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 4 January 2016

AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Dear Ms Smriti  Irani - ji ,


I read news-report saying HRD Ministry is in process of preparing proposal for setting up of 10 autonomous technological universities , as :

CENTERS  OF   EXCELLENCE

Some 30 years ago , I was a key member of a Committee set up by Maharashtra Government for preparing a similar report for setting up :

Dr.  BabaSaheb   Ambedkar  Technological  University

If desired , I would be happy to send to you , a photo-copy of that report

IMPORTANT :

The report contains 60 pages of   UNIVERSITY   DRAFT    BILL

Index of Contents is shown below


hemen  parekh

www.hemenparekh.in  /   Do read " Agenda  for  Reforms "

Marol , Mumbai , India



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INDEX  OF  CONTENTS :

#    ACADEMIC  SYSTEM

*   Engineering  Disciplines and Intake
*   Curriculum
*   Industry Institute Interaction
*   Admission and Course Structure
*   Examination and Evaluation
*   Degree / Diploma Recognition
*   Academic Audit

#   ADMINISTRATIVE  SYSTEM

*  Autonomy
*  Management
*  Recruitment Procedure
*  Emoluments and Service Conditions
*  Teachers' Performance Evaluation
*  Teacher Education & Development
*  Effective Working Days
*  Grievance Procedure
*  Manpower
*  Grants and Budgets
*  Tuition Fees

#  MASTER  DEVELOPMENT  PLAN

#  INFRASTRUCTURE
*   Land
*   External
*  Internal

#   LEGAL  SYSTEM

#  THE  PERT  NETWORK

#   ANNEXURES
*   References
*   Modular System of Education
*   Annual  Academic  Audit
*   Draft  Bill
*   Organization  Chart
*   Career  Profile
*   Teachers'  Performance  Evaluation
*   Manpower  requirement
*   Recurring  Expenditure  Estimates
*   Master  Development  Plan
*   Survey Nos of Land to be acquired
*   PERT  Network
*   Equipment  List
*   Detailed  Syllabii of Courses

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Sunday 3 January 2016

A HALF-WAY HOUSE ?


On 02 Jan 2016 , Maharashtra CM , Shri Fadnavis released , " Construction Permit Guidelines Manual ", incorporating following reforms :

*  No of approvals.......... Down from 119 to 58

*  Time required............  Down from 365 days to 60 days

*  Approval Layers...........From multiple stages to single stage

*  Scrutiny Stages........... From multiple levels to only 2 parts

*  Process.....................  Parallel instead of serial

*  Payments..................  From 89 stages to 1 stage / online

*  Certifications.............   From BMC to self certification ( for certain services )
                                       From BMC to Consultants ( for certain services )

Congratulations , Shri Fadnavis-ji  . No doubt , a good beginning

But treat this as a  half way house

This won't help you to build those 5 lakh houses by 2020  !

Only implementation of my following blog that I sent to you on 5th Nov 2015 , will :

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SELF   CERTIFICATION  FOR  BUILDERS  ?

In Hindustan Times ( Oct 29 ) , Moushumi Das Gupta writes :

Govt to streamline rules for Construction Projects

Currently , a builder requires as many as 34 kinds of permits from two dozen Ministries, before starting construction

This process takes up to 3 years

Now, Central Govt has initiated a process to streamline the approvals required to ensure that builders get all the construction permits within 60 days

Eg:

*    Built up Area............. Environment Ministry

*    Height Restriction...... .Civil Aviation Ministry

Cabinet Secretary has directed all the Ministries to come out with notifications by end Dec 2015

The Centre has decided to empower Municipalities to grant all construction related approvals , based on these notifications

One would be able to get all approvals from under one roof , which in this case , would be the Municipal Corporation's office

Although a very laudable initiative , I believe there is tremendous scope to further streamline and digitize this approval process, in the nature of

E-Delivery of Services to Construction Industry

Here is how :

*  All builders / developers must register on Municipal Web sites and obtain
   unique BUILDER REGISTRATION NUMBER

*  Builders must fill in online, on web site of concerned Municipality, a form :
    BUILDING  PERMIT  APPLICATION

*  Building Permit Application Form will have a STANDARD FORMAT , into
    which applicant will need to submit exhaustive details re the project

    This will include detailed Floor Plans and Structural Drawings , along with
    names / contact details of Architects / Structural Engineers etc

    The FORM will require slab-casting dates for each slab and the final
    completion date when builder will apply for Occupation Certificate

   
*  The Form will have a section called

    SELF   CERTIFICATION   /  DECLARATION

    Builder would be required to tick YES / NO against each item as shown :

    Does your proposed Building / Structure / Project , satisfy the criteria /
    notifications / regulations , issued by the concerned Ministries in respect
    of :

    #   Built-up Area........... ( YES ) / ( NO )

    #   Height Restriction

    #   Fire Fighting

    #   Water Harvesting

    #   Roof-top Solar Power

    #   Effluent Treatment

    #   Garbage Disposal

    #   Earthquake Resistant Structural Design..............etc


Clicking on each item will reveal the relevant " Notification / Regulation " issued by the concerned Ministry

To make the process absolutely fool-proof , the form will insist on an " Electronic Signature " of the applicant


DECLARATION / UNDERTAKING :


" I declare that I have read each and every notification / regulation , listed   in respect of items mentioned above

I further declare that I explicitly agree to abide by these regulations

I am aware that Occupation Certificate will not be granted if my completed project is found to be in violation of any of these notifications / regulations

I will not allow any person / entity to occupy any part of this premises , until and unless , Municipality issues to me , the Occupation Certificate

If Municipality finds any violations , I agree to rectify the same before applying for a fresh Occupation Certificate

If Municipality is not in a position to issue Occupation Certificate due to any
violations which simply cannot be rectified , then I will demolish the said building / project / structure  on my own and before such demolition , refund with interest , payments collected from the buyers

The plot of land is free from any encumbrances / litigations

I am not in default of any loans taken from any bank / individuals

I will not accept any payment in cash , nor make cash payments

I absolve the Municipal Corporation of any liability arising out of non completion of my project
 
I agree that my Building Permit Application and my Registration Application details , be made accessible to public on your web site , along with full details of my past / current projects and full details of my balance sheet / bank borrowings  " 


GRANT OF APPROVALS BY MINISTRIES :


As soon as the builder submits the online BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION , it automatically and instantly , appears on the web sites of ALL the concerned Ministries

The concerned officer of each Ministry , makes APPROVED / REJECTED entries in the application form , from the backend

If rejected , he will provide the reasons

Ministry officers are required to carry out this entry , within 24 hours

As soon as an officer of any Ministry makes entry and SUBMITS , the application forms on web sites of ALL Ministries and web site of the concerned Municipality , get updated simultaneously and instantly , making for MIRROR IMAGES at all times

As soon as any entry is made , a copy gets emailed to the applicant builder

Any " editing " of the application form by the builder , will start the entire process , all over

Applicant builder will be obliged to display the latest emailed form at the site

The database so created on web sites of ALL Ministries - and concerned Municipality - will be searchable State-wise / City-wise


CHANGES  IN  RELEVANT  LAWS :


To speed up any litigation between the parties concerned ( Builder / Buyers / Central & State Govts / Municipality / Bankers etc ) , existing laws may be changed


IMPORTANT :

Every application must be in the open domain and visible to anyone , online and transparently

There should be provision for any visitor of the web site to report any abuse / violation of regulations or any objection to the proposed construction


ADVANTAGES :

If such SELF CERTIFICATION process is implemented , it should be possible for India to beat Singapore , where getting 11 approval takes only 26 days !
It would be ZERO days in our case !

