The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull travelling to Akshardham temple in Delhi Metro, in New Delhi

New Delhi: India and Australia today inked six pacts, including one to boost cooperation in counter-terrorism and transnational organised crime.  The agreements were signed after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Australian counterpart Malcom Turnbull. 

In his statement, Mr. Modi said that he along with his Australian counterpart has reviewed the entire gamut of India-Australia relations and taken a number of forward-looking decisions to further strengthen the partnership between the two nations. 

Mr. Modi said that he and Mr. Turnbull recognize that our future is deeply tied to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Both the sides agreed on the need for a secure and rule based Indo-Pacific. 

“We are also aware that in this globalized world, challenges like terrorism and cyber security, extend beyond the boundaries of our region. And, therefore, require global strategy and solutions,” Mr.Modi said. 

He noted that Australian Prime Minister’s understanding and insight into regional and global issues brings a new dimension to our cooperation on matters that concern us both. 

“Our cooperation in the area of defence and security has reached new heights. Our maritime exercises and exchanges have been productive. Our bilateral mechanisms on counter-terrorism and trans-national crimes are functioning well,” he said. 

Both the sides also agreed that strong regional institutions are necessary for peace, prosperity and a sense of balance in the region. They agreed to work to cooperate more closely with members of the East Asia Summit and the Indian Ocean Rim countries. 

Mr. Modi said that strong and vibrant strategic partnership with Australia was important for the security and well being of the two societies. But, it is also a major factor for peace, stability and security in our region, he added.

Stressing that terrorism constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and stability, the two Prime Ministers reiterated their strong commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They stressed that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever. 

They asserted that the fight against terrorists, terror organisations and networks should also identify, hold accountable and take strong measures again stall those who encourage, support and finance terrorism, provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups, and falsely extol their virtues. 

The two Prime Ministers emphasised the need for urgent measures to counter and prevent the spread of terrorism and violent extremism and radicalization and expressed their determination to take concrete measures to step up cooperation and coordination among the law enforcement, intelligence and security organisations. 

Noting that both countries have been victims of terrorism, the two Prime Ministers welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime. 

“This overarching security understanding will allow links between Australian and Indian law enforcement, border and intelligence agencies to grow – ultimately improving both countries’ ability to address global and regional security threats,” the joint statement said. 

India and Australia already cooperate closely on counter-terrorism through the bilateral Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. 

President Pranab Mukherjee has urged all citizens to extend their unstinted support to the mission of a less cash India.  He said that all efforts of the Government will achieve their end only has if people were to adopt them pro-actively.

The President was speaking on the occasion of the 100th mega draw of lots for Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday. 

”I congratulate each one of you who has contributed in this mission to make India a less cash society.  This will help ensure financial inclusion where every Indian, irrespective of her socio-economic status, is empowered with necessary digital tools to participate in the new age economy,” he said.

Mr. Mukherjee said India is on the cusp of a digital revolution. More than one billion Indians have a unique identity number with a biometric identifier which is unique in its own way. Even countries which are technologically far more advanced than India with comparatively much smaller size population do not have such a system in place. The Aadhaar card initiative is a watershed event in the development story of India.

The President complemented the Government on its bold initiatives for promoting the culture of digital payment in the country. He said it was in line with such bold initiatives that the Parliament made a new beginning in Financial Management through passage of Annual Budget by March 31, 2017.

The book – Chance – is about the science and secrets of luck, randomness and probability. Edited by Michael Brooks, it raises a question which rings out every day that humans exist. “We usually don’t have an answer — at least not one thats correct.” There is no pool of people that didn’t get born, so there is no way to calculate a probability of you existing. Thats not a miracle but just a link in the human chain. The role of chance in the universe cannot be denied. After all it appears to be the most fundamental process in the laws of physics. 

Dig deep into the way everything works and you find yourself dealing with quantum physics. This describes the world of the extremely small things from which all matter is made. Atoms, electrons, protons — all obey the laws of quantum theory. This describes the world of the extremely small things from which all matter is made. There is no cause and effect at the heart of quantum theory: measuring a property such as a spin of an electron might be clockwise or anti-clockwise. But the actual result of any single measurement is entirely unknowable in advance: it manifests at random. 

