Blog

Thursday 29 December 2016

One Small Step ?

It was only 2 days back that I suggested to Captain Amrinder Singhji , how he can ensure that lakhs of drug-addicted Youth of Punjab , can be monitored ( for drug abuse ) , using a Smart phone based :

* Drug Sensor

* Mobile app, " DrugFree "

Apparently, Mumbai Police are already on their way to deploy this innovation , to monitor drivers driving under influence of alcohol , on night of 31st Dec

Hindustan Times ( 28 Dec 2016 ) carries following report :

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

This New Year’s Eve, don’t drink and drive. No, really do not drink and drive, because there’s no escaping the cops or bribing your way out.

Armed with a fresh stock of digital breath analysers, Mumbai’s traffic cops will fan out across the city on the night of December 31 in a campaign against drink driving.

The hi-tech breathalysers will not only digitally analyse breath, but also send the results to a server with a photograph of the motorist.

It’s a foolproof trap.

Milind Bharambe ( Joint Commissioner of Police ) said " apart from being highly accurate, the new breath analysers will rule out any chance of malpractice by constables trying to cash in on the rush during the celebrations.

As the new analysers are fitted with cameras, the photograph and alcohol level of the motorist will be uploaded in the server seconds after a motorist blows into it. The motorist can try to bribe his way out, but it will be futile,” he said.

With the new system, there will always be a record and photograph of offenders, which would help identify frequent offenders. “For second-time offenders, the fine amount of Rs2,500 will be doubled. However, for those repeating the offence for the third time, we will be writing to the RTO for cancellation of their licenses,” said Bharambe.

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

After reading this report, no one need doubt the feasibility of what I suggested in my following blog ( sent as email to Captain ) :

Sunday, 25 December 2016

A Freebie that cannot be Faulted ?

Captain Amrinder Singh ( Punjab Congress ) has promised jobs ( of course, if voted to power in the forthcoming State Election ) , to youth who pledge as follows :

" I promise I will remain free from drugs and make my family drug free too "

By now, some 12 lakh youngsters have signed up

Expect this figure to go up dramatically, considering that , a few weeks back , some 30 lakh youngsters ( 20 % girls ) had signed up to receive a FREE smart phone from Captain ( " if voted to power " conditions apply )

In Punjab , there are 91 lakh youngsters in the age group of 18 - 35

And a smart phone could well cost Rs 5,000 each

That would cost the Congress Government ( if voted to power ), Rs 4550 crores !

Election Commission " guide lines " and Supreme Court " directives " notwithstanding , all political parties have in the past, offered ( and often delivered ) a whole host of " freebies " in order to " buy " votes

Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP ) has promised jobs ( if voted to power ) , to 25 lakh Punjab youth

Without asking them to kick the drug habit !

SO , HOW CAN CAPTAIN BE FAULTED ?

What could be more " noble " than to wean away the Punjab youth from drugs ?

And keep them gainfully / productively engaged in a nation-building activity by having a job and supporting their families ?

I suggest that Captain implement the following as far as ensuring that these 91 lakh youth stay " drug free " after getting a job :

* As promised , distribute smart phones which are UPI / AEPS enabled Payment Wallets

* Those smart phones must have built-in

* " Drug Analyzer " ( similar to Oxymeters , which display oxygen level in blood when

a finger is placed on the device )

* Biometric reading device ( Iris and Finger scan )

* Pre-installed Mobile App " DrugFree "

I have no doubt that leading smart phone manufacturers will come forward with such

versions , considering the volumes involved and the possibility that the other political

parties , too , may make similar conditional " Job Promises " in near future !

* Every morning , as soon as the Youth reports for work , he will launch " DrugFree " app

on his mobile, and place his finger on App icon, in the presence of his immediate

supervisor

* Phone will display / record the drug level reading and also relay it simultaneously to the

Server of the Salary Section ( including the time for attendance recording )

* This exercise will be repeated in the evening when that Youth leaves for home

* No salary will be paid for the day on which drug reading exceeds permissible limit

This will be done automatically by the Server-based software ( very simple coding )

* If drug reading exceeds the permissible limits , more than 3 times in a month , the

Server-based software will automatically issue a " Warning Email " ( keep humans out )

* Upon issuance of 3 such " Warning E mails " , the Server-based software will issue a

" Termination E Mail " , terminating the services of the Youth and simultaneously

instructing the Salary Section to settle his account and issue a " Service Certificate "

which will mention full Service History

But developing / implementing a fool-proof technological solution ( to determine drug free status of the Youth ) , is theleast of the problems

Any number of Start Up in the Health Care domain, will do it in 3 months ! Just ask Practo !