Now couple this with abolition of Corporate Income Tax for Construction Industry for the next 10 years and witness a MIRACLE

Then only it would become possible for achieving the following targets set by different States / Centre , under HOUSING  FOR  ALL:


*  Maharashtra...........  5 lakh      ( By 2020 )

*  Gujarat................... 50 lakh    ( 2013 - 2018 )

*  Centre.................... 220 lakh   ( by 2022 )


Also imagine :

*   Employment it would generate

*   FDI it would bring in

*   Our rank in EASE OF DOING BUSINESS


Need of the hour is :

*   Come out of " Analysis Paralysis "

*   Get rid of historical baggage

*   Break free from the legacy of the past

*   Think " Out of Box "

*   Take risk without worrying about possible failure

*   Make Course-Corrections , as you learn what mistakes got made



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hemen  parekh
04  Jan  2016
www.hemenparekh.in>Blogs

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Wednesday 30 December 2015

POLLUTION SOLUTION , aka " PollSolv "



It is said : Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Let us rephrase :  Essentiality is the Mother of Intervention

This is in response to Odd / Even driving rule being experimented in Delhi from Jan 1 2016

Equally applicable to any other city , threatened by vehicular emission pollution

This solution will be named : PollSolve

It will be in two parts , as follows :


#  VEHICLE BASED DEVICE


All vehicles (existing and future registrations) to be fitted with a GPS locator ( compulsory )

Each of this locator will carry Vehicle Number ( hard-coded )

A software in Delhi Transport Department , will then , be able to track in real time , movement of each vehicle ( 24*7 ) , on several computer screens

If a Odd numbered vehicle is travelling on Even date , it will show up as a RED colored dot on the screen and through linkage with RTO records ,an automatic alert will be issued to the mobile phone of the nearest Traffic Police to catch / stop that vehicle and take that vehicle, off the road !

The owner / driver can take it back after one week of grounding !

This technology is available , commercially and off - the - shelf

Should not take more than 6 months to implement




#  MOBILE BASED APP

Each citizen of Delhi will have to ( compulsorily ) download and install on his smart phone , an App called :  CarPool

He / she will enter following data in the App :

*   Name / Gender /  Aadhar Card No

*   Email Id / Mobile Number / Residence Address / Work-place Address

*   From / To ( in the morning ) / Starting Time of travel

*   From / To ( in the evening ) /  Starting Time of travel

*  If owning a vehicle , then :

    #  Vehicle type : 2 - 3 - 4 wheeler

    #  Fuel type     :  Petrol / Diesel / Electric

    #  Vehicle Capacity : 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 persons ( including driver )

    #  Vehicle Number :

    #  Vehicle Registration Date ( to compute " Age " of vehicle )

    #  Serial Number of GPS locator fitted on vehicle ( must be unique / Mfrr to take care )

    #  CarPool Number (Unique Serial No allotted by App) : To be entered after joining a Pool


CarPool App will not accept the data ,nor get activated ,until Mobile Owner also keeps " ON "

the GPS location feature built into the phone

With this data , software will analyze / display , a list containing names / contact info of other citizens ( matched gender-wise ) , travelling on same , approximate " route " and the nearest pick-up points , on Google Map

Citizens will then contact other vehicle-owners and form a CarPool

Then , they will enter their CarPool Number ( as mentioned above )

The software will reanalyze / redisplay the list if any entered data gets EDITED later

After compiling data about ONE BILLION actual cumulative travels undertaken by each type of vehicle ( 2-3-4 wheeler ) , BIG DATA ANALYTICS software , will carry out ,

*  Millions of permutations / combinations of " Car Pool Universes " possible

*  Using ( updated version of ) " Karmarkar's Algorithm " , figure out the optimum Car Pool Universe which minimizes the overall pollution level in Delhi

    
 *  Calculate for each citizen , the " LEAST POLLUTING ROUTE " based on data compiled from the " Optimum Universe " and  send " Car Pooling Recommendation " to each citizen thru CarPool app
     
   

This could be somewhat like " Travelling Salesman Problem " in Linear Programming ( - improved versions could be found in Fuzzy Logic / Neural Network / Artificial Intelligence )


{ " Big data has the potential to make a huge impact on Public Services in India, as it will streamline the decision-making " : Stephen Brobst , Global CTO , Teradata Corporation }



Another suggestion :

If ODD / EVEN rule provides for 50:50 probability and reduces the no of vehicles on roads by 50 % , use of an algorithm which picks only 25 % of the car numbers from the database of cars , using a  RANDOM NUMBER TABLE , will reduce the vehicles on road to 25% !


