Vijaynagar Kingdom- points to remember

• Yusuf Adil Shah was killed by KrishnaDeva Raya(KDR) in the Battle of Kovilkonda
• KDR was known as Andhra Bhoja whereas Allasani Peddana was known as Andhra Kavita Pitamaha
• Tenali Rama who wrote Panduranga Mahamattya, adorned the court of KDR
• Tirumalamma was a famous poetess in the court of Achyuta Deva
• During Virupaksha II Orissa became a part of Vijaynagar empire for the first time
• Amuktamalyada written by KDR in Telegu was a book on polity
• Siddhya was the tax collected in cash
• Bukka sent an embassy to China(Ming dynasty).He adopted the title Vedamarga Pratisthapaka
• Besabaga was the sale of human.Nicolo Conti talks in detail about it
• Shalabhoga educational grant
• Devaraya II wrote Mahanataka Sudhanidhi in sanskrit.His court was visited by Abdur Razzak
• Battle of Talikota or the Battle Rakshasha Taggadi was fought on the bank of river Krishna
• Devaraya I included Turkish soldiers in his army.His court was visited by Nicolo Conti.
• The Military Dept was known as Khandachara and the revenue Dept as Athvane
• Nuniz came during KDR's rule
• Nikitin talks about the financial dualism prevailing in the country
• Pattanaswamy was the head of Traders' Associations
• Bhandarabadha was the crown land
• Lola Lakshmidhara wrote "Saraswati Vilasa"
• Rayasam was Royal decree
• Anegundi was the initial capital of Vijayngar empire
• KDR abolished marriage tax and patronised "Ashtadiggaja"
• Kalyanamandapa was the ornated pillar pavillions in the temples
• Barbers were exempted from professional taxes
• Harihara II captured Belgaum and Goa and attacked SriLanka after which he took the title"Maharajadhiraja"
• KDR gave permission to Albequerque to built a fort at Bhatkal
• Harihara and Bukka initially served under PrataprudraDeva II of Kakatiya dynasty
• Marava were the fishermen
• Srirangam inscription belongs to KDR

Mughal India and Delhi Sultanat

MUGHAL INDIA

• Mubarak Khan whose father was killed in the battle of Macchiwara killed Bairam Khan
• When Hemu captured Delhi Tardi Khan was the governor there
• The first mention of Tauhid i Ilahi was in Dabistan i Mazahib by Mohsin Fani
• Diwan i Tan was the official who was in charge of cash salary
• Increase in the sawar of the mansabdars during emergency was known as mashruta
• The reserved Armed force was known as Tabinan
• Total land revenue figures of a village was known as taqsimat
• Akbar reimposed Jeziyah in 1575 and revoked it in 1580
• Although the Kangra mission of Jahangir in 1620 was led by Vikramjit Baghela, a Hindu,Jahangir called it a Jihaad
• Khasrau was captured by Jahangir's forces at Bhairowal
• Jahangir punished Sufi saint Nizaam Thaneswari
• In 1543 Sher Shah organized a campaign against Multan to set it free from Biloch tribe
• Malik Jiwan a Baluchi leader betrayed Dara and helped Aurangzeb to capture him
• In 1668 Aurangzeb prohibited court dancing,1669 he ordered destruction of temples and in 1679, he imposed Jeziyah
• Shaikh Sarmad a Sufi saint and associate of Dara was punished by aurangzeb
• Peter Mundy gives a vivid account of the famine of 1630-32
• After returning from Deccan Aurangzeb was made the governor of Gujarat in 1644
• Shah Jahan's army met with Guru Hargovind's army at Kartarpur in 1631. There the guru's force was supported by Painda Khan
• Shah Jahan started giving land on contractual basis or the Ijara system
• Some books written by Guru Govind Singh- Nam Mela Puran,Shastar nam puran, Mangal Prakash,Akal ustat,Ukat Vilas,Krishna Avatar,Ram AvatarChandi charittar,Chandi di var,Pakhayama charittar.His autobiography was vaichittar nataka.His letters to Aurangzeb-Zafarnamah
• Mir Jumla was originally a minister of Abdullah Kutub Shah of Golkunda
• The Amins collected Jeziyah under Aurangzeb
• In 1654 Dara was conferred the title sultan buland iqbal
• Punishing Jujhair Singh Bundella was the first official assignment of Aurangzeb
• Jahan Ara wrote under the pen name Makhfi
• Tribute of the autonomous kings was known as peshkash
• Ashrafi was a gold coin
• Potugese brought tobacco in India in 16th century
• Shah rukhi was a silver coin
• Mir Fathulla Sirazi was a famous scientist
• Shah Jahan introduced the post of Amin
• Nahr i Bahist was the canal dug by Shah Jahan
• Amalguzars gave taqqavi loans
• Muqaddam and Patwari were the village headmen
• Capt Avery was a notorious pirate and his prized catch was Ganj i Swai, a ship of Aurangzeb
• Abdullah Sultan Puri was conferred the title Makhdum ul Mulk by Akbar
• Ibrahim Adil Shah wrote Kitaab i Nauras.He was popular as Abla baba and also Jagat Guru
• Maasir i Alamgiri written by Mustaid Khan
• Faizi translated Lilavati,Sarhandi translated Atharvaveda,Todarmal translated Bhagvata Puarana,Shahbandi translated Rajtarangini and Badaoni translated Ramayana
• Akbar gave Hari Vijay Suri the title Jagat Guru and Shah Jahan gave Jagannath the title Kavipriya
• Shalima Begum invented Rose itr
• Bishandas was sent to Persia by Jahangir to get a portrait of the ruler
• Man Kautahal was a collection of Man Singh of Gwalior's famous musical works
• Rajaram looted Akbar's tomb in 1688
• When Babur was ill some nobles wanted to install Mehdi Khwaja on the throne
• Guru Amar Das took vigorous steps to abolish sati
• Guru Hargovind built Akal Takht

