The Facebook Generation

When I booked my phone ( landline ) with Telephone Department in 1959 , delivery was 7 years

Ditto with FIAT car

After making full payment in advance

(  Premier Automobile made more money from interest on advances , than by selling cars !  )

Now my granddaughter walks into a corner store and gets her new smart phone in 7 minutes  !

(  She does not even remember my landline number , anymore  !  )

And , today , you can have a brand new car delivered at your residence in ONE day , after making online payment on Company's web site !

( That is because , car dealer needs one day , for RTO registration )

How did this revolution ( or , evolution ? ) happen  ?

One word answer  :

COMPETITION

Two word answer  :

DESTROY  MONOPOLY

Three word answer  :

SUPPLY EXCEEDS DEMAND

But , even today , what happens when you want ,

>  Ration Card

>  Passport / Visa

>  Driving License

>  Building Construction Permit

>  Factory License

>  Shop and Establishment License

>  Water / Electricity connections

>  Layoff of surplus workers when demand goes down

>  Environment Clearance for industries

>  Auctioning of Airwaves ( Spectrum )

>  Starting new banks

>  Constructing new roads / bridges / airports

>  Enacting new laws

>  Changing Business Transaction Rules ( ala Delhi JanLokpal Bill )...etc

Why do delivery of these services still take weeks / months / years  ?

One word answer  :

MONOPOLY

When it comes to these services , municipalities / state governments / central government , have  no competition  !

India's Facebook Generation of 285 million ( between the age of 15 - 29 ) is saying :

Like you old timers , we are not prepared to wait for these services endlessly

We want things done fast , today , NOW  !

Even if that requires introduction of Competition to existing establishments ( municipalities / governments )

And , if our constitution do not permit creation of " Parallel / Competing " governments , then we will change those governments  !

Or,

We will come up with some " Out of Box " solutions for " Delivery by Alternate Means "  !

We couldn't care less for your rules / regulations / laws

We will change everything that obstructs our right to a fast service

Our Neta is Bill Gates , who re-wrote the rules of service - delivery in the 21st Century, in his seminal book ,

"  Business @ The Speed of Thoughts "

Read it or Parish !

Choice is yours  !

*  hemen  parekh  (  10  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )

A Ticking Time-Bomb ?

Consider the following  :

*  India's population is 1220 million

*  Annual net increase is 15 + million

*  285 million are in the age group of 15-29

*  When GDP was growing at 8 %, we added 5 million jobs / year

*  Now that GDP is down to 4.9 % , we are adding 1 million jobs / year

*  Jobs in India can grow at 15 million / year if GDP grows at 12 % / year  !

*  41 million unemployed are registered with 900+ Employment Exchanges

*  Employment Exchanges find jobs for a mere 3 lakh / year  !

*  Annually , 14 million ( 15 - 1 ) get added to the ranks of jobless !

*  It takes Rs 1 million by way of Capital Investment , to create ONE job

*  National economies around the world are slowing down or shrinking

*  Unemployment among youth has become universal problem

*  All around the World , governments are cutting back on Welfare expenses

*  Root cause of ALL protests / riots / demos everywhere , is JOBLESSNESS

*  Don't be fooled by experts who describe India's Youth as Demographic

    Dividend !

*  Despite being a " Low Cost Economy " ( meaning wages / salaries at 10%

    of those in developed countries ) , jobs are NOT flowing to India . Why ?

    Our youth lack the necessary " Skills " - making them unemployable

*   UPA-2 Government is trying to fool us by saying NSDC ( National Skills

     Development Corporation ) will train 500 million youth in next 5 years !

*   On the other hand , there is NO incentive to Private Sector Industries , to

     come forward to invest in training these 500 million - something that

     would require an investment of Rs 250 Million Million

*   Private Sector has ,  required Money / Expertise / Organizational setup

     to impart such training

*   But that money is in the form of BLACK MONEY  !

*   So , what is the ANSWER  ?

*   Introduce a AMNESTY SCHEME , under which no questions will be asked

     as to the source of funds ( ie Black Money ) , if these are invested by

     the Private Sector in training of India's Youth , in prescribed Skills

*   Private Sector should be allowed to charge a reasonable fee from each

     trainee , 50 % of which should be subsidized by State Governments

*   Income earned  ( from Fees ) shall be tax-free for 10 years

If UPA -2 gets wiped out in 2014 , it won't be because of corruption  !