One of the most famous quotes of Eienstein’s reaction to this, a refusal to believe this is how the universe operates. ‘God does not play dice’ he said to physicist Neils Bohr whose response was brilliant. Bohr scolded Einstein for telling God what to do. He was right: our natural intuition that all effects must have a cause is not to be trusted. It evolved over millenia thanks to a need to survive in hostile landscapes. Our ancestors were better off assuming the bush over there is moving because of a tiger waiting to pounce than blithely assuming there is no reason for the rustling leaves. Evasive action may not always be necessary, but it’s the ultimate example of better safe than sorry. 

We marvel at the discovery that two people at a party share the same birthday — another ‘what are the chances’? But if there are 23 or more people in a room, a shared birthday is statistically likely. The editor warns playing the birthday statistician is more likely to make one the party pooper than the event’s life and soul. Thats because dealing properly with chance takes real mental effort, and parties aren’t always the best place to demand that. However, chance is not always about gritty thinking; it can be a gateway to great fun and even unexpected success. Delve into myths of people being naturally lucky, or star-cross’d and thus fated to suffer, and you’ll discover that you can make your luck. 

But scientists are not sitting down waiting for fate to determine their worthiness for a Nobel prize. Instead they are skewing the odds in their favour by analysing serendipity and putting themselves in the best possible position to stumble across new discoveries. Perhaps nowhere is the application of chance more serious than in the courtroom. If you have ever served on a jury, you’ll have had the uncomfortable experience of making a life changing decision (with the small comfort that its always about someone else’s life) based on much less information than you’d like. Rare is the open and shut case; instead the jury’s verdict hangs on its members’ judgement of likelihood and probability. 

Chance brings to the fore these and many other revolutions-in-progress. Chance is everywhere and always has been. It was in the primeordial quantum fluctuations that led to the formation of the Milky Way. It sparked the random genetic mutation that gave the first human brains access to unprecedented supplies of thought-fuelling glucose. Can science show us how to beat the odds from genetic forecasting to winning the lottery. Chances are science can tell us a lot about the perfect bet, sexual attraction, freak accidents and even the random events that led to your own conception. 

All we know about daily life is a roll of the dice. If the odds against winning the lottery jackpot are a mind boggling 14 million to one, why do we persist in thinking that we are in with a chance. Some of New Scientists sharpest minds provide insights into luck, randomness, risk and probability. They explore the world of chance and help explain what chance really means. The universe did not have to produce matter, or a planet with a stable enough climate for life to evolve. Whats more life — especially complex life — did not have to evolve. 

Neither did species. By the time we get to the chance mutations that made humans what they are, you might marvel at how lucky you are to exist. Stephen Battersby and David Shiga are at hand to explain our cosmological luck. This universe it turns out is something of a fluke. It seems an extraordinary accident that matter exists at all: the cosmos could easily have been a bland sea of radiation. That’s because after inflation, the universe was still unimaginably hot and dense. 

The next cosmic accident was the advent of celestial fire. As we now appreciate matter prevailed and the universe cooled. One particular meteorite discovered in 2003 in Bishnupur, India, contained large quantities of Iron-60, a radioactive isotope that decays over a few million years into stable nickel-60. Because iron-60 is so short lived interstellar gas generally holds just a trace of it. The large amounts in the Bishnupur meteorite imply that our solar system formed from a much richer brew. 

Another fluke is the formation of the moon. It was born from the fact that the solar system in which the infant earth found itself was an unsettled environment, filled with lumps of rock whizzing around on irregular orbits. Some 4.5 billion years ago, one of these, something around the size of Mars, clobbered our planet. The result was a comprehensive rearrangement. Some of the impacting material stuck, while the rest was blasted into orbit along with bits of Earth excavated from the collision. There it formed the moon. Indeed, Chance provides quite some food for thought. 

Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant is a renowned classical dancer, choreographer, bureaucrat and, of late, a motivational speaker, having survived a spell of breast cancer. An exponent of Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi, she is an alumna of the famed Kalakshetra in Chennai. In her resident city of Hyderabad, Dr. Ananda runs the Shankarananda Kalakshethra that has groomed scores of dancersand has been organizing cultural festivals since she founded the institution in 1979.

A recipient of prestigious national  honours like Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the 54-year-old artiste has been dancing and propagating her art for more than four decades now. A university topper in Ancient Indian History, an M.Phil in Art History and holding a Ph.D in Tourism, she isanimated about making performing and visual arts a part of the education policy which can inspire children to nourish an early talent.

Dr. Ananda, a senior official with Indian Railway Traffic Service, got a shock of her life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago. But she came out triumphant from that phase. Following this, she has gained reputation as a motivational speaker with a busy schedule across corporate houses and charity organizations. A TED speaker in 2009, her TED talk is now ranked as one of the 50 Amazingly Motivational talks on YouTube as well as one of the 12 Incredible TED talks on cancer. Early this year, she addressed an India Conference at the Harvard University in the US.

Dr. Ananda has made classical dance her mainstay and balancing it with the demands of her job as a senior Railway Ministry official. Significantly, she has succeeded in bringing the two southern classical dances in the realm of popular perception by removing the stamp of obscurity and elitism on them. With an acclaimed and intense body of work that spans rich mythologies, historical chronicles, searing commentaries on topical issues, philosophical enquiry, poetry, storytelling and humour, she is engaged in every aspect of dance. Here is her story of how she fought cancer and how she came out triumphant from that phase of her life:-

My passion for dance began early in life “ a chance meeting at a temple , when I was 4 years old “ a comment that “This child has large eyes” you must teach her dance, saw my mother Subhashini Shankar enroll me into dance classes.. And thus began my tryst with dance. My dance training continued in Hyderabad, until I won a gold medal at the age of 11 and was invited to join Kalakshetra, to take up dancing full time.  I spent six years at Kalakshetra, learning Bharata Natyam, Carnatic music, Veena, dance theory, philosophy, Sanskrit, etc., and acquired a Diploma and a Post-graduate Diploma in Bharata Natyam.

I had been in dance for more than 4 decades, I had trained with the best in the field,  performed across the globe, taught young and old alike, created, collaborated,  and had woven a rich tapestry of artistry, achievement and awards, including the Padma Shri in 2007.

But nothing, nothing whatsoever, prepared me for what I was to hear on the 1st of July , 2008.That day I heard the word Carcinoma. As I sat numb struck in my Doctor’s office, I heard other words “ Cancer, Stage, Grade. Until then Cancer was a Zodiac sign, stage was what I danced on and grades were what I got in school. But that day they took on an ominous meaning.

As a dancer I know the Navarasa “(Shringara, Hasya, Karuna, Roudra,Veera, Bhibatsa, Adhbhuta, Shanta and Bhayanaka) – I thought I knew what Bhayanaka was, that day I learnt what fear was. That day I also realized that I now had an unwelcome, uninvited, new life partner.

On that day,  I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As my husband Jayant and I drove home, I shed copious tears. Overcome with the enormity and the complete loss of control I asked him, if this was the end of the road? The end of my dance? But Jayant being the extremely positive person that he is, said “ No, this is only a hiatus and after treatment you will be back to doing what you most love. “

So here I was wallowing in a vortex of emotions “ anger, fear, frustration, misery.., with the enormity of the situation, wanting to go to a place of healing, health and happiness.

I pulled myself together, and declared to the world at large that:

a) I will ride this out, and I won’t allow the cancer to ride me; b) I will not say Why me? (I didn’t say why me when I received all my awards. So why should I say why me now?:) c) Cancer is only one page of my life and I will not allow this to impact the rest of my life

Further, I unburdened myself from the secrecy associated with cancer. I myself told the world about it. I refused to be limited and cramped by cancer .I decided not to allow something as transient as a health setback, takeover me and my mind.

I needed to simply shift my mental gears from where I was to where I wanted to be And so, I got ready for the surgery like I go about staging a new choreographed production !

But to go from where I was to where I wanted to be, I needed something. I needed an anchor, an image, a peg to peg this process on, so that I could go from there. And I found that in my dance, my dance, my strength, my energy, my passion, my very life breath.

My husband Jayant Dwarkanath, my biggest source of strength, bolstered my moods, which were swivelling in a eddy of emotions, by saying that, the therapy even chemo therapy was like Amrutham or nectar, for it is healing you, and whoever said that nectar had to be easy and sweet!He has never allowed me to lose faith.

And so I made my most important decision – Not to focus on cancer and its attendant visitors. The only way I could escape focusing on the cancer, was to focus on something that animated me and moved me and touched me. And that, I found in my dance. Dance is really who I am. Dance is really my life’s breath, in that sense of the word.

I pulled myself out of the thought processes that send you into that emotional whirlpool that cancer can push you into. It does that. But, because I had something else to focus on and something else to shift my mind to.

I would go and get my chemo, take the three days rest that my body needed, and then I was back in the studio dancing, teaching or doing choreography. Your mind is really your final frontier. Sure, it wasn’t easy. How do you not despair, when climbing a mere flight of stairs, was sheer torture, that too to someone who has always been commended for my high energy dancing?

How does one focus and stay the course, while the misery overwhelms and overpowers you? All I wanted to do was curl up and weep. But then, I had told myself that fear and tears are options I did not have! And so, I would drag myself everyday into my dance studio, and practice as much as I could. Every time, the cancer clutter invaded my mind, I would regroup and rework my mental frequency into dance. And yet, I needed something more, to go that extra mile, something that would lead me, goad me and keep me on the path. I found it in a shloka I had learnt at my mother’s knee when I was four. Jaya Jaya He Mahishasura Mardini Durga “ World Mother, Mother Goddess created by the pantheon of Gods, who invested in her, their every power “ to destroy Mahisha; Durga, resplendent, beautiful, bedecked, Her 18 arms ready for warfare, as she rode into the battlefield astride Her Lion; Durga “ The embodiment of Shakti , of Creative Feminine energy; Durga “ The fearless one I owned that image, and made her every attribute my very own. And, Durga rode into the battlefield astride a lion. She was Simhanandini.

My lion was my own inner strength, my inner resilience ” that all of us have. I just decided that I was going to tap into it, into this extraordinary source of energy and strength. Powered by the symbology of a myth and the passion of my training, I chose an alternative state of mind. I brought laser-sharp focus into my dance, laser-sharp focus to such an extent that I danced a few weeks after surgery. I danced through chemo and radiation cycles. And so through two years of cancer treatment, I danced professionally through it all, even as I continued to teach, train and choreograph , curated National dance festivals, and ground breaking Dance conferences, and toured extensively. What I had done was, I had tuned out of cancer and tuned into my dance. I did not seek reasons for why cancer visited me or remonstrate with a personal God as to how He/She had let me down! Most importantly, I chose not to take cancer too personally or too seriously.

I realized we have the Power and that Power is CHOICE — Choice not to succumb to negativity, Choice to ride out any crisis, Choice to actualize your every dream, to live the life you want, to be positive, Choice to be happy, Choice to choose. My story is the story of overcoming setbacks, obstacles and challenges that life throws at you. My story is the power of thought, of focus, of the mind, of a passion.

Any art form or passion, for that matter, balances our core energies, and allows us a peek into what can be; helps us overcome our limited beliefs and becomes our sheet anchor, and veritable life support, of a beautiful life. The business of life is to challenge us and thereby help our learning curve. It is during such times that our passion – in my case my dance “ becomes the super conductor that taps into the Life Force of the Universe and the Supreme energy of the Divine, to become one’s Prana. My challenge was cancer. Cancer may have chosen me, but I have chosen my passion, my dance. As my favorite author Wayne Dyer says, Heaven on earth is not a place you must find but a choice you must make.

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Selling medicines without prescription is a norm, half of people in a survey have said which also concluded that 50% of the respondents bought medicines from pharmacists without a prescription and 36% never received any bill for their purchases. Buying medicines without prescription often leads to self-medication, posing a big threat to public health while selling medicines without a proper receipt poses a risk of fake medicines circulating in the market as the sale of these medicines can never be tracked.

The survey “”The Perception of Consumers Towards E Pharmacy”” was conducted by the Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF), a market research company and functions as a research partner to various academia and research institutions in carrying extensive research on contemporary issues.

In the wake of the results of the survey, consumer activist and founder of Consumer Online Foundation, a leading consumer organisation in India—that had got the survey commissioned– led by Mr. Bejon Kumar Misra, which spearheaded the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) India Initiative in the year 2010 has written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to regulate the safe and secure purchase of medicines through all mediums.

Releasing the survey to media here, Mr Misra said the Drugs and Cosmetics act, 1940 and its Rules of 1945 is the most violated law in the country and needs to be strengthened. He said the government has set up a sub-committee to establish guidelines for Online Sale of Medicines which is scheduled to meet on July 8 and the survey can be helpful for the panel. The survey highlights the need for strict enforcement of all the existing law and immediate legislation in place of the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 as well as bring changes in certain sections of all the other relevant laws to keep pace with changing times and take stringent action against such criminals who are undermining the health and safety of the citizens, he said.

“”Online pharmacies provide better alternative to offline pharmacies as they are not only more compliant to the law but also provide host of other benefits,”” he said. A total of 4600 consumer respondents from all the age groups participated in the survey with a fair representation across all the age groups. Around half the respondents were in the age group of 18 to 34 years. Off all the surveyed respondents, 88 percent were males whereas the remaining 12 percent were females.

A majority of the sample consumers buy medicines on their own by personally visiting medicine outlets 68%) and about 20% of them order over telephone from such outlets. The preference of buying medicines through physical visits to the medical stores decreases (from 72 percent to 55 percent) with increase in age. Subsequently, placing orders for medicines over the telephone (from 15 percent to 29 percent) increases with increasing age.

Majority (63 percent) of consumers need to buy medicines for chronic diseases and with increase in age, the frequency of buying medicines for chronic diseases was found to increase (from 52 percent to 86 percent). The monthly expenditure incurred over medicine by 86 percent of the respondent consumers is up to Rs 5000. Off them, 39 percent reportedly spent between Rs 1001 to 2500 in a month on medicines.

Around 48 percent respondents reported that they have to visit multiple pharmacies to buy medicines. A significant 67% of the samples have been through occasions where they were charged different prices for the same medicine at different pharmacies. Unavailability of qualified pharmacists to dispense medicines at pharmacies has emerged as another major issue as reported by 32% of the consumers. Approximately 63% respondents don’t get proper counselling about the administration of medicines at their preferred medical stores.

A majority (67%) of the respondents recalled instances wherein they were offered medicines with an alternate or substitute brand for the same composition during the process of purchase. Off them, 42% found the alternate brands to be cheaper in price and 37% found the alternate brands to be of the same price. Almost 90% of the respondents showed inclination towards online purchase of their medicinal requirements in the near future. Further, consumers in the age groups 65 to 70 years (92%) and 35 to 44 years (91%) have shown the highest intent to use e-pharmacy in the future. Also, 94% of the respondents currently buying medicines for chronic diseases have shown the inclination to accept e-pharmacy in the future.

“”Of late, there has been a lot of debate on sale practices in the pharmaceutical retail sector. However, some of the key aspects of patient safety seem to be completely missing from the market. Not having qualified pharmacists on board, lack of counselling about medicines, dosage and usage, getting substitutes when the brand written on the prescription are not available with the chemist are some of the common practices reported in the survey. WHO has brought out Best Pharmacy Practices guidelines and the pharmacists in India were even trained to adopt such practices but unfortunately neither the associations, nor the State Drug Regulators are insisting on its implementation,’’ said Prafull D. Sheth, a senior Board Member of PSM India Initiative.”

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An India Jasmine George has been chosen as recipient of Women Deliver seed grant of US Dollars 5,000 to support six-month projects aimed at advancing girls and women’s health, rights and well-being in their communities. Jasmine is one of the 20 recipients who have been awarded the seed grants globally. Like the first 10 seed grants from 2014, the current projects focus on a variety of sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy areas.

Jasmine George will creatd six audio podcasts that will inform young people about sexual and reproductive health and empower them to access these services while Annah Sango’s seed grant will go to improving the overall health and dignity of young women living with HIV in Zimbabwe by providing the necessary skills and information to which they often lack access. “With half the population in the world under the age of 30, the voices and choices of young people is absolutely crucial for people and planet,” says Katja Iversen, Chief Executive Officer and President of Women Deliver. “With the new Women Deliver seed grants, 20 inspiring young leaders from 15 countries can catalyze action and improve the lives of thousands of girls and women in their communities.”

The 20 grants are part of the Women Deliver Young Leaders programme, which provides opportunities for youth advocates to build and strengthen their capacity and skills and finds platforms for them to share their voices and experiences. The grants are funded by Johnson & Johnson, a founding partner of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program and long supporter of youth advocacy. “Johnson & Johnson believes the future is in the hands of our youth. They are powerful voices and agents of change for their own needs, transforming policy, programs, cultural norms and their communities for the better,” said Lauren Moore, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship, Johnson & Johnson which is supporting this programme.

As a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights and wellbeing, Women Deliver brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, particularly in maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. It builds capacity, shares solutions, and forges partnerships, together creating coalitions, communication, and actions that spark political commitment and investment in girls and women. Women Deliver believes that when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins.”

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After the Second World War, Europe was devastated, the UK tired and drained and the USA remained the only dominating global power, militarily and economically. The foresighted American leadership wanted to safeguard the possibility of any future war in Europe and intensify its control over it. Therefore, it decided to integrate and develop Europe and European Common Market (EEC), the present European Commission (EC) came to exit.

EU, a political-economic union, began functioning with six countries in 1957. It swelled to 28, concerting almost the whole of Europe an integrated single market governed by a uniform system of laws applicable on all member countries. It ensured free movement of people without passport control. Foreigners could also move freely in the EU (excepting a few countries) with Scheme visa. Goods, services, and capital were also allowed without restrictions within the EU. This expansion of market and free movement boosted development in the member countries.

EU was doing well till Euro was introduced as the common currency by 19 of the 28 member-countries (known as Eurozone). Till then, the Eurozone countries were growing at two per cent growth rate. However, from 1999-2015, the post-Euro period, the growth rate fell to 1.3 per cent and the unemployment rate went up to over 10 per cent and 25 and 21.6 percent in Greece and Spain respectively. In non-Eurozone countries it was only five per cent.

Euro made Europe depressed because of inadequate competitiveness and fiscal austerity in weaker countries. Stronger nations like Germany and the Netherlands developed faster and became more competitive compared to the rest of the Eurozone, building large export surpluses. They lived off domestic demand created in other Eurozone countries, leading to inadequate economic performance of the EU and the rest of Europe, including the UK. The depressed Eurozone caused deflationary effect not only in Europe but also across the globe.

No doubt, Euro-zone was a self-inflicted wound but other factors also contributed significantly to its illness. First, the creation of wide-ranging regulations and meddling in business in the name of conformity caused poor growth in EU by killing competition and diversity between European countries that had made Europe globally dominant.

Secondly, the fiscal-ineptitude resulted in spending common funds on less-productive programmes. For example, farmers forming just 5.4 per cent of EU’s population and contributing only 1.6 per cent to EU’s GDP received 47 per cent of the EU’s overall budget through Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) hand-outs. So a minority of unimportant and inefficient workers got more than €58 billion in subsidies. Eighty per cent of it went to only 25 farmers (landed gentry, mega-farms and large-scale agro-industrial conglomerates). Thus, EU’s limited funds were handled inadequately.

Thirdly, EU ignored basic growth factors like investment, simpler and lower rates of taxation, infrastructure and education and suppressed competition between different European nations. EU leadership and bureaucracy largely concentrated on integration that bestowed greater power on them.

Finally, the European debt crisis following the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, triggered by insolvent American homeowners who defaulted on their mortgages aggravated the problem. World-over banks with investments linked to those mortgages started losing money. Lehman Brothers collapsed and the scared banks and investors, globally, stopped lending to each other fearing going bust. European banks had invested heavily in the American mortgage market and were hit hard. Governments in many EU countries like Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium tried to save their banks. But the cost proved very high. In Ireland, it almost bankrupted the government until fellow EU countries stepped in with financial assistance.

The problem began to affect governments as Europe slipped into recession in 2009. Markets went in panic worrying that some countries may be unable to rescue troubled banks, and so investors began to look more closely at governments’ finances. Greece was the first country to come under scrutiny because of its falling economy and public debt almost twice the size of the economy. Governments that were regularly borrowing large amounts to finance their budgets, accumulating massive debts suddenly found no one to lend to them. Thus a banking crisis became a sovereign debt crisis.

Today EU is desperate because of its own ruinous contradictions and spectacular failures. Its creators promised to bring peace and prosperity, but their grandiose folly fuelled only debt, despair and disintegration. It is in trouble because the complex, cumbersome and expensive federalism that lacks any kind of local democratic legitimacy. People are asking why one cannot offer a job to a talented local and have to advertise?

EU is breaking because it has become elite-driven. The idea of free movement of people was gracious, but it mattered little to that majority who never travelled beyond their city. The arrogant and engorged bureaucracy with intrusive regulatory power with no accountability caused more frustration. Arrogance, stubbornness and complacency were the response of Brussels to David Cameron who went to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU. He only wanted a modest package of reforms, but unbending EU leaders declined to agree to even a minor change in migrants’ rights to claim welfare. The way he and Nigel Farage were humiliated at Brussels after Brexit vote shows utmost arrogance.

Brexit can be the beginning of EU falling apart as it denies national and local freedom to operate. It has vertically divided societies between the university-educated versus the unqualified, of town versus country, of the middle-class versus the working-class, of young versus old. The electoral victories of nationalist and populist parties in Britain, France, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands reveal the chronic dissatisfaction with the E.U. Brussels seems to be losing touch with ordinary citizens across EU. A Pew Research survey found that only 38 per cent, six points lower than in Britain, people favour EU in France. In weak economies like Italy and Greece, citizens were furious over German-imposed austerity. In Eastern Europe nationalists blame EU for imposing values like gay marriage.

Sluggish growth, high unemployment, painful austerity measures, and risky bailouts have worsened the situation. EU’s intrusions into national sovereignty, like its increased control over national budgets, the Fiscal Compact Treaty binding nations to fiscal discipline, and moves to create a banking union with a common supervisor and mechanism for dissolving failed banks may deepen trouble. Despite EU leaders’ optimism the economic problems in EU are continuing. Growth is still very low and unemployment high. Problems in Greece are continuing; in fact, it may face another crisis when the Government tries to reform its unaffordable pensions system. Portugal and Spain are also heading in the same direction. The continuing refugee calamity is threatening the social fabric of Europe and local societies are refusing to accept Islamic refugees. Anti-immigration and anti-EU movements like the Front National in France, the Dutch Party for Free and the Swedish Democrats are gaining strength. This fury may worsen if Islamist terror attacks increase.

EU should learn from ASEAN whose success is by adopting a culture of ‘musyawarah and mufakat’ (consultation and consensus in Indonesian). The approach of high degree of discreteness, informality, pragmatism, expediency, consensus building, and non-confrontational bargaining styles, and not EU’s adversarial posturing and legalistic decision-making procedures has stability to the 27 country region. By organising more than 1,000 meetings a year it has developed thousands of invisible formal networks in the region. Its policy of non-intervention in one another’s domestic affairs has resulted in peace, progress and prosperity in the region.

If the arc of Brexit is to be checked, the EU leadership has to give more autonomy to member countries. History proves that too much centralisation causes breakdown, sooner or later. That is the reason dictatorships fall. The Soviet system also broke down because of too much of centralisation. For EU to survive Brussels will have to listen to the agitated people.

Dr. Halan,a commentator on politico-economic affairs, is the former Resident Editor of Financial Express and past Member of Press Council of India

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“Modi”” alt=””Modi”” />In a major reshuffle of his Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night shifted high-profile and controversial Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani to Textile Ministry and entrusted the newly-elevated Cabinet Minister Prakash Javadekar with the charge of Education Ministry. With an eye on elections in U.P., Uttarakhand and Gujarat,  Mr. Modi inducted 19 new Ministers of State in his Cabinet, mostly dalit and OBC leaders from these States to give adequate representation to them at the Centre. With the induction of three new ministers, U.P. now has 16 ministers in the Union Cabinet. First time MP and Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel, belonging to Kurmi community, was given Health and Family Welfare portfolio.Political analysts feel that Smriti Irani whose handling of dalit student Rohith Vemula’s suicide in Hyderabad and JNU students’ agitation in the national Capital came in for criticism was given a less important department like Textiles with a view to allow her more time to concentrate on U.P. Speculation is rife that she could be the BJP’s face in 2017 assembly polls in the most populous State of the country. She has also made a number of visits to Amethi Lok Sabha constituency of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to whom she had lost in 2014 polls.Though Mr. Modi did not make big ticket changes in the portfolios of senior ministers, he relieved Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of his additional charge of Information and Broadcasting ministry and entrusted experienced hands of  M. Venkaiah Naidu to handle it.Similarly, Union Law and Justice Minister Sadanand Gowda whose lacklustre peformance left much to be desired lost his ministry to Ravi Shankar Prasad who was initially given this ministry in 2014. Himself a senior lawyer, Mr. Prasad retains his charge of Information Technology and Electronics ministry. Mr. Gowda was shifted to Programme Implementation and Statistics ministry.Senior journalist and party spokesperson M. J. Akbar will be the junior minister in External Affairs Ministry where General (Retd) V K Singh handles Overseas Affairs. Both of them will work under External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Piyush Goel will be heading four ministries independently — Power, Coal, Mines, and New and Renewable Energy.Mr. Javadekar who was on a visit to Germany was called back and was the only Minister of State with independent charge of Environment Ministry to have been elevated to the Cabinet rank in Tuesday’s expansion of the Union Cabinet. His place was taken by new Minister Anil Dave in Paryavaran Bhawan. Vijay Goel, a senior BJP leader from Delhi who represents Rajasthan in Rajya Sabha, will look after Sports Ministry after vacancy occurred there due to Sarbanand Sonowal taking over as Assam Chief Minister.Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha was shifted to Civil Aviation Ministry and Mr. Jaitley now gets two new deputies in the North Block — Arjun Meghwal from Rajasthan and Santosh Gangwar from U.P.The Prime Minister also dropped five Ministers of State. They are Sanwar Lal Jat, Nihalchand, Ram Shankar Katheria, Mansukh Bhai Vasva and Mohanlal Kundaria.With this expansion after two years  of taking over reigns at the Centre, Mr. Modi’s cabinet strength goes up to 78 ministers, including 27 Cabinet rank ministers.”

“Even as China continues to vehemently oppose India’s membership to the elite 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), New Delhi plans to continue discussions with Beijing to convince it about India’s credentials of joining the group.   External Affairs Ministry’s official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that there  was no question of starting discussions in the matter afresh with China as the process was continuing bilaterally at various levels. “We never stopped our discussions with China at any level. We will continue discussions till we convince it of our credentials of joining NSG,” he said. The spokesperson said that India has independent relationship with the U.S. as well as China.  However, the spokesperson,without naming China, admitted that there was only one country which had raised procedural hurdles to India’s bid to gain membership of NSG. Some other countries had raised processes related issues but they were not opposed to India’s candidature to the group. “It is just that they have a different solution as to how India should enter the group,” he said.  The spokesperson said that PM Modi too, in a recent interview, said that India’s objective was to enlarge areas of convergence and reduce the areas of divergence. India has continued to impress upon China that both the countries would have to take accommodate each other’s concerns, interests and priorities. Referring to India’s MTCR membership, he said that it is expected to facilitate high technology tie-ups with Indian industry and ease access to high-tech items for our space and defence programmes. While membership of the regime would not automatically entail any preferential treatment from other MTCR partners, it would create the grounds for realignment of India in the export control policy framework of other MTCR partners.  Responding to a question, External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that India’s space and defence R&D facilities were removed from the U.S. Entities List when the U.S recognized India as a MTCR-adherent. 
“Membership of MTCR will not pose any restrictions on our national security programmes. Further, India has formal space cooperation with 35 countries including several MTCR Partners even prior to joining the MTCR. In the coming days, India can be expected to play an even bigger role as a provider of space applications to the global community,” he said. India’s engagement with the MTCR goes back to 1994 based on a common interest in contributing to international non-proliferation efforts related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) delivery systems.  “We announced our intention to adhere to the Guidelines and control list of the MTCR in July 2005 as part of the Civil Nuclear Initiative. We conveyed our formal adherence to the Guidelines and control list in September 2008. In November 2010, India expressed its interest in joining the export control regimes including MTCR. Following a period of enhanced engagement with the regime and its members, India applied for membership in June 2015. India’s formal accession to the MTCR has taken place on June 27,” the spokesperson said.”