Promise and delivery: on Union Budget 2018 – The Hindu (Feb 02 2018)

Promise and delivery: on Union Budget 2018 – The Hindu (Feb 02 2018)

If the Union Budget is construed as an annual tug-of-war between populism and fiscal prudence, arguably it is the latter that prevailed in the past four budgets tabled by the NDA. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

Word List-1 (To Improve English Vocabulary)

1. bridge the gap (phrase) – to have qualities of two different things and to link/connect/unite them together.
2. construe (verb) – interpret, understand, analyse.
3. tug of war (noun) – a dispute over power/supremacy; a rope pulling sport that directly puts two teams against each other in a test of strength.
4. populism (noun) – related to policies that supposedly represent the opinions of ordinary people (Courtesy: VOA Learning English).
5. fiscal prudence (noun) – cautiousness, carefulness, judgement on fiscal decisions like borrowing, and spending, and managing the fiscal targets.
6. prevail (verb) – win through, triumph, succeed.
7. buoyancy (noun) – vigour/strength, high level of activity, growth.
8. shortfall (noun) – shortage, insufficiency, inadequacy/deficiency.
9. mop-up (noun) – final phase/finishing of an activity/action.
10. ease off (phrasal verb) – reduce, decrease, lessen.
11. fiscal consolidation (noun) – efforts/steps/strategies of the government to reduce the fiscal deficit and public debt.
12. fiscal deficit (noun) – the difference between total expenditure and total income of the government.
13. peg at (verb) – fix, set/hold down, limit (price, rate and etc at a level).
14. war chest (noun) – money/fund set aside to use for business (for a particular activity at difficult times).
15. home in on (phrasal verb) – focus on, concentrate on, zero in on/aim at.
16. unerringly (adverb) –  accurately, unfailingly, perfectly.
17. unremunerative (adjective) – futile, unprofitable, worthless/valueless.
18. squeeze (noun) – a strong financial demand or pressure.
19. laundry list (noun) – a long or exhaustive list of people or things.
20. ameliorative (verb) – better, reformed, revamped/improved.
21. up (verb) – add to, make larger/bigger, extend, raise.
22. fool-proof (adjective) – infallible unfailing/unerring, effective.
23. moot (verb) – put forward, propose, suggest (an idea).
24. modality (noun) – a particular method or procedure.
25. tyranny (noun) – oppression, domination, hegemony.
26. ambitious (adjective) – challenging, demanding, formidable.
27. irrigation (noun) – supply of water to farmland to grow crops & plants; micro-irrigation is defined as the frequent application of small quantities of water directly above and below the soil surface.
28. outlay (noun) – expenditure, expenses, spending.
29. bankroll (verb) – support financially.
30. grandiose (adjective) – ambitious, bold/big; impressive/magnificent.
31. overwhelmingly (adverb) – extremely, very intensely, to a great degree.
32. clutch (noun) – group, set, collection.
33. alleviate (verb) – mitigate, reduce, relieve.
34. frugal (adjective) – simple and plain, moderate, meagre/scanty.
35. giveaway (noun) – freebie, gift, prize (given for promotional purpose).
36. belie (verb) – fail to fulfil; fail to justify (an expectation).
37. parity (noun) – equality, unity, evenness.
38. clamour (noun) – protest, complaints, outcry/commotion.
39. across-the-board (phrase) – applying to all or affecting everyone without exception.
40. offset (verb) – cancel out, equalize, neutralize.
41. payout (noun) – a large amount of money; compensation, dividend.
42. vexatious (adjective) – annoying, vexing, irritating.
43. provision (noun) – term, clause; condition.
44. dwindling (adjective) – diminishing, decreasing, reducing (in amount/rate).
45. risk-averse (adjective) – relating to someone who does not want to take risks.
46. equity fund (noun) – a fund that invests in company shares/stocks (with no fixed interest).
47. dampen (verb) – decrease, reduce, lower.
48. affluent (adjective) – wealthy, rich, well to do.
49. tax incidence  (noun) – tax burden falls on the public.
50. hasty (adjective) – quick/hurried; premature, volatile,
51. retreat (noun) – a decline/reduction (in the value of shares).
52. levy (noun) – tax, tariff, toll/duty.

Note:   

1. Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/.

2. Definitions (elementary level) & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press. Tentative definitions/meanings are provided for study purpose only and they may vary in different context. Use it with the corresponding article published on the source (website) via the link provided. 

3. This word list is for personal use only. Reproduction in any format and/or Commercial use of it is/are strictly prohibited.