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Author: Urmila Singh

  • Nikaalo Prelims Spotlight || Inflation, Banking and Monetary Policy

    Dear Aspirants,

    This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.

    You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here

    Session Details

    YouTube LIVE with Parth sir – 1 PM  – Prelims Spotlight Session

    Evening 04 PM  – Daily Mini Tests

    Telegram LIVE with Sukanya ma’am – 06 PM  – Current Affairs Session

    Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here


    10th Mar 2023

    Inflation, Banking and Monetary Policy

    Inflation

    Understanding Inflation

    Inflation: Inflation is when the overall general price level of goods and services in an economy is increasing. As a consequence, the purchasing power of the people are falling. 

    Inflation Rate: Inflation Rate is the percentage change in the price level from the previous period. 

    Inflation Rate= {(Price in year 2 – Price in year 1)/ Price in year 1} *100

    Whole sale Price Index: WPI is used to monitor the cost of goods and services bought by producer and firms rather than final consumers. The WPI inflation captures price changes at the factory/wholesale level.

    GDP Deflator: GDP Deflator is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP. The nominal GDP is measured at the current prices whereas the real GDP is measured at the base year prices. 

    The Difference

    Consumer Price Index GDP Deflator
    CPI reflects the price of goods and services bought by the final consumers. GDP deflator reflects the price of all the goods and services produced domestically.
    Example: Suppose the price of a satellite to be launch by ISRO increases. Even though the satellite is part of the GDP of India, but it is not a part of normal CPI index, since we don’t consume satellite. The price rise of the ISRO satellite will be reflected in GDP deflator.
    Similarly, India produces some crude oil, but most of the oil/petroleum is imported from the West Asia, as a result, when the price of oil/petroleum product changes, it is reflected in CPI basket as petroleum products constitute a larger share in CPI. The price change of oil products is not reflected much in the GDP deflator since we do not produce much crude oil.
    The CPI compares the price of a fixed basket of goods and services to the price of the basket in the base year. The GDP deflator compares the price of currently produced goods and services to the price of the same goods and services in the base year. Thus, the group of goods and services used to compute the GDP deflator changes automatically over time.

    Producer Price Index

    PPI measures the average change in the sale price of goods and services either as they leave the place of production or as they enter the place of production. Moreover, PPI includes services also.

    The PPI measure the price changes from the perspective of the seller and differs from CPI which measures price changes from buyer perspective.

    Causes of Inflation

    Inflation is mainly caused either by demand Pull factors or Cost Push factors. Apart from demand and supply factors, Inflation sometimes is also caused by structural bottlenecks and policies of the government and the central banks. Therefore, the major causes of Inflation are:

    • Demand Pull Factors (when Aggregate Demand exceeds Aggregate Supply at Full employment level).
    • Cost Push Factors (when Aggregate supply increases due to increase in the cost of production while Aggregate demand remains the same).
    • Structural Bottlenecks (Agriculture Prices fluctuations, Weak Infrastructure etc.)
    • Monetary Policy Intervention by the Central Banks.
    • Expansionary Fiscal Policy by the Government.

    Demand and Supply factors can be further sub divided into the following:

     

    Inflationary Gap: the Inflationary gap is a situation which arises when Aggregate demand in an economy exceeds the Aggregate supply at the full employment level.

    Deflationary Gap: Deflationary Gap is a situation which arises when Aggregate demand in the economy falls short of Aggregate Supply at the full employment level.

     

    Stagflation:  The falling growth along with rising prices makes cost push inflation more dangerous than the demand-pull inflation. The situation of rising prices along with falling growth and employment is called as stagflation.

    Hyperinflation: Hyperinflation is a situation when inflation rises at an extremely faster rate. The rate of inflation can increase from 50 times to 300 times. The major causes of the hyperinflation are; government issuing too much currency to finance its deficits; wars and political instabilities and unexpected increase in people’s anticipation of future inflation.

    Structural Inflation

    • Structuralist Inflation is another form of Inflation mostly prevalent in the Developing and Low-Income Countries.
    • The Structural school argues that inflation in the developing countries are mainly due to the weak structure of their economies.

    Deflation: Deflation is when the overall price level in the economy falls for a period of time.Deflation is when, for instance, the price of a basket of goods has fallen from Rs 100 to Rs 80. It’s the reduction in overall prices of goods.

    Disinflation: Disinflation is a situation in which the rate of inflation falls over a period of time. Remember the difference; disinflation is when the inflation rate is falling from say 5% to 3%.

    Headline versus Core Inflation

    The headline inflation measure demonstrates overall inflation in the economy. Conversely, the core inflation measures exclude the prices of highly volatile food and fuel components from the inflation index.

    Core inflation excludes the highly volatile food and fuel components and therefore represents the underlying trend inflation. 

     

    Banking and Monetary Policy

    What is monetary policy?

    As the name suggests it is policy formulated by monetary authority i.e. central bank which happens to be RBI in case of India.

    It deals with monetary i.e money matters i.e. affects money supply in the economy.

    Eg. CRR,SLR,OMO,REPO etc

    What is fiscal policy then?

    It is formulated by finance ministry i.e. government. It deals with fiscal matters i.e. matters related to government revenues and expenditure.

    Revenue matters- tax policies, non tax matters such as divestment, raising of loans, service charge etc

    Expenditure matters– subsidies, salaries, pensions, money spent on creation of capital assets such as roads, bridges etc.

    Monetary policy and fiscal policy together deal with inflation.


    Let us now understand how RBI formulates monetary policy to control inflation

    It’s clear from what we have learnt so far that to control inflation, RBI will have to decrease money supply or increase cost of fund so that people do not demand goods and services.

    Tools available with RBI


    1. Quantitative tools or general tools- they affect money supply in entire economy- housing, automobile, manufacturing, agriculture- everything.

    They are of two types

    1. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)– as the name suggests, banks have to keep this proportion as cash with the RBI. Bank cannot lend it to anyone. Bank earns no interest rate or profit on this.Bank cannot lend it to anyone. 
    2. Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)-  As the name indicates banks have to set aside this much money into liquid assets such as gold or RBI approved securities mostly government securities. Banks earn interest on securities but as yield on govt securities is much lower banks earn that much less interest.

    RBI Tools for Controlling Credit/Money Supply

    Broadly speaking, there are two types of methods of controlling credit.

     

    Measure of Money Supply in India

    M1 M2 M3 M4
    It is also known as Narrow Money. It is a broader concept of the money supply. It is also known as Broad Money. M4 includes all items of M3 along with total deposits of post office saving accounts.
    M1= C+DD+OD

     

    C= Currency with Public.

    DD= Demand Deposit with the public in the Banks.

    OD= Other Deposits held by the public with RBI.

    M2= M1 + Saving deposits with the post office saving banks.

     

    M1 is distinguished from M2 because the post office saving deposits are not as liquid as Bank deposits.

    M3 = M1+ Time Deposits with the Bank.

     

    Time deposits serve as a store of wealth and represent a saving of the people and are not as liquid as they cannot be withdrawn through cheques or ATMs as compared to money deposited in Demand deposits.

    M4= M3+Total Deposits with Post Office Saving Organisations.

     

    M4 however, excludes National Saving Certificates of Post Offices.

    It is the most liquid form of the money supply.   M3 is the most popular and essential measure of the money supply. The monetary committee headed by late Prof Sukhamoy Chakravarty recommended its use for monetary planning in the economy. M3 is also called Aggregate Monetary Resource  
     
     
     
     
  • Nikaalo Prelims Spotlight || National Income, Inclusive Growth and other Social Sectors related Schemes

    Dear Aspirants,

    This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.

    You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here

    Session Details

    YouTube LIVE with Parth sir – 1 PM  – Prelims Spotlight Session

    Evening 04 PM  – Daily Mini Tests

    Telegram LIVE with Sukanya ma’am – 06 PM  – Current Affairs Session

    Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here


    9th Mar 2023

    National income, inclusive growth and other social sector related schemes 

    National Income

    National income accounting refers to the set of methods and principles that are used by the government for measuring production and income, or in other words economic activity of a country in a given time period.

    The various measures of determining national income are GDP (Gross Domestic Product), GNP (Gross National Product), and NNP (Net National Product) along with other measures such as personal income and disposable income.

    National income accounting equation is an equation that shows the relationship between income and expense of an economy and other categories. It is represented by the following equation:

    Y = C + I + G + (X – M)

    Where

    Y = National income

    C = Personal consumption expenditure

    I = Private investment

    G = Government spending

    X = Net exports

    M = Imports

    The most important metrics that are determined by national income accounting are GDP, GNP, NNP, disposable income, and personal income.

    Methods of measuring National income

    How is equality of three methods? Reconcile three methods of measuring  national income. from Economics National Income Accounting Class 12 Haryana  Board - English Medium

     

    Issues associated with National Income accounting in India

    (A) Problems in Income Method:

    • Owner-occupied Houses
    • Self-employed Persons
    • Goods meant for Self-consumption
    • Wages and Salaries paid in Kind

    (B) Problems in Product Method:

    • Services of Housewives
    • Intermediate and Final Goods
    • Second-hand Goods and Assets
    • Illegal Activities
    • Consumers’ Service
    • Capital Gains
    • Inventory Changes
    • Depreciation
    • Price Changes

    (C) Problems in Expenditure Method:

    • Government Services
    • Transfer Payments
    • Durable-use Consumers’ Goods
    • Public Expenditure

    Inclusive growth

    • As per OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), inclusive growth is economic growth that is distributed fairly across society and creates opportunities for all.
    • UNDP has described inclusive growth as “the process and the outcome where all groups of people have participated in growth and have benefited equitably from it”.
    • It lessens the fast growth rate of poverty in a country and upsurges the participation of people into the development of the country.

    Salient Features of Inclusive Growth

    • Address the constraints of the excluded and marginalised.
    • Participation from all sections of society
    • Reduction in disparities among per capita incomes between different sectors and sections of society.
    • Non – discriminatory
    • Higher potential of poverty reduction
    • Ensure access of people to basic infrastructure and basic services/capabilities such as basic health and education.
    • Include poor, lagging socio – economic groups and lagging regions as well as they are partners in this growth.

    Dimensions of Inclusive Growth

    1. Equality
    2. Good Governance
    3. Decentralization
    4. Accountability and Transparency
    5. Sustainability
    • Financial Sustainability
    • Social Sustainability
    • Environment Sustainability

    Social Sector related schemes

    The list of schemes can be found here

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/type/govt-schemes/

     
     
     
     
  • Nikaalo Prelims Spotlight || Important Constitutional Amendements, Recent Acts passed

    Dear Aspirants,

    This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.

    You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here

    Session Details

    YouTube LIVE with Parth sir – 1 PM  – Prelims Spotlight Session

    Evening 04 PM  – Daily Mini Tests

    Telegram LIVE with Sukanya ma’am – 06 PM  – Current Affairs Session

    Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here


    7h Mar 2023

    Important Constitutional amendments 

    Following Are The Major Amendments Made In The Constitution

    First Amendment Act, 1951

    1. It empowers the states to make socio-economic justice with socially and economically backward classes.
    2. It was aimed at land reforms and Zamindari abolition.
    3. Added the ninth schedule to protect anti-zamindari laws from judicial review.
    4. Added public order, friendly relations with foreign states, and incitement to an offense as the additional grounds for reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression. It also made it justiciable.
    5. It provided that state trading and nationalization of any business would not be considered against the right to trade or business.

    Fourth Amendment Act, 1955

    1. Empowered state to nationalize any trade.
    2. Provided that the compensation amount given by the state for the acquisition of property, can not be challenged in court on the grounds of insufficiency.
    3. Added more laws in the ninth schedule and expanded the scope of article 31 (C).

    Seventh Amendment Act, 1956

    1. Reorganized the Indian states as 14 states and 6 UTs. Abolished the old A, B, C, and D categorization of states.
    2. Provided the common high court for two or more states, and extended the jurisdiction of HC to UTs. Also provided additional acting judges to HC

    Ninth Amendment Act, 1960

    1. Provided for the cession of the Indian territory named Berubari Union ( West Bengal) to Pakistan as a commitment made under the Indo-Pakistan Agreement (1958). (The amendment was made for the reason that, under article 3, the parliament can alter the area of a state, however, it does not include the cession of Indian territory to a foreign state. It can only be done by amending the constitution itself.)

    Tenth Amendment Act, 1961

    Acquired the Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union Territory from Portugal.

    Eleventh Amendment Act, 1961

    1. Provided the new procedure of election for the vice president by introducing an electoral college.
    2. Also clear that any vacancy in the appropriate electoral college would not be the reason to challenge the election of the President or vice president.

    Twelfth Amendment Act, 1962

    Added Goa, Daman and Diu to the Indian Union.

    Thirteenth Amendment Act, 1962

    Made Nagaland a state and provided special provisions for it.

    Fourteenth Amendment Act, 1962

    1. Added Puducherry to the Indian Union.
    2. The Union Territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry are provided with legislatures and a council of ministers.

    Seventeenth Amendment Act, 1964

    1. Made fair compensation (based on market value) compulsory for the state for the acquisition of privately cultivated land.
    2. Added 44 other Acts in the Ninth Schedule.

    Eighteenth Amendment Act, 1966

    1. provided that the Parliament can form a new state by uniting a part of a state or a union territory to another state or union territory.
    2. Created Punjab and Haryana as new states.

    Twenty-First Amendment Act, 1967

    Added Sindhi as the 15th language in the Eighth Schedule.

    Twenty Fourth Amendment Act, 1971

    This Amendment Act was brought in the aftermath of the Golaknath case (1967) in which the Supreme Court held that the Parliament could not take away any fundamental rights through the constitutional amendment.

    1. It made it clear that the parliament has the power to amend any part of the constitution including article 13 by using article 368.
    2. Made it obligatory for the President to give assent to a Constitutional Amendment Bill.

    Twenty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1971

    1. Curtailed the fundamental right to property.
    2. It made it clear that a law made to fulfill the provisions of the Directive Principles contained under Article 39 (b) or (c) cannot be challenged on the ground it violates the fundamental rights given in Articles 14, 19, and 31.

    Twenty-Sixth Amendment Act, 1971

    It removes the privy purses and privileges of the former monarchical rulers of princely states.

    Thirty First Amendment Act, 1973

    Reason for the Amendment:

    1. An increase in the population of India was revealed in the Census of 1971.
    2. Increased the number of Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545.

    Thirty-Third Amendment Act, 1974

    It changed Articles 101 and 190 and provided that The Chairman/Speaker of the house can reject the resignation of MP if he found it ingenuine or non-voluntary.

     

    Thirty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1974

    1. It changed the protectorate status of Sikkim and assigned it a status of an associate state of the Indian Union.
    2. The Tenth Schedule was added to fix the terms and conditions of such engagement of Sikkim with the Indian Union.

    Thirty-Sixth Amendment Act, 1975

    Gave a full-fledged State status to Sikkim and repealed the Tenth Schedule.

    Thirty-Eighth Amendment Act, 1975

    1. Provided that the declaration of emergency by the President can not be challenged in a court of law.
    2. Provided that the promulgation of ordinances by the President, governors, and administrators of Union territories can not be challenged in a court of law.
    3. Provided that the President could declare different proclamations of national emergency on different grounds simultaneously.

    Forty-second Amendment Act, 1976

    It is also known as the ‘ Mini-constitution’, as it made very comprehensive changes to the constitution of India.

    1. It amended the preamble and added the words – socialist, secular, and integrity.
    2. Added Fundamental Duties for the citizens by including new Part IV A.
    3. Exclusively made cabinet advice binding on the president.
    4. By adding Part XIV A, it provided for administrative tribunals and tribunals for other matters
    5. It froze the seats for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies census till 2001, on the basis of 1971.
    6. Restricted the judicial review for the constitutional amendment act.
    7. Limited the power of judicial review and writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and high courts.
    8. Increased the tenure of Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies from 5 to 6 years.
    9. Included new Directive Principles – (a) equal justice and free legal aid, (b) participation of workers in the management of industries, and (c) protection of the environment, forests, and wildlife.
    10. Provided the proclamation of national emergency now for a part of the territory of India.
    11. Raised the one-time duration of the President’s rule in a state from earlier 6 months to one year.
    12. Created the All-India Judicial Service.

    Forty-four Amendment Act, 1978

    This was also the comprehensive amendment which was mainly brought to undo the actions of the 42nd amendment. It also introduced some important provisions.

    1. Changed the term of the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies again to the original 5 years.
    2. Provided the president can send back the advice of the cabinet for reconsideration.
    3. changed the phrase “internal disturbance” with “armed rebellion” as a ground to proclaim a national emergency.
    4. Removed the right to property from the list of Fundamental Rights and provided it only as a legal right.
    5. Provided that fundamental rights under articles 20-21 can not be suspended during a national emergency.

    Fifty-second Amendment Act, 1985

    The Tenth schedule was added as a measure to the anti-defection issues.

    Sixty-First Amendment Act, 1989

    The legal voting age changed from 21 to 18 years for Lok Sabha as well as Legislative Assemblies.

    Sixty-ninth Amendment Act 1991

    1. It provided a special status to Delhi as the ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi.’
    2. Provided a legislative assembly and the council of ministers for Delhi.

    Seventy-first Amendment Act 1992

    Added Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali languages in the Eighth Schedule.

    Seventy-Third Amendment Act 1992

    1. Provided constitutional status for the Panchayati Raj institutions.
    2. Added Part-IX and 11th Schedule

    Seventy-fourth Amendment Act 1992

    1. Provided constitutional status for the Urban local bodies.
    2. Part IX-A and the 12th Schedule were added.

    Eighty-sixth Amendment Act 2002

    1. Provided the Right to Education as a fundamental right (part III of the Constitution).
    2. The new article inserted Article 21A which made free and compulsory education for children between 6-14 years.
    3. Added a new Fundamental Duty under Article 51 A.

    Eighty-eighth Amendment Act 2003

    Provided Service Tax under Article 268-A – which was levied by Union and collected and appropriated by the Union as well as the States.

    Ninety-second Amendment Act 2003

    Added Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Maithili, and Santhali in the Eighth schedule

    Ninety-fifth Amendment Act 2009

    Provided for the extended reservation for the SCs and STs and special representation to the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for ten more years (Article 334).

    Ninety-seventh Amendment Act 2011

    1. Part IX-B added to the constitution for cooperative societies and made it a constitutional right.
    2. The right to form cooperative societies became a fundamental right under Article 19.
    3. Article 43-B was inserted as a DPSP to promote cooperative societies.

    101st Amendment Act, 2016

    Provided for Goods and Service Tax (GST).

    102nd Amendment Act, 2018

    The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) became a constitutional body.

    103rd Amendment Act, 2019

    Granted 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections of citizens of classes other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) of Article 15

    104th Amendment Act, 2020

    Changed the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from Seventy years to Eighty.

    Ended the reservation of seats for the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    Recent Acts passed

    1. New Delhi International Arbitration Centre
    (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    2. Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    3. Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    4. Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second
    Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    5. Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    6. Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment)
    Act, 2022
     
    7. Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022
     
    8. Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works
    Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    9. Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment)
    Act, 2022
     
    10. National Anti-Doping Act, 2022
     
    11. Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Act, 2022
     
    12. Indian Antarctic Act, 2022
     
    13. Family Courts (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    14. Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes)
    Orders (Amendment) Act, 2022
     
    15. Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth
    Amendment) Act, 2022.
     
    Refer website https://prsindia.org/acts/parliament?title=&year=2022 to read more about the acts passed in 2022 and 2023.