Thank You for “ Reading “ – and “ Asking “

 

 

 

Dear CJI Hon Shri Bobdeji

Thank you for reading my following e-mail – and asking questions :

Ø  Please Hear and Read too ……………………………[ 19 March 2021 ]

-wherein, I requested that, while hearing the petition of ADR ( Association of Democratic Reforms ) re Electoral Bonds, you kindly find time to read my suggestion re: “ ALTERNATIVE and TOTALLY TRANSPARENT “ mechanism for Electoral Bonds, as detailed in my following earlier e-mail :

>  Transparency in Political Funding ? ………[ 07 July 2017 ]

 

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

Context :

 Can electoral bonds be misused, Supreme Court asks government   / Eco Times /  25 March 2021

Extract :

Ø  “ This money could be used to carry out all sorts of illegal activity, spread violence and terrorism “, a three judge bench led by CJI SA Bobde observed

Ø  The bench though insisted how misuse can be checked

Ø  The AG contended that the money from Electoral Bonds was clean and not Black Money. “This is White Money which comes through checks and Demand Drafts “, he argued

Ø  He ( Prashant Bhushan ) argued there was no transparency in WHO donated, as this information was only available with the government

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

Context :

EC supports electoral bonds in apex court, calls for transparency  /  Hindustan Times / 25 March 2021

Extract :

Ø  The Election Commission on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it supports the existing system of political party funding through electoral bonds, although it added that it would like the process to be MORE TRANSPARENT

Ø  “ Electoral Bonds go ONE STEP forward as all bonds have to be obtained from the bank only. Tis way there is accountability. But we are also asking for TRANSPARENCY. That can be considered later by the court “

Ø  While doing so, the Court raised an apprehension of possible misuse of these bonds and the MECHANISM available with the Centre to remedy the situation

Ø  The bench, also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramaniam said, “ What if a political party has got Rs 100 crore worth bonds and it intends to finance protests ? What is the CONTROL that the government has on the use of this money by parties for terrorist purposes, illegal activities or for purposes outside their political agenda ? “

Ø  Attorney General KK Venugopal appearing for Centre referred to certain checks and balances . He said that parties are required to file their income-tax returns each year showing HOW THEY HAVE EXPENDED THE MONEY. He said the use of Bonds is essential for the country as it as curbed Black Money being used in elections

Ø  For the petitioners, advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted that there was COMPLETE ANONYMITY about WHO purchases these bonds and to WHOM it is subsequently TRANSFERRED

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  25 March 2021

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

CC :

Association for Democratic Reforms    /  adr@adrindia.org

Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd.)   /   anilverma@adrindia.org

Prof. Trilochan Sastry   /   trilochan@iimb.ac.in

Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar   /  jchhokar@gmail.com

SupremeCourt@nic.in

SupremeBarAssociation@recruitguru.com

Advocate Prashant Bhushan       /  prashantbhush@gmail.com

SOLICITOR GENERAL , Shri Tushar Mehta /  tusharmehta.asg@gmail.com  

 

Please, listen to Pandurang Kamat

 

 

 

Dear Shri RaviShankar Prasadji,

Focus of my following earlier E-Mails, were less for creation of a “ Federated Identity for Indians “ and targeted more towards forcing Social Media to compensate their users for using their PERSONAL DATA and, in the process, making tons of money by selling that data to online advertisers :

Ø  Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]…………………..... [ 14 Feb 2019 ]

 

Ø  SARAL ( Single  Authentic  Registration for Anywhere  Login )…[ 10 Feb 2019 ]

PrivacyForSale.com ……………………………………………………………………..[ 26 Aug 2017 ]

 

Now Shri Pandurang Kamat ( CTO – Persistent Systems ) has come up with a detailed architecture for a  “Federated Identity “, as described below

I urge you to invite Shri Kamat and ask :

Kamatji,

Besides enabling “ FEDERATED IDENTITY “, can your proposed architecture accommodate the idea of “  COMPENSATING USERS “ of Social Media, as suggested in the above-mentioned e-mails from Hemen Parekh ?

Parekh claims that, if implemented, his suggestion , which seems very similar to yours, could mean each user getting Rs 30,000 per month from various Social Media / E Com / Fintech / Insurance / Banking etc websites, for use of their Personal ( but Anonymized / Aggregated ) data.

If you think such enhancement is possible, I request you to send me your detailed proposal

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

Context :

Simplifying the way you log in, without Google, FB 

{ source :  Akhil.George@timesgroup.com  /  Times of India – Cutting Edge  / 24 March 2021 }

Extract :

Ø  Using one platform’s credentials to login to a host of services is known as  FEDERATED IDENTITY

Ø  A solution to this problem is to use a DECENTRALIZED IDENTITY , says Pandurang Kamat, CTO for research and innovation at tech services company, Persistent Systems [  pandurang_kamat@persistent.com ]

Ø  “Decentralized identity is a paradigm shift , where the end-user is at the centre of their IDENTITY WORLD. There would be more control on their side on who handles different parts of their identity and HOW THEY GET TO USE IT. There’s also a decoupling of IDENTITY PROVIDER and identity usage, so the provider can’t track where the end user made use of those credentials “, he says

Ø  Persistent has developed an IDENTITY SOLUTION that is compliant with the World Wide Web Consortium’s DECENTRALIZED IDENTITY STANDARDS….

Ø   “ The entire work was done by Persistent System’s tem based in India “, says Kamat

Ø  In this system, USERNAMES and PASSWORDS are replaced by UNIQUE IDs

Ø  “ It’s a user-centric identity that is created , owned, and managed by users of their free will. Each user is identified with a decentralized IDENTIFIER that is globally UNIQUE. Each identifier has associated cryptographic material that helps in authenticating users and verifying credentials that are issued to or presented by them. A distributed ledger or a blockchain, forms the backbone of this system “ , says Kamat

Ø  The technology provides PRIVACY CONTROLS to the individual

Ø  The user can choose to only share the MINIMALLY REQUIRED pieces of the IDENTIFIER with each service provider they interact with

Ø  Persistent is part of the Trust over IP Foundation { operations@trustoverip.org }, which is defining a COMPLETE ARCHITECTURE for internet-scale digital trust. Work it is doing in India is going into the GLOBAL STANDARDS and technology development  of DECENTRALIZED IDENTITY PROTOCOLS

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@recruitGuru.com  /  24 march 2021

 

 

What Good is a Question Paper without an Answer Paper ?

 

 

Many years back, when some Exam Paper of 10th Standard got “ leaked “ a day before the exam-day, I heard one student exclaiming :

“ What good is a Question Paper without corresponding Answer Paper ? “

I was reminded of this when I read following news report :

MSBSHSE 10th, 12th question bank released; out-of-syllabus questions baffle students

 

(  Times of India / 17 Mar 2021 )

Extract :

A student said,”

  “There isn’t a single topic from the textbook that isn’t part of the question bank. How will this help us prepare better ? Almost all questions from the text book are included so how would we know what is important ? “

 

 My Dear Startup Entrepreneurs ,

 

 No doubt all of you are aware of  hard-copy  “ Guide Books “ which have been around for decades. These contained a list of questions and their answers ( in the second half of the book ). By now, I suppose these must have gone ONLINE ( digital copies , which can be downloaded on Mobiles )

 

You might also be aware of certain colleges in USA which permit students to carry text books into the Exam Hall and refer while writing answers

 

Now, due to Covid pandemic, schools / colleges are closed for over a year. Students are attending VIRTUAL CLASSES ( Zoom – Skype – Google Meet etc ), and even appearing in ONLINE exams from their homes ( Microsoft  is holding such certification exams online, for many years and Govt of India is in the process of introducing Online Exams for millions of aspirants for lower-level Govt jobs, spread over hundreds of Exam Centres, equipped with internet-connected computers )

  

This new- and likely to last long- scenario, offers a fantastic opportunity for you to

 

Ø  prepare Answer Banks on every subject covered ( or not ) by any book on that subject ( textbook or otherwise )

Ø  manufacture AR/VR glasses which students can wear while appearing in exams

Ø  the moment a student reads any question ( using those glasses ) , the relevant answer to appear in view

Ø  now students don’t have to worry about the “ RIGHT ANSWER “ !  Just write down what he views in AR/VR glasses

Ø  Someday ( not too far ) , “ Answer Sheets “ would be made of special paper such that, as soon as the student “ taps “ on his AR / VR  glass-frame, the answer will get projected / printed on that special paper !

 

This is your unique opportunity to raise for millions of students,

 

Ø  “ Ease of Learning “ Index

Ø  “ Employability “ Index

 

PS :

 

If in doubt, please look up :

 

 

https://gpt3examples.com/

 

https://towardsdatascience.com/gpt-3-demos-use-cases-implications-77f86e540dc1

 

https://tech.fb.com/ar-vr/

 

https://www.ibm.com/products/spss-statistics-campus-editions?mhsrc=ibmsearch_a&mhq=education

 

 

https://neon.life/view

 

NEON View

NEON View brings NEON to the devices we love.
It is our web and mobile ready API based service solution, making anywhere, anytime, interaction with NEON possible, in real-time.
Just like how you video call with your friend.

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

Dear Data Protection Advocates,

Could this be  “ Ides of March “ ?

 

With regards,

 

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  23 March 2021

 

 

Blessing in Disguise ?

 

 

Dear Shri Gadkariji,

Many thanks for your recent announcement re: VEHICLE SCRAPPAGE POLICY in Lok Sabha, when you said ,

“ The scrapping policy will lead to a new investment of around Rs 10,000 crore and create 35,000 jobs “

Quite likely you based your estimates on :

Ø  A vehicle scrap recycling plant having a capacity to process 1 lakh vehicles / year , could easily cost Rs 500 crore

Ø  Hence, 20 such plants could cost Rs 10,000 crore

My following analysis suggests that :

Ø  Instead of processing only 20 lakh ( 2 million ) vehicles per year, we have a business opportunity to process 200 lakh ( 20 million ) vehicles / year , requiring an investment of Rs 1 Lakh* crore

Ø  Employment potential could be 3 Milllion jobs

There is nothing “ disguising “ about your policy, although not everyone can/ will, see the “ not so apparent “ opportunity !

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@recruitguru.com  /  22 March 2021

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

 

Context :

Scrappage policy ; Firms forge ahead to steel scrap   /  Business Line  /  22 Mar 2021

Extract :

It’s not only automobile companies that are looking to gain from the new scrappage policy; steel companies, including Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Liberty group, are also gearing up to produce more steel by recycling scrap.

Tata Steel has already set up a scrap-based steel plant with an annual capacity of 5 lakh tonnes at Rohtak in Haryana. The company sources scrap by procuring old vehicles……….

India spends around ₹24,500 crore a year on steel scrap imports to meet the shortfall in domestic supply.

Currently, India generates 25 million tonnes of steel scrap and imports about 6.5 mt a year.

Vehicle scrapping can generate about 70-75 per cent ferrous (steel) scrap, 6-8 per cent non-ferrous metal scrap, besides miscellaneous rubber and plastic scrap.

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

Question ?

How many OLD vehicles will need to be scrapped in next 2 years ?

Answer :

Light Motor Vehicles

#   Older than 20 years…………………………………………. ……51  lakhs

#  Older than 15 years( but less than 20 years ).………34  lakhs 

     Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles

#  Older than 15 years without any valid FITNESS certificate…17  lakhs

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

TOTAL…………………………………………………………………………102 lakh [ 10.2 million ]

         ( source :   Vehicle Scrapping Policy : Most Questions Answered  / 18 Mar

           2021 )

Although, only a few months back, Transport Ministry was talking of 28 million OLD vehicles to be scrapped

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

Question ?

How much recycled Steel Scrap will these provide ? How much Foreign Exchange will that save ?

Answer :

Assuming ave. ( for LMV and Heavy ) of 1 ton per vehicle, these would give 10.2  million tons

Our current steel scrap import of 6.5  million ton costs us Rs 24,500 crore ( ie: approx. Rs 37,692 / ton )

So, 10.2 million ton ( recycled  from 10.2 million vehicles ) would save foreign exchange valued at :

Ø      Rs 37,692 x 10,200,000 Kgs = Rs 38,445 crore

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

Question ?

How many Vehicle Scraping plants will be required to take care of these 10.2 million vehicles ?

Answer :

About 20 plants of the size of TATA STEEL plant ( 0.5 million tons / year )

Mahindra Accelo vehicle recycling plant has capacity to process 25,000 – 30,000 vehicles per year and it is in the process of scaling up to 1 lakh vehicles / year. It is also planning to set up 25 plants all around the country . Hence, in 2 years time, Mahindra Accelo may have a capacity to process 25 lakh ( 2.5 million ) vehicles / year

( sources :

Mahindra Accelo keen to prove its mettle in vehicle scrappage era  / 10 Feb 2021 )

Mahindra Accelo : Saluting a pioneer ……………………………………….[ 19 June 2018 ]

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

 

Question ?

What happens after the current population of OLD ( > 15 years ) 10.2 million vehicle gets scrapped / re-cycled ?

Answer :

It will take ( may be ) 4 years for TATA ( 5 lakh vehicles ) + Mahindra Accelo ( 25 lakh vehicles ) , totaling 30 lakh vehicles / year capacity to become fully operational

By that time, our total Vehicle Population will reach 300 million. So, we can expect some 3 million (10 % ) to become eligible for scrapping, each year – keeping all these plants busy , round the clock

Apart from these “Local “ vehicles , other countries of the world, are currently scrapping some 30 million vehicles each year

( source :   Car Grave-Yard of World ?    /    14 Feb 2018 )

Currently, total number of ( mostly ICE ) vehicles world-wide is estimated at around 1.5 billion ( 1,500 million ) and growing at the rate of about 100 million / year , and expected to reach 2.8 billion by 2036

During the course of last year ( 2020 ), most developed countries of the world ( USA-UK – EU – Russia – Japan – China etc ) have announced complete switch-over to EV , by 2035

That would require scrapping ( possibly ) 2 billion ( 2,000 million )  ICE vehicles in the next 15 years

 

THAT IS, MORE THAN 133 MILLION VEHICLES NEEDING TO BE SCRAPPED EACH YEAR !

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

 

Question ?

Does this not present a huge  “ VEHICLE SCRAPPING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY “ for India ?

Answer :

You bet !  It is an unprecedented business opportunity which we MUST exploit as explained in my following e-mail to Cabinet Ministers :

Ø     Car Grave-Yard of World ?  ………………………………[ 14 Feb 2018 ]

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

Question ?

Did you follow this up with the Policy Makers ?

Answer :

Yes.  I sent an e-mail reminder as follows :

Ø     Alang : Junkyard ? Scrapyard ? SaveYard ? ………..[ 12 Dec 2020 ]

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

 

Question ?

IS THERE ANY POSITIVE RESPONSE TO YOUR SUGGESTIONS ?

 

Answer :

Indeed !

Government has recently announced its policy as mentioned in following news report :

Alang set to become the junkyard of old vehicles, too  {  Business Line – 12 Dec 2020 }

Extract :

Ø   Alang, where ships finally call to be broken up, may soon become the hub for scrapping old vehicles, too. The government is weighing a plan to dismantle and recycle end-of-life vehicles at this port town in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district.

Ø    An inter-ministerial panel exploring the possibility of junking vehicles at Alang, following a presentation made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for drafting a scrapping policy, has finalised its report, multiple government officials said.

Ø    The government’s policy managers feel the plan would maximise Alang’s recycling potential and help use the cheap scrap steel extracted as an input for the manufacturing sector, the sources said

Ø    The move comes as steelmakers such as Tata Steel and the Liberty Group are looking to enter the scrap recycling segment. Tata Steel has already set up a recycling plant in Rohtak, Haryana

Ø    The Ship Recycling Industries Association (SRIA) has backed the plan as this can double the steel scrap output to 5 million light displacement tonnage (LDT) from the present 2 million LDT.

Ø    The association has made two suggestions to overcome the limitation of the small size of ship recycling plots.

“Every plot holder should be allotted a backyard plot of 10,000 sq metres at nominal cost on a 99-year lease,” said an SRIA official

“If the backyard plot is allotted, we will set up shredders and other equipment  for recycling of vehicles at our own cost,” he said

Ø    Second, the association wants the recycling yards to be converted into an autonomous body under the National Authority for Recycling of Ships set up by the Shipping Ministry. This will solve the problem of multiple agencies operating at Alang which delays finalisation of issues relating to the industry, the SRIA official said.

   

Ø    The Central Pollution Control Board issued guidelines in April 2019 for environmentally sound management of collection, dismantling and shredding end-of-life vehicles

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

CC :

Shri Nitin Gadkariji {  Transport Minister / nitin.gadkari@nic.in / email@nitingadkari.org }

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya { Shipping Minister / minister-shipping@gov.in  }

Dr Sanjeev Ranjan { Secretary – Shipping / secyship@nic.in }

lam.darius@mahindra.com

dharwadkar.shubhada@mahindra.com

 

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

 Related Reading :

Informal Scrapyards to be integrated with Registered ones   

Extract :

According to the National Green Tribunal, by the end of 2025, the number of vehicles which are 15 years or older is likely to reach over 21 million.

“We are seeing how we can integrate these centres with the e-auction process of MSTC (Metal Scrap Trading Corporation),” the official said. “Another option could be that the authorised centres could go on a collection drive from these smaller, informal scrapping units,” the official added.