United We Stand : Divided We Fall

Just read this in today’s Economic Times :

Companies shouldn’t be allowed to colonise data: Ravi Shankar Prasad  

Extract :

India is keen on the storage of key personal data within the country to prevent “ data imperialism ”, Law, Justice and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at the Global Business Summit on Saturday 

Context :

Keywords are : Colonization  /  Imperialism

To us Indians , these words bring back the memories of the 150 year long British Rule

How did a few thousand British persons posted in India, manage to “ Colonize “ some 33 crore ( 330 million in ‘40s ) Indians and rule over them ?

It was simple

They ensured that our 200+ princely states do not UNITE , but remain DIVIDED

Even fight with one another !

And how !

In 1943 , I remember travelling by BBCI Railway ( Bombay Baroda and Central India ) train from Bombay to Rajkot  ( now renamed Western Railways )

One had to change trains at Viramgam junction, with the two trains on either side of the platform

In the middle of the platform, were a series of concrete benches , where passengers were required to open their bags ( as it still happens occasionally, at arrivals of International flights ), for examination by “ Jakaatdaars “ – and pay duty for some goods !

I am sure , similar “ Customs Duty “ payments were in force in all the princely states !

WHAT  IS  THE  RELEVANCE  ?

Today, an Indian citizen has to submit , more or less , SAME DATA , again and again on the following web sites :

·         Social Media sites

·         Mobile Apps Sites / Stores

·         E Commerce

·         Banks

·         Fintech

·         Search Engines

·         Buyer-Seller online platforms

·         Job Portals

·         Govt web sites for getting DBT / subsidies / filing returns / documents

·         Govt web sites for lodging all kinds of complaints

·         Web sites of Service Providers ( Mobile / TV Channels etc )

List goes on and on

Each of these entities want to create their own DATABASES of citizens

And hold these DATABASES , close to their chests - never want to share with anyone else

They are behaving exactly like those 200 + princely states , fighting with each other

And the likes of Google – Amazon – Facebook – Apple ( GAFA ) and Twitter etc , want to make sure that these Database-Holders , never unite !

GAFA is the New Emperor ( - a handful , like the British posted in India in 1943 )

Millions of Indian companies ( holding citizen data ) are the New Colony

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GAFA Emperor ( Twitter CEO ) , Jack Dorsey , has refused to attend the meeting called by Parliamentary Committee on IT , on 26^th Feb

Are we getting his message , viz :

Who are you to say we cannot colonize India ?

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Dear Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji,

 Who ( or What ) can unite us and empower us to throw out GAFA , by telling them :

“  You need to play this game by our rules or Quit India “  ?

Here is the message that India should send to Dorsey :

Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ] 

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24  Feb  2016

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

A Minor Matter of Details ?

Some 50 years ago, IIM-A ( Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad ) was the only premier management institute in the country

Prof Foltz was a visiting professor from USA, who taught “ Business Policy “

He had a robust sense of humor and used to tell the following story :

Once , a mouse sought consultation from the professor

During the meeting, the mouse said :

“  Sir , I am mortally afraid of the cat which keeps chasing me . What shall I do ? “

Professor : 

“ This is a problem of strategic importance and needs deep analysis. Come back tomorrow “

When mouse turned up next day, Professor said : 

“ I have perfect solution . Turn yourself into a dog “

A very elated mouse ran home, singing “ I need to be a dog . Who is afraid of the big bad cat ? “

Next day , mouse turned up once again at the office of the professor and said :

“  Sir , without doubt , you have come up with the 

perfect solution but HOW do I morph into a dog ? “

To which , with utter disdain , professor replied :

“ Look , Micky Mouse  , as a professor of BUSINESS POLICY , I only pronounce the STRATEGY . I cannot be bothered with working out the minor details of how to implement the POLICY “

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BUSINESS  POLICY  :

As far as the menace of BLACK MONEY is concerned , BJP’s 2014 Election Manifesto reads ( pg 4 ) :

Black Money

By minimizing the scope for corruption, we will ensure minimization of the generation of Black Money

 .

BJP is committed to initiate the process of tracking down and bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks and offshore accounts.

We will set up a task force for this purpose and to recommend amendments to existing laws or enact new laws

We will also proactively engage with foreign governments to facilitate information sharing on black money

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

CONTEXT :

 Just came across following news report :

Black money of Indians stashed abroad is in range of $216bn and $480bn, govt reports 

Extract :

The amount of black money outside India was Rs 9.41 lakh crore or US $ 216.48 billion

between 1990 and 2008, a government-commissioned study has concluded, adding that this amount could be one-tenth of the total estimated illegal wealth.

“ Illicit outflows from the country are estimated on average to 10% of the estimated unaccounted income,” said the study by National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM)

“ Taking the capital outflow worth (stock) US $498 billion, its share in total unaccounted

  wealth can be estimated as 2.8%,” NCAER report was learnt to have concluded.

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IMPLICATION :

If 2.8 % amounts to $ 498 billion , then the “ Total unaccounted wealth “ could be as high as $ 17786 Billion ( Rs 1245,00,000 Crore = Rs 1245 lakh*crore )

BLACK MONEY unearthed so far :

#   Black Money ( Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets ) Act – 2015 … Rs  4,100   Crore

#   Income Declaration Scheme/PM-Garib Kalyan Yojana – 2017 …………… Rs  72,200   Crore

#   Benami Transaction Tax – 2016 ( value of attached property )……………Rs    3,500   Crore

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                                                                      Total……. Rs  79,800  Crore  [$ 11 Billion ]

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WHAT  NEXT  ?

Without doubt, elimination of the scourge of Black Money will, once again figure prominently in the election manifestos of BJP and Congress

Manifesto drafters are quite like Prof Foltz . Their job is to lay down the POLICY on Black Money

Do not expect them to spell out the DETAILS of how precisely, they will ensure that Rs  1245 lakh*crore worth of Black Money will get unearthed and put to productive use !

But , in case Shri Arun Jaitlyji instructs his Finance Secretary to work out the DETAILS , he may want to look up my following earlier emails

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DETAILS  :

Baba Ramdev and Black Money  ………………………………………………………………[  29  May  2011  ]

Magic Wand ?    …………………………………………………………………………………………[  09  June  2011  ]

Create Wealth to Create Jobs  ………………………………………………………………….[  26  Feb  2014   ]

Don't Ask " How " ?  ………………………………………………………………………………….[  07  April  2014  ]

Next 100 Days  …………………………………………………………………………………………..[  16  May  2014  ]

White Holes of Black Money ?  …………………………………………………………………..[  03  June  2014  ]

A CASE FOR ZERO PERSONAL INCOME TAX ………………………………………………[ 11  Nov  2014   ]

A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE ?  ……………………………………………………………………………….[  04  Jan  2015  ]

Making Molehill out of Mountain ? ……………………………………………………………… [ 19   Nov  2015  ]

STRUCTURAL REFORMS ?  …………………………………………………………………………..[  30  Jan  2016   ]

TIME IS NOW !  …………………………………………………………………………………………….[  02  Feb  2016  ]

Don't Expect This in Budget  ………………………………………………………………………..[  28  Feb  2016  ]

Quantum Jump ?  ………………………………………………………………………………………  .[  29  Feb  2016  ]

Making India a Tax Haven ?  ……………………………………………………………………    [ 04  April  2016 ]

FDI : By any other name ?  ……………………………………………………………………..    [ 01  July  2016  ]

Prime Minister Who Listens  …………………………………………………………………………[  03  Dec  2016  ]

One Infrastructure SPV ? More will follow  ……………………………………………….  [20  March  2017 ]

 

What Goes Out , Comes Back ?  ………………………………………………………………….[ 05 May  2017  ]

Private Sector in Infrastructure ?  ……………………………………………………………….[28  July  2017  ]

Nibbling on Crumbs ?  …………………………………………………………………………………  [08  Aug  2017  ]

 

How to Raise $ 500 BILLION  ……………………………………………………………………  [17  Sept  2017  ]

From Garbage to Power ?  ……………………………………………………………………….   [ 16  Jan  2018  ]

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22  Feb  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Fayaa Laare

( from Burmese language : loosely translated as “ God has arrived “ )

