2015 belonged to DIET

    With exponential power of computing and connectivity, we are entering a period of Extreme Transformation. Shape up or ship out.With exponential power of computing and connectivity, we are entering a period of Extreme Transformation. Shape up or ship out. By Navneet Munot Like every year, there were several contenders. I salute Aung San Suu Kyi, 'the lady' of Myanmar. She joins the league of outstanding leaders who changed the fortunes of a nation. My heart goes out to Haj pilgrims who lost their lives in Mecca. Mount Everest melted with pain to see Nepalese children under debris. Disasters like Storm Desmond, Chennai floods and heatwave in Pakistan expose the dark side of our uninhibited growth. The COP21 team at Paris deserve the award for their efforts to save us from Mother Nature's fury. Probabilities & Consequences The pugmarks of terrorism became visible across the world map. Paris suffered a barbarous attack. It made Putin a strange ally of the West. Attacking with drones, killing a few leaders and soldiers sporadically can't defeat a radical and contagious ideology. Al-Qaeda yesterday, ISIS today. Ousting them from Syria is possible but preventing a re-assembly in Afghanistan may become 'Mission impossible'. Blood stains on Eiffel Tower are helping resurgence of nationalists like Marine Le Pen. Political economy will make it difficult for Angela Merkel to remain an Angel for refugees. Probability and consequences of a Brexit or Grexit are unknown but a rethink on Schengen can create an existential threat for the European Union (EU). The year saw central banks taking divergent paths. "Will she, won't she" was the mother of all debates. Janet Yellen finally moved out of zero bound. Don't get Fed up, question next year will be — none, some more or a lot more rate hike? China sneezed, emerging markets caught a cold but commodity producers contracted pneumonia. Emerging markets saw their economies and currencies submerging. Democracies and economies have their self-correcting mechanisms. There are signs of cleansing political winds in countries like Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.