Short Notes: Currency War, Crude Oil & Detail Area Plan (DAP)
Currency War
A currency war is when a country's central bank uses expansionary monetary policies to deliberately lower the value of its national currency. This strategy is also called competitive devaluation. In 2010, Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega coined the phrase "currency war." He was describing the competition between China, Japan, and the United States where each seemed to want the lowest currency value. His country's currency was suffering from a record-high monetary value, which was hurting its economic growth. Countries engage in currency wars to gain a comparative advantage in international trade. In a currency war, nations devalue their currencies in order to make their own exports more attractive in markets abroad. By effectively lowering the cost of their exports, the country's products become more appealing to overseas buyers. At the same time, the devaluation makes imports more expensive to the nation's own consumers, forcing them to choose home-grown substitutes. This combination of export-led growth and increased domestic demand usually contributes to higher employment but faster economic growth. Economists view currency wars as harmful to the global economy because these back-and-forth actions by nations seeking a competitive advantage could have unforeseen adverse consequences, such as increased protectionism and trade barriers.
Crude Oil
Oil is called a fossil fuel because it is made up of ancient fossils. The oil we use today came from water-based plants and animals that lived before even dinosaurs existed. Oil is a fossil fuel made up of hydrocarbons left behind by animals and plants millions of years ago. Over millions of years, the remains of these plants and animals were crushed and heated between layers of rocks and sand until they became underground pools of oil. We call this oil "crude oil" because it is not yet refined for use. Crude oil is both a fuel and a base for products. Oil can fuel jets, cars, heaters, and generators. Crude oil can be used to create petroleum products like tar, asphalt, paraffin wax, and lubricating oils. It can also be used to create products that aren't typically associated with petroleum. Perfume, fertilizer, and computers are all made with crude oil. It's the base for plastics, so anything with plastic is made with crude oil. Modern society depends on oil to function. Without it, there is no economic activity. The demand for oil and the dependency on it have many impacts worldwide. The world's economy is largely dependent on fossil fuels such as crude oil, = and the demand for these resources often - sparks political unrest, as a small number of countries control the largest reservoirs. Like any industry, supply and demand heavily affect the prices and profitability of crude oil. The United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia are the leading producers of oil in the world.
Detail Area Plan (DAP)
The Detailed Area Plan (DAP) proposed and prepared by RAJUK in December 2021 the summary of which has been finally approved by Prime Minister on 6th July 2022. The 20-year master plan was approved with the aim to make Dhaka a livable and modern mega city by the year 2035. The government on 23 August 2022 published the gazette notification on the 20-year (2016-2035) master plan. The total area of DAP is 1528 sq. kilometers. There is a clear point in the terms of Reference for preparation of the DAP, which mentions demarcating rivers, canals, water bodies based on surveys done during the British and Pakistani eras and mouja maps. The draft DAP has ignored this point, and proposed a modification in the classification of flood flow zones. Upon implementation of such plans, the city will risk losing 70 percent of its water bodies, and the proportion of flood flow zones will be reduced to 17 percent. The draft DAP proposes a community parking system, but does not specify where and how they will arrange the land for such a parking system. In the new DAP, only five percent area has been designated as purely residential, while the rest will be a mix of residential and commercial. Despite over 4.0 million people living in slums, the DAP laysno emphasis on low cost housing facilities for low-income and poor people. The DAP also proposes the area-based schooling system and it is a good move to reduce traffic congestion in the city. The proposal to build 627 quality schools, 285 colleges, and 287 hospitals is a very good initiation but its main challenge is getting land for its implementation. The environment of the city is deteriorating fast due to rampant pollution, encroachment, denudation of green cover, etc. Something must be done to improve the situation. The detailed area plan should not otherwise be violated with disdain.
