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This discussion in WSJ brings up an important topic- how can America get the most out of its infrastructure dollars, make the $1 trillion infrastructure go a long way towards fixing the nation's dilapidated and crumbling roads, highways, bridges, and other infrastructure? The three experts point out that there is lack of coordination between different government agencies, between agencies and the private sector engineering firms. They are all working in silos with little connection to delivery times and delivery quality of end product. There is a lack of transparency at all levels of infrastructure work and spending, so that the end delivery and problems are not seen in relation to final delivery of end product, visible to all on one site. There is a third problem say the three experts in the lack of investment in professional development and training and technology for the people in the government agencies.  The result is that the US with its higher costs for construction work and the delays for getting approval, and the bureaucratic hurdles, ends up with getting much less for the buck than other countries. Even a newcomer to infrastructure development if it gets it right can be ahead of the US. India is looking at the pitfalls of infrastructure development and eliminating hurdles. With its Gati Shakti Master plan given the personal support of the prime minister India is correcting precisely these three missteps that are cited in the WSJ for the US infrastructure buildup. Under Gati Shakti all government agencies at city, state and federal levels fall under one umbrella to work in coordination. The focus is always on end product and delivery of end product. The siloing of projects is considered a serious pitfall and avoided at all costs. Transparency is considered essential and so is visibility in that at any time one can turn on a site and see where a project stands in its delivery date of end product. If there are problems they are put on the site so that all participants can see it to come up with solutions. By doing this a country with fewer resources can make them go a long way to come up with the kind of infrastructure that is seen in rich countries with more waste built into the process.   ...

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The 100th radio talk by Mr. Modi will be broadcast on Sunday April 30, 2023. Mann Ki Baat -or What is on my mind and in my heart- is all about women, upward mobility, diversity, about the development story in the everyday lives of ordinary Indians. It is also a documentary on a nation on the move, about a billion and a half people on the move, from small towns and villages to cities across the country. 

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UK government tax authority, HMRC has 42 billion in unpaid taxes from business and individuals under the Tory government, says this report in The Guardian. This would be more than what all local authorites in England will spend on social care, environment and planning, culture, it says. Another 4.5 billion pounds were lost in fraud and error. The Guardian calls Tory prime minister Sunak "the billionaires prime minister" and says "the little people" are us.

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Researchers at Gottingen University in Germany analyzing data from a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases monthly journal say countries around the world have only discovered on average about 6% of all coronavirus infection cases. The true total of infections could be tens of millions worldwide. Why this is important- the recurrence of the virus is a real danger even after it appears that it is under control, making relaxation of essential guidelines for prevention very risky.

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The move is one DJT made on his trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2025. DJT signed agreements that let the Saudis (and UAE, Qatar) have access to US made AI chips in exchange for $1 trillion in investments in US AI infrastructure. This is the only way the Saudis can access AI technologies in the US. For the US and for Saudi this is a way to efficiently utilize funds that go from the rest of the world to the Saudis for oil, much of it being wasted on foreign wars not development and science in other oil producing regions. To do this DJT rescinded the Diffusion prevention rule made by the Biden administration to not let even allies have a way to invest in American AI and have AI chips exported to allies.

One result can be seen in the 73% growth in Nvidia's data center sales in 2025, which makes AI chips, even after a $4.5 billion charge for DJT administration rules blocking sales of AI chips to a competitor China.

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Bennhold and Erlanger of the NYT point out that prime minister Theresa May has remained vague about the nature of the negotiations for Brexit. The snap election increases the confusion with a hung parliament and no party getting a majority. The result can be seen as sending mixed signals. The British public by supporting parties such as Labor, SNP and Liberal Democrats with over 50% of the vote, is saying that it is not sure about Brexit being a priority for Britain, given the uncertainty for the British economy and other pressing problems. All this had been lost in the debate about hard and soft Brexit, in the political rhetoric taken up by Ms May when the basic questions about Brexit have not gone away. Here Erlanger and Bennhold take leaders back to these questions posed by former finance minister George Osborne. Osborne as Editor of The Evening Standard asked readers 10 questions- How is withdrawal going to increase trade when you leave the biggest free trading bloc in the world? How can withdrawal help London as the financial capital of the world? How is migraton going to be tackled when its not clear which business will have its labor supply restricted or curtailed. For these reasons- apart from many others about the whole process of withdrawal and the cost to Britain- the whole idea of Brexit appears to have not been thoroughly thought through. As a result the referendum vote may be seen in Europe as a temporary reflection of British opinion at that point of time, and subject to change over time.   ...

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DJT appeared on Oz's health show in 2016 as a presidential candidate, and sees OZ as a fellow tv show host, a kindred spirit with a passion for what he is doing. As head of Medicare and Medicaid after afailed effort for a Senate seat from Pennsylvania, Oz is still someone whit a keen sense for the politics as well as what is good for the healthcare of Americans. He shares apassion for good health as a goal for America that was held up by JFK, and his nephew Robert Kennedy Jr who now leads the Make America Health Again movement. Oz fervently believes the time for healthy America is now after many wasted years under Clinton/Bush/Obama when national interests were neglected for places like Bosnia in a historical conflict of Turks and Serbia that goes back centuries (Clinton), in the deserts of Iraq (older Bush), in the mountains of Afghanistan that claimed Brezhnev as a victim the younger Bush followed, two wars prolonged by Obama and closed by DJT and Biden. Something as basic as health and pharmaceutical prices was allowed to get as bad as it is in 2026 with prices through the roof. DJT's plan is to get the pharmaceutical companies to commit to certain prices, to the lowest price they sell the same medicine in Europe. This is what Dr Oz wants to see not just for the next 3 years but put into established practice for the future years.  Oz says about presenting the DJT plan on healthcare to Congress and the Nation- “We didn’t demand that they do it. We said, ‘This is something that is very popular and highly achievable.’ ” Healthcare costs, gas and automobile costs, energy costs, housing costs are all part of the 4-5 costs that are the key elements in the cost of living crisis or affordability crisis that is uppermost on the minds of Americans. Already the Medicare payments to insurers are going to be flat for 2026 compared to 2025, as part of policy to get costs down, push pharmaceutical costs down. ...

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Building the large LNG terminals to get gas in its liquid form from Canada, the US and Qatar, is essential for Europe as it is expected that Russia will cut off gas supplies this winter. Germany needs three large LNG terminals on the Baltic Sea.  About 1.6 million tons of weapons and explosives were dumped into the North Sea and Baltic Sea after World War II. The problem is most acute near Germany as Allied Commanders ordered the destruction of German explosives after the war. All this debris has to be removed before LNG terminals or offshore windfarms can be built as shown in this report in WSJ.

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Some of the memorable parts of president Biden's speech at the AFL-CIO campaign rally today June 17 that will go with the best of FDR and Lincoln about what America stands for were: "This is America we can do any damn thing we put our minds to. And guess what? We are not going back to the false promises of trickle down economics.  We are going forward. We are going forward." "I really mean. this. I know I'm called a cockeyed optimist, but this is based on history. We're the most unique country in history. We are organized on one notion. Every other country is based on ethnicity, religion, geography. But the United States is based on an idea. The only country in the world based on an idea. Think about it." "Why are we doing it. Because we said, "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal" (applause)  "endowed by their Creator with some inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." "We've never met the goal. But we've never- other than the Trump administration- tried to walk away from that goal. And it gets better every time we push." ...

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A look at the history of the founding of Pakistan and the 60 years since, looking all the way back to Muslim League's activities in the 1930's under Jinnah, and the failure of politicians and the military to help build Pakistan and improve the lives of its people. One by one the generals and the politicians, including Ms Bhutto and Sharif, have all failed and the dim prospects that it would be different this time with a new elected government.

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How a winner take all economy that pays a lot for what are called the "greedy" professions in law, consulting and finance, impact women. In these professions 24 hour or almost 24 hour availability has led to quadrupled income levels. To do this as this NYT article shows someone has to go part time time or be there when the children need it, or when the maximum work hours spouse is out at work, for doctors appointments and other needs. In many cases this is the woman as shown in examples from the law and other professions in this article. Women are finding that this shift to longer hours in these professions, consulting, law and finance, mean they have to voluntarily give up working the similar long hours that their husbands are putting in, especially when well educated women marry well educated men. A more normal level of schedules would enable both partners to work full time, and have time for each other and the children. This is one of the ways the U.S. is different from a country like France which provides the added benefit of better child care to promote balanced lives and more opportunities for women to advance their careers and use their education. ...

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DJT commenting on the prospects for peace in Ukraine on August 19 after the meeting with Putin in Alaska and EU leaders at the White House by August 18. He comments on Russia's problem with European peacekeeping force- “I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it. But you never know. We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks.”

On the reasons for making this effort to get everybody together to the table- not a Peace Prize as the media says. As usual DJT says something few would expect to hear-

“I want to try and get to Heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I really hit the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”

 

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Tech heavy S&P 500- for the largest tech companies- gains are now reversing after a rally based on potential for AI. Nvidia with its AI potential alone was 30% of the gain in S&P 500 at one time. The change in the election situation in July 2024 may be one of the causes. Smaller companies in the Russell 5000 are doing better. It is not clear if this is a trend. 

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The bill to bring girls marriageable age to 21, in parity with the boys marriageable age of 21 that exists today, was introduced in the Indian parliament by Smriti Irani. This is seen as a crucial bill to amend the Prohibition of Child Marraige Act 2006. Child marraige was a sign of the weakness in Indian society and practices that were being reformed in the nineteenth century/ twentieth century beginning with Ram Mohan Roy's efforts in 1800. Roy was the first Indian to put forward ideas for modernization that were later put forward effectively by Swami Vivekananda, putting Indian religious thought back on its original foundations of the Upanishads including the Bhagavad Gita, free of the deterioration over the centuries since the Middle ages. And in doing so extend even the ideas of the French and Indian Revolutions to the idea of women's rights. The efforts of Gandhi and the framers of the Indian constitution, begun under Roy and then Vivekananda during the British period, have inspired renewed efforts under Mr. Modi to build a strong nation under a framework of these values- values of the French and American Revolutions and the values that support gender equality. In real life this means, as Mr. Modi has reminded the public, that young girls can now use these crucial years to continue their education and pursue their dreams for a better life in the same way as young boys can. It is as if Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers in America in 1776, would have said- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It is this pursuit of happiness, pursuit of one's own dreams to be a scientist, educator, civil servant, to be active in law or medicine, or science, the humanities, the same for boys or girls, that is now being put forward in the New India of the 21st century. In India this has happened not with the stroke of a pen through the tumult of a revolution but with deep roots through the efforts of Roy, Vivekananda, Gandhi and the framers of the Indian Constitution, and now with the tireless efforts of today's leaders. ...

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It is OK to haggle in this economy says this report in WSJ, and shows how to do it. Because retailers are increasing their profit margins significantly. Here is advice. From an expert at the University of Pennsylvania - try practicing with a script and always show respect.  An expert at Carnegie Mellon University says if you never hear no then you have not been assertive enough. Food prices are up  5-10% in the US, 15-20% in Europe. Car prices are up significantly in US, so are airline prices. Prices of all kinds of products are up out of line with anything that happened in the past.

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Jannik Sinner grew up in South Tyrol in northern Italy near Austrian Alps. His first love was skiing and he was skiing since the age of 4 years. By 12 he had won an Italian championship. He shifted to tennis because he says in skkiing you make one mistake and you are gone, everything happens very quickly in a minute and a half a race is won. Tennis appealed to Sinner because it gave him more time, you did not have to be the best all the time, and mental fitness counted a lot over a longer period. He says giving it his all through good days and bad days is important in practice and this is true also in winning a game. Sinner says- "I always go on a practice court with a purpose, and I believe that the mindset you start to build in practice sessions, when you struggle, when you have pain, when you at times don’t want to practice, but you still go and you still do everything possible to make it a good day." “If you cannot do it in practice sessions, then you cannot do it in the real matches. So, I think this is one of the biggest parts.” ...

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The contrast between modernizing, developing East and South Asia ( from Mumbai to Shanghai) with war torn desolate West Asia (from Tehran and Baghdad to Kabul and Islamabad) is so striking today that it is something to reflect upon for wisdom and understanding. UAE support for Sudan's RSF Rapid Strike Force and Saudi support for the military - fracturing of Sudan, errors piled on errors led to the civil war in Sudan. A civil war in a country neighboring Saudi Arabia just across the Red Sea. Saudis and UAE were on opposite sides briefly after UAE pulled out of Sudan, UAE acting in this way to object against Saudis requesting US sanctions on UAE.  Once close partners have moved apart as they spread their influence in different conflicts in the Middle East.  This has not created a region that can grow economically without the disruptions of conflict in the way other parts of Asia have emerged to modernize the countries as in Taiwan, Korea, China and India. In neighboring Pakistan another conflict has emerged as partners split, with looming conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yemeni Houthis are in conflict with the US and affect the Persian Gulf shipping lanes.  Iran with it's pursuit of weapons programs and nuclear weapons is using capital that is badly needed to improve the economic situation on arms buildup for the regime and for allies in Lebanon and Yemen, leading to protests and crisis. In this way the Middle East has failed to use oil wealth to modernize the entire region. Much of it was wasted in Iraq and now in Iran by policies that led to war and regional conflicts not modernization and technological transformation that has happened in Asia. The US has inadvertently becoming a partner to this as when the Obama administration helped fund Iran's economic rebuilding which was instead used to fund the military, and before that the Reagan administration support for Iraqi socialist ideology regime. The challenge for China was how to modernize after the Japanese invasion and civil war. In Korea it was how to modernize after the civil war. In India it is how to modernize with a smaller neighboring country Pakistan promoting terrorism and wars now with China's support. In Asia all these challenges were and are being met to steadily and persistently modernize to European standards with a singleminded focus and determination to meet the aspirations of the people with the US business working alongside Taiwanese, Korean, Chinese, and Indian governments and private industry. In West Asia various ideological (Iraq), military (Pakistan), religious Shiite (Iran), religious + modernizing (Saudi +UAE) with erratic leaders and little representation of the people, has destroyed the tranquillity of the region and destroyed democratic forms of government, destroyed bottom up education and health of the population except for priviliged groups in countries in the region of West Asia. Involvement of US and Europe or Russia in West Asia has led to distintegration of Soviet Union (Boris Yeltsin) and deindustrialization of US and Europe (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama administrations) with business shipping out manufacturing to China while wars engaged the attention of American and European elites in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan. The entire west Asian scene for 1950-2030 has been a disaster, one massive disaster for all involved. The contrast with East Asia and South Asia reminds one of the words from Robert Frost of New England in Mowing- that reflects on the enduring value of honest labour. "My long scythe whispered to the ground. What was it it whispered? It was no dream of the gift of idle hours, or easy gold at the hand of fay or elf: anything less would have seemed too weak to the earnest love that laid the swale in rows. The fact is the sweetest dream that labour knows. My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make." ...

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The large majority of vaccine disinformation has been traced to just 12 persons, according to a report cited by the White House. This report is from the Center for Countering Digital Hate. They have a combined following of 59 million on social media with Facebook being the largest. Of 812,000 Facebook posts looked at by CCDH 65% came from these 12 persons.

On Facebook alone 73% of all anti-vaccine content comes from these 12 persons. These 12 include a religious zealot, a wellness blogger, some physicians who have taken on pseudoscience, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Only 3 have been removed from one platform of the 12 persons. US president Biden is critical of the role of social media in this pandemic.

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Egyptian leader ElBaradei describes his talk with U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and E.U. leader Ashton on the day of the coup on July 3, 2013 to convince them about the need for the military to intervene to oust president Morsi. He says two and ahalf years have been wasted but this time Egyptians have to get it right. Morsi was elected with the help of liberals, but failed in ElBaradei's view to form an inclusive government and respect all sides of opinion, including the young people who formed the core of protests against years of military rule.

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British establishment Labour's Mandelson and Conservative's Prince Andrew -the Epstein connections in the Epstein files and the political fallout for Labour and the Conservatives. This happens as they approach local elections with the Greens, Liberals, and Reform UK already taking 50% of Labour's 2024 general election voters with disillusionment over results in the first 2 years of Labour. Labour assumed it had the immigration issue under control with some headline grabbing  stories of it taking tough action when it won in 2024. That has not deterred illegal migrant trafficking. Labour soon lost sight of the ball, and did not realize that the cultural issues around excessive tolerance of such migration itself had not been resolved such as ECHR rights which were completely misinformed when written to approve of such illegal migrants rights and ignore the citizens and women of the neighborhoods in which people had lived for generations. After decade and half of Conservative Cameron austerity Labour needed time to wrestle with the issues of levelling facing Britain's north and the Midlands. Instead Labour found itself on the backfoot and Farage was brought out of retirement after issues in towns like Epping and all across England, where migrants were put in hotels as women and locals loudly disapproved. Labour thought under Conservatives  that over 50,000 were in asylum hotels in 2023 and this has come down to 35,000 in 2025 under Labour, as a kind of improvement not realizing that the public mood questioned the whole idea of the migrants in hotels itself, of little tolerance for any illegal migrants in neighborhoods itself. It shows the political processes have great importance and a series of mediocre leaders from Blair, Brown, Cameron, Johnson, Sunak, Starmer and Farage over a period of 4 decades can change the trajectory for nations and region. A similar period for India in 1720-1760 with warring factions and regions inviting British East India Company troops to opposing sides fractured the country and led to losing its grip on itself. Gandhiji describes this for introspection in Hind Swaraj (1905) not taking the easy road most now discredited anticolonial writers after 1950 took in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Where does this leave Britain in 2026? It can only come to grips with it knowing that the quality of education, quality of leadership, honesty and introspection of the kind suggested by Teddy Roosevelt in Applied Idealism in his Autobiography, chapter 5, and in Gandhiji's Hind Swaraj are essential.  ...

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Anthony Hopkins is Pope Benedict XVI in November's Netflix Movie The Two Popes. Hopkins, a Welsh actor, is now famous for the way he talks about not taking himself so seriously. His view of life, just be glad you are alive and have fun doing things while you can, all this talk about getting to the top, once you get up there you find there is nothing there, just nonsense, all lies. For Hopkins it has freed up a lot of energy and makes him come alive at 81 years. Another thing he says keep working thats the only way to live, and not go into decline. So what better way to take on the role of Benedict, a German pope who becomes the first to resign his office, and have his chosen successor follow him, cardinal Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, (actor Jonathan Pryce) succeed him. Just be laid back and fill the role without thinking too much about it. So no intensity, he does not do research, actually a bit clueless, he says. Life is too short to be overconscious about oneself, he was intense once, now since about ten years he just wants to relax. Benedict he sees as an easy role especially with Pryce as cardinal Bergoglio. Fernando Meirelles directs and he is good with that. In the movie a day long conversation takes place, and two people who are from opposite ends of the world and ideologically too, have a sense of lightness about them, talking the World cup and soccer, and Hopkins playing the piano for Bergoglio. Hopkins just intent on having a lot of fun and doing it that way on the set. He sees the to popes as not walking on water, just human beings, and that make it easy for him. The human touches like going along with Bergoglio to watch football, though he nows nothing about it, and having a beer together. When playing Benedict Hopkins tells himself he is just pretending, just kidding, that makes it easy for him. His wife has encouraged Hopkins to relax by taking on painting and playing music. ...

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The Indian prime minister has ordered that a million job vacancies be filled in the next 18 months. About 21% of job openings in the Central government have not been filled says this report in The Indian Express. According to the Annual Report of the Department of Expenditure 21.75% of the 4.1 million sanctioned posts were vacant as of March 1, 2020. It is these and other additional jobs that will be filled in mission mode. Jobs are vacant at all levels of the different departments and ministries and regions.  About 92% of the positions are in the departments of Railways with 40%, Home Affairs with 30%, Civil Defense 11%, Postal 6% and Revenue 3%. Of the employees Indian Railways had 1.25 million on March 1, 2020, and 1.20 employees on March 1, 2022. The pandemic had the effect of restricting hiring of people needed. With the expansion of the economy the hiring for government has not kept pace. In the Armed Forces, for the Army no hiring took place in 2020 and 2021 recruitment years says this report in Indian Express.  There are calls at public meetings including at Defense Minister Rajnath Singh's rallies for "sena bharti chalu karo" to start recruitment drives for the army, navy and air force. The government is responding to the public's demand for recruitment to begin as the needs of the government grow and the economy grows, to keep pace with it. ...

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"Trees not Warehouses" read signs protesting the building of more warehouse space in the US as residents protest the bringing of more noise, pollution and heavy duty trucks to their neighborhoods.Companies added over 1.5 billion square feet of new industrial space across the US from 2017, says this report in WSJ. A similar wave of building industrial space is taking place in Europe for warehouses. Communities from Pittsburgh to Madison, Wisconsin and neighborhoods in expanding logistics regions in Southern California and eastern Pennsylvania. Many say their communities are under siege. To get goods to people faster companies are still planning but have not made the shift to bringing construction back home or closer to home so that this kind of huge warehousing space is no longer needed. Much of this warehousing space may no longer be needed as more sustainable, more reliable,  shorter supply chains take the place of current ones that have concentrated all manufacturing in one country, China, at the hidden costs to local communities and companies. Through many hidden costs that have not been fully quantified in terms of quality of living in communities, loss of jobs and infrastructure through loss of tax revenues, carbon footprint of products shipped over thousands of miles, hidden logistics costs, rampant inflation in logistics costs, and significant loss of manufacturing knowhow that cannot be easily replaced. This is a result of decades of building such supply chains that no longer fit the needs of today. ...

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The key purpose of learning a language is to communicate with people in other parts of the country, says Venkaiah Naidu, vice president of India 2017-2022. He himself from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh speaks both Telugu his mother tongue, and over the years learned Hindi so that he could talk to people all over India. Even in Europe there are countries with several languages. Switzerland is a land composed of cantons with areas that speak German around Zurich, French Geneva, and Italian around Lugano. Children learn a second language and in German speaking areas children also learn German in both High German and standard German because dialects of German are common.  English is often the chosen language in German speaking areas as the second language after the mother tongue which happens in India. It is a good idea to learn as many languages even if one is not as proficient in all so that one can communciate and travel freely. In India the north has extensive use of Hindi- in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Hindi is the language used, and even in Gujarat, and north east one can communicate in Hindi, so that a southerner can do well just by learning Hindi to communicate and travel freely in all parts of the country. For a Northerner the challenge remains on which language to learn between Tamil for the Madras region, Telegu for the Hyderabad and Vizag region, Karnataki for the Bangalore region, and Malayalam for the Thiruvanathapuram region. At some point in India's future a common script should be adopted for all Indian languages so that only the language pronunciation and vocabulary not the script itself has to be studied . This would make reading and writing easier once one knows the meaning of words. This is the situation in European Union where the languages can be learned without having to learn a different script and is written in the same script as English is using Latin alphabet. Turkey introduced the Latin alphabet to modernize the country and increase literacy in 1928. In India this would make it possible for northerners to learn a southern language and southerners to be able to learn Hindi without difficulty with the script in reading and writing, and in travel across the country. Venkaiah Naidu says about learning more than 2 languages mother tongue and English- learning another tongue such as Hindi makes it possible to do a lot more. "If you want to grow, if you want to communicate your ideas to a larger section of the people, you must know their language." One does not always get it right the first time, but the effort over the years can lead to so much wider exposure to different ideas in a multilingual world. ...