Dear Readers, to score good marks in English Section first and for most thing is you need to develop your reading skills, while reading a passage you need to highlight the tough words in it and you should know the correct meaning for those words. This will help you understand the passage clearly and also you can learn more new words, it means also you can develop your vocabulary. To help you in this part we have provided a English Vocabulary passage along with meaning, synonyms and usages of hard words in the passage, make use of it. We also providing Important Vocabulary Quiz based on “THE ECONOMIST” and “THE HINDU”
Click Here for More Important English Vocabulary from “The Economist” – Free PDF
The Hindu Editorial – 06.02.2018
The Centre’s decision to bring back the long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) on equities, which was scrapped in 2004-05, seems to be a hasty move to plug the widening fiscal deficit ahead of an election year. With investors in equities enjoying terrific returns over the last few years, it is not a surprise that they have become targets for the government to secure additional revenue. The decision to announce the imposition of 10% tax on gains of over Rs.1 lakh made on any form of investment in listed equities and mutual funds with a holding period of over one year will hit the average middle class investor. Not surprisingly, the sharp fall in both the Nifty and the Sensex after Budget day has been linked to the new tax, along with the government’s abandonment of fiscal goals. But given that the sell-off was part of a wider correction in global stock indices, it may be hard to draw a definite conclusion on the exact impact of the LTCG. The Centre has justified the new tax arguing that it helps avoid the erosion of its tax base and levels the playing field between financial assets and investment in manufacturing. One legitimate concern is whether raising the tax burden on equities, rather than lowering the tax and other barriers to investing in alternative assets, is the right way to address the distortionary effect of taxes. Further, the smaller differential between short and
long-term capital gains tax itself will discourage the long-term holding of stocks in favour of short-term trading activity. While this might serve to improve liquidity in Indian markets and add to the government’s revenue, it is also likely to discourage to some extent the growing culture of investing in equities for the long run. Besides, the securities transaction tax (STT), which was introduced in lieu of the LTCG in 2004 and penalizes the buying of stocks for purposes other than just intraday trading, has been left untouched by the government. The double whammy of the STT and LTCG will further privilege short-term trading in stocks over long- term investment. Being the only country in the world to impose both the STT and LTCG, India is also likely to become a little less attractive to foreign investors when compared to its peers. A complete rollback of the new tax is too much to expect — Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has justified the higher tax levy saying that the capital gains accrue from zero effort. Despite the constraints, the government would do well to at least soften the negative impact of the new tax by allowing indexation (allowing a set-off based on inflation rate) of capital gains and removing the STT on equity investments. Tough love for the well-off is not a bad strategy for a pre-election Budget, but it is important to be careful about maintaining India’s credibility in the global money markets in the process.
India’s title triumph in the Under-19 cricket World Cup at the Bay Oval in New Zealand seemed inevitable. Prithvi Shaw’s boys, astutely coached by Rahul Dravid, maintained an unbeaten record through their three-week sojourn. The rousing campaign commenced with a 100-run win against Australia on January 14; in subsequent games, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan were all emphatically defeated. There were no big-game nerves and even in the much-hyped semifinal against Pakistan, India pocketed a facile 203-run victory. In the summit clash against Australia, Shaw’s boys followed their template of dominance. Australia was bowled out for 216 and India cruised home in 38.5 overs with eight wickets to spare, and enjoyed the added lustre of opener Manjot Kalra’s unbeaten 101. Through the tournament India found diverse heroes. Fittingly, its batting troika of Shaw, Kalra and Shubman Gill, along with seamer Kamlesh Nagarkoti and spinner Anukul Roy, found a berth in the International Cricket Council’s Under-19 World Cup team, essentially a tribute to the best players on view in the championship. Cricketing excellence allied with the resultant celebrity status, especially during the teenage years, can be a double-edged sword and it helped that in the dressing room there was the calming presence of Dravid. As the ecstatic players leapt and photo-bombed after clinching the trophy, Dravid cut through the hype and said that this win should not be the team’s defining memory as each individual cricketer has much more to achieve in his career. Dravid has a point. India has won the Under-19 World Cup on four occasions, including the previous golden runs in 2000, 2008 and 2012. From among these champion sides, only a few graduated to the big stage. Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli came through the under-19 ranks and managed to carve a niche for themselves, but Unmukt Chand, who led the team to the Cup in 2012, and then featured in a soft drink advertisement besides writing a book, has been unable to make it to the Indian senior team. He is still finding his feet with the Delhi squad in domestic cricket. Shaw and his mates will be aware that after the spectacular rise under the New Zealand skies, they still have to earn and preserve their respective spots in the State outfits before earning the right to rub shoulders with Kohli and his men. The road towards the high-stakes game of international cricket is long and arduous and history has taught us that not all teenage prodigies can be a Sachin Tendulkar or a Kohli. For Shaw and company, the journey has only begun but their moment in the sun does suggest that Indian cricket’s conveyor belt is moving smoothly along.
1). Equities (Noun)
Definition: the value of the shares issued by a company
Synonyms: value, worth, valuation; ownership, rights, proprietorship
Usage: he owns 62% of the group’s equity
2). Abandonment (Noun)
Definition: the action or fact of abandoning or being abandoned
Synonyms: desertion, neglect, stranding; jilting, betrayal
Usage: she had a feeling of utter abandonment and loneliness
3). Intraday (Adjective)
Definition: occurring within one day
Synonyms: in between, intermediate
Usage: the dollar slipped from an intraday high of 104
4). Whammy (Noun)
Definition: an event with a powerful and unpleasant effect; a blow.
Synonyms: magic, charm
Usage: the third whammy was the degradation of the financial system
5). Indexation (Noun)
Definition: a system in which the value of something changes in relation to another value or fixed standard
Synonyms: bargain, beat down, bottom out
Usage: Indexation of pay rises to productivity will give people an incentive to work harder
6). Astutely (Adverb)
Definition: accurately assessing situations or people; perceptively
Synonyms: accurate, correct, appropriate
Usage: she astutely pointed out that usually you have to be dead to be a legend
7). Sojourn (Noun)
Definition: a temporary stay
Synonyms: stay, visit, stop, stopover, residence
Usage: her sojourn in Rome
8).Hyped (Noun)
Definition: a situation in which something is advertised and discussed in newspapers, on television
Synonyms: publicize, advertise, promote, push, boost, merchandise
Usage: There’s been a lot of hype around/surrounding his latest film
9). Luster (Noun)
Definition: a gentle sheen or soft glow.
Synonyms: sheen, gloss, glossiness, shine, brightness, radiance, burnish, polish, patina
Usage: the lustre of the Milky Way
10). Troika (Noun)
Definition: group of three
Usage: They are Troika officers for this office.
11). Leapt (Verb)
Definition: jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great force
Synonyms: jump over, jump, vault over, vault, spring over, bound over
Usage: he leapt on to the parapet
12). Prodigies (Noun)
Definition: a young person with exceptional qualities or abilities
Synonyms: child genius, genius, wonder child, mastermind, virtuoso
Usage: a Russian pianist who was a child prodigy in his day
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This post was last modified on February 6, 2018 11:46 am