And nothing " arbitrary " about a computer selection , announced 24 hours earlier !


This will eliminate the incentive to rush and buy a second car with either odd or even number !


Given the prevalent START-UP wave in India, any number of Indian Start Up companies would be happy to take on this " Two Part " challenge and implement in 6 months . 

It is the least expensive / permanent / replicable solution , suitable for the entire World

All that is required is a POLITICAL WILL and some genuine cooperation between Shri Gopal Rai ( Delhi Govt ) and Shri Nitin Gadkari ( Central Govt )


It is time to offer to the World , an INDIAN ANSWER to vehicular pollution

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hemen  parekh

31  Dec  2015

B2BmessageBlaster

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Make    Yourself    Heard

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Added  on  22 Dec 2023 :


Google Maps is the de-facto navigation app for most people and it continues to evolve and add new features to make the app more enjoyable and user-friendly. Now, the search engine has introduced a new update to help commuters save more fuel. This latest feature is currently available across select countries and it is soon expected to be launched for Indian users too. It will help commuters pick alternative eco-friendly routes to help lower their car's fuel/energy usage and CO2 emissions. 

This feature is called eco-friendly routing and it works by showing fuel or energy-efficiency estimates on some routes based on the vehicle's engine type. Once this feature is turned on, Google Maps will show the fastest route, along with the most energy-efficient one, even if they aren't the same. However, if you choose to disable this feature, Google Maps will only recommend the fastest route, ignoring the fuel/energy-efficient option. 

"The Google Maps app shows fuel or energy-efficiency estimates on some routes based on your vehicle's engine type. The more fuel or energy-efficient the route, the lower your car's fuel/energy usage and CO2 emissions," a press note read. 

Google Maps Introduces New Feature To Save Fuel Costs. Here's How It Works

This new feature is called eco-friendly routing. (Representative pic)

Google Maps is the de-facto navigation app for most people and it continues to evolve and add new features to make the app more enjoyable and user-friendly. Now, the search engine has introduced a new update to help commuters save more fuel. This latest feature is currently available across select countries and it is soon expected to be launched for Indian users too. It will help commuters pick alternative eco-friendly routes to help lower their car's fuel/energy usage and CO2 emissions. 

This feature is called eco-friendly routing and it works by showing fuel or energy-efficiency estimates on some routes based on the vehicle's engine type. Once this feature is turned on, Google Maps will show the fastest route, along with the most energy-efficient one, even if they aren't the same. However, if you choose to disable this feature, Google Maps will only recommend the fastest route, ignoring the fuel/energy-efficient option. 

"The Google Maps app shows fuel or energy-efficiency estimates on some routes based on your vehicle's engine type. The more fuel or energy-efficient the route, the lower your car's fuel/energy usage and CO2 emissions," a press note read. 

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Google explained that fuel-efficient routing uses artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest routes that have fewer hills, less traffic and constant speeds with the same or similar ETA. In India, the new update will also include fuel-efficient routes for two-wheelers in a bid to help even more people travel more sustainably. 

How to activate fuel-efficient routes

Activating this latest feature is easy. If the update is available at the location of the user, one has to open the Google Maps app, tap on the profile picture or initial, go to settings, and tap on Navigation settings. Then scroll to 'Route options', tap "Prefer fuel-efficient routes" to turn on eco-friendly routing. Then select your engine type, tap 'Engine Type' and choose accordingly. 

If you have a vehicle that has an internal combustion engine, choose between gas (petrol) or diesel. If you have a hybrid car, choose hybrid, or if you have an electric vehicle, choose electric. If you skip this step, the app will pick petrol as the default engine and offer alternative fuel-efficient routes. 

Post a comment"The most fuel-efficient route suggestion could be different based on the engine type. For example, diesel vehicles' relative fuel economy advantage is generally greatest in highway driving. Hybrid and electric vehicles tend to provide progressively greater efficiency in stop-and-go city driving and hilly driving environments where they can extensively use and benefit from regenerative braking," Google explained.