Turning Back the Clock ?

Many years back , King Canute realized that a tide cannot be stopped from coming in

But it seems that some of us still think that it is possible to arrest / reverse the " March of Technology " !

How else can you explain the recent decision of the Road Ministry that Uber / Ola taxies must install taxi-meters currently found in Kali-Pili taxies / Auto Rickshaws ?

Because , after all , a taxi by any other name is still a taxi , and must comply with the provisions of The Motor Vehicle Act ?

What will the North Block / South Block mandarins do when the following happens ?

#   Google / Alibaba ( internet giants ) and Tesla / Mercedes ( car manufacturing giants ) , put on the roads ,

     autonomous ( driverless ) cars which will pick up a passenger from anywhere and take him anywhere else

 #  And summoning this taxi and paying the taxi-fare will be through a mobile app ?

#   When this trend picks up , people will stop buying " personally owned " cars and existing car-manufacturers

     will themselves , morph into " Taxi Manufacturers / Aggregators / Service Providers " , in direct competition

     with today's Uber / Ola ?

Instead of trying to turn back the clock , I hope the powers-that-be , read my following blogs and reconsider their

decision

TAKE  AWAY :

*  For Kali-Pili Taxi Owners

Stop depending upon " Sarkar Maa-Baap " ! By harnessing technology , turn the tables on Uber / Ola !

To beat Uber at its own game, pool your fleets all over India and make available a Kali-Pili within 3 minutes anywhere in India , with your own Mobile App , " Kuber " ( Kali-Pili Uber )

If you unite , your " Aggregation " can be 10 times bigger than Uber !

With your clout with the governments ( Central+States ) and with local RTOs , force Uber / Ola , to install in their taxies , Digi-Met tablet meters and Fare-Calc applications for calculating fares ( no surge pricing , since Fare-Calc will be running off the Servers of local RTOs ! )

*  For the Policy Makers in Road Ministry

    Instead of playing a Regulator ( for over-pricing violations by Uber / Ola ) , become a Facilitator for the App-based Taxi Aggregation Industry

Control surge-pricing by increasing competition ( supply exceeding demand , at all times )

Encourage ( through easy / simple rules ) , 10 more Ubers / Olas to come up in the country in next 3 months !

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

Monday, 16 May 2016

Tablets in Taxies ?

DNA ( 16 May 2016 ) carries following news-report :

" LMO for apps to replace fare meters "

In this report , Shri Amitabh Gupta , Controller of Legal Metrology Organization ( LMO ) , is quoted as follows :

" There are couple of mobile phone-based applications available on the internet which can calculate the fare based on distance and waiting time.

If genuine applications are verified by the LMO, then any auto rickshaw or taxi driver can download it on their phones and then use them.

Since they would be verified by the LMO, there would no question over the issue of malpractice.

This way, gradually the electric metres would give way to such applications that appears to be useful and are in line with the latest technology "

Congratulations , Shri Gupta , for this initiative  !

This is , indeed , good development and reinforces my following suggestion / blog  : 

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

Sunday, 14 February 2016

Making Yourself Obsolete ?

As I observed in my earlier blog ( 05 Feb 2016 ), Theodore Levitt wrote in his seminal essay," Marketing Myopia " :

If you don't obsolete yourself , someone else will . So keep asking yourself : What business are we in ?

Levitt gives example of American Railroads , which failed to ask themselves this question and got obsolete by American Car manufacturers and American Airlines . No more people wanted to travel by trains !

Whereas it may take 10/20 years before Car Manufacturers themselves get obsolete ( by manufacturers of Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality / Holographic / Hepatic devices and web-services - making travelling unnecessary ) , according to me , taxi-rickshaw Meter Manufacturers are in the danger of getting obsolete , within the next TWO YEARS  !

Expect some Indian Start-Up to come up with a digital taxi meter ( to be called , DigiMet  ? ), resembling a 8" tablet , with a screen on both the sides , visible to both , the driver and the passenger

DigiMet will be integrated with :

*  GPS based Google Map

*  Mobile App ( called , FareCalc ? ) downloaded from the web site of the Authority fixing " Tariff " ( RTO ? )

Passengers will also need to download / install , FareCalc app on their smart phones

As requested by the passenger , taxi driver will enter the destination location , in DigiMet

Immediately , DigiMet will display the following routes to the desired destination :

*  Shortest route ( distance-wise )

*  Fastest route ( time wise ) , taking into account the traffic conditions on different routes

DigiMet will also display , the amount of " fares " payable for each route ( also displaying tariff : Rs per Km )

Now it is the passenger's turn to select / choose the route that he wants the driver to take

The taxi / rickshaw will start only thereafter !

At the end of the journey , passenger will have the options to pay the fare ,

*  In cash

*  By entering his Credit Card details into the DigiMet , or

*  Through his Mobile Wallet ( using NFC  ? )

The Mobile App will also need to have a provision for any " Waiting Time " charges to be added

When the destination is reached , DigiMet will display :

*  Distance travelled

*  Time taken

*  Waiting Time ( if any )

*  RTO approved tariff ( Rs per Km )

*  Fare amount payable

Any revision in the tariff will get updated automatically in DigiMet as also on the smart phone of passenger

For taxis / rickshaws running on Hybrid fuel ( producing less Co2 ) or Electric Vehicles ( zero emission ) , both , the driver and the passenger will get " Carbon Credits " , which will also get displayed on the DigiMet as also on the FareCalc Mobile App on the smart phone of the passenger ( @ 20 % of the fare payable ? )

These amounts will get transferred to their respective Jan Dhan Bank Accounts ( thru DTB ) , every quarter

I suppose some variation of DigiMet / FareCalc can be introduced in all State Transport buses and intra-city Municipal buses

I hope , the current manufacturers of taxi - rickshaw meters are asking themselves  :

What business are we in ?

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

01  Aug  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Needed : A 3 Month Plan for 3 C

Hindustan Times ( 29 July 2016 ) carries headline :

" Not 5 , prepare 15 year development plan : Modi tells NITI Aayog "

The report quotes PM Shri Modi as saying :

" Main prayog karne wala insaan hoon. Mujhme prayog karne ki himmat hain

  { I am willing to experiment }

  The time for incremental change that was the norm across the World for quite some time, is now over .

   Current age requires transformational change

   Intentions ( niyat ) of policymakers are even more important than the policies ( niti ) , themselves "

To this , NITI Aayog CEO , Shri Amitabh Kant added :

"  The Prime Minister asserted that the government has the courage and the ability to deliver transformational change for bettering the lives of the people "

Now I wish Shri Modiji and Shri Kantji , would just stop their cars , while on way to office and ask any pedestrian :

" Bhaiyya , tumhari bhalai ke liye , subse pahile kya kare ? "

 ( Brother , for your benefit , what is the first thing you want me to do ? )

I am sure 99 % of these people will say :

" Get rid of Corruption "

Times of India ( 28 July 2016 ) reports :

" Government has recently reconstituted eight working groups of secretaries, asking them to come up with at least two projects or schemes that can be implemented within 3  months . Each group has been asked to submit its

report by 16 August "

I hope one of these groups comes up with a scheme ( 3 C / Conquer Cancer of Corruption ? ) , based on my following oft-repeated suggestion

It can be implemented in 3 months !

*  Discontinue paper-based currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000

 *  Introduce plastic currency notes of Rs 500 / 1,000 which are embedded with RFID sensors

 *  Assign to each such note, a IP V 6.0 address , linked to its unique note number

 *  Set up a IT-enabled Technology Platform which will constantly monitor any accumulation of Rs 500 / 1000

     RFID embedded notes in excess of Rs 15 Lakh within an area of ONE square meter

Not only this IT-enabled Technology Platform show up all cabinets / lockers having such accumulations ( on the

GPS maps of IT Department's mobile app - BLACK-MAIL ) but it will also provide irrefutable proof of violation of the

 proposed limit of Rs 15 lakh worth of currency which can be held by a person at any time

And , a frugal extension of this technology will even create a dynamic CURRENCY MAP of entire country by tracking

the movement of each and every currency note ( Rs 500 / 1000 ) , throughout its life !

And the CURRENCY DENSITY of any State / City / Street  / Area / Building / Floor !

No need for an army of inspectors , additional administrative machinery , search-warrants , " Panch-Nama "  !

No chance of frivolous litigations on part of the so-called " Aggrieved " !

I do hope , our policy makers will cease this opportunity of a life time ( especially in view of forthcoming elections )

And Shri Modi will be assured the whole-hearted support of all political parties by announcing :

"  Cash held by political parties in their offices or at the residences of their Members , will be EXEMPT from provisions of scrutiny / seizure / accountability "

Now this " Prayog " will be far from " Incremental "

It will be nothing short of " Transformational "

It will be " Unprecedented "

And who else other than Shri Modi has the " Himmat " ( courage ) to " prayog ( experiment ) " with this ?

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

31  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Unlimited Power : and round the clock ?

Most countries have National Power Grids , which ferry power across the country , from one region to another , depending upon regional demands and the power generating capacities of its power stations located in power-surplus / power-deficient regions

I believe , in EU , countries export and import power across national borders , using international transmission grid

But imagine if it was possible to export / import power , to and from , anywhere in the World , using a World Power Grid !

Then imagine this :

Sun is shining on some or other part of the World , during its local day-time

Nearly 20 % of the World's surface is receiving Solar Energy , at all times , including on vast tracts of sea / desert / forests or other un-inhabited regions , where there is no local demand / consumption of power

Installing Solar Power generating panels in such regions can generate , a huge amount of power

And , without bothering to " store " such power into storage batteries , it can be exported to other regions of the World , which are facing night and have no capacity to " store " whatever solar power it may have produced during its own day-time

All this can happen if we have a World Power Grid ! A power-sharing eco-system for the entire World !

In that case , all through 24 hours , regions in daylight will keep generating solar power and keep exporting to regions under night sky - without bothering to store !

Of course , there will be many practical / technical problems to be faced - and solved

But if a person in a dark / remote corner of the Earth can make his voice reach , another corner of the Earth , travelling through a complex network of dozens of Telephone Service Providers ( Landline as well as Mobile ) , strung over thousands of kilometers , then transmitting Solar Power across the World , is entirely feasible

When we make a phone-call across the World , we do not know , through how many local networks it travels or whether it travels over land or under the oceans or through the air !

And , not only it travels fast but the networks concerned ( through which that call travels ) , have figured out and also agreed on how much of the revenue generated , each service provider will share , and instantaneously too !

All automatically , without human intervention !

World's problem of fossil fuel pollution causing climate changes ( and consequent devastation ) , is solvable

Provided our politicians stop fighting ( within and across countries ) and start working for the poor  !

Fortunately for us in India , Shri Piyush Goyal ( Minister for Power ) is one such politician

His ministry ( MNRE ) is examining a proposal submitted by the Power Grid Corporation of India , to generate Solar and Wind power in the deserts of Rajasthan / Kutchh / Lahul and Spiti / Ladakh

These deserts have , between them , the potential to generate 315.7 GW of Solar plus Wind power !

And when this becomes a reality , sun shining over Ladakh will light up a lamp in Andaman-Nikobar islands !

For the entire project , the investments envisaged are :

#  By   2022............. Rs  2    lakh*crore

#  By   2032..............Rs  16  lakh*crore

#  By   2050...........   Rs  43  lakh*crore

Now , if Shri Goyal is worried where and how to find these huge funds , he may want to look up my following email, sent to him on   01  Oct  2015  :

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

FROM GREED TO GREAT ?

In my blog of 18th Sept , I had estimated BLACK MONEY disclosure of ( may be ) , Rs 40,000 crores , under

Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets Act - 2015

That would have netted Government , Rs 24,000 Cr by way of tax / penalty

I was way off the mark !

The 3 month opportunity window closed two days back , with a disclosure of Rs 3770 cr , by 638 persons , netting Govt Rs 2262 cr  !

Quite like , " Digging the Mountain to find the Mouse "

Now , some knowledgeable persons / organizations have estimated that the amount of BLACK MONEY stashed away domestically , could be close to, Rs 25 Lakh*Crores !

But then , man-on-the-street guesses that to be Rs 100 Lakh*Crores  !

Time and again , that common man have proved the pundits wrong !

I suppose , the common man knew all along that half-hearted amnesty schemes are bound to fail , as in the past

But pundits refuse to learn from their past mistakes  !

They refuse to recognize that nowhere in the World , any Government has succeeded at any time to legislate the GREED away !

And the common man fails to understand why NDA government is hesitating to harness the unlimited power of SUN - the almighty SUN of GREED

By :

*    Abolishing Personal Income Tax ( source of the DARKNESS of

      CORRUPTION )

*    Stop asking any questions as to the " Source " for all cash deposits

      made into bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana

*    Levy a Bank Transaction Tax ( BTT ) of 2 % to yield revenue of

      Rs 15 lakh*crores , which would be 5 times the loss of revenue due to

      abolition of Personal Income Tax

*    Encourage deposits made into Jan Dhan bank accounts to be invested in

      SOLAR POWER SPV Farms , by direct depositing of income derived (

      from sale of electricity to DISCOMs ) into those bank accounts

      

NDA is planning to harness 100 GW of Solar Power by 2020

If above-mentioned suggestion is implemented , India could harness ,

1000 GW of Solar Power by 2020 !

Just imagine what that could do to GDP / SELF-EMPLOYMENT / CLIMATE

Let us harness  GREED  to make India  GREAT  !

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

30  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

GST Conundrum : A Compromise Formula

Last evening , TV channels were reporting that BJP and Congress are quite close to reaching a compromise on GST bill , expected to be tabled in Rajya Sabha next week

I believe , it is possible to break the deadlock , by exploring introduction of some variation of suggestions made by me in my following blogs ( emailed to Ministers / MPs / Political Leaders ) :

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

Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana ( 31 Aug 2015 )

By launching ,  Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana 

 ( People's Wealth Creation Scheme )

As follows :

>   If GST is going to be ( say ) 20 % , Government will transfer from this ,

     2 % ( ie 10 % of that 20 % ) , to the PPF account of the Consumer /

     Buyer , who pays for the Goods / Services purchased , using a RuPay

     Card or a " Mobile Wallet " app

     This will motivate millions of self - employed to open  PPF  accounts !

>   Since interest from a PPF account is tax-free , every citizen would , now

     want to make all payments thru RuPay card or a Mobile Wallet App

>   RuPay cards are already tied up with accounts opened under Jan Dhan

     Yojana

>   Mobile Wallets Apps will also get tied-up with thousands of branches of

     Payment Banks , which will open in next 18 months

     Just imagine the number of new accounts that will get opened in the

     1,55,000 + post offices of India Post  !

>   In this way , Social Security will become " Self Financing " !

>   Currently , in India , some 97 % of all payments are " Cash Payments ".

     With introduction of this proposal , these will drastically decline

>   Any payment made , using RuPay card or a Mobile Wallet App , will make

     available to the Income Tax Department , full digitized record of each

     such transaction , including :

     *  Who  made the payment

     *  To whom was that payment made

     *  When was that payment made

     *  For what purchase , was that payment made

     *  What was the amount paid

>   One , very desirable consequence of  Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana

     will be that our " Domestic Savings Rate " will climb back to 30 % !

      In turn , this will help us wither global economic crisis , much better  !

I have a feeling that my proposal will be welcomed by all sections of our Society and find overwhelming support for the passing of the GST bill by all political parties

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

Making  a  Mountain  out  of  a  Mole hill ( 19 Nov 2015 )

*   2 % ( out of 27 % ) of GST , to be directly deposited in the PPF a/c of the buyer

    ( This will ensure that all citizens have PPF account )

 *   This 2 % to be used to pay the premium for that person's health insurance

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

Structural Reforms ( 30 Jan 2016 )

*  Transferring 10% of GST ( ie 1.8 % out of 18 % ) to PPF accounts of the

    buyers ( increase Domestic Savings )

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

People of India are watching - and hoping !

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

29  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs