LIBRA : The coming battle of Currencies ?

LIBRA  :  The coming battle of Currencies  ?

Source :

The tech lead of Facebook's new cryptocurrency subsidiary explains Move, the programming language it designed specifically for Libra 

Extract  :

Facebook also created a new subsidiary, an app called Calibra, that will let users ,

Ø   “ send and receive “ the currency ( obviously, bypassing RBI / Banks etc ? )

The Libra Association will oversee Libra Blockchain and

Ø  “ manage Libra’s reserve to assure the stability of the Cryptocurrency’s value “ ( taking over the main responsibility of RBI  ?  )

Libra web site does not mention Facebook and it has a

Ø  different branding than Facebook ( to tie up the legal luminaries in knots ? )

Facebook assures that ,

Ø  It ( Libra ) is regulated and that financial data is kept separated from Facebook ( to ensure no incidental liability for Facebook’s own huge profits , in case of court cases against Libra ? )

We can expect to see real world cash – exchanges for Libra, beyond the Calibra digital wallet ( a serious threat to all Wallets / Payment Apps including BHIM ?  )

There is no word yet on whether Libra will institute a ‘ user age minimum ‘, although Libra’s web site says, that,

Ø   users will need a government-issued ID to sign up

European watchdogs demand detail on Facebook's cryptocurrency  

Extract :

Facebook last week announced plans to launch Libra within the first half of 2020, part of an effort to expand beyond social media to e-commerce and digital payments

Facebook’s project has raised privacy concerns among U.S. lawmakers and prompted European central bankers to claim oversight to ensure it would not jeopardize the financial system or be used to launder money.

MY  TAKE  :

#   Libra is not just another Crypto-currency ( like Bitcoin ) , which anyone with a powerful

     computer can “ mine “ and create personal “ assets “, which they can trade on crypto-

     exchanges . It aims to replace , not only all other existing crypto-currencies but even “

    government-backed “ fiat “ currencies  !

#  Facebook alone will do all the mining / creation of Libra ( its entire reserve )

#  Facebook will “ dole out “ tiny portions of Libra to its users who are willing to sign up

   Calbra for giving away personal / private data ( what can any govt do to stop such

   individual contracts between Calibra and its users ? )

#  It is high time NDA government quickly strikes a deal with Facebook , in terms of :

     Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ] 

   At least, Libra wants users ( of Calibra ) to get a Govt ID for registration !

For once, let us do something smarter –and faster – than EU / USA  !

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29  June  2019

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Thanks , Shri Piyush Goyalji ,

Thanks , Shri Piyush Goyalji ,

For bringing some clarity to a utterly confusing issue

Today’s Eco Times carries following news :

National centre being planned to hold and manage all public data   

Extract :

The government is planning to set up a national data governance centre to hold all public data, and establish guidelines for the management, sharing and monetisation of information. State agencies and even startups could access the data through this facility.

 

Public data relates to freely available information that is collated by various agencies or companies in the course of their operations and which can be traded without restrictions or be used for public utility purposes. This includes traffic and illness patterns. 

“Data has an economic value, but who, when and where uses that, that would then lie under a national data-sharing policy to be developed under the data governance centre,

 

But recently, commerce minister Piyush Goyal directed his ministry to take out the data elements from the draft ecommerce policy, leaving the PDP Bill to handle those. 

“Shouldn’t all this community or public data be available at one centralised location with the government, so that it can be used by everyone, including government agencies to make relevant laws and even help startups 

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

I am glad that the Govt ( Ministers and officers ), have finally appreciated that :

Personal data ( of course , aggregated and anonymized ), have ECONOMIC VALUE , which must be unleashed

I hope, they will not hesitate to take the next logical step, viz :

“  Data Owners MUST be compensated , each and every time , some private party / agency is enabled to make money from use of this data for commercial purpose . Govt must keep away from the temptation of making money from selling the user data “

Refer  :   Bulk Data Sharing / Selling Policy ?   [  12  March  2019  ]

Dear Shri Goyalji,

Here is your unprecedented opportunity to bring about a totally new DATA COMPILATION / SHARING / MONETIZING REGIME , not only in India but as a BENCH MARK for the rest of the world !

A DATA REGIME which ensures for the DATA OWNERS , a just “ Compensation “ for one of their most precious “ Asset “

I urge you to implement :

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

 

Related Readings :

 

Taxing the Data Thieves ?                                   [  04  March  2019  ]

 

Data is the New Oil                                              [   30  Jan   2019  ]

 

A Matter of Motive                                               [   04  Aug  2018  ]

 

Tim Berners-Lee Speaks                                     [  30  Sept  2018  ]

 

Wealth of Nations                                                 [  17  Aug  2018  ]

 

Data Privacy Law : a Pandora’s Box ?                 [  15  July  2018  ]

 

Trade  Off  :   Privacy  vs  LiveEasy  ?                  [  25  March  2018  ]

 

PrivacyForSale                                                   [  26  Aug  2017  ]

 

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

28  June  2019

 

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is responsible ?

Following new appeared in today’s DNA :

Mumbai: How did two Kandivali boys get electrocuted ?

Adani Electricity, BMC — neither owns up to shoddy wiring

Adani Power said their responsibility ended after installing of the meter box; BMC pointed to the Disaster Control Dept . It is not clear who is in charge of maintenance of the electricity wires

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

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

Dear  Shri  Narendrabhai,

Do you believe ,

#  Any court of law would be able to establish who is really responsible  for loss of these

    lives ?

#  Even if the poor parents of those boys were offered FREE legal services to fight this case,

    how many years would it take for the court to establish the guilt ( BMC / Adani / Disaster

    Control Dept ? )

#  Even if you are helpless ( pains to think so ! ) to introduce the Public Service Liability (

    Government Employees ) Act – 2019 , as requested in my email yesterday, can you not ,

    at least make a beginning by launching a Mobile App ( as suggested ) within the first 100

   days, to ascertain PUBLIC PERCEPTION of , “ Who should be held responsible for this

   mishap ? “ .

   Once, for a change, can we try to get a QUICK FEEDBACK on what millions of citizens

   think / believe / perceive – and in a matter of hours ?

Going back a few thousand years , there was only ONE court in the days of Raja Ram – his own-, where he would have to hear the complaints of ordinary citizens , decide who is guilty and hand out the punishment to the  guilty

But when, from an ordinary Dhobi, he overheard the allegations against Sati Sita , he became an “ interested party “ – and not fit to “ judge “ the case !

What Agni-Pariksha Sati Sita went through to prove her innocence , is deeply etched in the minds of millions of Ram-Bhakts

  

I believe, if NDA has to survive beyond 2024 general elections, you need to subject your govt employees to such an AGNI-PARIKSHA – and now !

I hope you will clearly see that building / launching this APP on a billion mobile phones, could be bigger than re-building RAM MANDIR at Ayodhya ( just one distant place ).

Insist that all mobiles sold in India after 02 Oct 2019 ( Bapu’s 150 th birthday ) must be pre-installed with this app

Mechanics :

  

 As each mishap occurs, a short ( with a long press ) headline will get pushed onto the

 mobile phones of those who have downloaded the App – enabling that phone to RATE only

 once ( before self-destruct )

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

13  June  2019

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

     

Needed : a Service Liability Act

Many countries have Product Liability Acts under which , product manufacturers are held responsible / accountable for any hurt / damage caused to the users of their products ( even years later )

Especially in USA , this Act is very stringent and the liability extends even to the suppliers who might have supplied a defective component / sub-assembly which went into the final product

I am not aware of any such Act in India ; nor have heard of any instance where ( say , for example ) a car manufacturer is dragged to court for a defective brake which caused deaths due to failure to perform

But what we , in India , need rather badly right now , is a Service Liability Act

There are only a few “ products “ that Indian Government manufactures and sells to its citizens ( through PSUs ) but throughout the day, government servants / employees , deliver a host of SERVICES to the citizens – services that they are required to deliver legally / constitutionally or in an implied manner

For a timely delivery of such services , some states have introduced “ Delivery of Services Act “

They might have even prescribed some “ penalty / punishment “ for “ late or no “  delivery

But such instances are rare .  Following is an example :

For not curbing pollution, Delhi civic chiefs may face prosecution.   

But for the strict direction of the Supreme Court , nothing would have happened and the persons responsible would have continued to ignore the sufferings of millions Delhi-ites  !

Just to emphasize my point , do you think any government servant would go to jail for the following ? :

Mumbai: One dead as SRA high-rise building in Mahalaxmi catches fire   

 

Mithi neglected, 2005-like floods ‘inevitable’, state report tells SC 

Fire safety norms in Mumbai: In 3 years, only 36 housing societies prosecuted for non-compliance

QMumbai: City’s Air as Bad as Delhi’s; Fire in Aarey  

 

Nearly 56% of bulk waste generators flout BMC rule  

Air pollution: NGT slaps Rs 25 crore fine on Delhi govt 

No closure for victims of Bhopal gas tragedy

Allocate as many courts as needed, speed up netas’ criminal  trials ; SC 

Potholes killed 3,597 across India in 2017, terror 803 

One in 8 deaths in India due to air pollution, life expectancy down by 1.7 years: Report   

 

 

https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/civic-issues/article/shocking-mumbai-records-over-2500-building-accidents-in-the-last-five-years/336065

 

 

 

Not a single day passes without newspapers reporting dozens of such cases of ( what I like to call ) :

CRIMES OF OMISSIONS  [  as against “ Crimes of Commissions “  ]

Following owe their existence to such “ Crimes of Omissions “ :

Millions of Indians die  PREMATURE DEATH  every year , due to :

>  Water and Air Pollution

>  Dowry ( Bride burning )

>  Child Labour

>  Occupational Hazards ( Chemical / Coal / Cement industries )

>  Miscarriage / Abortions / Pregnancy deaths

>  Smoking / Tobacco chewing

>  Junk Food / Adulterated Food

>  Daru ( liquor ) laced with ethyl alcohol

>  Fake Medicines............................etc

And who are responsible for keeping 28.7 Crores of Indians illiterate ( 37 % of World's illiterate ) , 66 years after independence  ?

Is that because ,

>   " CRIMES  OF  OMISSIONS " are taken for granted  ?

>   Deaths due to such Acts are treated as " NATURAL " ( not preventable ) ?

>   Politicians don't think talking about these , will get votes  ?

>   Media could not care less !  TRP is all that matters for getting Ad revenue

>   Cursing others is easier than persevering  for the possible  ?

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

To hold every Public Servant “ accountable “ for causing hurt / damage to any citizen , what we urgently need is a “  Service Liability Act ( Govt Employees ) 2019 “ , which clearly spells out :

#   Extent of hurt / damage

     Minor injuries  /  Temporary-permanent Disabilities /  Deaths

#  Coverage

    Individual Citizen  /  Community  /  Entire Country

#   Time Frame

     Short term  /  Medium  Term  /  Long  Term

#   Economic Impact on the Sufferers

     Mild ( loss of money ) / Medium ( loss of assets )  /  Severe ( loss of earning capacity )

#  Cause

·         Negligence ( abdication of responsibility ) / Indecisions on part of a Public Servant

·         Poor but honest decisions

·         Mala-fide decisions ( with pecuniary gains for decision taker )

Here is my Conceptual Frame Work for an Online Rating Form :

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

            SLAM  :  Service Liability Assessment  Matrix 

 

          ( an online form / Mobile App , for rating by citizens )

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

Dear Citizen :

Following news just got reported in Media . Please rate it by appropriate selection :

Metal staircase with live wires electrocuted 2 boys   

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

Assessment Parameter	Weightage	Most (5)	Certain (4)	Possible(3 )	Negligible(2)	Least ( 1 )
Extent of Hurt	20 %
Coverage	30 %
Time Frame	10 %
Economic Impact	30 %
Perception ( Most likely reason for mishap )	10 %

TOTAL    :

{ Call it “ AQ = Anger Quotient “   or   “   WS = Wrath Score “ }

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

Let the Service Liability Act ( Proposed ) , prescribe various levels of punishments ( for Govt Employee/s , determined responsible for the root-cause of this mishap )

A certain time period may be prescribed for the citizens to fill up the form for each mishap

If , my proposal sounds too REVOLUTIONARY / RADICAL ( even for our bold and decisive, PM ), then , to begin with, some NGO ( eg : ADR ? ) may consider implementing this on its own , to create awareness and to educate the public in airing their opinion / feedback , on what lapses they see around them , everyday

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

12  June  2019

hcp@RecruitGuru.com