It will be because of JOBLESSNESS amongst the FIRST-TIME voters  !

And , if NDA comes to power but fails to defuse the ticking TIME BOMB of

UNEMPLOYMENT , it will meet with the same fate in 2019 !

Are our NETAS willing to think " Out of Box "  ?

It is still not too late  !

*   hemen  parekh  ( 09  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai )

Well Said , Yogendra !

Last evening , on ABP News , Yogendra Yadav said :

*  In the past , we ( AAP ) have made a few mistakes

*  In coming months / years , we may make some more mistakes

*  We are not ashamed to admit our mistakes

*  We are learning from our own mistakes - and from mistakes of others

*  We are not a monolithic party where everyone must speak with one voice

*  We come from diverse , social / political / economic background

*  We continue to differ in our views from one another

*  We believe such different views are essential to party democracy

*  We cannot influence one another without airing our differing views

*  We don't have answers to all the problems of Delhi- let alone of Country  !

*  We are in the process of framing our polices on National matters

*  Even when released , these policies will not be rigid but open to changes

*  It is unfortunate that in India , people have stopped asking questions

*  We need to create a strong culture of asking uncomfortable questions

*  There is nothing inconsistent between " Protesting" and " Governing "

*  Drama is an essential part of politics - Remember Gandhiji's fasts ?

*  Unjust laws must be politely broken -  ala , Salt Satyagraha of Dandi

*  Our struggle is not about changing rulers - it is about changing system

*  People vote for a candidate , not knowing whether he will win / lose

*  People vote for a party - whether it will rule or sit in opposition

*  People don't change their views / attitudes at once. Give them time

*  You cannot change a system by criticizing from outside

*  To influence others , you must become an " Insider "

*  Anna continues to inspire us , even when he criticizes us

*  People are the ultimate judge of whether we are right or wrong

*  Time has come to work for the  " Common Good "

*  Our critics should also ask BJP, how many promises they fulfilled

Yogendra said many more things ,

Many wise things ,

Very politely ,

Convincingly,

Disarmingly ,

Refreshingly,

Congrats !

Yogendra

ABP

*  hemen  parekh  ( 08 Feb 2014 / Mumbai )   

Eternal Truisms ?

Parkinson's  Law ( 50 years ago ) :

"  Work expands to fill the time available for doing it  "


Peter's  Principle  ( 25 years ago  )  :

"  If something can go wrong , rest assured , it WILL go wrong "


My  Belief  (  Feb 2014  ) :

"  Even the most trivial matter can be turned into an emergency ,
  by postponing decision / action , long enough  "


Proof :

#  1

UPA-2 trying to pass 46 bills in Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha in the
next 7 days

#  2


Telengana  ?

Moral  of  the  Story  :

A fast and honest decision is any day better , even if proved to be less than perfect , at some later day

You can always make a " Course Correction " later , based on the lessons learned , but there is no way you can regain the time lost through indefinite postponement

Postponements , by themselves  , don't lead to better decisions !

*  hemen  parekh  (  06  Feb 2014  /  Mumbai  )

Maya - Mamta - Mulayam

Apart from the fact that their names start with the same alphabet , what else is common between them  ?

They , all belong to Arvind Kejriwal's list of Be-Iman ( the Dishonest )

But the list is long

Also includes , Gandhi and Gadkari  !

The list cuts across party-lines , to include Be-Iman leaders from ,

>  Congress

>  BJP

>  National Conference

>  Nationalist Congress Party

>  Trinmool Congress

>  DMK

>  BSP

>  SP................etc

Members of AAP are invited to submit the names of their favorite Be-Imans !

Arvind wants the voters to defeat these Be-Imans in the forthcoming National Elections and vote for AAP candidates in their places

Gadkari has asked Arvind to apologize within 3 days or face a defamation suit

My take :

>  Arvind will not apologize

>  Gadkari will not file a suit

>  None of the others in the list will file defamation / libel suits

Reason  ?

>  If they do , AAP legal team will get to cross-examine these leaders

>  Many a skeletons will come tumbling out of dark closets  ! What horror !

>  With court-cases going on , these " tainted " leaders will get pre-occupied

     with the litigation for years , leaving little time for campaigning

>  They will find it very difficult to face voters in rallies

>  TV Anchors will invite them every evening for questioning- Media Trial !

>  Morning newspapers will carry " Screaming " headlines on court

     observations - " Objection Over-ruled "  !

>  Election officers may even reject their nomination papers  !

>  Unwittingly , they will confirm AAP as , " CHAMPION  OF  THE

    UNDERDOGS  "

Although , there is some undisputable proof against the CRIMINAL leaders , in the form of FIRs / court-cases / convictions / appeals etc , Arvind has very little SOLID PROOF re the corruption of the others named in his list

Then how can he get away with such base-less allegations ? Especially those in the list , who are " Clean / Honest " ?

It is a question of :

" Whenever there is a fire , along with the dry grass , some green grass too burns "

The entire political system has got so corrupt and criminalized that no leader is perceived to be clean / honest  !

People are so  ANGRY  that they want to dump the present lot of leaders and find some honest leaders - no matter , how inexperienced  !

In fact , in the forthcoming elections , a " PAST EXPERIENCE " ( as an MP ) , will be a BIG LIABILITY  !

By itself , that will be a proof that you have been part of a corrupt system !

That is Arvind's TRUMP CARD  !

*   hemen  parekh  (  01  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )

 

Crimes of Commissions - and Omissions

Our politicians are obsessed with  following " CRIMES OF COMMISSIONS  " :

>   1984  Delhi  Genocide

>   2002  Godhra riots

>   2013  Muzzafarnagar riots

>   Sundry terrorist attacks

>   Killings by Naxalites / Maoists

>   Police encounters ( genuine or otherwise )

>   Political murders

>   Crimes committed by celebrities ( Sports / Films / Media  etc  )

Politicians are vying with each other to fix blame on opposition / ruling parties .  TV anchors are facilitating the acrimonious mud-slinging  !

They are demanding apologies from those who were in power when these crimes happened ( or from those whose parties were in power at that time )

They want the culprits / criminals responsible for these crimes , to be tried and punished by the courts expeditiously

They want the riot victims to get justice - of course , no axe to grind  !

Why this sudden hue and cry about what happened long time back  ?

Why this obsession with the past  ?

Why this sharp focus on the " ACTS  OF  COMMISSION "  ?

Why is no one talking about the present  ?

About the " ACTS  OF  OMISSIONS "  ?

Who is responsible for following deaths , EVERY YEAR , year - after - year  ? 

>   Malaria.............................. 10,98,000

>   Cancer...............................   7,32,000

>   HIV..................................     6,83,200

>   Suicide .............................    4,88,000

>   Road Accidents  .................    3,66,000

>   Snake bites  ........................  7,32,000

>   Malnutrition of Children.......... 16,00,000

What about millions of Indians dying  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 ,

>   " ACTS  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  ?

*   hemen  parekh  (  30  Jan 2014 / Gandhi Nirvan Day  ) 

Congratulations !

Arvind Kejriwal and Team

Congratulations ,  on completing one month in office

As expected :

> You did not have answers to every question

> You did not have solution to every problem

> You made honest mistakes , branded " Bad Decisions " by opponents

> Occasionally , made a laughing stock of yourself  !

> Continued to be targeted by BJP and Congress

> Ridiculed by pseudo-experts and TV anchors

> Rattled by Centre and the Judiciary

> Revolted against by one of your own MLA

> Shamed by two of your own Ministers

> At times , lost your cool and used abusive language

> Tried to pass-off your arrogance as Holier-than-thou attitude

But, You

> Stood your ground

> Remained un-nerved

> Walked alone

> Laughed at the destiny

> Never compromised on principles

> Learned from your mistakes

> Spurned power

 That is why , despite all of your antics and shortcomings , C-VOTER Survey ( last evening IndiaTV episode ) found :

Most of the Delhi-ites believe ,

> Corruption in Delhi has drastically come down in past 30 days

> You have , by and large , delivered on your promises

> If there is a re-poll , they will vote for you and give you 43 seats

This is an achievement that no past government , either in the States or at the Center , has managed , even after a full 5 year term  !

And the 100 lakh ( 10 Million ) Indians who became AAP members within the past 10 days , are telling you ,

> Fight Lok Sabha elections

> Defeat the " Devils of Corruptions "

No wonder , vested interests - with their money power and Goonda power - will try their worst to keep you out

760 million voters will teach them a lesson !

Bravo  !

*  hemen  parekh  ( 28  Jan  2014  /  Mumbai  )