Saving 1.2 million Kids

Monday / 27 June :

Shri Amitabh Kant , CEO -NITI Aayog , holds a consultation meeting with experts , Ministries and State departments on ,

" National Nutrition Policy  / India's Malnutrition : A Call for Action "

Tuesday / 28 June :

UNICEF releases a report which says, in India , 1.2 million kids ( under age 5 ) died in 2015 , due to " preventable " causes

Even though the eventual manifestation could well be pneumonia / diarrhea / sepsis etc , the root cause is starvation ( - although , to remain politically correct , UNICEF uses the term " malnutrition " ! )

That is 3288 kids daily - 137 kids per hour !

This need not come as a shock , despite the fact that the Integrated Child Development Scheme - ICDS - was launched in India , as far back as 1975

In 2013 , a CAG report had criticized the Women and Child Development Ministry ( which is piloting the ICDS ), for diverting ICDS funds !

CAG further pointed out that the State Governments had diverted Rs 57.82 crore from ICDS to other activities !

Finding faults will not save these kids !

There are 74 millions of them in the age group of 3-6

Of these , 54 million go to schools , where , I presume they get some nutrition thru Mid-Day meals , even with all the associated deficiencies and corruption scandals !

That leaves 20 million who do not go to school , hopelessly malnourished

How can we ensure that they get some nutritious food everyday ?

If there is a will , there is a way - the following way :

#  FOOD

    India's own " Energy Bar "  ( a Chikki ) , made of a protein-rich mixture of Peanuts + Jagerry ( 50 gms )

    Call it NEUTRA-KID ( - may be our Food Research Institute can come up with a better product )

#  PACKING

    Eco friendly paper wrapper and paper boxes

#  MANUFACTURERS

    FSSAI approved units located in Food Parks planned by Smt Harsimrat Kaur , Minister for Food

    1000 Food Processing Units , each producing 20,000 NEUTRA-KID bars per day and delivering to 100 nearby

    post offices ( for 20 million kids )

#  DELIVERY POINTS

    1.45 lakh post offices of India Post . May be they can pick-up / collect their daily consignments from Units

#  TECHNOLOGY

     *  Each NEUTRA-KID bar wrapper will have a bar-code ( till such time inserting RFID sensors become a reality )

     *  Bar code will carry all normal instructions + Delivery Destination ( Post Office )

     *  Each NEUTRA-KID bar will pass thru a Bar Code Reader on the Assembly Line , before dispatch

     *  Info collected thru this reader will get transmitted to the Central Server of concerned Ministries

     *  After taking his / her weight and entering in a online Database , hosted on the Central Server of

         the concerned Ministries, each targeted child will get registered at the nearest Post Office

     *  Each registered child will be issued a blue tooth enabled Smart phone, duly pre-installed with a Mobile App

        called " BANMALI " ( Banish Malnutrition in India ) , in which Child's data / Aadhar No will be entered

     *  Every day , the concerned child ( and parent ) will visit the post office to collect the NEUTRA-KID bar

     *  Before handing over bar, child will be weighed on a weighing machine and the weight entered in BANMALI

         The weight record graph will appear on the screen of the PC located at the Post Office ( Blue Tooth )

     *  This record will also get transmitted ( of course , automatically ) to the COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE where

         the concerned child is " registered " ( this will be compulsory in order to be eligible for this Scheme )

     *  Every time , a child is taken for his/her monthly HEALTH CHECK UP ( also compulsory in order to receive

        next month's NEUTRA-KID bars ) , concerned doctor will examine the child and enter his findings in BANMALI

        Doctor will be required to enter medicines prescribed as also , increase / decrease in the QUOTA of NEUTRA-

        KID bars recommended for the next month

       All of these data will get relayed to the Central Servers of the concerned Ministries

As to the roles to be played by various agencies involved , I conceptualize as follows :

WOMEN  and  CHILD  DEVELOPMENT  MINISTRY :

#  Preparation of overall Policy and Procedures

#  Laying down of targets for each agency

#  Preparing and Monitoring Project Implementation

#  Making available funds to various agencies ( Rs 5 per bar = Rs 10 cr per day for 20 million kids )

#  Creating / hosting IT Infrastructure and disbursement of hardware / software / weighing scales / phones etc

#  Publishing on its web site , " Targets Vs Actual Achievement " graphs , every quarter

FOOD  MINISTRY

#  Laying down Nutrition Specifications for NEUTRA-KID bars

#  Selecting / approving Food Processing Units

#  Place purchase orders using Auction process / making payments thru UPI ( Universal Payment Interface )

#  Ensuring timely delivery to 1.45 lakh post offices

#  Ensuring Quality through SGS

POST OFFICES

#  After thorough scrutiny / verification , to register under-nourished kids . Central Database will ensure that

    there is no duplication ( same child registering at more than one post office )

#  Receive / Store / Distribute the NEUTRA-KID bars to registered kids , as per direction of doctor at Community

    Health Centre

#  Enter all data in BANMALI mobile app of each child and sync it with post office server , connected to Central

    Servers

#  At the end of the day , enter DAILY TRANSACTION DATA ( Receipts / Disbursement / Balance ) in server

COMMUNITY  HEALTH  CENTERS

#  Resident doctor to examine each registered ( and eligible ) child , once a month and prescribe ( into BANMALI )

    medicines / next month's bar-quota

    Medicines to be handed out ( Free ) , on the spot ( no visit to chemist )

#  All these data to be entered into BANMALI ( and then synced with server of Health Centre )

    In turn , all these data will get transmitted to Central Servers of concerned Ministries

If there is a way to physically move the COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE CENTRES into the premises of nearby Post Office , that would save a lot of hassle to the parents / kids

You will notice that my proposal tightly integrates ALL the concerned Agencies through internet enabled hardware and a SINGLE / COMMON software database , which not only prevents any " Benefit Leakages " but broadcasts actual " Achievements " ( Weight gain / Reduced Mortality ) , instantaneously / automatically / transparently

I hope the concerned Ministers and Secretaries and Shri Amitabh Kant , will debate my proposal

It is quite likely that they may improve upon it

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30  June  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

     

Start Ups Need Wooing ?

Economic Times ( 22 June 2016 ) , carries a report , which says :

#  In last 5 months , since launch of Start Up India initiative , only 200 applications have been received

#  Of these , only 30 got " short-listed "

#  Of these 30 , only  ONE  got approved  !

Not surprising if you consider the " ELIGIBILITY  CRITERIA " laid down for approval ( see my blog below ) !

The news report goes on to list a few " measures " that DIPP is planning to take to encourage many more Start Ups to come forward and apply

These are unlikely to make much of an impact !

It is not yet too late to consider my following blog / suggestion :

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Wednesday, 20 January 2016

 

START UP RE-DEFINED

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No doubt , you have read the " DEFINITION of a START UP " in the " Start Up Action Plan Document "

I have tried to envisage below, how that might look on that Mobile App for Registration :

*   Is yours a Private Ltd Co / LLP / Partnership  ?...........................................  Yes  /  No

*   Is your Company more than 5 years old ?....................................................Yes  /  No

*   Is your Start Up formed by splitting an existing business ?............................ Yes  /  No

*   In last 5 yrs, has your turnover exceeded Rs 25 Crores ?.............................  Yes  /  No

*   Is your product/service " DIFFERENTIATED "  ?............................................ Yes  /  No

*   Is your product / service " COMMERCIAL "  ?............................................... Yes  /  No

*  Is your product / service " INNOVATIVE "  ?................................................  Yes  /  No

*  Is your product / service driven by ,

    " TECHNOLOGY  / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY "  ? ............................................Yes /  No

*  Is your product/service ,

   " NEW / SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED "  version "  ?.................... ...................... Yes / No

  

*  Does your product/service add " VALUE " to customers  ?................................ Yes / No

*  Does your product/service add " VALUE " to " WORKFLOW " ?.........................   Yes / No

*  Have you got certification  from Inter-Ministerial Board ?................................  Yes /  No

*  Have you got recommendation from Incubator in Post Grad Indian College ?....... Yes / No

MY  TAKE :

#  Each year 12 million persons join India's work force

#  Of these , 3.5 million are Graduates

#  Rest ( 8.5 million ) are 10th / 12th Standard pass or less

#  No more than 1,000  persons will fulfill above mentioned " ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA " for Start Up

#  There will be endless debates on the correct meaning of words in CAPITAL letters above !

WHY  SUCH  STRINGENT  " ELIGIBILITY  CRITERIA "  ?

#  At Rs 2.5 cr loan per Start Up, Govt Fund of Rs 2500 Cr can help only 1,000 Start Ups !

#  Any relaxation in " Eligibility Criteria " , may result in MILLIONs of persons queue-up !

WHAT  IS  THE  IMPLICATION  ?

