and dividend on investments made by the government.
Revenue expenditure: Expenditure incurred for the normal functioning of the government departments and various other services such as interest charges on debt incurred by the government.
Subsidies: Financial aid provided by the Center to individuals or a group of individuals to be competitive. The grant of subsidies is also aimed at improving their skills of those who benefit from the subsidies.
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