11 November 2022
| Content Puri Jaganna Temple Balance of Payments |
| GS 1 |
Indian Art and Architecture
Puri Jaganna Temple, Puri, Odisha
Context- Hon. President visited temple
The Jagannath Temple in Puri was called the “White Pagoda”.
The temple is a part of Char Dham (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram) pilgrimages that a Hindu is expected to make in one’s lifetime.
When most of the deities in the temples of India are made of stone or metal, the idol of Jagannatha is made of wood which is ceremoniously replaced in every twelve or nineteen years by using sacred trees.
The temple is believed to be constructed in the 12th century by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty.
The temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra or Chariot festival, in which the three principal deities (Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra) are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars
Jagannath Puri temple is called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’ where, according to the Hindu beliefs, the power of ‘Yama’, the god of death has been nullified in Puri due to the presence of Lord Jagannath.
Architecture of temple
- The Temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the major Hindu temples in India.
- The temple is built in the Kalinga style of architecture, with the Pancharatha (Five chariots) type consisting of two anurathas, two konakas and one ratha. Jagannath temple is a pancharatha with well-developed pagas. ‘Gajasimhas’ (elephant lions) carved in recesses of the pagas, the ‘Jhampasimhas’ (Jumping lions) are also placed properly.
- The perfect pancharatha temple developed into a Nagara-rekha temple.
- The temple is built on an elevated platform, as compared to Lingaraja temple and other temples belonging to this type.
- This is the first temple in the history of Kalingaan temple architecture where all the chambers like Jagamohana, Bhogamandapa and Natyamandapa were built along with the main temple.
- There are miniature shrines on the three outer sides of the main temple.
| GS 3 |
| Indian Economy |
Balance of Payments
What is Balance of Payments?
- About:
- BoP of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world during a specific period, usually one year.
- Purposes of Calculation of BoP:
- Reveals the financial and economic status of a country.
- Can be used as an indicator to determine whether the country’s currency value is appreciating or depreciating.
- Helps the Government to decide on fiscal and trade policies.
- Provides important information to analyze and understand the economic dealings of a country with other countries.
- Components of BoP:
- For preparing BoP accounts, economic transactions between a country and the rest of the world are grouped under – Current account, Capital account and Errors and Omissions. It also shows changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves.
- Current Account: It shows export and import of visibles (also called merchandise or goods – represent trade balance) and invisibles (also called non-merchandise).
- Invisibles include services, transfers and income.
- Capital Account: It shows a capital expenditure and income for a country.
- It gives a summary of the net flow of both private and public investment into an economy.
- External Commercial Borrowing (ECB), Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment, etc form a part of capital account.
- Errors and Omissions: Sometimes the balance of payments does not balance. This imbalance is shown in the BoP as errors and omissions. It reflects the country’s inability to record all international transactions accurately.
- Changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves: Movements in the reserves comprises changes in the foreign currency assets held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and also in Special Drawing Rights (SDR)balances.
- Overall the BoP account can be a surplus or a deficit. If there is a deficit then it can be bridged by taking money from the Foreign Exchange (Forex) Account.
- If the reserves in the forex account are falling short then this scenario is referred to as BoP crisis.
What is the Current Account Deficit?
- A current account deficit occurs when the total value of goods and services a country imports exceeds the total value of goods and services it exports.
- The balance of exports and imports of goods is referred to as the trade balance. Trade Balance is a part of ‘Current Account Balance’.
- According to an earlier report of 2021, High Oil Imports, High Gold Imports are the major driving force, widening the CAD.