The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary: (Floods and foes) – August 31, 2022 - Improve Vocabulary For Competitive Exams

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary is very helpful for all banking and other competitive exam aspirants, as you’ll not only improve your vocabulary by learning new words but by reading the Hindu Editorial articles, you’ll also improve your comprehensive skills along with improving your General Knowledge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message, in a tweet on Monday evening, expressing condolences to the victims of the flooding in Pakistan,..… For Further Reading, "Scroll Down the Page”. Go to below of Today’s Word List for The Hindu Editorial (Congress conundrum)

Word List - 

1. foe (noun) – enemy, adversary, opponent, rival, nemesis.
2. be well/best placed (phrase) – be in a good position in which you have the opportunity/capacity to do something.
3. condolence (noun) – sympathy, solace, comfort, consolation, empathy, compassion.
4. welcome (adjective) – pleasing, gratifying, heartening, promising.
5. gesture (noun) – sign, signal, indication; action, deed, move.
6. neighbourhood (noun) – (surrounding) area, region, district/country.
7. crop (noun) – a plant that is grown in large quantities.
8. recede (verb) – go back, move back, ebb, abate, retreat, decrease/lessen.
9. as well as (phrase) – and also, and in addition.
10. devastating (adjective) – destructive, ruinous, disastrous, catastrophic.
11. climate change (noun) – a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth.
12. vulnerable (adjective) – unprotected, endangered, unsafe, exposed, in danger, in peril, in jeopardy.
13. aid (noun) – assistance, help, support.
14. hit (verb) – be affected by (unexpected situation or event).
15. on steroids (phrase) – used for saying that something is bigger, stronger or more intense form than normal.
16. bailout (noun) – an act of providing financial help/support by the outside investors to a bank/institution/organisation which faces serious financial difficulty.
17. tranche (noun) – part, section, portion (of something).
18. ongoing (adjective) – continuing, happening, occurring, current.
19. negotiation (noun) – discussion, talk, consultation, deliberation, dialogue, debate.
20. steep in (verb) – fill with, permeate with, pervade with, imbue with, infuse with.
21. given (preposition) – considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.  
22. deepen (verb) – grow, increase, intensify.
23. lift (verb) – remove, cancel, withdraw, annul, revoke, stop, end, terminate (a restriction).
24. impose (verb) – apply, enforce, exact, inflict.
25. so as to (phrase) – in order to.
26. thus far (phrase) – so far, yet, still, up till now, up to now, until now.
27. pharmaceutical (noun) – relating to the aspects like preparation, dispensing, and effective utilization of medicinal drugs.
28. pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.
29. humanitarian (adjective) – compassionate, humane socially concerned, welfare.
30. humanitarian aid (noun) – material and logistic assistance that’s used to relieve suffering during emergency situations.
31. state (noun) – condition, situation, circumstances, state of affairs.
32. ties (noun) – association, relationship, bond, connection.
33. put aside (phrasal verb) – forget, disregard, ignore, set aside, bury.
34. consideration (noun) – factor, issue, point, concern, matter.
35. seize (verb) – take hold of, snatch, grab, capture (suddenly).
36. seize the moment (phrase) – to make the most of today (present moment); to take full advantage (of opportunities).
37. stranded (adjective) – helpless, without assistance, without help, without resources, in difficulties; in the lurch, abandoned.
38. pride oneself (on) (phrase) – be proud of oneself for, take pride in, congratulate oneself on, pat oneself on the back for.
39. first responder (noun) – a person who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance at the scene of an emergency. 
40. churlish (adjective) – ill-mannered, discourteous, impolite.
41. short-sighted (adjective) – narrow-minded, parochial, myopic, ill-advised, ill-considered, lacking foresight, illiberal.
42. interest (noun) – common concerns (in politics/business).
43. give up (phrasal verb) – stop, cease, discontinue, renounce, desist from.
44. calamity (noun) – disaster, catastrophe, crisis, tragedy.
45. enmity (noun) – hostility, bitterness, rancour, resentment.
46. summit (noun) – meeting, conference, conclave (highest level meeting between heads of government).
47. lasting (adjective) – enduring, continuing, long-lasting, long-term.
48. decade (noun) – a period of ten years.
49. unlikely (adjective) – doubtful, implausible, improbable, questionable.
50. mitigate (verb) – reduce, diminish, lessen.
51. catastrophe (noun) – disaster, calamity, crisis, tragedy, tribulation,
52. at hand (phrase) –  nearby, around, close by, at one’s disposal, within reach, close at hand.

Definitation - 

1. infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.
2. global warming (noun) – it is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as people burn fossil fuels.
3. International Monetary Fund (IMF) (noun) – an international organization of 189 countries, headquartered in Washington, D.C., working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
4. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) (noun) – The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China). The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and is seen as a counterweight to NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It was established as a multilateral association to ensure security and maintain stability across the vast Eurasian region, join forces to counteract emerging challenges and threats, and enhance trade, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

The Hindu Editorial : Floods and foes: On Pakistan floods and Indian response

India and Pakistan are best placed to help each other during natural disasters 

            Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message, in a tweet on Monday evening, expressing condolences to the victims of the flooding in Pakistan, is a welcome gesture, especially after weeks of silence over what has been one of the worst natural disasters in the neighbourhood in recent times. More than 1,100 people have died, and over 33 million people have been affected, as officials say one-third of the country is under water, and estimate about $10 billion in damage to homes, roads and infrastructure. The floods have also affected standing crops, and as the waters recede, fears of disease as well as food shortages are expected to rise. In addition, the worry that the devastating floods have been caused due to climate change is a worry for all of South Asia, one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to global warming. On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres launched a global appeal for aid to Pakistan, that he said had been hit by a “monsoon on steroids”, indicating unnatural climate patterns. Countries such as the U.K., the U.S., China, the UAE, Qatar and Turkey have already dispatched aid to Pakistan, and many others have promised help, while the IMF announced a $1.1 billion bailout tranche on Tuesday, as part of ongoing negotiations with the country that is already steeped in an economic crisis. Given that the crisis will only deepen at this point, Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also said on Monday that he may propose lifting the trade ban imposed on India after the Jammu-Kashmir reorganisation in 2019, so as to import Indian vegetables and essential commodities. Thus far, Islamabad has only made exceptions for pharmaceutical imports from India during the COVID-19 pandemic, and India’s humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

            Despite the poor state of India-Pakistan ties, both New Delhi and Islamabad must put aside their domestic considerations, and seize the moment to help those stranded in the flooding as best they can. India cannot pride itself as being the “first responder” in the neighbourhood — as it has been for Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan — if it fails to see the suffering right at its land boundary with Pakistan. It would be churlish and short-sighted of Pakistan to reject an opportunity to lift the trade ban with India that has only hurt its own interests, and to give up a source of affordable supplies at a time of such calamity. And it would be both tragic and ridiculous if the enmity between the two countries would not allow them to work together at a time such as this, even as their governments allow their cricket teams to play each other for financial considerations. Significantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are due to travel to Uzbekistan in September for the SCO summit. While a more lasting dialogue, that has been suspended between the two countries for nearly a decade over the terrorism issue, is unlikely, the leaders must find the time to discuss ways to mitigate the catastrophe at hand.