#  Funds are just insufficient to help 12 million persons to become " Self Employed "

MY  SUGGESTION :

In India , we are talking of getting " Unemployed " to launch " Start Ups "

Anywhere between 100 million to 400 million " Unemployed " for whom neither Public Sector nor Private Sector , is in any position to create jobs

We want them to become " Self Employed " - what Shri Narendra Modi described in USA , as our " PERSONAL  SECTOR "

They are unlikely to launch technology driven , Web-based businesses , even if their businesses require them to have a Smart phone , on which , their customers can reach them !

They aspire to become ( list can run into 200 trades ! ) :

*  Street-side Vendors ( Vegetables / Shoes / Purses / Fruits / Trinkets )

*  Craftsmen ( Plumber / Electrician / Carpenter / Repairer  )

*  Dhobi / Barber / Pan Beedi shop-owner / Tailor / Mochi

*  Doodh-wala / Ruddi Paper-wala / Gajra-wala / Delivery Boy

*  Cook / Maid / Courier / Tuition Teacher / Beautician / Taxi Driver

*  Home-cooked Tiffin Service /  Car wash  /  Gardening ......

How can we help millions of  JOBLESS  to set up such  MICRO - BUSINESSES  ?

By Government ( Central / State / Municipal ) getting out of their way !

HOW  ?

*  No licenses / permits / approvals / conditions / criteria

*  Simple online registration on proposed Web site of DIPP for Start Ups

*  No personal Income tax for Individuals

*  No Corporate Income tax for Start Ups for 10 years ( no chance of profit in first 3 years )

*  Amnesty Scheme for enabling Rs 10 million*crores of BLACK MONEY to flow into such

   Self Employment

It is still not too late for our  Policy Makers will think " Out of Box " and implement :

www.hemenparekh.in > Blogs > A New Economic Order - Start Up Act - 2015

Anything less just won't make much of a difference !

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26  June  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

In defense of FDI in Defense

Yesterday , Government announced 100 % FDI in manufacture of defense equipment

Better late than never  !

But some politicians / economists / industrialists are upset

They thinks ,this is some kind of a " Sell Out " to the western imperialists / capitalists  !

On the other hand , the government says 100 % FDI  will create more jobs in India

Before taking sides , let us look at the current scenario in defense equipment :

#  India's Military expenditure in 2015............... $ 51.3 Billion ( 2.3% of GDP )

#  India was No 1 importer of major weapons ( world-wide ) in 2010-14 period

#  India accounts for 14 % of global arms import

#  India imports nearly 60 % of its defense equipment

#  Cost of ex-import defense products is 3 to 5 times the indigenous  equipment

#  In next 7/8 years, India will buy defense equipment worth $ 130 Billion

#  With current FDI level of 49 % , only Rs 6 crore have come in during past 2 years !

Now , when we import a defense equipment for an import value of Rs 100 / - , what is its break up ?

My guess is :

*  Material cost ( incl Bought out Components )..... .... Rs      45

*  Labour cost  ( salaries + wages )....................... ....Rs     15

*  Finance cost ( interest on fixed + working capital )....Rs     10

*  Overheads ( Sale / Mgmt / Depreciation   etc )......... Rs     20

*  Distribution / Commissions  / Freight / local taxes  ....Rs     10

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TOTAL...................................................................... Rs  100

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All of these costs are incurred by Foreign Suppliers in their OWN countries

For India , All of these costs , are foreign exchange out-go , enabling those Foreign Suppliers to keep their ,

*   OWN factories in their OWN countries , humming

*   OWN workers employed

 

*   OWN local suppliers of components / raw materials busy

*   OWN bankers earning bonuses

*   OWN labour leaders demanding higher wages

*   OWN politicians hanging on to power

*   OWN retail shops crowded with customers.... etc

But what will happen when these ( so far ) imported equipments start getting manufactured in India ?

Here is a partial list :

#   Foreign Companies will readily bring their latest technologies without worrying about " giving away " secrets !

#   Whatever they produce locally but fail to " sell " to GOI , they will be forced to export - a big boost  to export

     earnings . With cost arbitrage , they might even make India , their Global Export Hub

#   Indian Armed Forces dependence on critical imported " Spares " will go down and supply reliability will improve

#   Most of the " Costs " mentioned above , will get incurred locally - boosting Indian economy,  not foreign !

#   Government will get same products much cheaper , enabling our Defense Budget to buy more

#   Thousands of local Component manufacturers will spring up in MSME sector of our economy

#   Thousands of Indians will get jobs

#   Our negative trade balance will reduce

#   Given our current DPP ( Defense Procurement Policy ), cheaper , locally manufactured defense equipment will

     stand a better chance of competing with the imported equipment . This will motivate many more of the current

     Foreign Suppliers to set up manufacturing bases in India , in order to remain price-competitive

#   There will be positive fall out effects on DRDO / ISRO / Govt Research Laboratories

#    Last - but not the least - this will make Indian Defense equipment manufacturers " Efficient / Competitive " !

But replacement of the term , " State-of-the-art " technology with " Modern " technology , may not suffice  !

No doubt Commerce Minister , Madam Nirmala Sitharaman is aware of this since she was quoted ( Business Line / 21 June ) to say :

"  The thought process behind this was that we are spending too much time in defining things and understanding what exactly is state-of-the-art.

So, instead of keeping it verbose and making too many things binding us down, by using this one word  'Modern', we hope to bring in technology that we require "

Let detractors cry hoarse

There is no need to defend 100 % FDI in Defense !

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22  June   2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs 

50 MILLION NEW JOBS in 5 MONTHS ?

It is reported that the Union Cabinet will soon approve a notification which will allow establishments covered by the Shops and Establishment Act to remain open round the clock ( 24 hours )

Currently , if they remain open for 10 / 12 hours , they end up inviting visits by Inspectors of Establishment Department and the Labour Department , to collect their weekly " haftas "

With official sanction of 24 hours , that would go !

And 24 working hours will enable these shopkeepers to compete with those Foreign Companies bringing in 100 % FDI in retail but working for 8 hours / day !

And as soon as one Grocery store starts working longer hours ( even 12 hours ) , most of the neighborhood stores will follow suit  !

For our 50 million MSMEs to, not only take on these Foreign Giants but to defeat them in competition , is only possible when we stop playing the RETAIL GAME by the Rules of those Foreign Countries , and make them clue-less with our own NEW and OUT-OF-BOX rules !

Possibly half of these may be covered by Factory Act and the remaining half by the Shop and Establishment Act

Between them , they employ 90 % of India's work force of around 500 million

Average of approx 9 persons per MSME

Now , even if only 5 million ( out of 25 million shops ) just add ONE more employee to work longer hours , that would get jobs to 5 million youth !

That is quite a lot !  And without any additional Capital Investment !

Compare this advantage with Capital required to create ONE new job in Start Ups

As per Government , Rs 10,000 cr of " Fund of Funds for Start Ups " , will catalyze an Equity Investment of Rs 60,000 cr , which , in turn will enable raising of Debt of Rs 120,000 cr - totaling Rs 180,000 cr of capital

As per Government , that will generate 18,00,000 jobs ( in 5 years )

That is requirement of Rs 10 LAKH for each new job created in a Start Up !

While welcoming this initiative , I urge the Union Government to take following steps simultaneously , in order to generate , not just 5 million but  50 MILLION  new jobs in the MSME sector ( and without additional funds ! ) :

#   Abolish all visits by Inspectors ( Labour + Shop & Establishment Departments )

#   Allow MSMEs to engage Apprentices under the recently revised Skills Development Regulations / Apprentice Act

#   For them , remove the upper limit ( of Apprentices ) which is maximum of 10 % of employee strength

#   Let them engage Apprentices up to 100 % of their existing employees

#   Let them keep these trainees for 3 years under " Retail Establishment Trainee Scheme "

#   Let the stipend be 100 % ( instead of currently prescribed 60-70-80 % ) of semi Skilled Minimum wages

     ( Minimum Semi Skilled Wages are approx Rs 6,000 per month - so Shopkeeper need to pay Rs 6000 pm )

#   Concerned State Governments to subsidize 50 % of this stipend (so, Shopkeeper's burden to be  Rs 3,000 pm )

     [  Stipend Subsidy does not violate WTO  !  ]

#  To ensure fool-proof  compliance with the number of Trainees engaged and Stipends paid , this Scheme

    ( 24 hr open + 100 % trainees + 100 % Stipend + 50 % Subsidy + 3 year training program + No inspectors ),

     will apply ONLY to those Shops which implement , mobile app MAD outlined in my following blog :

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01 June 2016

From BAD to MAD

BAD   =   Biometric Attendance Device

MAD   =   Mobile Attendance Device

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Here is my idea of a technology that we need to create for a better India :

Today Employee Attendance Systems in India work at three levels as follows :

#   Entirely Manual

     Attendance Register and Wage / Salary payment in cash or by Cheque

#   Partly Automated

     Punch cards or Bio-metric recording of attendance but manual calculation

     of wages / salaries and payment by cash or cheque

#   Fully Automated

     Bio-metric Attendance Devices ( BAD ) , integrated with a home-grown or

     bought-out , Salary Payment Software , running on a local Server.

     Salary payments could be by cheques or thru Electronic Transfer to

     concerned employee's bank account

Once in a while , if a company has several establishments within a city , those local servers are connected to a Central Server , doing all processing

In a rare case ( although , I am not aware of any ) , it may be that all the local servers of all the establishments of a company , all over the country , are networked with its central computer in its head-quarter

Now imagine this :

#  All smart phones to evolve as Bio-metric Attendance Devices , with built-in

    Bio-metric Recorders , GPS , a mobile attendance App ( called MAD ? )

#  App to have 2 buttons / icons (  Green = IN  /  Red = OUT  )

#  Employee to touch IN upon reaching his work-station and touch OUT ,

    while leaving work place , at the end of work-shift . That's all  !

#  Being GPS enabled , buttons will get activated ONLY when the employee

    has reached the work place ( not while he is on his way ! )

#  All 50 million establishments in India ( factories / offices / shops / clinics

    NGOs / Govt Depts ) to ensure that the MAD app is installed on the smart

    phone of each employee , when he joins

   

#  All of these smart phones to be connected ( IoT ? ) , with the Servers of ,

    *  Labour Ministries ( Central and States )

    *  HRD Ministry ( Central )

    *  Skills Development Ministry / NSDC

    *  Finance Ministries ( Central + States )

    *  NITI Aayog

    *  Income Tax Department

    *  Any other server that you may want to

#   MAD app is integrated with a STANDARD / COMMON , software system

     for computing daily wages / monthly salaries of ALL the persons working

     in those 50 million establishments ( whether they are casual /

     contractual  / trainee / apprentice / probationer / permanent / retained )

#   As each person joins in any of these establishments , data re  that

     person must be inputted by the Employer into the App , such as :

   

     *  Name / Contact Details / DOB / Aadhar Card No / Employee Number

         ( Each unique Employee Number will be auto-generated by the

         common Salary Payment Software , running on IT Dept Server )

     *   Employee's Jandhan Yojana Bank Account Number for salary EC

     *   Employer's Jandhan bank account / Unique Employer Number

     *   Payment Mode ( Hourly / Daily / Monthly Rated ; wages / salaries )

     *   Leave provisions / PF rate / TDS rate / Allowances / Reimbursements

     *   Any other relevant data ( either about employee of for employer )

WHAT  ARE  THE  ADVANTAGES  ?

#   For employees , no need to file a separate annual Income Tax Return

#   Direct deposit of PF / TDS amounts into bank accounts of Govt Depts

#   Direct Benefit Transfer ( DBT ) to every Employer for Stipend Subsidy ,

     based on number of total trainees / apprentices employed

#   Total number of employees in India ( category / region / industry )

#   Employment Density ( Industry wise / Region wise / Skill wise etc )

#   Net Employment Growth Rate ( weekly - monthly / Industry-wise )

#   Co-relation with no of persons graduating at various levels

#   Data about those Unemployed ( " Graduating " less " Employed " )

#   Overtime Statistics ( Use / Abuse )

#   Work-hour Analysis ( Ave hours / week - month )

#   Wage / Salary Rates ( Rs per hour ) - Industry wise / Region wise

     ( of great interest to Foreign Investors looking to bring down

       manufacturing costs , by outsourcing to India / manufacturing in India )

#   Compliance with labour laws / tax laws / Apprentice Act etc

#   Job Market Forecasts through BIG DATA ANALYTIC ( region / industry )

#   Demographic  Profiles of employees  ( Rural to Urban migration )

#   Per Capita Income Growth for persons using MAD app  ( MOM / YOY )

#   Changing composition between Blue Collar and White Collar employees

Then there could be many other benefits not envisaged now

Here is an opportunity for :

 *  Manufacturers of Smart Phones

     To shrink stationary / bulky / common , bio-metric devices to mobile /

     small / personalized / hand-held devices

    { Remember ?  If you don't make yourself obsolete , someone else will  }

*  Tech Start Ups

     To come up with the Mobile App ( MAD ) / Technology Platform

*  NDA Government

    To implement what Shri Narendra Modiji said on 15 July 2015 :

   "  If China is like a manufacturing factory of the World , India should

    become the human resource capital of the World .

   That should be our target and we should lay emphasis on that . 

   We should have a futuristic vision and prepare plans for the next ten years "

  

   MAD  could well be an important element  of  that  " JAM ( Jandhan + Aadhar + Mobile ) PLAN "  !

  For once , please unshackle our entrepreneurs and enable them to unleash their innovations  !

  WE  ARE  FAST  RUNNING  OUT  OF  TIME  !

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23  June  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs