50 MILLION NEW JOBS in 5 MONTHS ?

It is reported that the Union Cabinet will soon approve a notification which will allow establishments covered by the Shops and Establishment Act to remain open round the clock ( 24 hours )

Currently , if they remain open for 10 / 12 hours , they end up inviting visits by Inspectors of Establishment Department and the Labour Department , to collect their weekly " haftas "

With official sanction of 24 hours , that would go !

And 24 working hours will enable these shopkeepers to compete with those Foreign Companies bringing in 100 % FDI in retail but working for 8 hours / day !

And as soon as one Grocery store starts working longer hours ( even 12 hours ) , most of the neighborhood stores will follow suit  !

For our 50 million MSMEs to, not only take on these Foreign Giants but to defeat them in competition , is only possible when we stop playing the RETAIL GAME by the Rules of those Foreign Countries , and make them clue-less with our own NEW and OUT-OF-BOX rules !

Possibly half of these may be covered by Factory Act and the remaining half by the Shop and Establishment Act

Between them , they employ 90 % of India's work force of around 500 million

Average of approx 9 persons per MSME

Now , even if only 5 million ( out of 25 million shops ) just add ONE more employee to work longer hours , that would get jobs to 5 million youth !

That is quite a lot !  And without any additional Capital Investment !

Compare this advantage with Capital required to create ONE new job in Start Ups

As per Government , Rs 10,000 cr of " Fund of Funds for Start Ups " , will catalyze an Equity Investment of Rs 60,000 cr , which , in turn will enable raising of Debt of Rs 120,000 cr - totaling Rs 180,000 cr of capital

As per Government , that will generate 18,00,000 jobs ( in 5 years )

That is requirement of Rs 10 LAKH for each new job created in a Start Up !

While welcoming this initiative , I urge the Union Government to take following steps simultaneously , in order to generate , not just 5 million but  50 MILLION  new jobs in the MSME sector ( and without additional funds ! ) :

#   Abolish all visits by Inspectors ( Labour + Shop & Establishment Departments )

#   Allow MSMEs to engage Apprentices under the recently revised Skills Development Regulations / Apprentice Act

#   For them , remove the upper limit ( of Apprentices ) which is maximum of 10 % of employee strength

#   Let them engage Apprentices up to 100 % of their existing employees

#   Let them keep these trainees for 3 years under " Retail Establishment Trainee Scheme "

#   Let the stipend be 100 % ( instead of currently prescribed 60-70-80 % ) of semi Skilled Minimum wages

     ( Minimum Semi Skilled Wages are approx Rs 6,000 per month - so Shopkeeper need to pay Rs 6000 pm )

#   Concerned State Governments to subsidize 50 % of this stipend (so, Shopkeeper's burden to be  Rs 3,000 pm )

     [  Stipend Subsidy does not violate WTO  !  ]

#  To ensure fool-proof  compliance with the number of Trainees engaged and Stipends paid , this Scheme

    ( 24 hr open + 100 % trainees + 100 % Stipend + 50 % Subsidy + 3 year training program + No inspectors ),

     will apply ONLY to those Shops which implement , mobile app MAD outlined in my following blog :

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01 June 2016

From BAD to MAD

BAD   =   Biometric Attendance Device

MAD   =   Mobile Attendance Device

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Here is my idea of a technology that we need to create for a better India :

Today Employee Attendance Systems in India work at three levels as follows :

#   Entirely Manual

     Attendance Register and Wage / Salary payment in cash or by Cheque

#   Partly Automated

     Punch cards or Bio-metric recording of attendance but manual calculation

     of wages / salaries and payment by cash or cheque

#   Fully Automated

     Bio-metric Attendance Devices ( BAD ) , integrated with a home-grown or

     bought-out , Salary Payment Software , running on a local Server.

     Salary payments could be by cheques or thru Electronic Transfer to

     concerned employee's bank account

Once in a while , if a company has several establishments within a city , those local servers are connected to a Central Server , doing all processing

In a rare case ( although , I am not aware of any ) , it may be that all the local servers of all the establishments of a company , all over the country , are networked with its central computer in its head-quarter

Now imagine this :

#  All smart phones to evolve as Bio-metric Attendance Devices , with built-in

    Bio-metric Recorders , GPS , a mobile attendance App ( called MAD ? )

#  App to have 2 buttons / icons (  Green = IN  /  Red = OUT  )

#  Employee to touch IN upon reaching his work-station and touch OUT ,

    while leaving work place , at the end of work-shift . That's all  !

#  Being GPS enabled , buttons will get activated ONLY when the employee

    has reached the work place ( not while he is on his way ! )

#  All 50 million establishments in India ( factories / offices / shops / clinics

    NGOs / Govt Depts ) to ensure that the MAD app is installed on the smart

    phone of each employee , when he joins

   

#  All of these smart phones to be connected ( IoT ? ) , with the Servers of ,

    *  Labour Ministries ( Central and States )

    *  HRD Ministry ( Central )

    *  Skills Development Ministry / NSDC

    *  Finance Ministries ( Central + States )

    *  NITI Aayog

    *  Income Tax Department

    *  Any other server that you may want to

#   MAD app is integrated with a STANDARD / COMMON , software system

     for computing daily wages / monthly salaries of ALL the persons working

     in those 50 million establishments ( whether they are casual /

     contractual  / trainee / apprentice / probationer / permanent / retained )

#   As each person joins in any of these establishments , data re  that

     person must be inputted by the Employer into the App , such as :

   

     *  Name / Contact Details / DOB / Aadhar Card No / Employee Number

         ( Each unique Employee Number will be auto-generated by the

         common Salary Payment Software , running on IT Dept Server )

     *   Employee's Jandhan Yojana Bank Account Number for salary EC

     *   Employer's Jandhan bank account / Unique Employer Number

     *   Payment Mode ( Hourly / Daily / Monthly Rated ; wages / salaries )

     *   Leave provisions / PF rate / TDS rate / Allowances / Reimbursements

     *   Any other relevant data ( either about employee of for employer )

WHAT  ARE  THE  ADVANTAGES  ?

#   For employees , no need to file a separate annual Income Tax Return

#   Direct deposit of PF / TDS amounts into bank accounts of Govt Depts

#   Direct Benefit Transfer ( DBT ) to every Employer for Stipend Subsidy ,

     based on number of total trainees / apprentices employed

#   Total number of employees in India ( category / region / industry )

#   Employment Density ( Industry wise / Region wise / Skill wise etc )

#   Net Employment Growth Rate ( weekly - monthly / Industry-wise )

#   Co-relation with no of persons graduating at various levels

#   Data about those Unemployed ( " Graduating " less " Employed " )

#   Overtime Statistics ( Use / Abuse )

#   Work-hour Analysis ( Ave hours / week - month )

#   Wage / Salary Rates ( Rs per hour ) - Industry wise / Region wise

     ( of great interest to Foreign Investors looking to bring down

       manufacturing costs , by outsourcing to India / manufacturing in India )

#   Compliance with labour laws / tax laws / Apprentice Act etc

#   Job Market Forecasts through BIG DATA ANALYTIC ( region / industry )

#   Demographic  Profiles of employees  ( Rural to Urban migration )

#   Per Capita Income Growth for persons using MAD app  ( MOM / YOY )

#   Changing composition between Blue Collar and White Collar employees

Then there could be many other benefits not envisaged now

Here is an opportunity for :

 *  Manufacturers of Smart Phones

     To shrink stationary / bulky / common , bio-metric devices to mobile /

     small / personalized / hand-held devices

    { Remember ?  If you don't make yourself obsolete , someone else will  }

*  Tech Start Ups

     To come up with the Mobile App ( MAD ) / Technology Platform

*  NDA Government

    To implement what Shri Narendra Modiji said on 15 July 2015 :

   "  If China is like a manufacturing factory of the World , India should

    become the human resource capital of the World .

   That should be our target and we should lay emphasis on that . 

   We should have a futuristic vision and prepare plans for the next ten years "

  

   MAD  could well be an important element  of  that  " JAM ( Jandhan + Aadhar + Mobile ) PLAN "  !

  For once , please unshackle our entrepreneurs and enable them to unleash their innovations  !

  WE  ARE  FAST  RUNNING  OUT  OF  TIME  !

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23  June  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

   

Speedy Grievance Redressal ?

In 2011 , the then UPA government had introduced a bill called :

"  Rights of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Redressal of Grievances  "

After 5 years , that  bill has lapsed ( - had they passed it then , they could have been in power today ! )

Earlier this year , a group of Central Govt secretaries proposed a new avatar called :

"  Central Public Service Delivery Act  "

That is about to morph into , what will be called :

"  Delivery of Services and Redressal of Public Grievances Scheme " (  no need for a bill  )

Economic Times ( 21 June 2016 ) quotes Shri Jitendra Singh , Minister of State in the PMO , as follows :

"  This Scheme is at a very early stage of preparation . It will make service delivery and grievance redressal more time-bound and make officers more accountable "

When asked whether monetary penalties or adverse ACR entries will feature in the Scheme , Shri Singh said :

"  This is all being worked out "

As part of the Scheme, the government may introduce a column in the Annual Confidential Report ( ACR ) , of officers to assess their promptness in dealing with public grievances and their performance in delivery of services

This could mean a red mark in the records of the non-performing officers

While welcoming this long overdue measure , I strongly urge Shri Singh to make the entire process ,

#   Online and Automatic ( Mobile App based )

#   Impartial  and Non-biased ( No human intervention or control )

#   Authentic and Easy - to - Understand ( Graphical )

#   Results accessible to all citizens ( Transparent )

All that Shri Singh has to do , is to implement my following suggestion sent to Shri Narendra Modiji ( with copies to Madam Nirmala Sitharaman / Shri Amitabh Kant / Shri Shailendra Singh ) on 06 Nov 2014 :

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 [  Source : www.hemenparekh.in > Blog dt : 29   Dec   2012 ] 

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I SIN><U SIN

That could be the name of an android app ( I Seek It Now > < U Solve It Now )

To be developed by India’s Central Home Ministry for successful implementation of proposed,

“ Delivery  of  Services  Act “

The app will come pre-installed on those mobile phones which Government of India plans to distribute FREE , to some 400 million “ Poor People “ of India , before the 2014 National Election ( and on those 220 million Aakash Tablets )

Issuer will enter the Mobile No and that person’s Aadhar Card No, in a computerized central database , before issuing the phone

Hence , no need to login to the App , whose screen will read :

 I WISH TO SEND MY COMPLAINT  TO  THE  FOLLOWING  DEPARTMENT :

·                  National Commission for Women

·                  Garbage Clearance

·                  Water Supply

·                  Electricity Supply

·                  Roads Repair

·                  Rationing ( Food Distribution )

·                  Police

·                  Bus Transport

·                  Railways

·                  Post

·                  Employment

·                  Education

·                  Irrigation

·                  Building Permits

·                  Revenue / Land Records

·                  Anti Corruption

·                  Other ……………………………………….etc

(List should not exceed 50)

Touching name of any department name will open a SMS message box where the user will type out his complaint ( in a language of his choice )

There will be option to speak-out and record voice message , for illiterate users

Touching SEND button will transmit the complaint and within minutes, user will receive SMS reply , giving :

·                  Name of Officer responsible

·                  Office Landline No

·                  Mobile No

·                  Email Id

·                  Complaint No

·                  Expected date of solving

BINGO  !

Then publish online , a tabulation of departments , arranged in the descending order of the no of complaints received / cleared / pending !

This frugal innovation will bring in Good Governance all over India

Request Nandan Nilekani / Sam Pitroda to help out , even though they may be busy implementing my earlier suggested app , 

“ VotesApp “

I have no doubt that the political party which promises , “ I SIN >< U SIN “ ,  will get voted to power in 2014

( May be this now ought to read : ..... will get voted to power in 2019  !  )

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24   June   2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

    

Intent to Marry ?

Department of Electronics and Information Technology ( DeitY ) has just issued following " Advisory " to matrimonial web sites :

#  Web sites will have to ask users to enter into a " User Agreement " in which there is a " confirmation of the

    user's intent to enter into a matrimonial alliance "

#  The user agreement will also be accompanied by the user having to furnish photo IDs to register online, for user

    verification (  I wonder , why Aadhar Card Number got left out  ! )

#  These portals are mandated to adhere to the provisions of the Information Technology Act 2000 and the Rules

    made there under including The Information Technology ( Intermediaries Guidelines ) Rules, 2011

#  These web sites should strive to achieve national and international standards

#  These web sites must display the name of the Grievance Officer as mandated by the Intermediaries Guidelines

WHY  ALL THESE  FUSS  ?

According to DeitY :

#  There have been instances where users of matrimonial web sites falsify their marital status , age , height , personality , health , social and economic status .

#  In most of  the cases , victims are women who fall prey to these fraudsters after getting introduced through fake profiles on matrimonial portals

HOW  ARE  OTHERS  COPING  ? 

#     Job  Portals

 Fake " Profiles ( Resumes ) " on Job Portals are more of a " Norm " than an exception  !

 Of course , most Appointment Letters carry a clause that the appointment will get cancelled if it is later found that a candidate has furnished wrong information / fudged data / hidden pertinent facts , in his profile

Such annulment of a contract is not so easy in case of a marriage , so , to an extent , DeitY is justified in its advisory

#    E Commerce  Platforms

 Wrong representations are also a major problem on most E Commerce Platforms , where Buyers and Sellers exchange information about themselves . A few web sites do carry out some sort of " Pre-Verification "

 Then there are web sites which have systems of " Online Reviews / Ratings " , of both , the buyers and the sellers / users of services , which act as some sort of " Credit Rating / Reputation Index " . 

Of course , even in these cases , occasionally , " Fake Reviews " get posted  !

#   Social Media  Web Sites  

There is practically no entry-barrier , nor any verification of the users

" Likes  /  Shares  / Comments / No of Connections / No of Followers " etc , decide the reputation of a user

#   Resource  Sharing  Web Sites

Some minimum verification is being carried out but " Reviews " and " User Ratings " decide the trustworthiness

WHAT  ABOUT  OFFLINE  MARRIAGE  FRAUDS  ?

I believe problem of our Society is far more with " OFFLINE " marriage frauds , rather than ONLINE frauds !

If you have any doubt , read following article from Wikipedia :

" India has by far the highest number of dowry related deaths in the world according to Indian National Crime Record Bureau.

In 2012, 18,233 dowry death cases were reported across India. This means a bride was burned every 90 minutes, or dowry issues cause 1.4 deaths per year per 100,000 women in India. "

Yesterday's  newspapers also gave following data :

*  No of court cases pending in India ............ 218  lakh

*  Of these , cases filed by women................  21 lakh ( I guess , only a handful for fraud on Matrimonial Portals  )

 I don't think , Matrimonial Portals can do anything beyond implementing  DeitY advisory , just as Mobile Service  Providers cannot control the usage of Mobile phone service ( including threat-calls  / sending of obscene MMS videos , etc ) , despite collecting KYC ( Know Your Customer ) document from its users

On other hand , MSPs do maintain - and make available to the Govt Authorities , Call Logs of any user , if demanded by the Authorities but I don't think Matrimonial Portals can maintain Logs of any such transactions between its users !

Who knows , that could well be the next ADVISORY from DeitY  !  

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19  June  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs