From Minimum Wages to Living Wages

 

Context :

Labour ministry weighs shift from minimum to 'living' wages   …ET / 29 Dec 2022

 

Extract :

 

India is considering shifting from the minimum wage to living wages to pull millions of people out of poverty.

While it can have huge financial implications for India Inc and the government as a living wage is indexed to inflation, the move could be a game changer for the country as it strives to meet its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) commitment of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030.

Highlights :

 

Line of Support  :

 

#   Shift to living wages can help reduce extreme poverty by 2030

#   Difference between the two could be 10 – 25 %

#   Move could have huge financial implications

#   India has 228.9 million poor people as per MPI

#   The idea is yet to get a political backing

#   Living wages are based on Cost of Living

 

A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for workers to meet their basic needs compared to subsistence wage or minimum wage which is based on labour productivity and skill sets

India could seek ILO help to arrive at living wages if the idea gets a political backing

 

 

My  Take  :

 

Such an initiative is long overdue but, after arrival of COVID , it has assumed urgency

In our country, as in the rest of the world, INCOME DISPARITIES are increasing – which in turn, result in WEALTH DISPARITIES

Some 3 % of our population control 90 % of our wealth

Taxing the rich ( at a much higher rate than the current rates ), can get the government, a few thousand crores ( Rs ) additional revenue

But that would be “ neither here nor there “ . It will not help the poor to meet the ever-rising “ Cost of Living “

Nor is introduction of an UBI ( Universal Basic Income ) , a viable proposition

There are many problems associated with finding a proper linkage between :

Ø  Cost of Living , and

Ø  Living Wage

 

“ Cost of Living “ varies vastly depending upon following factors :

Ø   City – District – State

Ø   Population Density

Ø  Intensity of Industrialization / Agriculture

Ø  Time of the Year ( Seasonal fluctuations )

Ø  Education Level of concerned citizen

Ø  Skill concentration of people

Ø  Size of family of the poor people

Ø  Distribution of “ Employed “ vs “ Self Employed “

Just because a problem is very complex, must NOT produce an  “ACTION PARALYSIS “

I hope that , in her Budget Speech , day after tomorrow, Smt Sithaaramanji , make an announcement in this direction – at least , a “ Declaration of Intention “

I urge her to fix a target date ( 02 Oct 2023 – Gandhiji’s birthday ), to come out with a DRAFT PROPOSAL for introduction of LIVING WAGE for India’s poor

She would NOT be able to announce such a FAR REACHING reform in her Feb 2024 budget speech, since with forthcoming General Elections ( by March 2024 ? ), it would be a “ Lame Duck “ budget

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh 

hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 30 Jan 2023 ( Bapu’s Nirvana Diwas )

Exporting Apps / Stacks ?

 

 

Better late than Never

 

Context :

Seven countries to sign up for India Stack's digital public goods    /  ET   /  25  Jan  2023

Extract :

As many as seven countries will sign up to use India Stack's digital public goods, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, union minister of state for electronics and information technology, told us.

These agreements will be signed at the World Government Summit that will be held from February 13 to 15 in Dubai where more than 140 countries are expected to participate.

Sources said these countries are mainly interested in DigiLocker, a secure cloud-based platform for storing, sharing and verifying documents. About 14.4 crore Indians have used the platform so far.

Other platforms on offer are foundational identity programmes like ,

Ø  the Modular Open Source Identity Platform ( MOSIP ),

Ø  Instant real time payments system Unified Payments Interface ( UPI ),

Ø  Covid vaccination platform CoWIN ,  and

Ø  Health Stack.

 

Some countries have also expressed interest in,

Ø  Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing ,  and

Ø  National Digital Education Architecture. 

A source told us, "Singapore, France and Dubai have already announced plans to use UPI while other countries are in talks to do so. We have offered UPI to all central banks around the world."

India’s digital initiatives and the country’s progress on building digital public goods have been extraordinary, Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said during his keynote address at the Microsoft Future Ready Leadership Summit in Mumbai on January 3.

“One of the things that is amazing to see is India’s lead when it comes to digital public goods… There's India and then there is daylight, when it comes to the enlightened way,” he added.

 

My  Take :

 

I had envisaged this in my following e-mail :

Ø  VotesApp ……………………………[ 18 Dec 2012 ]

 

Extract :

 

Here is a suggestion to IIT-Bombay , to develop a voting app , to be called  VotesApp . Highlights of VotesApp : ……………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

        What next  ?  Election Commission “ licensing “ this App to other countries ?

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  28  Jan  2023

Gas Chamber

 

 

Today is 27 Jan 2023 , and it is 7:30 in the morning

 

I look out of my 9th floor window to see smog enveloping Vile Parle / Andheri

 

Newspapers tell me that , air-pollution wise, Mumbai has become worse than Delhi. I realize that I am living inside a GAS CHAMBER

 

I am 89 - and do not have many years left to worry about the fact that this Gas Chamber is accelerating my end

 

But I do worry about my grown-up children ( who cannot leave their businesses in Mumbai ), and about my grand-children who are self-employed here

 

At 89, beyond worrying, there is not much else that I can do , except request the much younger citizen of this great city ( the financial capital of India ), to get together and prepare / submit a " CITIZEN's CHARTER of DEMAND " to the political parties , telling them in clear terms :

 

 

" Dear Neta,

 

Enclosed find a list of very sharply worded / specific / time-bound , ACTIONS that we ask you to commit to .

 

In the forthcoming General Elections ( Feb 2024 ), we will vote only for that party which includes these ACTIONS in its Election Manifesto "

 

 

Dear Fellow Mumbaigars,

 

 

You have always taken a lead and set an example to the rest of the country.

 

Please rise to protect the health of your children / grand-children .

 

Prepare that CHARTER of DEMAND and demand accountability from our political leaders .

 

For a change, let us lead them !

 

As to specific ACTIONS to include in that CHARTER, please look up :

 

Climate Conundrum ?.................. [ 10 Oct 2018 ]

 

 

 

With Regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  27  Jan  2023

ChatGPT : circa 2016

 

 

Context :

If ChatGPT were your Finance Minister for Budget 2023, would you get tax cuts?    

( Financial Express  /  25  Jan  2023 )

Extract :

….we asked ChatGPT to don the hat of India’s finance minister and tell us whether it would cut taxes to reduce the burden on the salaried class.

In response to the question, “If you were the Finance Minister, would you cut income tax rates in the Budget?,”

ChatGPT said that :

Ø  since it is a language model, it does not have personal preferences or opinions, so it can not be a finance minister. “However, whether or not to cut income tax rates is a complex decision that would depend on a variety of factors,” it said, adding that cutting income tax rates could help to stimulate economic growth by putting more money in the hands of consumers and businesses, which could lead to increased spending and investment.

It further went on to say that:

Ø  ..on the other hand, cutting income tax rates could also lead to a reduction in government revenue, which could negatively impact public services and programs. Additionally, cutting income tax rates could also exacerbate income inequality, as those with higher incomes would benefit more than those with lower incomes.

 

Ø  “If I were a Finance Minister, I would analyze the current economic conditions, the government’s revenue and expenditure projections, and the overall fiscal position of the country before making a decision on whether or not to cut income tax rates. It would also be important to consider the impact of such a decision on different groups of people, and to consider other policy options that could be used to stimulate economic growth and improve the standard of living for citizens,”  ChatGPT said.

When asked about how it would reduce the tax burden on the salaried class, ChatGPT said,

Ø  If I were to hypothetically suggest ways to lower the income tax burden on the salaried class, some options that could be considered include:

• Increasing the standard deduction and personal exemptions to reduce the amount of taxable income for salaried individuals
• Introducing tax slabs with lower tax rates for lower and middle-income earners
• Providing tax credits for certain expenses such as education or housing
• Increasing the exemptions and deductions available for retirement savings
• Simplifying the tax code to reduce compliance costs and make it easier for salaried individuals to file their taxes.”

 

Now let us go back 7 years , to ChatGPT – circa 2016 . Here it is :

 

Ø  A Laughing Matter ?................................. [ 19 Feb 2016 ]

 

Extract :

Newspapers report that the Government have received budget suggestions from some 7,000  persons and that , this time around , Prime Minister himself is closely involved in the budget making exercise

 

Now, with all this obsession / seriousness / paranoia , surely this secrecy surrounding the budget document , cannot be a laughing matter  !

 

Unless you ask ,

 

* some foreign software geeks ( eg: Sundar Pichai / Satya Nadela / Vivek Ranadive / Ray Kurzweil etc )

 

* some Indian BIG  DATA  ANALYTICS geeks ( Mukund / Krishnan / Sanjay / Srikant / Raj / Anurag etc )

 

Because , if you do , they will laugh and tell you :

 

"  Just give us the actual budget documents of the past 60 years ( including the accompanying budget speeches ) and we will process these documents using Big Data Analytics software and predict what will be the provisions in the forthcoming budget ( with a probability of 99.7 % - ie ; plus or minus THREE standard deviation )

  

And then, we will process those past budget speeches with a PARAPHRASING software ( ala Kurzweilai.net ) and give you an advance print-out of Shri Arun Jaitleyji's speech on 29th Feb  "

 

 

But of course , Shri Jaitleyji could cheat the PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS , by

announcing following unpredictable  :

 

*   Total Abolition of Personal Income Tax ( or at least , reducing incremental tax rates in each higher slab )

 

*   Decreasing Incremental Corporate Tax Rates , linked with each higher slab of " Permanent Employee  Number "

 

    

*   Perpetual Amnesty Scheme for all CASH deposits made in Jan Dhan Accounts , if invested in tax-free Infra  SPVs

 

    

*   Transfer of 1.8% of GST (from 18%) into buyers' PPF a/c , to ensure all citizens get PPF a/c for tax-free savings

      

     This amount to be used for paying premium for COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE to cover all illnesses

 

*   Introduction of plastic Currency Notes of Rs 500/1000, embedded with micro RFID sensors ( stop Black Money )

 

   Surest way to ensure that almost all payments are made thru official channels !

 

*   Introduction of BTT ( Bank Transaction Tax ) @ 2% to yield Rs 15 lakh*crore of revenue ( against revenue

 

    Loss of  Rs 2.5 lakh*crores caused by abolishing Personal Income Tax )

 

  

Now such announcements , besides being " Unpredictable " , would meet Shri Narendra Modiji's following

 

announcement at Make in India week on 13th Feb  :

 

 

"  There is no time for incremental changes . We want a quantum jump  "

Dear Shri Jaitleyji  :

 

How about an " Incremental Quantum Jump " by

 

*   Announcing these unpredictable on 29 Feb 2016

 

*   Spreading out actual implementation over the next 5 years

 

 

That could be the surest way to win 300 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections !

 

 

Dear Smt Sitharamanji ,

 

7 years ago , Economic conditions were , perhaps not conducive enough for Shri Jaitley :

 

Ø  To announce the Unpredictable

 

Ø  To make that quantum jump

 

Things are much better now.

I urge you to announce the “ Unpredictable “ in your forthcoming Budget speech

on 01 Feb 2023 , in order to :

Ø  Unleash the Animal spirit of Indian Start-ups

 

Ø  Make 21^st Century, the INDIAN CENTURY

 

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 26 Jan 2023 / Republic Day

 

 

Unleashing Animal Spirits ? Get Out of The Way

 

Context :

Ø  ET CEO Roundtable: ‘To deliver on promise, unleash private sector’s animal spirits’

 

Extract :

India needs to unleash the ‘animal spirits’ of the private sector while remaining fiscally prudent to grow at far higher rates than at present, leveraging the unique demographic dividend it enjoys, top industry executives and government officials said.

India is ‘reaching an inflection point" on investment and needs to really tap into the sunrise sectors was the key message at the panel discussion titled ‘India’s decade: Can the country deliver on its promise?”

My  Suggestion :

 

 

Ø  A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER ? aka " Start Up Act - 2015 "…………[ 12  Sept  2015  ]

 

Extract :

You may also call it , " Start Up Act - 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

 

 

      

 

 

Dear Smt Sitharamanji,

 

I have been advocating this for the past 7 years – and will continue to do so

Our young work force ( persons between 15 to 29 years of age ), will soon reach

380 Million , making India a “ Young Nation “

There is no way, either the Governments ( Central + States ) or the Private Sector

 can provide jobs to these millions

Only way is to ENABLE them to become SELF EMPLOYED

Only way is for you to announce the  START UP ACT , in your Budget Speech on

01 Feb

 

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  25  Jan  2023