A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. Under this definition, the British Pound sterling (£), euros (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are either chosen by users or decreed by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance; i.e., legal tender laws may require a particular unit of account for payments to government agencies.
The economy of Mauritius is a mixed developing economy based on agriculture, exports, financial services, and tourism. Since the 1980s, the government of Mauritius has sought to diversify the country's economy beyond its dependence on just agriculture, particularly sugar production.
The economy of Pakistan is categorized as a developing economy. It ranks as the 24th-largest based on GDP using purchasing power parity (PPP) and the 46th largest in terms of nominal GDP. With a population of 241.5 million people as of 2023, Pakistan's position at per capita income ranks 161st by GDP (nominal) and 138th by GDP (PPP) according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, social scientists define smuggling as the purposeful movement across a border in contravention to the relevant legal frameworks.
Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arms, unlike other organized crime commodities, is more closely associated with exercising power in communities instead of achieving economic gain. Scholars estimate illegal arms transactions amount to over US$1 billion annually.
Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves as well as their value in buying goods. This is in contrast to representative money, which has no intrinsic value but represents something of value such as gold or silver, for which it can be exchanged, and fiat money, which derives its value from having been established as money by government regulation.
The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally, and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption.
The Indian rupee is the official currency in India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 paise. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank manages currency in India and derives its role in currency management based on the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The Pakistani rupee is the official currency in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan. It was officially adopted by the Government of Pakistan in 1949. Earlier the coins and notes were issued and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India until 1949, when it was handed over to the Government and State Bank of Pakistan, by the Government and Reserve Bank of India.
A price ceiling is a government- or group-imposed price control, or limit, on how high a price is charged for a product, commodity, or service. Governments use price ceilings to protect consumers from conditions that could make commodities prohibitively expensive. Such conditions can occur during periods of high inflation, in the event of an investment bubble, or in the event of monopoly ownership of a product, all of which can cause problems if imposed for a long period without controlled rationing, leading to shortages. Further problems can occur if a government sets unrealistic price ceilings, causing business failures, stock crashes, or even economic crises. On the other hand, price ceilings give a government to the power to prevent corporations from price gouging or otherwise setting prices that create negative outcomes for the government's society.
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services whose production and distribution is prohibited or restricted by law, non-compliance with the rule constitutes a black-market trade since the transaction itself is illegal. Such transactions include the illegal drug trade, prostitution, illegal currency transactions, and human trafficking.
The Gold (Control) Act, 1968 is a repealed Act of the Parliament of India which was enacted to control sale and holding of gold in personal possession. High demand for gold in India with negligible indigenous production results in gold imports, leading to drastic devaluation of the Indian rupee and depletion of foreign exchange reserves to alarming levels. Devaluation of the Indian rupee also leads to steep rises in food commodity prices due to costlier petroleum products imports. In these circumstances, the gold import policy of India aimed at curbing the gold imports to a manageable level time to time by imposing taxes and legal restrictions.
In Cambodia, drugs are readily available, thus, easy to access, including illegal substances.
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it.
The illicit cigarette trade is defined as "the production, import, export, purchase, sale, or possession of tobacco goods which fail to comply with legislation". Illicit cigarette trade activities fall under 3 categories:
- Contraband: cigarettes smuggled from abroad without domestic duty paid;
- Counterfeit: cigarettes manufactured without authorization of the rightful owners, with intent to deceive consumers and to avoid paying duty;
- Illicit whites: brands manufactured legitimately in one country, but smuggled and sold in another without duties being paid.
Daigou is an emerging form of cross-border trade in which an individual or a syndicated group of exporters outside China purchases commodities for customers in China. Daigou shoppers typically purchase the desired goods in a region outside China, after which they ship the goods to China or carry them in their luggage upon their return to China. The goods are then resold for profit in China.
Jangmadang are North Korean local markets, farmers' markets, black markets and bazaars. Since the North Korean famine in the 1990s, they have formed a large informal economy, and the government has become more lenient towards them. However, merchants still face heavy regulations. A majority of North Koreans have become dependent on jangmadang for their survival.
Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah,NI(M)HI(M) is a Pakistani general and the current Chief of Army Staff since 29 November 2022. Before becoming the army chief, he was posted at the GHQ as Quartermaster general. He commanded the XXX Corps in Gujranwala from 17 June 2019 to 6 October 2021. He served as the 28th Director-General of the ISI until he was replaced by lieutenant general Faiz Hameed on 16 June 2019. Munir received the Sword of Honour for his performance as a cadet in the Officers Training School (OTS), Mangla.
Pakistan has experienced an economic crisis as part of the 2022 political unrest. It has caused severe economic challenges for months due to which food, gas and oil prices have risen.
Smuggling in Pakistan is a significant problem, and it has an impact on the country's economy. The illicit trade of various goods across Pakistan's borders with Iran and Afghanistan remains a persistent issue. Smuggled products have infiltrated multiple sectors of Pakistan's economy, spanning items such as cell phones, fuel, and everyday necessities like toiletries and tea. This illicit activity poses challenges to the formal economy and governmental efforts to regulate trade.