The real problem is :

WHERE - AND HOW - TO FIND JOBS FOR 91 LAKH YOUTH ?

The worst thing would be to create vacancies in Government , which will bring governance to a complete halt and sky-rocket the Corruption ! Don't even think of this !

Sure , new industries can be incentivized to hire a few lakh, by offering free land , exemption from Municipal / State taxes for 5 years , exemption from certain Labour Laws, stipend subsidies if 70% employees are " DrugFree " youth , etc

Even existing industries ( especially , MSME ) can be incentivized by reimbursement of 50 % salaries for 5 years for employing such Youth

But none of these measures can take care of Captain's promise to 91 lakh Youth !

I suggest Captain Amrinder Singhji , to look up my following suggestion for an alternative of

SELF EMPLOYMENT :

* Rejoice ! You Self Employed

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/05/rejoice-you-self-employed.html }

* How about Virtual Call Centers ?

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/how-about-virtual-call-centers.html }

* 50 Million Jobs in 5 Months ?

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/06/50-million-new-jobs-in-5-months.html }

* Harness Greed to Skill India

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/05/harness-greed-to-skill-india.html }

* Surrogate Cow Farms ?

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/11/surrogate-cow-farms.html }

* Start Up Eco Systems / USA vs INDIA

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/10/start-up-eco-systems-usa-vs-india.html }

* Create Self Employment

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/02/create-self-employment.html }

* It pays to be an Entrepreneur

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2012/01/it-pays-to-be-entrepreneur.html }

Dear Captain Amrinder Singhji :

Having made a very noble gesture to the voters , please ensure a FAIR & JUST implementation !

I hope Shri Prakash Javadekarji / Shri Amit Shahji , find merit in this suggestion for other

forthcoming elections in States

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

30 Dec 2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Let Us Begin at the Beginning !

Criteria by which a candidate gets " elected " are simple , viz:

" The one who gets maximum number of votes "

Criteria by which a candidate gets " selected " to contest an election , are equally simple :

" What is the amount that you can spend in fighting the election ? "

And this is always accompanied by another question to the candidates aspiring for a ticket , viz:

" How much money can you give ( in cash , of course ! ) to the party treasurer for funding the forthcoming election ? That is , beyond what you would spend for your own fight "

For parties recognized as " National " parties , the thumb rule for state elections , is :

* To fight your own battle..............Rs 10 crore

* Contribution to party.................. Rs 5 crore

So , on an average , it is Rs 15 crore per contesting candidate ( of course , all in cash ! )

For the forthcoming elections in 7 states during 2017 , how does this stack up ?

* Total no of seats being contested ............................................ 940

{ UP, 403 / Punjab, 117 / Uttarakhand, 70 / Goa, 40 / Manipur, 60 / Gujarat, 182 / HP,68 }

* Average no of candidates contesting each seat........................... 10

* So, total no of candidates in the fray........................................ 9400

* Total CASH spent ( 9400 * Rs 15 crore ).....................................Rs 141,000 crore

QUESTION :

Even if Supreme Court / Election Commission / NDA government , succeed in bringing down the upper limit for those " Anonymous Donations " from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2000 . will that make any change to the above mentioned figure that those candidates will spend ?

No doubt , Election Commission requires each contestant to file a statement of amount spent but who submits any figure other than what the law ( or EC guideline ? ) prescribes ?

And my oft repeated suggestion to hold simultaneous elections using mobile app ,

VotesApp

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com
/2012/12/votesapp.html }

is not going to make any difference as far as this expenditure by the contestants is concerned

Even with a Mobile App based election ( on asingle day for all the States ) , campaigning by the candidates , spread over a few preceding months , will continue

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/11/one-nation-one-vote.html }

And , that is where those Rs 10 crores will get spent / distributed !

Is anyone expecting those 9400 candidates to be making payments using mobile wallets / credit - debit cards / UPI - AEPS / RuPay cards etc ?

It is high time we stop fooling ourselves and hurry up with embedding RFID sensors , not only in Rs 500 / 1000 / 2000 notes , but also in Rs 100 notes !

Why Rs 100 notes , as well ?

Because that is the denomination in which the candidates carry the CASH in the luggage compartments of their vehicles , for distributing among the voters !

Every vehicle carrying , even 5000 notes of Rs 100 each ( totaling Rs 5 lakhs ) , will show up on the Mobile App of the IT / ED / EC officers , in that area !

If NDA government is really serious about eliminating the BLACK MONEY and the CORRUPTION , this ( RFIDembedded currency notes ) , is the ONLY ANSWER !

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/03/oracle-has-spoken.html }

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

30 Dec 2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Tuesday 27 December 2016

Less Likely to get Bribed

Humans are better at framing rules / regulations / guidelines / laws etc

But they are susceptible to getting bribed while " interpreting / enforcing " those rules

This is why , we should depend ( as far as possible ) on the TECHNOLOGY , when it comes to implementation / enforcement of those rules

Because technology is less likely to get bribed , since it interprets a violation of a rule , irrespective of WHO breaks the rule ; and even hand out " punishment " in an unbiased way

Remember the " Hot Stove Principle " ? A hot stove does not differentiate between finger of a poor person and that of a powerful rich person . It just burns !

Let me illustrate in the context of the following news report in Hindustan Times ( 28 Dec 2016 ) :

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

BMC paves way for footpath policy in pedestrian-unfriendly Mumbai

In a move that will benefit lakhs of Mumbaiites, the BMC is drafting a FOOTPATH POLICY to make the side-strips more walker-friendly.

While the policy is yet to be finalised, one of its significant provisions includes CLEARING WALKWAYS.

Senior civic officials said even shops, booths and vendors will not be allowed on footpaths.

WARD OFFICIALS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLEARING GARBAGE, ENCROACHMENT, HOARDINGS, POLES OR ANYTHING THAT CAUSES HINDRANCE.

Citizens, however, are skeptical of the implementation of the policy. Rishi Aggarwal, activist and founder of ‘ The Walking Project ’ said, “These policies should not end up being old wine in a new bottle. We need to work at better implementation as BMC has been coming up with these ideas and policies.”

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

I request Shri Aggarwal , to use his influence with the Municipal Commissioner to implement a TECHNOLOGY based solution , as suggested in my following blog ( earlier emailed to many BMC officers one year ago ! )

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

Friday, 11 December 2015

2 DOWN : 1 TO GO !

2 months back , Mumbai Municipal Commissioner, Shri Ajoy Mehta asked all his officers , to prepare a 3 month action plan for removal of commercial encroachments (not religious ) , from footpaths ( DNA / 04 Oct , 2015 )

He added,

" Once the encroachment is cleared from the footpath , ward staff will have to ensure that it does not come up again . Prepare lists of encroachments with photographs and video recordings , as evidence "

Questions :

# How many months are required to prepare a " 3 month " Action Plan ?

# How often should ward officers take those photos / videos ? Once a month ?

# Can they re-submit ( again and again ) same photo / video of a cleared footpath ?

# If footpaths get permanently cleared of the encroachments , what happens to their

" haftas " ?

Leaving aside the last question , technically , it is not all that difficult to monitor those footpaths , 24 hours of the day

Mumbai Police is installing some 2,000 CCTV cameras all over the city to capture the terrorists

London has 500,000 CCTV cameras to cover every nook and corner ,24 hours !

So monitoring footpaths of Mumbai , by installing 50,000 CCTV cameras, on 24 hour basis, is not a problem

And funds are no problem either , with MCGM having spent only 22 % of its Rs 33,000 crore budget so far , in the current year !

On top of that , it is having fixed deposits worth Rs 45,000 Crores in banks !

After installing those 50,000 video cameras , use following software ( embedded in a computerized CCTV network ) to compute the monthly salary of each ward officer :

SALARY PAYABLE / PAYROLL SALARY =

( Length of footpath in his ward clear of encroachment * Percentage of time free of encroachment )

Divided by

( Total Length of footpath * Total Hours in that Month )

ie: Ratio of

" Clear Kilometer*Hours / Total Kilometer*Hours "

Then expect a miracle of E-Governance thru innovative digitization !

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

28 Dec 2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Sunday 25 December 2016