Anyone for this Challenge ?

Scrapping Old Vehicles : Swiss Challenge Solution

Hindustan Times ( 25 July ) carries following news :

Government’s plan to scrap old, polluting vehicles runs into roadblock

Highlights :

* On Monday, a report released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

cse@cseindia.org

, said that about 20 million vehicles had accumulated in India by 2015 that are

obsolete and require scrapping.

* Since the scheme will require a huge network of automobile scrapping facilities the

PMO also wants the ministry to start such facilities on a pilot basis for “gaining

experience,” the second official added.

The third official, who is from the road ministry and also did not want to be named,

said the ministry is going through the directions given by the PMO.

* As per the proposal, until the 2020 deadline kicks, owners of such vehicles can

voluntarily scrap their vehicles and receive a discount on the purchase of new ones

* It was following a meeting at the PMO in March that the road ministry had been

directed to put up a proposal before the cabinet in three months.

* In its communication, the PMO also asked the ministry also “explore” the

establishment of scrapping facilities on the so-called “ Swiss challenge mode ” given

that such facilities would require vast tracts of land that may not be readily available

in many states.

* Under this method, the government would receive an unsolicited proposal from a

person / company that is put online. A second person can then submit a counter

proposal; if the original proposer fails to match the terms of the counter-proposal, the

project will be awarded to the latter.

Dear Shri Nripendra Misraji [ Principal Secretary to PM ]

( 23013040 / cabinetsy@nic.in / secypg@nic.in )

Over the past 2 years , I have sent following emails , offering some suggestions in this matter of scrapping of old vehicles .

Since these were also published ONLINE ( on www.hemenparekh.in ), I urge leading Indian Industrialists to submit their “ SWISS CHALLENGE MODE “ proposals , based on my emails

PIYUSH PLAN ? ………………………………………… [ 27 March 2016 ]

Retiring Old Vehicles – Gadkari Style ? ………. [ 30 May 2016 ]

Young or Old ? ………………………………………………[ 27 Aug 2016 ]

From OLD to NEW ? No , go NEWER ! ……….[ 22 Sept 2016 ]

Building Castles in the Air ? ………………………..[ 12 March 2017 ]

Best out of a Bad Bargain ? ………………………….[ 29 March 2017 ]

Car Grave-Yard of World ? ……………………………[ 14 Feb 2018 ]

One door closes ; Another opens ……………..[ 27 Feb 2018 ]

Mahindra Accelo : Saluting a pioneer …………..[ 19 June 2018 ]

25 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

ISRO : from Space Mission to Earth Mission

At Long Last ?

Thanks ISRO

For acceding my repeated requests to licence your technology for Lithium-ion Battery to interested firms

This is what Times of India reported recently :

137 companies eye Isro’s e-vehicle battery technology [ July 18 2018 ]

I find that , for transferring this technology to potential firms , ISRO has stipulated :

# Companies to submit their application with Rs 4 lakh as Security Deposit

# There will be a 3 stage “ Evaluation Process “

# A high level Committee will scrutinize genuine contenders

# Deposit will be refunded to companies not selected / backing out

# Shortlisted companies to pay Rs 1 crore as one-time fee for technology transfer

Batteries will be 50 Ah and 100 Ah capacity

Whereas no one can fault this elaborate / transparent evaluation process , it is of utmost importance to keep in mind the following :

# TESLA Model 3 ( selling for $ 35,000 ) is rumoured to have a 50 Kwh battery

# At $ 190 / Kwh , it might cost , $ 9,500 ( $ 195*50kwh ) ( Rs 6.65 Lakh )

# This battery is produced in TESLA’s GigaFactory ( 35 Gwh ) costing $ 5 billion

# In India , Adani / Reliance / JSW / M&M / Suzuki etc are planning to put up Li-ion Battery plant ( Reliance plant with 25Gwh capacity estimated to cost $ 3.5 Billion )

Questions :

# What is ISRO’s estimate of the manufacturing cost of its 50 – 100 Ah batteries ?

# When installed in an E Car , what would such a locally designed / manufactured battery cost as a percentage of selling price of those e cars ?

In currently available e-cars ( M&M / TATA ), this cost ( but of fully imported batteries ) , is approx. 50 % of its selling price

Can this ( locally manufactured battery ) cost , be brought down to ( say ) , Rs 2 lakhs , ( from current import cost of Rs 5 lakhs ), thereby bringing down the ( On Road ) Selling Price of e20 ( M&M ) / TIGOR ( TATA ) e-cars , to below Rs 7 lakhs ( from current Rs 10 lakhs ) ? It is most important to ensure ZERO % GST on locally manufactured batteries

# If E Car selling prices drop from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs , then there will be no need for extending any SUBSIDY , either to the car manufacturers or to the car buyers

No one will want to buy a Petrol / Diesel car ( costing Rs 10 lakhs ) anymore !

# If ISRO designed battery is capable of charging from a 220 V domestic outlet at night ( as in case of NISSAN Lyf ) – and give a range of 130 km / charge – then , will that not eliminate the need for road-side Battery Charging Stations ?

No “ range anxiety “ coupled with “ cheaper to buy / operate than a petrol car “ will ensure rapid adoption of e cars !

# In May 2017 , ISRO also demonstrated a converted ONMI van with Solar Panelled Roof, capable of charging a small Lithium-ion Battery ,as long as the car roof is exposed to sun light

What is holding back “ bundling “ this technology – transfer, along with the technology for the Lithium-ion Battery ?

If “ bundled “ , that would enable India to :

* leapfrog rest of the World and fully switch over to E Cars by 2025

* dramatically cut down on air pollution

* save millions of lives

* generate millions of new jobs

For comprehensive suggestions on “ Desired Policy in respect of Electric Cars “ , refer to :

Auto Industry : Policy Inputs [ 27 Dec 2017 ]

23 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

And following are the emails that I sent to our Policy Makers / ISRO / NITI Aayog , urging that ISRO should transfer their e-battery technology

Take a Re-look !

Data Privacy Law : a Pandora’s Box ?

I got that feeling after reading the following :

India’s landmark data privacy law won’t apply to the very cause behind its existence : Aadhar

Extract :

Crimes :

Include obtaining, transfer, disclosure and sale of personal and sensitive data, if it causes harm to the person whose data it is (data principal), and re-identification and processing of previously de-identified personal data.

[ How a citizen will ever get to know that someone to whom he gave personal data , has caused him harm , through misuse of data ?

How must this aggrieved citizen go about to “ prove “ that a “ harm “ has been caused to him by such misuse ? Would he even remember to whom did he give what personal data – and for what legitimate “ use “ ?

By filing court cases against 200 search engines / mobile apps / e-com sites / govt agencies ? ]

Punishment :

For “ intentional or reckless behaviour ” that leads to the crimes, which it wants to be made cognisable and non-bailable.

In case the crime has been committed by a company or body corporate, including government departments, the responsibility would lie with the person in charge of conducting the company’s business or the head of a government department.

[ If such a “ transfer / sale / disclosure “ of personal data cannot be proved to have caused “ harm “, will that behaviour not be “ intentional or reckless “ ? ]

Compensation :

To be paid to “ data principals “ in case any harm is caused to them for infringement.

[ Who decides what was the “ quantum “ of harm and what is the commensurate “ quantum “ of compensation ? Won’t this differ from one case to another ? ]

Absolves :

The in-charge of all responsibility if he or she shows that the crime was committed without his/her knowledge or that all reasonable efforts had been taken to prevent the crime from being committed.

[ All data flows from one computer to another computer or even to some other

internet-connected device , such as a car / refrigerator / smart watch / TV etc .

Most of the time such transfers are happening round the clock, with no one watching /

no one knowing / no one asking for any permission from anyone !

According to one expert , by 2022 , there will be 50 internet connected devices in each

home ( IoT – Internet of Things ) – each sending out a lot of your personal / private

data, to their respective manufacturers / ISPs / Operating Systems )

Will anyone know what device is sending out which information to whom and when ? ]

Data collected under Aadhaar :

Would be out of the scope and purview of the proposed law.

This recommendation may not find favour with those who have opposed the unique identification system on the ground that the collection and dissemination of Aadhaar data leaves citizens vulnerable.

[ What about Aadhar-linked data collected by government agencies for hundreds of

Direct Benefit Schemes , which it has shared with Banks and Financial Institutions ? ]

Registration :

All data collectors would have to get registered with the DPA.

[ Each and every business establishment which is selling any product or service , online

( includes all search engines / e-com sites / mobile apps ), will need to register .

Soon that will cover 50 million MSME of India !

Would this cover all FOREIGN data collectors as well over which Indian Laws have no

jurisdiction ? Is this , at all practical / feasible ? ]

Data Ombudsman :

To adjudicate complaints between “ data principals “ and “ data fiduciaries “

Appeals against orders of the data ombudsman will be made to an appellate tribunal.

The Supreme Court will hear appeals against orders of this appellate tribunal.

[ How many years will it take for the complaint to travel from Ombudsman to

Appellate tribunal to Supreme Court ?

My guess : 15 years ]

Could we have anticipated these “ questions “ while drafting the Law ?

And found some practical “ answers “ to those questions before opening up the Pandora’s Box ?

Possibly , if the policy makers :

[ cabinetministers@recruitguru.com / vch-niti@gov.in ]

and the members of SriKrishna Committee :

bnsrikrishna@gmail.com

secy-dot@nic.in

ceo@uidai.gov.in

ajay@deity.gov.in / akumar@del2.vsnl.net.in

moona@iitk.ac.in

grai@deity.gov.in

director@iimidr.ac.in

arghya.sengupta@gmail.com

had carefully read my following emails – especially my oft-repeated suggestion to induct some IT technocrats (eg: Nandan Nilekani / nandan.nilekani@nic.in ) in the Committee

There is a possibility that the Hon Judges of the Supreme Court found time to read my emails – in which case , they might ask these questions to the Government advocate , when the first case reaches its doors !

[ supremecourt@nic.in / supremebarassociation@recruitguru.com ]

( 1 ) Privacy ? What is that ? [ 04 May 2017 ]

( 2 ) Delusion of Privacy ? [ 10 June 2017 ]

( 3 ) 2024 ! – V 2.0 of Orwellian 1984 ? [ 07 July 2017 ]

( 4 ) Privacy ? Perish the Thought ! [ 18 July 2017 ]

( 5 ) #RighttoPrivacy ! Thank You Your Honours ! [ 19 July 2017 ]

( 6 ) Privacy does not live here ! [ 22 July 2017 ]

( 7 ) Future is Nearer ! [ 31 July 2017 ]

( 8 ) Three got it Right ! [ 02 Aug 2017 ]

( 9 ) My Birth-Right : Trying to Influence [ 04 Aug 2017 ]

( 10 ) https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/08/wwwprivacyforsalecom.html [ 26

Aug 2017 ]

( 11 ) Right to Sell My Soul ? [ 27 Aug 2017 ]

( 12 ) A Fool’s Paradise ? [ 29 Aug 2017 ]

( 13 ) Aadhar – for HR ? [ 02 Sept 2017 ]

( 14 ) Wherefore Art Thou, O Romeo ? [ 20 Sept 2017 ]

( 15 ) Data Privacy : We are getting overtaken ! [ 26 Sept 2017 ]

( 16 ) 7 Pillars of Data Protection Law [ 27 Nov 2017 ]

( 17 ) Just Ask Google ! [ 28 Nov 2017 ]

( 18 ) Here is the Proof [ 30 Nov 2017 ]

( 19 ) Data Protection without Data Privacy ? [ 08 Jan 2018 ]

( 20 ) PRIVACY : A Lost Battle [ 15 Jan 2018 ]

( 21 ) Aadhar : Supremely Satisfying ? [ 19 Jan 2018 ]

( 22 ) Aadhar Fact : Privacy Fiction ? [ 19 Jan 2018 ]

( 23 ) Aadhar : Dawn of Realism ? [ 23 Jan 2018 ]

( 24 ) Oh ! for some learned arguments ! [ 25 Jan 2018 ]

( 25 ) Aadhar : Supreme Asks : What if ? [ 30 Jan 2018 ]

( 26 ) A Hostile Advocate ? [ 07 Feb 2018 ]

( 27 ) Big Brother is watching us ! And how ! [ 09 Feb 2018 ]

( 28 ) Nightmare ? #Aadhar #Privacy #DataProtection [ 04 March 2018 ]

( 29 ) A Drop in the Ocean ? [ 20 March 2018 ]

( 30 ) Trade Off : Privacy vs LiveEasy ? [ 25 March 2018 ]

( 31 ) From Tele-phony to Tele-Empathy ? [ 27 March 2018 ]

( 32 ) Facebook Replies [ 29 March 2018 ]

( 33 ) How Do You Control Wind ? [ 11 April 2018 ]

( 34 ) Dear Hon CJI , Shri Dipak Misraji [ 13 April 2018 ]

( 35 ) Parekh’s Law of #Privacy ? [ 15 April 2018 ]

( 36 ) Facebook : The Formidable [ 27 April 2018 ]

( 37 ) Everything You Do ? [ 03 May 2018 ]

( 38 ) Making best of a bad bargain ? [ 09 June 2018 ]

( 39 ) Enforcing is difficult ? [ 13 June 2018 ]

( 40 ) This is just the Beginning ! [ 09 July 2018 ]

( 41 ) Social Media Hub ? Where is the need ? [ 13 July 2018 ]

16 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Ask Many Questions

Social Media Hub ? Where is the need ?

Today’s papers carry following headlines :

Social media hub is like creating surveillance state: SC

‘Surveillance state’: SC raps government over WhatsApp tracking

Monitoring online data: SC expresses concern at plans for social media hub, likens it to ‘surveillance state’

Extracts from News papers :

“A technology platform is needed to collect digital media chatter from all core social media platforms as well as digital platforms such as news, blogs… In a single system providing real-time insights, metrics and other valuable data,” the tender document says.

Under the project, media persons would be employed on contractual basis in each district to be the “eyes and ears” of the government and provide real-time updates from the ground.

The tender document says the platform is expected to provide automated reports, tactical insights and comprehensive work-flows to initiate engagement across digital channels.

“The platform maybe used to disseminate content and hence, should support publishing features,” the document says, adding the platform needs to power a real-time New Media Command Room,” according to the tender document.

It adds that the tool must have “listening and responding capabilities” with respect to “standard digital channels” such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, email, and blogs and also be able to analyse sentiment of posts on social media as “positive, negative and neutral”.

According to Mahua Moitra, the social media analytical tool is expected to ‘listen’ to conversations on all major digital channels including email without any authorisation in violation of the Telegraph Act.

Before trying to answer the question “ Where is the need ? “ , let us understand ,

“ What is the need to monitor the Social Media ? What is the purpose ? “

Not having read the tender document , I do not know whether it contains , a para or two , about the “ purpose / object “ behind government’s desire to create this Social Media Hub

At least , in the news reports sited above , there is no mention of any PURPOSE , nor any mention of exactly HOW the collected info / data will be used !

Will it be used for a BENEVOLENT purpose ? for the BENEFIT of all the citizens ?

Or , will it be used , to catch and punish , only those citizens who engage in some kind of ANTI-SOCIAL activities ?

In such a case , what is a comprehensive definition of an ANTI-SOCIAL activity ?

Does a mere THOUGHT which is not in congruence with the government policy , constitute an “ anti-social activity “ ?

Does an expression ( tweet / post / photo / article / comment etc ), which hurts the feelings of any section of the Society, an “ anti-social activity “ ?

And this “ lack of clarity of purpose “ , is what makes this initiative SCARY !

How come there is no preamble to the tender document which reads :

PREAMBLE :

“ The entire idea behind Social Media Hub is to “ nip in the bud / pre-empt “ any potentially ANTI-SOCIAL activity [ even at the level of “ Man ( thoughts ) “ , but certainly at the level of “ Wachan ( speech / expression )” ] , before it manifests itself in the form of “Karma “ ( Evil / Anti-Social ACTIONS )

Under no circumstance , will such monitoring of the Social Media Life / Presence / Existence, will be used to harass a person ( or a group of persons ), merely for their beliefs which are different from beliefs held by other ( majority or minority ) citizens , as long as such beliefs are not “ Anti Social “ as defined here under “

Where is the need ?

If Government accepts that its purpose behind wanting to set up this Social Media Hub , is as I described above , the right way to go about is to implement :

Fast Forward to Future – 3 F [ 20 Oct 2016 ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/06/in-hindu-mythology-brahma-creator.html

Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen ( both from Google ) wrote in 2013

: THE NEW DIGITAL AGE ( page : 181 ) :

Eventually, we will see the emergence of industry-wide standards

All digital platforms will forge a common policy with respect to dangerous extremist videos online, just as they have coalesced in establishing policies governing child pornography

There is a fine line between censorship and security, and we must create safeguards accordingly

THE INDUSTRY WILL WORK AS A WHOLE TO DEVELOP SOFTWARE THAT MORE EFFECTIVELY IDENTIFIES VIDEOS WITH TERRORIST CONTENT

Some in the industry may even go so far as employing speech-recognition software that registers strings of keywords or facial recognition software that identifies known terrorists

I urge CJI , Shri Dipak Misraji to raise these questions during the next hearing

14 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Can we make 2019 different ?

People’s Pulse ? People’s Confusion ?

DNA ( 12 July ) carries following report about launch of mobile app “ People’s Pulse “

PM Modi uses app to pick poll nominees, making netas worry

Despite 2 / 3 attempts , I could not download it

Then I filled in the survey online and got a feeling that it is quite wide ranging , and without any focus !

Why did I feel this way ?

To get a feel , take a look at the following format of the “ People’s Pulse “ :

SECTION A [ mandatory ]

Select your State / Constituency ( from drop-lists )

SECTION B [ mandatory ]

What do you think of the progress achieved by the Central Government in the following sectors ? ( 5 point scale of : Very Poor / Poor / Good / Very Good / Excellent ) . Each of the 12 sectors to be rated separately , one after another

Affordable Healthcare / Employment Opportunities / Rural Electrification / Farmer Prosperity / Fight against Corruption / Swachh Bharat / Road Construction / Connecting cities and towns by Airways / Up-liftment of Poor and Marginalized / National Security / Tackling Internal Security Threat / Economy

SECTION C [ mandatory ]

Do you think that the speed and the scale of govt work has improved ? YES …..NO

Are you feeling more optimistic than before about the future of India ? YES….. NO

SECTION D [ mandatory ]

How do you rate the performance of the Central Government ? ( 5 point scale as above )

SECTION E [ mandatory ]

How do you rate the performance of your State Government ? ( 5 point scale as above )

SECTION F [ mandatory ]

Which of the following issues is a prime consideration when you are voting ? ( multiple choices / choose any number of the following by ticking ✔ )

Price Rise / Law and Order Situation / Education / Employment / Cleanliness / Corruption / Farmer welfare

SECTION G [ optional ]

Name the three most popular BJP leaders in your constituency ( one after another to be rated independently )

Rate each of these leaders on 5 point scale as shown above :

Honesty and Integrity / Approachability and Humility / Popularity among Youth & Masses

SECTION H [ optional ]

Name the three most popular BJP leaders in your State

Rate on following ( same as above 5 point scale ) :

Honesty & Integrity / Approachability & Humility / Popularity among Youth and Masses

SECTION I [ optional ]

Please answer the following questions about your MLA

* Name of your MLA

* Are you aware about his / her initiatives ? YES ….. NO

* Is he / she , accessible ? YES ….. NO

* Are you satisfied with his / her work ? YES …… NO

* Does he / she solve people’s problems ? YES ….. NO

SECTION J [ optional ]

Please answer the following questions about your MP

* Name of your MP

* Are you aware about his / her initiatives ? YES ….. NO

* Is he / she accessible ? YES ….. NO

* Are you satisfied with his / her work ? YES ….. NO

* Does he / she solve people’s problems ? YES ….. NO

SECTION K [ mandatory ]

How happy are you with the condition of the following infrastructure in your constituency ? ( Rating of each item separately , on 5 point scale )

Roads / Power / Drinking Water / Healthcare / Education / Ration-related Issues / Job Opportunities / Law and Order / Cleanliness

SECTION L [ mandatory ]

* According to you, which are the three most popular Government Schemes ?

( Type free text in box )

* Do you have suggestions for PM Modi ? (Type free text in box )

* Do you listen to Mann ki Baat ? YES………….. NO

* Will you be interested in volunteering for BJP in 2019 Election ? YES…….NO

SUBMIT

The questions that passed my mind were :

* Is this a survey for evaluating the performance of the ,

# Central Government or of the State Government ?

# Govt Schemes or the performance of the local MLA / MP ?

* Is it to evaluate the present performance or assess the future potential of BJP

leaders ?

* Is this a GOVERNMENT survey or a BJP survey ?

* With as many as 13 SECTIONS ( distinct pages ) and a 5 point scale rating ( in most

questions ) , is this not too clumsy for a Mobile App ?

My Suggestions :

# If this purports to be a “ Central Government “ survey , there should be no mention /

reference to BJP .

Party can launch its own , separate Mobile App for evaluating the performance of its

own MPs and MLAs and for assessing the popularity / potential of its future candidates

for 2019 elections

I strongly recommend that Shri Amit Shah consider my following suggestion :

ROMP – A Panacea ? [ 06 Aug 2015 ]

If he does ,

* He will get far better / precise feel of the “ People’s Pulse “

* He will know whom to re-nominate / drop from 2019 candidature

* Voters will have an assurance that their combined opinion will make a difference

* There will be a marked improvement , not only in the attendance of the MPs and

MLAs , but also in their behaviour within Lok Sabha / State Assembly

Amitbhai would do well to launch ROMP ( may be a modified version ) before Rahul

Gandhi comes out with something similar !

He may even want to learn about “ People’s Perception “ of the achievements of the

BJP government ( against is own 2014 Election Manifesto ), by implementing :

But You have Promises to Keep [ 14 May 2016 ]

# There should be separate Apps for evaluating the performances of the,

* Central Government

* State Government

# Given the 5 point scale , most respondents will tend to select the “ median “ point ,

viz : GOOD . In study after study , this “ tendency to centralize “ has been observed

when deciding is difficult / time-consuming . People like to select an option which is “

Safe “ – nothing to go wrong ! Well-designed surveys have only “ YES .. NO “ or

“ TRUE…..FALSE “ type of selections

* In a Mobile App , no one has time ( or patience ) to write ( free text ) in boxes

Avoid these

* List of “ Sectors “ or “ Issues “ or “ Infrastructure “ is quite long

Either make it short ( 4 / 5 ) or do not make it mandatory to rate ALL

* If BJP leaders are really interested in election related REFORMS , they may want to

look up :

Reforming Elections and Lok Sabha [ REaL ] ( 20 Dec 2016 )

It is still not too late to treat the above blog as “ People’s Manifesto “ for

2019 general elections

It is high time 900 million voters stop reading Election Manifestos of the political

parties and come up with their very own , then tell the political parties :

“ We will vote for only that political party which commits itself to implementing our

Manifesto “

13 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Congratulations , Smt Gandhi !

How to grab Women Votes in 2019 ?

During 2014 general elections, there were a total of 814 million voters

In 2019 , we can assume this number to go up to 900 million

Of these, ( say ) , 400 million will be women

Our Minister for Women and Child Development,

Smt Maneka Gandhi

has come up with a sure fire method to get all of these 400 million women to vote for BJP in 2019 general election

She has “ requested “ Shri Piyush Goyalji ( acting Finance Minister ) :

“ Please amend section 64 of the Income Tax Act so as NOT to tax, assets that are gifted to women by their husbands . Husbands are apprehensive to transfer assets to women because they fear income accruing from the asset will become a burden on them “

And she tweeted :

“ Section 64 of the Income Tax Act deals with clubbing of incomes and provides that if a husband gifts an asset to his wife and the asset results in some income to the wife, the income will be added to the taxable income of the husband

The provision was originally formulated in 1960s under the assumption that wives and daughter-in-law would normally not have any independent taxable income. However, today , with women leaving an indelible mark in every field, the Act seems to have an adverse effect “

[ source : http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-amend-i-t-law-for-women-gifted-assets-by-husband-maneka-gandhi-2635634 ]

Congratulations , Smt Gandhi ( gandhim@sansad.nic.in ) :

Leaving aside any beneficial impact this may have on BJP’s vote share , your suggestion will go a long way to truly “ Empower Women “

And it is much easier to implement than “ Demonetization / GST / Simultaneous Elections “ etc

No political party will ever dare to oppose such an amendment to the Income Tax Act !

Also consider the following :

In India , it is estimated that some 20,000 tons of GOLD ( mostly in the form of STRI DHAN jewellery ) is locked up in households and lying idle ( worth Rs 57,00,00 crores )

And Indians are piling into gold like never before.

The latest import-export data released on Friday shows that India imported $ 41.4 billion worth of gold and silver in the April-November period of this financial year. That’s over Rs 2,15,000 crore at current exchange rates.

The imports are a record 56 percent higher than the corresponding period of last year.

[ https://www.firstpost.com/business/economy/rs-2150000000000-thats-our-gold-import-bill-so-far-this-year-152879.html ]

Unfortunately , the conditions governing our current GOLD MONETIZATION SCHEME has failed to bring this IDLE assets ( mostly held by Indian women as their “ parent / husband gifted “ , Stri-Dhan ), into official Banking System

I urge Shri Piyush Goyalji to consider my following suggestion along with the suggestion offered by Smt Gandhi

WAY TO A WIFE’s HEART ? [ 28 March 2016 ]

11 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Punish Guilty but Reward Honest

This is just the Beginning !

DNA Money ( 09 July ) carries following news :

Company directors asked to upload their videos in crackdown on shell firms

Extract :

Directors of over 10 lakh companies currently registered in the country will have to upload their videos in an e-filing to the government in a major crackdown on “fly by night and dummy directors “.

Not just that, companies too will be required to upload a video clip of the office premises in a step that is aimed at checking creation of shell companies.

This is a part of the government’s new Know Your Customer (KYC) norm, which will kick in for close to 35,000 directors from Tuesday under the supervision of Ministry of Corporate Affairs secretary, Injeti Srinivas.

WHAT NEXT ?

* I suggest the Government incorporate following clause in the draft “ Data Protection

Law “ proposed by B N SriKrishna Committee :

——————————————————–

Anytime requested by the Government ,

* Social Media companies ( such as Google / FaceBook / Twitter/ LinkedIn etc )

* E Com companies ( such as Amazon / eBay / Flipkart / Jabong / Alibaba etc )

* Mobile App companies ( such as Paytm / TEZ / WhatsApp / SHAREit etc )

– shall provide following information about those 35,000 directors :

===========================================

Who ( name )

Where and when, born / names of parents

Where grew up / where living currently

Does he live in a rented place or in an owned flat

What Schools / Colleges did he attended ( – and degrees acquired )

What Companies did he work for and salaries he got

How does he travel to work ( own vehicle or public transport )

Where does he go for his holidays / what books does he read

Who is he married to and who are his children ( – and how many )

If divorced , how much alimony does he pay and to whom

Where has he invested his money ( Banks – Funds – Equity etc )

How much has he borrowed from whom and for how long

What is his credit ranking ( including spending history / card wise – wallet wise )

What are his eating ( food ) preferences and the restaurants he visits

What does he do for entertainment ( Music / Movies / Videos )

What clothes does he wear and how often does he buy

Who are his friends and how often he phone / text them / meet them

What ailments does he suffer from and what medicines does he take

What minor offences ( traffic ) or crimes has he committed

What elections has he contested ( won and lost )

Who are his doctors / lawyers / brokers / agents etc

What web sites does he visit / how often and for how long

What does he search on the Net / What RSS feeds does he subscribe to

What TV channels does he watch and listen to which Radio Stations

Every photo of his ever taken ( selfie or otherwise )

Every phone call that he ever made or received

Every Email / Text message that he ever sent or received

Every blog / comment that he ever posted on the Web

Every face-to-face communication that he engaged in

[ Source : Privacy does not live here ! ]

Of course , to many , this may seem draconian

But there would have been no need for this , had a few businesses ( and bankers / politicians / bureaucrats too ) not engaged in their corrupt ways

Between them , they built an evil empire of “ Shell Companies “

But , by itself , what I have hinted above , will not suffice to demolish this monster which has siphoned off ( as Black Money ), trillions of rupees of tax payer’s monies over years

For a thorough / permanent solution, Government need to simultaneously implement :

E – Governance ? [ 03 April 2014 ]

It is no more enough to be honest . One has to be also perceived to be honest !

Sorry , honest Businessmen ,

Like Sati Sita , you too must undergo , a “ Trial by Fire “

10 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Need for greater transparency

Could Hyperloops be better ?

Jury is out !

Sure Hyperloop tansport system can remove cars from the roads and reduce air pollution

But Hyperloops will need huge amount of electricity to ,

* Create partial vacuum inside those huge tubes ( in order to reduce air friction )

* Create Magnetism in rails ( MegLev ) to propel those pods along at 300 MPH

If this electricity is going to come from coal-based power plants, things won’t improve !

India is “ planning “ as many as 5 Hyperloop systems

5 Proposed Route for Hyperloop in India

http://www.walkthroughindia.com/offbeat/5-proposed-route-hyperloop-india/

Extract :

In February, Branson signed a preliminary agreement in Mumbai for a broad hyperloop framework and mooted a Mumbai-Pune system that would shrink travel time to 25 minutes and save about three hours.

The first Indian commercial hyperloop between the two cities is targeted to roll by 2025, two years after India aims to complete its maiden bullet train project linking the commercial hubs of Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

An economy seat on a flight from Pune to Mumbai a week from now would cost about 10,000 rupees ($150), while the first-class train fare for the 90-kilometer (56-mile) trip is about 1,165 rupees.

These are very ambitious projects , considering that , as of today , there is not a single Hyperloop system which is operational anywhere in the entire world !

Not even the proposed “ underground “ Hyperloop of Elon Musk’s Boring Company which is still “ experimenting “ with a TRIAL STRETCH in California

But such BOLD / OUT of the BOX thinking is what we desperately need , considering that our entire TRANSPORT system has become out-dated

Constructing highways with embedded Solar Panels or with INDUCTIVE charging of passing Electric Vehicles , is an idea which falls in the same league as Hyperloops

Except that , in this technological innovation , there has been far more “ real life “ experimentation and several “ experimental “ highway stretches , around the World

Find one example at :

https://medium.com/@olivermitchell/new-battery-technology-is-accelerating-autonomy-and-saving-the-environment-bd37a89c972

In an earlier blog , I had suggested that the Maharashtra Government consider this technology for its proposed 705 km long Mumbai-Pune Super Highway

This project has been criticized by its opponents by saying :

“ It is a criminal waste of Rs 46,000 crore , in order to reduce Mumbai-Nagpur travel distance by a mere 26 km as compared with today’s available route “

For more about likely “ fate “ of Mumbai – Nagpur Super Highway , read :

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/07/mumbai-nagpur-super-highway.html

On top of that , Government plans to charge a toll of Rs 2.5 per km for cars

That is , Rs 1,762 / – for 705 Km

But if this Mumbai – Nagpur project authority were to pay to the car owner , Rs 1,762 per trip by way of a “ REVERSE TOLL “ , then what happens ? Read :

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-reverse-toll-possible.html

07 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Reliance does not look back !

Reliance Juggernaut Rolls !

Yesterday , in its 41^st AGM , Reliance Industries Chairman , Shri Mukesh Ambani said :

“ As Reliance transitions to become a technology platform company, we see our biggest

growth opportunity in creating a hybrid , online – to – offline new commerce platform

We shall create this by integrating and synergizing the power of Reliance Retail’s

physical market place with the fabulous strengths of Jio’s digital infrastructure and

services

…. We will enable them to do everything that large enterprises and large e-commerce

players are able to do .

Hence we will integrate the physical and digital market places in a uniquely

collaborative Bharat – India Jodo enterprise “

About a year back , here is what I envisaged re morphing of Reliance :

What Business Are You In ? [ 22 July 2017 ]

———————————————————-

“ It is high time for the giants of Telecom Industry to ask of themselves :

WHAT BUSINESS ARE WE IN ?

Are we in the business of “ MOBILE TELEPHONY “ or are we in the business of “ MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT “ ?

Then , after 5 years , what business should we be in ?

Should we continue to remain in “ MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT “ or should we consider ourselves in the business of “ MOBILE SOLUTIONS “ for ANY / EVERY problem faced by a user ?

And should we continue our “ Backward Integration “ into the ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY or should we integrate with Start Ups in HEALTH-CARE / EDUCATION / EMPLOYMENT ?

The writing is on the Wall – for professional executives who can read ! “

Since I wrote this last July , Airtel – Idea – Vodafone have been making huge losses and have lost , not only “ Market Share “ but also a great deal of “ Market Cap “ as well

It is still not too late for them to ask :

What business are we in ?

06 July 2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Keep it Simple !

E Commerce Definition : a Space Ship ?

I will repeat what I have said many times earlier

As long as our imagination remains confined to “ SHIP “ as a mode of traversing huge “ DISTANCES “ , we will never manage to go very far into the intergalactic “ SPACE “

Concept of a “ SHIP “ is good enough for sailing on “ OCEANS “ girdling our earth but totally inadequate for SPACE

We will conquer the SPACE only when we stop thinking in terms of a SHIP and start thinking in the terms of 4^th dimension , called TIME

Why this long prologue ?

For over 2 years , a Committee of Govt Secretaries has been trying to come up with a definition of :

E COMMERCE

Here is today’s news :

Ecomm Subgroup suggests FDI in Inventory Model

Extract :

The policy is expected to set a new definition for ecommerce that will pin greater liability and responsibility on online retailers………….

A group of nine secretaries led by commerce secretary Rita Teaotia will meet on Friday to discuss data localisation, FDI in inventory-based online retail, consumer protection and emerging technologies as India seeks to finalise an ecommerce policy by year-end.
It suggested this for business-to consumer ecommerce models ,

* with Indian entrepreneurship and control,

* with stipulations such as less than 51% stake for a single foreign entity as the

ultimate beneficiary owner (UBO),

* 100% selling of

* made-in-India goods, and the

* founder/promoter to be a resident of India.
“ This would require defining made-in-India products and their accreditation by a competent authority,” the subgroup submitted.

What a short-sightedness !

If you want to know why this “ Definition “ of E Commerce is bound to fail , read :

E – Commerce is Easy Commerce ! [ 15 Nov 2015 ]

One Day , Everything will Sell Online ! [ 29 March 2016 ]

Missing the Woods for the Tree ? [ 12 Aug 2016 ]

3 Laws of E – Commerce [ 04 Dec 2017 ]

ECommerce : Broad Policy / Elements [ 14 Mar 2018 ]

And , as far as defining what is “ Made in India “ is concerned , I believe , government goes by “ Percentage of Value Addition “ locally

But , this is a very difficult and time-consuming exercise

Even when possible, its result holds good for a very short period in a dynamic situation

A manufactured “ local product “ could have hundreds of components ( both, local and imported )

And those “ local components “ could have “ imported “ raw materials or intermediates

These days , a product could be,

* patented in one country ( concept )

* designed in another country

* developed ( detail manufacturing drawings ) in another country

* components made all over the World

* Sub-Assemblies ( of those components ) carried out in another country

* Final Assembly done in another country

* Packaging done in another country

* Offered for sale on ONLINE e-commerce portals in another country

* Marketed by agencies located all over the World

* Delivered using manpower / drones / supply chains of several countries

* Financed by funds from all over the world

At which “ Level “ of Value Addition , does a product become “ local “ ?

And if I download a ” Product Drawings / Design ” over the internet and then ” 3D Print ” it in my garage ( using ” imported ” resins ) , then is that a ” local ” product ?