DELHI SULTANAT

• Iltutmish belonged to the Ilbari tribe
• Nizam ul Mulk Junaidi came into prominence during Iltutmish
• Fakhruddin was the chief kotwal of Delhi under Balban
• Apart from Mohd Bin Tughlak Nasir udduin Mahmood too was a great caligraphist
• Imaduddiin conspired against Balban in 1353-54
• Balban separated army from civil administration and created arz i mamalik
• Hauz shamshi was built by Iltutmish
• Abdullah the grandson of Hlaku Khan invaded India during Jalaluddin Khalji
• Malik Qabul was the shuhna i mandi under Alauddin
• Ulugh Khan a mongol accepted Islam under Jalaluddin

• "Soveregntyis not conferred upon everyone but it is placed on the elect"-Mohd Bin Tughladk
• Amirana i sadbah revolted in Malwa, Gujaraat and lDaulatabad
• Mailik Ghazi Shahna wdas the chief aArchitect under Feroz
• Diwan i amirat was in charge of public works
• Amir Sirzi wrote Faulad ul faud
• In Nuh Sipihr Amir Khsrau showers praise on India
• Zia Naakshbandi translated Sukha Saptati to Tutinamah
• Dhrupad was Indian in origin
• Ghuiyat ul Muniya by Malik Shamshuddin Abu Raja was the earliest Persian work on Indian music
• Niamatnamah was a book on cooking
• Adilabad and Jahapanah were built by Mohd Bin Tughlak
• Lodhis borrowed enamelled tiles from Persia
• Spindle was Indian in origin
• Dhenkili was a water lifting device
• Alauddin took the title Yamini Khilafat
• Bahlol Lodhi invaded Jaunpur in 1484
• Timur invaded India during Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlak
• Jalaluddin's original name was Mlik Firuz
• Alauddin Shah of Bengal started Satya Pir movement.He patronized Maladhar Basu who translated Bhagvat Purana into Bengali and wrote Srikrishnavijya
• Jainal Abedin borrowed paper making technology from Samarkand and he was the first sultan to abolish Jeziyah
• Sikander Shah was known as Aurangzeb of Kashmir
• In 1320 Mongol leader Dulucha invaded Kashmir
• Jainal Abedin patronized Jonaraja and Sivaraja
• Before Islam arrived Kashmir was a seat of Shaivism
• Malik Mohd Jaisi lived in Jaunpur
• Jainal Abedin built Jaina lake.He was known as Bud Shah
• Mahmud Beghara sacked Dwarka as it harbored pirates and he also captured Girnar and Champaner
• Ahmad Shah built Ahmedabad in 1414
• Zafar Khan founded Gujarat
• Ghiyasuddin Iyaz Khalji of Bengal transferred his capital to Lakhnauti from Devkot
• Kampilendra founded Gajapati dynasty
• Shungmung was a popular ruler of Assam

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 :

• 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.

EXPLANATION OF THE ABOVE TITLES:
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.

TITLE 2 IS EMERGENCY & DEVELOPMENT ASSISTENCE PROGRAM (managed by USAID) :

- 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.

for non-emergency aid title 2 can be often to be in support :
- 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.

TITLE 5 IS FARMER TO FARMER (managed by USAID) :
- 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 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.

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:

• An adult in his own name or on behalf of a minor,
• A minor,
• A trust
• Two adults jointly,
• Hindu Undivided Family

National Savings Certificates are available in the denominations of Rs. 100, Rs 500, Rs. 1000, Rs. 5000, & Rs. 10,000. There is no maximum limit on the purchase of the certificates.

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.

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.

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.

Domestic Voilence Act

The Act covers

• abuse or thread to abuse, whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic.
• Harassment by way of dowry
• Right to secure housing of women with right to reside in the matrimonial or shared household.

1. The Act is called Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2006
2. It came into effect from 26th October 2006.
3. It primarily meant to provide protection of the wife or a female live-in partner from voilence at the hands of the husband or his relative. The Law has also extended its protection to mothers, sisters and widows.

Role of Gandhi in Independence Struggle

Bring out the role of Gandhi in the struggle for India’s independence.

The struggle for India’s independence is replete with outstanding contributions from various luminary nationalist leaders. The contributions of leaders like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Gopal Krishan Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, etc have been laudable. But if one were asked to name a leader who undisputedly contributed the most, the name of Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi would undoubtedly be at the apex. Before he came to the Indian scene in 1915-16, the nationalist movement was progressing very slowly. There was no leader with the mass appeal and the nationalists were sharply divided in two groups i.e. the moderates and the extremists. The methods adopted by the pre-Gandhi nationalists were too democratic to have any material effect on the colonial power ruling the country.

The advent of Gandhi changed the very complexion of the nationalist movement. His methods included the involvement of people in a big way and adoption of non-violent methods of agitation.

Gandhi’s role was primarily that of a leader who identified himself with the Indian masses. He gradually emerged as a natural leader of the masses and took complete control of the movement against the imperialist force. It was mainly after the British became aware of the strong character of Gandhi and complete involvement of the masses in the Movement that they finally decided to quit India in the year 1947.

The methods used by Gandhi can be broadly classified into the following categories:

(a) Involvement of Masses: Prior to Gandhi, the nationalist movement was being run by a handful of intellectuals and the masses were neither involved nor adequately informed of the developments of the nationalist movement. This trend was reversed after Gandhi came on the national scene.

(b) Non-Violence: One of the important Gandhian methods was the adoption of complete non-violence during all his satyagrahas and movements. He knew that the poor Indians could not match the might of the British government and adoption of any violent means would only result in more casualties on the Indian side.

(c) Truthfulness: Just like non-violence, truthfulness was the hallmark of Gandhi’s personality and methods. He not only preached it but also practiced absolute truthfulness and sincerity. Truthfulness not only gave him the inner strength to fight the mighty British but also convinced the masses of his honest and sincere intentions.

(d) Non-cooperation and Satyagraha: One of the most common methods used by Gandhi was non-cooperation with the civil authorities and Satyagraha. Satyagraha, as explained by Gandhi himself, was different from the passive resistance and was fearless agitation based on the principles of non-cooperation, fearlessness and truthfulness. These three methods were employed by Gandhi to bend the civil authorities more than once and to accept the genuine demands of the Indian people.

Review of Constitution

“The working of our Constitution over the years has exposed various weaknesses of the Indian political system and a comprehensive review of the Constitution is necessary.” Do you agree? Give arguments. Immediately after independence, the Constituent Assembly and its Drafting Committee prepared and adopted the Indian Constitution, which with some changes over the years, has been continuing. Last about six decades of working of the Constitution has exposed certain weaknesses of the Indian political system. At times it is felt by many that a comprehensive review of the Indian Constitution must be carried out to tackle the weaknesses. One of the major weaknesses is that the multi-party system has given scope for so-called ‘horse trading’, which could not be stopped even by the constitutional amendment facilitating the enactment of the Anti-defection Act. Further, it has resulted in evolution of coalition culture, which has increased the political instability of the government. Further, considering the present-day overlaps resulted by the legislative and judicial activism, there has to be a clear demarcation of the boundaries of jurisdiction of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. Several people feel that with a view to have strong executive at the national and State levels, the present system of Parliamentary democracy must be replaced by the Presidential form of government where the President (Head of the State) is directly elected by the people, who also becomes the functional head of the State as well as that of the government. In addition, the empowerment of the States with the overall aim of strengthening the Indian federation is another area on which many political thinkers are unanimous. It is believed that the Indian federal system must also be as close as possible to the US system, so that the regional aspirations of the people are met. It is also felt by many that it is high time that the protection available to the public servants under Article 310 of the Constitution is done away with, so that work culture is inculcated among the government employees. With a view to strengthen the Constitution, most of the above amendments are necessary. But one has to keep in mind and ensure that none of the proposed amendments actually violate Supreme Court Judgments about the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. For effecting the change beyond the basic structure, it would perhaps require the prior approval of the Supreme Court and the process may have to be undertaken under the close scrutiny of the apex court.

Zero Inflation

short notes on Inflation and Impact of Zero Inflation on the Economy.

Inflation is the measure of rise in general prices in any economy over a given period of time. Normally inflation is measured every week, but for the policy purposes its annual measure is taken into account. Inflation is measured by the government by considering the changes in wholesale price index and those in the consumer price index over the given period of time.

Inflation is of several types and the ‘creeping’ or ‘walking’ inflation of upto 5 per cent per annum is called functional inflation and considered good for the health of growing economies. Running, galloping and hyper inflation is bad for the economy as it also erodes the real income level of the poorer sections of the emerging economies, thereby making their livelihood even more difficult. Hence, in a developing economy, the government policies aim at keeping the inflation rate within the functional limits.

Due to increased prices of the food items, India, along with most parts of the world, faced high inflation rate in double digits during the middle of 2008, which could be termed as ‘running’ inflation. The government took several monetary and fiscal policy measures to control it and succeeded to bring it down. But in early 2009 a peculiar phenomenon was experienced. In March 2009, the inflation rate in the country went down as low as 0.44 per cent, a sudden drop from 2.43 per cent during the week prior to that.

This has given rise to the speculation that the country may experience zero inflation rate. The apprehensions are that zero rate of inflation would act as discouragement to the new investors, who are likely to put on hold their new projects, which would affect the growth rate of the economy.

Zero inflation reduces the level of profits drastically. Such a situation, though may be cheered by the consumers and benefit the poorer sections spending most of their earnings on consumption, yet may actually reduce the economic activity in the economy to the minimum. This may be harmful to the economy in the medium and long run

SEBI

do you know about SEBI?
The government of India created the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) with a view to control and regulate the foreign investment in the capital markets, new issues of capital brought out by the companies and grievances of the companies and the investors. In addition, SEBI has been created with the broader aim of protecting the interests of the investors in securities and promoting and regulating the securities markets in the country.

Based in Mumbai, SEBI has eight divisions and departments which look after several functions to achieve the above mentioned broad objective. The Depositors and Custodians Division looks after the work of registration of depository participants/custodians, as well as their renewal of registration or cancellation of registration. Foreign Institutional Investors Division, on the other hand, deals with registration/renewal of registration of such investors. FII Division looks after the FIPB proposals and the government correspondence connecting with this function.

While Collective Investment Schemes Division deals with registration and renewal of the registration for collective investment schemes, Secondary Market Department is the major department of SEBI which carries out the functions like registration and renewal of registration of the credit rating agencies in the country, in addition to the registration of the brokers and sub-brokers, registration under the Stock Lending Scheme and deposit of various fees by the brokers and refund of fees to them.

With a view to protect the interests of the investors, Investors Grievances and Guidance Division has been set up which carries out the registration of the Investors’ Associations, looks into the grievances of such associations and other investors and carries out the tasks of guiding the investors through the registered Associations or otherwise.

Mutual Fund and Venture Capital Division of the SEBI looks into the tasks like registration of trustees for Mutual Funds, processes the applications for foreign securities, ADRs/GDRs, allow changes from closed ended to open ended schemes, observations on offer documents etc. Primary Market Department is also an important department of SEBI and deals with the matters like fresh registration/cancellation of intermediaries, observations on the offer documents and list-related matters pertaining to the new issues.

The complete control and regulation by the SEBI has enhanced the confidence of the general public in the securities market of the country.

Nuclear Power and India

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India has been flourishing a large indigenous nuclear power program and is expecting to have 20,000 MWe nuclear capacities on line reaching 2020. Also, India strives to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050. Since India has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due to its weapon program, we are excluded from trade in nuclear plant or allied material which may hamper the development of civil nuclear energy since past 34 years. With all these trade bans and lack of indigenous uranium, India has been uniquely developing nuclear fuel cycle to utilize our reserves of thorium. From the year 2008, the use of foreign technology and fuel are expected to accelerate India’s nuclear power plans considerably -

NABARD

1. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development bank in India. It has been accredited with "matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India".
2. NABARD was established by an act of Parliament on 12 July 1982 to implement the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act 1981. It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC). It is one of the premeire agency to provide credit in rural areas.
3. NABARD:
   1. serves as an apex financing agency for the institutions providing investment and production credit for promoting the various developmental activities in rural areas
   2. takes measures towards institution building for improving absorptive capacity of the credit delivery system, including monitoring, formulation of rehabilitation schemes, restructuring of credit institutions, training of personnel, etc.
   3. co-ordinates the rural financing activities of all institutions engaged in developmental work at the field level and maintains liaison with Government of India, State Governments, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other national level institutions concerned with policy formulation
   4. undertakes monitoring and evaluation of projects refinanced by it.
   
   

   NABARD is also known for its 'SHG Bank Linkage Programme' which encourages India's banks to lend to self-help groups (SHGs). Because SHGs are composed mainly of poor women, this has evolved into an important Indian tool for microfinance. As of March 2006 2.2 million SHGs representing 33 million members had to been linked to credit through this programme.

   
   

INDIAN REFORMERS

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INDIAN REFORMERS Acharya Vinoba Bhave Acharya Vinoba Bhave was a freedom fighter and a spiritual teacher. He is best known as the founder of the 'Bhoodan Movement' (Gift of the Land). The reformer had an intense concern for the deprived masses. Vinoba Bhave had once said, "All revolutions are spiritual at the source.

Baba Amte From a child born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Baba Amte later transformed his life into a social activist. He devoted his entire life to serve the downtrodden people of the society. He left his lucrative profession to join India's struggle for independence. Founder of Anandvan

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Dr B R Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was one of the architects of the Indian Constitution. He was a well-known politician and an eminent jurist. Ambedkar was the main inspiration behind the inclusion of special provision in the Constitution of India for the development of Schedule Caste people. Dr. Ambedkar was the Law Minister of India from 1947 to 1951. He took part in the Satyagraha of untouchables at Nasik in 1930 for opening the Hindu temples to them. Dr. Ambedkar was emancipator of the 'untouchables' and crusader for social justice. This liberator of the down trodden was affectionately called "Babasaheb". He was posthumously awarded 'Bharat Ratna' in the year 1990.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is considered as one of the pillars of Bengal renaissance. In other words, he managed to continue the reforms movement that was started by Raja Rammohan Roy. Vidyasagar was a well-known writer, intellectual and above all a staunch follower of humanity. He brought a revolution in the education system of Bengal.

Jyotiba Phule Jyotiba Phule was one of the prominent social reformers of the nineteenth century India. He led the movement against the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He revolted against the domination of the Brahmins and for the rights of peasants and other low-caste fellow.

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of Vedanta philosophy. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and was the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda was the living embodiment of sacrifice and dedicated his life to the country and yearned for the progress of the poor, the helpless and the downtrodden.

Swami Dayanand SaraswatiDayanand Saraswati was one of the most radical socio-religious reformers in the history of India. Swami Dayanand Saraswati was the founder of Arya Samaj and propagated egalitarian approach of the Vedas at a time when widespread casteism was prevalent in the society.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as the 'Maker of Modern India'. He was the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, one of the first Indian socio-religious reform movements. He played a major role in abolishing the role of Sati. Raja Rammohan Roy was a great scholar and an independent thinker.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa Ramakrishna Paramhansa was one of the foremost Hindu spiritual leaders of the country. His teachings are still deeply revered by the people. He also played a key role in the social reform movement in Bengal in 19th century.

Medha Patkar Medha Patkar is a well known social activist of India. She was born on 1st December in the year 1954. Prior to becoming a social reformer, she completed her M.A. in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).She left Ph. D. in the midst and got actively involved in the agitations conducted by tribals and peasants of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Shanta Sinha Shanta Sinha, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner, has recently been appointed for the post of chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. She is the founder secretary trustee of the Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya (MV) Foundation, Secunderabad.

Shahu Chhatrapati Shahu Chhatrapati was the Maharaja or the king of the Indian princely state of Kolhapur. Also known by the name of Rajarshi Shahu, he was known to be a great social reformer of his time. Shahu Chhatrapati was born on 26 June in the year 1874 as Yeshwantrao Ghatge.

ANNIE BESANT Founder of Theosophical Scoiety,She founded the Home-Rule League. She revived the Theosophical Society. In 1915, she chaired the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. She also edited 'New India'. She established Indian Boy Scouts Association. She received a prestigious award for her work for scouts. She also studied Hinduism. India is indebted to Annie Besant for her immeasurable work for freedom struggle, educational advancements and social reforms.

Sant Kabir---The hallmark of Kabir's works consists of his two line couplets, known as the 'Kabir ke Dohe'. The Dohas reflect the deep philosophical thinking of the poet saint. Sant Kabir believed in the Vedantic concepts of atman. He always advocated the Impersonal Aspect of God (Nirguna)