Garbage is Green Gold { 3G }

DNA ( 06 Sept 2016 ) carries following news report :

" Scientists successfully convert sand into soil "

Report elaborates :

" Chinese scientists have claimed to have converted SAND into FERTILE SOIL, using a new method which they hope will be useful to fight  DESERTIFICATION.

A team of researchers from Chongqing Jiaotong University has developed a paste made of  PLANT CELLULOSE  that, when added to sand, helps it retain WATER , NUTRIENTS and AIR .

A 1.6-hectare sandy plot in  ULAN BUH DESERT , has been transformed into FERTILE  land, yielding RICE, CORN , TOMATOES, WATERMELON and SUNFLOWERS, after being treated with the new method.

" The new method will hopefully help turn DESERT  areas into an ideal habitat for PLANTS ," state run Xinhua quoted Yi as saying.

The plants in the sandy test plot needed about the SAME  AMOUNT of  WATER as those grown in regular soil, but required  LESS FERTILIZER and bore HIGHER YIELDS, according to estimates by experts.

The crops, including Rice, Corn and Potatoes , FLOURISHED  in the newly converted soil.

To verify the method, a large-scale planting experiment in ULAN BUH DESERT began in April this year. There is very little rainfall in the area.

The cost of sand conversion is between 22,500 yuan and 40,500 yuan (USD 3,373 to 6,071) per hectare, Yi said.

The new method is an important breakthrough in combating  DESERTIFICATION  and may prove fundamental in TRANSFORMING  DESERTS into FERTILE, ARABLE land, said Zhong Zhihua, an academic with the CAE. "

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CAN  INDIA  IMPROVE  UPON  THIS  CHINESE  INNOVATION  ?

I think so

Millions of tons of ORGANIC ( Bio-Degradable ) Waste-Products  that India produces , is mostly CELLULOSE  !

Eg :

#   Leftover vegetables / plants / fruits / cereals / pulses / plant leaves / papers / boxes ( City Garbage )

#   130 millions of tons of Paddy Straw / 50 million tons of Cane Trash etc ( Annual Agriculture wastes )

Many Housing Societies ( and even some Municipalities ) , already use this garbage for producing COMPOST MANURE or for generating  METHANE GAS

If this ORGANIC GARBAGE is thoroughly mixed with DESERT SAND and water sprinkled over it , there is high probability that the resultant SOIL will support all kinds of vegetables / fruits etc !

A beginning could be made in the cities of Bhuj ( near Kutchh Desert ) and Jaiselmer ( near Rajasthan Desert )

And water required for initial sprinkling of the ( Garbage+Sand ) mix and for subsequent watering of the vegetable plants , could be pumped from underground tube-wells , using SOLAR WATER PUMPS , since many Solar Power projects are , in any case , coming up in KUTCHH / RAJASTHAN deserts

ADVANTAGES  :

#   Advance of deserts can be stopped and green Forest Cover can be increased to reduce green-house effects

#   In a desert , there are no farmers and no bother of having to " acquire " any farm land . Desert land belongs to the State !

#  State Government , gets an opportunity to resettle " Project Affected Persons " , by allotting to them in these deserts , HUNDRED TIMES the land they lost to project ( but , a minimum of 5 acres ) !

#  Project Affected Persons  , will be happy to get  FREE land / FREE garbage / FREE water , and happily resettle !

#  It will also solve the problem of GARBAGE DISPOSAL and eliminate those ugly GARBAGE DUMPS all over the cities ( - without intervention from High Courts / Supreme Court ! )

#  Cities will never suffer exorbitant price-rise for vegetables due to shortages !

#  Solar power generated in desert-based plants , will find local demand !

#  Industries / Businesses which wish to set up " DESERT FARMS " by using Organic Garbage , may be granted " Industry Status " , allotted FREE land ( One acre for each person employed ) and exempted from Corporate Income Tax for 10 years

#  For unlimited supply of " Plant Cellulose " locally , ponds can be dug in the deserts and filled with fast growing Water Hyacinth plants , which are the  most efficient antennas  in the nature for capturing SOLAR ENERGY  !

A win-win solution for all !

