Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Monday 7 September 2015

KILLING MANY BIRDS WITH ONE STONE ?



Shri Amitabh Kant

Secretary - DIPP

Ministry of Commerce

----------------------------


Dear Sir :

Just read that the task of " Start Up : Stand Up " initiative announced by Shri Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech , has been entrusted to DIPP

The question that you must be debating in your mind could be :

 How can we ensure that millions of new Start Ups are born and nurtured ?

During your talk at Jai Hind College ( Mumbai ) on 05 Sept 2015 , you held out one approach , viz :

No need for making any application to any Government Agency for grant of any permission / approval , to set up a Start Up

Apparently , you are trying to distinguish Start Ups as a new ,

 " Category of Businesses "

A category  quite distinct from MSME

Such " Out of Box " thinking has many advantages

It will enable us to treat Start Ups as " Business Class " governed by totally different set of rules / regulations / laws

One revolutionary way to treat them separately , should be :


No Income Tax of any kind for the first 10 years of operation as a Start Up !


 Conditions :

*  A Start Up must register on Income Tax Dept web site , as a " Start Up "

*  Must file each year,  START UP ZERO TAX RETURN, quoting Start Up No


If implemented , this one " Innovation " will set in motion , the following :

>    Billions of Rupees will flow into setting up of Start Ups

>    Black Money will flow into the main stream of national economy

>    All business transactions ( receipts / payments ) will become official

>    Millions of new bank accounts will get opened / active

>    Collection of GST will sky-rocket

>    Millions of new jobs will get created by these tax-free Start Ups

>    Thousands of tiny factories / workshops will crop up everywhere

>    Share of Manufacturing in GDP will cross 25 %

>    Capital Goods Industry ( Mother of all industries ) will go double-digit

>    Exports will rise and current adverse Trade Balance will decline

>    3 million youths, graduating each year ,will set up Start Ups from homes

>    Decreased agitation re " Quotas / Reservations "

>    Many unforeseen advantages


Of course , eminent economists ( and sundry naysayers ) will say :


Unworkable / Impractical / Horrible / Disastrous / Dangerous , idea !


I would be happy , if anyone has a better idea that will create 10 million Self Employed , every year


On other hand , an Online Survey among millions of ordinary citizens will settle whether this idea will work or not ( most popular Opinion Poll ever )


If conducted thru a Mobile App , 200 million Smart phone owners will respond to such a survey in 10 days !

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh

08  Sept  2015

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Sunday 6 September 2015

A NEW DAWN ?



On 05 Sept 2015 , I had an opportunity to listen to Shri Amitabh Kant ( Secretary - DIPP ) at Jaihind College , Mumbai


Topic was :

How can ordinary citizens contribute for the success of Make In India ?



Here are a few revolutionary IDEAS that he laid out , in respect of ,
" Ease of Doing Business " in India :


*   All interactions with Industry Ministry to become online / digitized

*   No industrialist / businessmen need to visit Udyog Bhavan , ever

*   A single window application / clearance of online Investment proposals

*   Industry Ministry will internally co-ordinate with all other Ministries

*   Investment projects will be monitored thru Project Management Software

*   Project Status Reports will be visible to public on a dedicated web site

*   No need for any permission / approvals for Start-Ups

*   No physical interaction of tax-payers with Income Tax officers


But , as far as contribution of ordinary citizens is concerned , he had only one advice :

"  Branding must not be confused with  glossy / virtual /  animated  
   advertising / publicity on TV or on Social Media

   Branding is the REAL user experience on the ground of a product / service

   Eg :

   Not throwing garbage on the streets , is also branding of Make in India

   Citizens must not look up to the Government for directions on everything

   There is urgent need to put an end to the dependency on the " Sarkar Maa-Baap " culture

   Let each citizen think up of his own unique contribution to Make in India "



   I was reminded of a song from an old Hindi film ( free translation ) :

  "  The darker and depressing the long night ,

     the brighter and colorful will be the dawn "


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh

07  Sept  2015

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Wednesday 2 September 2015

SIMPLE CITIES ?



These days there is a lot of excitement re Central Government plan to convert 100 existing cities into " Smart Cities " .

List is out but surprisingly , cities which did not make to this list , are not protesting at being left out !

How come ?

I presume , citizens of these left out cities are thinking :


"  Oh , sure , it would be nice to have fully solar powered city , having 6 lane boulevards , flanked by gleaming office towers , city-wide free Wi-Fi , covered gutters with automated garbage chutes from each flat , only self driven electric cars ( like the one , Shri Modi rode in Madsar City ) , escalators everywhere , 24 hour supply of water that you can drink straight out of the tap ,.......etc etc "


But then they look around and say :


" No , no ! We don't want a Smart City

  Just give us a Simple City

  A city where ,

  *  Roads may be only 2 lane wide but without potholes

  *  Footpaths are only 3 feet wide but free of hawkers

  *  No garbage-chutes in every flat but neither garbage dumps on streets

  *  No electric cars but neither smoke belching diesel / kerosene rickshaws

  *  No drinkable water from tap but neither water full of dirt / dung / germs

  *  No high rise residential towers but nor sprawling slums with open drains

  *  No solar power but certainly garbage generated power / bio-fuel

  *  No zipping metros but neither endless traffic jams

  *  No city-wide free Wi-Fi but nor bundles of cables hanging from poles

  *  No swanky office blocks but  Sulabh Sauchalayas on every corner

  *  No escalators everywhere but plenty of overhead bridges on roads

  *  No fancy shopping malls but  hawkers only in hawking zones

  *  No  sprawling golf courses but playgrounds for kids on every street

  *  OK if no IIM but several Industrial Training Institutes ( ITI ) in my city

  *  Instead of 5 star hospitals , let there be many public health centers "



Citizens are saying :


To convert 98 cities into " Smart Cities ", will take years and cost lakhs of crores of Rupees , where a 500 sq ft flat will sell for Rs 5 crores !


To transform 900 cities into " Simple Cities ", can be done in months and cost , a few crores each  - and I don't need to uproot my family / find a job


Let us get our priorities right !


I hope the Ministers / Municipal Corporators / Town Planners are listening !


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh

03  Sept  2015

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Tuesday 1 September 2015

DREAM HOUSE BY 2020 ?



Shri Ravindra Waikar , Minister for Housing , Maharashtra Government , says ( DNA / 16 Aug 2015 ) :

"  We want to provide a dream house to everyone by 2020 . We won't compromise on the quality of construction . It will be at par with that of private builders . We are working on a mission mode "

He is referring to planned construction of 5 lakh " affordable " houses ( flats ? ) , by 2020

No doubt , this is a very daunting task but it is possible if there is " Political Will " - which is evident from above statement of Shri Waikar


Here are my few suggestions that Shri Waikar may want to consider :


#   SPECIFICATIONS

     *  Carpet Area = 400 sq ft
     *  Selling Price = Rs 10 lakhs ( Rs 2,500 / sq ft )


#   LOCATIONS

     *  Building Clusters to be located on the outskirts of cities ( important )
     *  100 Clusters of 50 buildings ( each with 10 floors*10 flats/floor )


#   LEGAL FRAME-WORK

     *  A Special Purpose Vehicle ( SPV ) , named,
        Dream House Private Limited ( DHPL )


#   INDUSTRY STATUS

     *  Infrastructure Industry with 100 % FDI thru automatic route


#   SPV OWNERSHIP

      *   10 % equity by Maha Govt ( in lieu of land )
           Maha Govt to pass on this equity to land-owners
      *   90 % equity by WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co ( China )


#   SHARE  CAPITAL

      *   Rs 10,000 Crores


#    ROLE OF MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT

      *  Acquire land ( under modified Land Acquisition Act )/hand over to SPV
      *  Comprehensive Town Planning of each Cluster like a Smart City
      *  Building Design / Drawings / Material Specs
      *  Quality Control / Material Testing Lab at each site
      *  A Project Monitoring Team at each site / Use of PERT
      *  Site surveillance using CCTV cameras
      *  Make available land for setting up 3D House Printing factories
      *  Interconnection of site offices with HQ , thru VPN
      *  Blanket permissions ( IOD / NOC etc ) issued in advance
      *  OC based on certification from Site Project Manager
      *  Maintenance of flats thru Coop Societies of each cluster


#   COMMERCIALS

     *   Neither SPV , nor Maha Govt to pay any royalty to WinSun for
          transfer of technology

     *   Maha Govt to act as the agency for allotment of flats to eligible public
          in Maharashtra thru a " Lottery System "
  
     *   Selling Price of flats will be fixed by the Maharashtra Government
         once a year , based on a pre-agreed cost - escalation formula, which
         will be explained in detail on SPV web site
          Calculation of each upward revision shall be made public
        
     *   SPV to hand over possession of flat to the allotee upon receipt of
         full payment

     *   SPV shall not be permitted direct selling of any flat in Maharashtra

     *   SPV would be free to set up factories in other States and be free to
          sell flats built there, thru Open Market Sale



#   ROLE  OF  WinSun


     *  Setting up of 20 factories for 3D Printing of flats
     *  Assembling of 3D printed flats at sites
     *  Transfer of 3D house printing technology to Indian project managers /
         site engineers / construction workers


#   TECHNOLOGY

     *  3D ( house ) Printing Technology developed / patented by WinSun


>    WHY  WinSun  ?

     #   On 29 March 2014 , WinSun constructed TEN , 3D printed houses ( 200 sq meter each ) in Shanghai, each costing $ 4,800 ( approx Rs 3 lakh ! )


#    On 17 July 2015 , using its 3D printing technology , WinSun built a 2 storey villa , in just 3 HOURS  !


#    WinSun holds 98 patents for construction materials


#    For 3D printing of houses , WinSun , mostly uses recycled construction materials


#    3D house-printing technology saves,

      *  30% -60 % of building materials

      *  70 % of production time

      *  80 %  of construction cost


#   Egypt Government has placed on WinSun , an order for supplying 20,000 pre-fabricated , 3D printed houses

#   In Egypt , WinSun will establish 12 Dream Factories ( to build pre-fabricated houses ) , within 2 years

     These factories will mostly use desert sand as its main construction material , which was found ideal for 3D printing of houses !


#   In next 3 years , WinSun will set up ( in JV with local parties ) , similar factories in 20 countries , including Saudi Arabia , UAE , Qatar , Mexico , S. Korea , Russia , Morocco , Tunisia , and USA

      
As someone has said :

" It is OK to build castles in the air , as long as you know how to put foundation underneath , later on "

Even if you are dreaming of building 5 lakh castles !

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hemen  parekh

02  Sept  2015


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Monday 31 August 2015

Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana



You have heard that the :

>  Jan Dhan Yojana completed one year on 28 Aug 2015

>  By creating some 17.5 crore accounts during this period , it became ,
    "  World's largest financial inclusion "  scheme

>  There was no need to have a minimum " Bank Balance " to open account

>  Zero bank balance accounts declined from 76% to 45% in last year

>  Bank Overdraft of Rs 5000 allowed after 6 months

>  Of 10 lakhs a/c qualifying for overdraft , 1.65 lakh have used it


By all accounts , this Yojana ( Scheme ) is all set to bring about a revolution in the matter of financial transactions of the poor people of India

Especially thru the use of RuPay Debit cards , every time these poor buy any goods or services from a local " Kirana " shop ( except that 99.99 % of these small local shops don't have card-readers ! )


In the meantime , there are a few other " Game Changing " revolutions
shaping up


These are :

>  RBI permissions to some 20 Organizations to start " Payment Banks "
    ( Including Mobile Service Providers / India Post / PayTM etc )

>  Launch of a large number of " Hyper Local " e-commerce firms which
    deliver goods / services to local residents, placing orders thru mobile apps

>  Launch of quite a few " Mobile Wallet " apps, tied up with no of banks
    and millions of small shop-keepers , all over the country

>  Last - and most important - expected launch of  GST  in April 2016


Can we seize this opportunity to " Synergize " these parallel changes ?


It seems , not only possible , but outright essential  !


By launching ,  Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana 

 ( People's Wealth Creation Scheme )


As follows :

>   If GST is going to be ( say ) 20 % , Government will transfer from this ,
     2 % ( ie 10 % of that 20 % ) , to the PPF account of the Consumer /
     Buyer , who pays for the Goods / Services purchased , using a RuPay
     Card or a " Mobile Wallet " app


     This will motivate millions of self - employed to open  PPF  accounts !


>   Since interest from a PPF account is tax-free , every citizen would , now
     want to make all payments thru RuPay card or a Mobile Wallet App


>   RuPay cards are already tied up with accounts opened under Jan Dhan
     Yojana


>   Mobile Wallets Apps will also get tied-up with thousands of branches of
     Payment Banks , which will open in next 18 months


     Just imagine the number of new accounts that will get opened in the
     1,55,000 + post offices of India Post  !


>   In this way , Social Security will become " Self Financing " !


>   Currently , in India , some 97 % of all payments are " Cash Payments ".
     With introduction of this proposal , these will drastically decline


>   Any payment made , using RuPay card or a Mobile Wallet App , will make
     available to the Income Tax Department , full digitized record of each
     such transaction , including :

     *  Who  made the payment

     *  To whom was that payment made

     *  When was that payment made

     *  For what purchase , was that payment made

     *  What was the amount paid


>   One , very desirable consequence of  Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana
     will be that our " Domestic Savings Rate " will climb back to 30 % !

      In turn , this will help us wither global economic crisis , much better  !


I have a feeling that my proposal will be welcomed by all sections of our Society and find overwhelming support for the passing of the GST bill by all political parties

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh

31  August  2015

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