For the Start Up eco-system , this could be paraphrased as “ Prabhu has arrived “

Only yesterday , Shri Suresh Prabhu posted many tweets re the relaxation of rules / norms governing the Start Ups

Following news report provides the details :

Govt removes the devil in angel tax for startups  

Highlights :

• Startups with sales of up to ₹100 crore—earlier, the exemption limit was ₹25 crore—would be eligible for angel tax relief

• An entity will be considered a startup for up to 10 years from the date of incorporation, up from the earlier seven years

·         Under the new rules, startups will be kept out of the purview of an anti-tax evasion provision in the Income Tax Act, 1961

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Will this relaxation unshackle the Start Ups to create millions of “ Self Employed “ ?

( -  essential, considering that neither the Private Sector , nor the Public Sector , nor the

     Governments can create jobs for 12 million youth joining our work-force, each year )

What is the way out ?

I urge Shri Prabhu to consider my following suggestions ( earlier sent as E Mail to Cabinet Ministers , 3 years ago  ) :

  A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER ? aka " Start Up Act - 2015 "   [  12  sept  2015  ]

 #  Objectives of the Act

     Every  year , to create 5 million Start Ups , each employing 2 persons , for a total of 10

     million new jobs per year

#    Methodology

·         Instead of Companies Act - 1956 , these Start Ups will be governed by the Start Up Act - 2015

·         A Start Up can be launched by any Indian citizen under the age of 30 ( covering roughly 65 % of our population )

·         A Start Up will need to register online on the web site of the Income Tax Department and obtain a unique " Start Up Number"

·         Although all Start Ups will need to file annual Income Tax returns ( with full disclosure of income / expenses / profits / sources of funds etc ) , it will not be required to pay any Corporate Income Tax for the first 10 years of its existence

·         A Start Up will be free to raise  funds from any source ( Individuals / Companies / PE funds / VCs / Angel Investors / Religious Trusts etc )

·         100 % FDI will be permitted in Start Ups

·         A Start Up can receive loans or equity and be able to accept fixed deposits . It can also give loans to individuals or other Start Ups or invest in other Start Ups by way of equity

·         There will be no restrictions on what interest ( on loans / FDs ) that a Start Up may pay nor any restrictions on dividends it may declare

·         The dividends declared by Start Ups will not attract any Income Tax

·         As far as the persons / companies etc providing funds to Start Ups ( by way of loans or equity ) is concerned , no questions will be asked re their source of funds

 

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Readers may want to look up following 25 Emails sent so far over the past 3 years to Cabinet Ministers :

·             In  Wonderland  of  Start Ups

·             FDI ; by any other name ?

·             Start Ups  need  wooing  ?

·             50  million  new  jobs  in  5  months  ?

·             A  Riddle   wrapped   in  Mystery

·             Well   Begun   is   Half   Done

·             How   to  Stop  the  Start  Ups

·             Start  Up  Re-defined

·             10  Million  Start  Ups  in  one   Year  ?

·             Fear   of   being   Ridiculed  ?

·             Blue  Print  for  Start  Up  Nation

·             Get   Out   of   the   Way

·             Ten   Million   Entrepreneurs  ?

·             Start  Up   Eco- System  /  USA  vs  INDIA

·             Treading   the   Beaten   Path

·             Second   Industrial   Revolution

·             From   Job-seekers   to   Job-Creators

·            Myth   of   Job  Creation

·            A   New   Economic  Order  -  Start  Up  Act  / 2015

·           Back  Factory  of  the  World

·           Killing  Many   Birds   with   one   Stone

·           Jan  Dhan   Sarjan   Yojana

·           Who   will   obsolete   Whom  ?

·           Defining   E  Commerce

·           FDI   in   Retail

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Dear Shri Prabhuji,

Since I am also sending this mail to the Manifesto committee of the Congress , BJP runs the risk of being “ also ran “ !

PS :

Incidentally – and refreshingly - Congress Committee acknowledges every single emailed suggestion , whereas none ( out of over 1,000 emails ) of my emails to the Cabinet Ministers over the past 4 years , have been acknowledged !

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20  Feb  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com