I hope Shri Narendra Modiji ( who likes to experiment with new technologies to solve people's daily problems ), will soon instruct the Scientists of our numerous Agricultural Research Institutions / Councils , to conduct experiments along this line and submit their report by March 2017

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11  Sept  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Housing for All ? Status Report

Business Line ( 10 Sept 2016 ) carries a news report , titled :

"  Housing for All in the slow lane "

Following are its highlights :

#  " Housing for All " mission was launched in June 2015 , to construct 200 Lakh houses by 2022

#   As of date, construction of 9 lakh houses has been approved by the Ministry of Housing

#   Of these , some 72,000 houses are under construction across 7 states

#   So far , only 2,883 houses have been completed ( 1719 in Gujarat / 718 in Chhattisgarh / 446 in Tamil Nadu )

#   Out of 36 States plus UT , 15 have not even sent their proposals to the Ministry !

At this rate , by  2022 , expect following :

#    5 Lakh ....  under construction

#    25,000.... completed

#      5,000 .... allotted

Having raised the EXPECTATIONS of poor people of India , it is still not too late for Shri Narendra Modi  to ask, Niti Aayog to re-frame the " HOUSING  FOR  ALL "  mission along the following lines :

*  QUANTUMJUMP OF 50 MILLION HOUSES    

 

   {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2016/02/cheap-houses.html  }

 

*   A Half  Way  House

 

 {   http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-half-way-house.html  }

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10  Sept  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 

Simultaneous Elections ? What do YOU think ?

Dear Fellow-Citizens :

As per Economic Times ( 08 Sept 2016 ) , the Centre has sought comments from the Public, including MPs and MLAs , on the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and ALL the State Assemblies

Not only it is feasible , it is highly desirable

To know what are its benefits and how easily it can be implemented , read :

ONE  POLL : ONE  TIME  ?

{  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/one-poll-one-time.html  }

Then send this link to the Policy Makers ( Ministers / Secretaries in the Central Government ) ,whose email IDs are given below . Do add your own suggestions !

And do encourage your Friends / Contacts etc to send in their own comments , by sending this link to them and requesting them to request their friends to do likewise !

It is time for YOU to speak up - and demand that YOU are heard

with regards,

hemen parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 10  Sept  2016

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 (  Just multiple copy all the following Email IDs into the Recipient column of your Outlook and Copy / paste this suggestion in the Message Box ) :

    narendramodi1234@gmail.com; 38ashokroad@gmail.com;ajaitley@del5.vsnl.net.in; jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in;piyush.goyal@gov.in;nitin.gadkari@nic.in; spprabhu1@rediffmail.com;bandaru@sansad.nic.in;smritizirani@nic.in;nsitharaman@nic.in; ravis@sansad.nic.in;sureshprabhu@irctc.co.in;prakash.j@sansad.nic.in;secy-ipp@nic.in; amitabh.kant@nic.in; shaktikanta.das@nic.in; rsecy@nic.in; adhia1981@gmail.com; ceo-niti@nic.in; atul-chaturvedi@nic.in; uma.bharati@sansad.nic.in; d.pradhan@sansad.nic.in; rprudy.office@gmail.com; rudypr@rediffmail.com; eam@mea.gov.in; mosvks@mea.gov.in; mvnaidu@sansad.nic.in; mnaqvi@sansad.nic.in; rao.inderjit@sansad.nic.in; mljoffice@gov.in; sadananda.gowda@sansad.nic.in; ministerminority@gov.in; najmah@sansad.nic.in; minister-ca@nic.in; ramvilas.paswan@sansad.nic.in; gandhim@sansad.nic.in; akumar-alpha@sansad.nic.in; jpnadda@sansad.nic.in; hm.moca@nic.in; geete@sansad.nic.in; simratbadal@yahoo.com; ns.tomar@nic.in; rmsingh@sansad.nic.in; tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in; dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in   

Let ATC outnumber ATM

Business Standard ( 07 Sept 2016 ) , carries a news report titled :

" Supreme Court asks states, UTs to upload FIRs on websites within 24 hours "

Details read as follows :

" The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all States and Union Territories to upload the FIRs on their websites within 24 hours of registration at police stations.

A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan, however, extended the time up to 72 hours for uploading of the FIRs for those states which are located in difficult terrains where internet connectivity is poor.

The bench also made it clear that the accused cannot take benefit before the courts of law of the fact that FIRs lodged against them have not been uploaded on the website.

Initially, it was suggested during the hearing that the states be allowed to upload FIRs on websites within 48 hours. However, the court later fixed the time limit at 24 hours.

The PIL referred to a decision passed by the Delhi High Court in which the city police was directed to upload the FIRs on its website within 24 hours of being registered.

The apex court agreed to the directions of the HC with certain modifications. "

Hardly a flattering picture of India going Digital  !

Anyone who has ever visited a Police Station to lodge a FIR , knows that a police clerk will pull out some paper ( may be by now , it is a Register ) and start writing with a pen , as being dictated by a police officer on duty , who dictates as he listens to the complainant

What is important to remember at this stage is :

Those words are not exactly what the complainant utters !  What gets " written " , is what gets paraphrased by the police officer  !

Often , totally distorting the meaning / essence of the complaint  !

And finally , the complainant is literally " coerced " into signing that FIR ( don't ask to read it before signing ! )

This does not happen only with illiterate villagers but even with educated city-folks !

Why could not the Supreme Court direct that :

#   Police Station Computers must be internet connected

#   Computer must be permanently logged into the official web site of the State Police Department

#   Like an ATM enclosure at all bank branches , that computer must be directly accessible to the complainant from

     an outside separate entrance , obviating need to talk to a  police officer ( call it ATC = Any Time Complaint ? )

     Other than the web site of the State Police department , no other web site can be accessed from this special

     purpose machine ( ATC ) , which will be equipped with Bio-Metric Reading device

     For enabling universal / immediate / easy access , NDA government should also install these ATC , at

     *    145,000 post offices of India Post

     *    220,000 offices of Gram Panchayats

#   From an ATC, complainant can enter his complaint on his own, into the Police department web site , by

     entering

     *  Full personal details , and

     *  Aadhar ID

     The Biometric Reading Device , built into the computer will compare the complainant's bio-metric data with the

     bio-metric data already available in the Aadhar ID database

     If the two sets of data do not match , complaint will not get accepted / registered

     This ( matching of bio-metric data ) , will also prevent " Proxy " complaints

     It will also enable the Police department to catch a person lodging a " False / Malicious / Harassing " complaint 

   

#   It should be possible to enter the complaint , using a language of choice of the complainant

#   Using built-in Speech Recognition software ( such as SIRI / CORTANA / GOOGLE-SPEAK / DRAGON NATURALLY

     SPEAKING , etc ) , complaint can even " record " his complaint , if he cannot type

#   As soon as complainant finishes and SUBMITS the complaint , Complaint Number will flash on the screen ,

     using which , the complainant can track the progress of his complaint over time , by logging into the web site

    

Now it is entirely possible that some State Governments want to make it even " Easier to Do Business " with their Police Department , by introducing my suggested Mobile App ,

 "  I  SIN > < U SIN  " (  I  Seek  It  Now  > < U  Solve  It  Now )

{  http://www.hemenparekh.in/2013/08/i-sin-sin-that-could-be-name-of-android.html#.V9Dxxvl94ok  }

Such a miniaturized / hand-held / complainant-owned ATC , would be a much BETTER  /  FASTER  /  CHEAPER

method , needing no investment on part of the government !

And those FIRs will get uploaded on Police web site in 24 MINUTES  !

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09  Sept  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs    

Irrefutable Law of Economics

Indian Express ( 08 Sept 2016 ) carries following news report :

" Railways to introduce surge pricing for Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto trains "

"  The Ministry of Railway on Wednesday said that it will introduce flexi fare pricing in its Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains from September 9.

The fares will increase by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold.

“The base fares will increase by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold subject to a prescribed ceiling limit. There will be no change in the existing fare for 1AC and EC class of travel,” a railway ministry release said.

While 10 per cent of the seats will be sold in the normal fare in the beginning, it will go on increasing by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold with the ceiling limit at maximum 50 per cent depending upon the demand "

Now even as some State Governments ( and possibly central Transport Ministry ) , are seriously considering forcing Uber / Ola taxi-share operators to give up their practice of Surge Pricing , Shri Suresh Prabhu ( Railway Minister ) must find lakhs of crores of rupees to modernize our ancient and dilapidated train services

Over the decades , one after another Railway Minister ensured that the railway passengers did not have to pay for the actual / real cost of running these trains

They took the easy way out by keeping Rail Fares much below the cost , by incurring losses , subsidized by tax payer money !

But Shri Prabhu says :

"  This cannot go on for ever !  People must pay the true cost of this service !

   Aren't people paying varying prices for Petrol / Diesel for some years now ?  At one time , these too were highly

 

  subsidized and if govt tried to raise these ( mostly thru annual budget ) , there used to be riots on the streets !

  Now these get adjusted every fortnight and no one even notices !

  Economic law of Demand and Supply must dictate the prices , from time to time "

No doubt , Shri Prabhu  !

But under this very Law , when existing operators start making tons of profit, dozens of competitors enter that field and increase the " Supply " to catch up with the huge " Demand "

In turn , that increased competition forces the incumbents to drop their prices to match the new operators and the Consumers gain

Precisely , what is happening for the past few weeks in the Mobile Telephony Services , with arrival of Reliance Jio !

But the question is :

Will NDA government permit private sector companies to lay down rail tracks and compete with Indian Railways ?

If so , that would be GREAT , because Indian Train passengers will have " Options " to choose from !

You must not say , " Heads I win , Tails You Lose " !

Incidentally , in order to increase " Supply " , here is what the Central Transport Ministry and the State

 Governments should do by :

#    Encouraging Kali-Pili taxi owners to form their own Mobile App based " Share Taxi " scheme to take on Uber /

      Ola , playing by their " rules " , by installing Digi-Met / Fare-Calc , as recommended in my blog,

     "  Tablets in Taxies " { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/05/tablets-in-taxies.html  }

#   Enabling many more private sector Start Ups to launch, " Share-Bike " / " Share-Rickshaw " operations

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08  Sept  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs