A Devil's Advocate ?

My friend Gurudatt has a sharp / questioning / inquisitive mind

While keen to embrace technological solutions to our Society's problems , he does not accept them simply because they are " New / Different / Out of the Box "

Following are the questions that he raised after reading my yesterday's blog ( emailed to the Policy Makers )

{  Fear works better than Persuasion  /  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/  } :

Guru :

Will all the physically available currency notes have to be tendered to the appropriate authority for embedding RFID within some set time limit ?

Me :

Government to announce that,

#  Old ( paper ) currency notes of Rs 500 / 1000 , will cease to be legal currency from ( say ) , 01 April 2018

#  New ( plastic ) currency notes , embedded with RFID sensors , will be introduced from 01 Oct 2017

#  Between Oct 2017 and April 2018 , both types of notes will continue parallel

#  During this 6 month window , owners of OLD notes can get these exchanged for NEW notes , at any bank

    branch, without any questions asked

#  Collected OLD notes will be destroyed

Guru :

Would RFID embedding not be resorted to by unauthorized wings of the parallel economy either because it is not affordable or too high-tech for them to replicate ?

Me :

No technology is fool-proof ! And all technologies can be misused !

But , I believe RFID sensor embedded plastic currency notes , will be difficult to forge

We can make this ( forging ) still more difficult by resorting to Steganography  ( encrypting one more set of unique

Currency Note Number , inside Bapu's photo ! )

Guru :

How would the common people know if the notes received by them are with RFID / if the notes received with RFID are genuine or not ?

Me :

This will require integration of several technologies ( all existing / simple, and in wide spread use for a long time )

Here is how :

Each RFID sensor will be assigned a unique IP V 6 , Internet Protocol Address

Since IP V 6 , has 340 trillion trillion trillion , unique addresses , there is no danger of running out of unique addresses for ALL the currency notes of ALL the denominations , of ALL the countries of the World !

Strictly for this purpose ( RFID embedding in currency notes ) , ICANN will make available a special / unique " Number Series " , to each country, which it will use while printing its own high denomination notes

This IP number will also get linked to the Unique Serial Number of each currency note

All mobile phones ( I am assuming these will all be Smart phones ) , will have GPS / NFC / Internet Connectivity /

Biometric reader through built-in camera and be pre-installed with an App ( called , GenuFake  ? )

I am sure you are aware that even today , a few Pharma companies print a small " Bar Code " on each and every

strip of medicine that they sell . All that a buyer does is to " scan " that bar code with his mobile camera and

 forward that image to the phone number printed on that strip as an SMS . Within 5 minutes , the sender receives

 an SMS confirming whether that strip is genuine or not !

To verify whether a Rs 500 / 1000 plastic note is genuine or not , all that the owner will need to do is to lay it flat

on the screen of his Smart phone !  Instantly a message ( Genuine / Fake ) will appear on the screen ! The

Currency Serial Number noticed by the phone / app , will also appear on the phone screen

AND ,

that Serial Number will also get instantly transmitted to the Income Tax / Enforcement Department , so they come to know instantly , who has that fake note and exactly " where " ( GPS )

For the benefit of the illiterate , the message will " Speak Out " , in the language of owner's choice !

For the " Doubting Thomas " :

The verification that I have described above for determining the genuineness of a currency note , is far simpler

than mobile App " iCARE " ( free to download )

Just place your finger tip on the lens of your smart phone camera and see the screen displaying your Blood Pressure / Heart Rate ( pulse ) / Oxygen level in your blood / one month history  !

Guru :

Would the common people need any simple, handy & affordable device to read / check RFID authenticity ?

Me :

I believe my earlier answer covers this question

Consider this : Currency notes are carried in a pocket ( loose or in a wallet or a purse )

Usually , smart phones are also carried in some other pocket ( or inside a ladies' purse )

Using NFC , that smart phone is constantly exchanging " data " with the RFID embedded currency notes in the

pocket ( remember , IoT - Internet of Things ? )

In turn , that phone is interconnected with the servers of IT / ED ( through mobile towers / ever present WiFi )

That enables IT / ED to track " each and every " RFID embedded note , for every minute of its life !

Forget classic book " 1984 " ( George Orwell ) . For RFID notes , there is no place to hide !

Guru :

Would there not be clandestine attempts to rob the RFID currency and replace it with the ones without RFID [ which happen to be part of the cash undeclared within the stipulated time]  ?

Me :

Very good observation !

This is all the more reason that those hoarders of old ( paper ) notes will be in a great hurry to rush to the nearest bank branch on 01 Oct 2017 , to exchange with new ( plastic ) notes !

Dear Guru ,

You might want to look up my following earlier blogs ( all sent as emails to NDA Policy Makers ) to better grasp,

how my suggestion would permanently eliminate the twin evils of CORRUPTION and BLACK MONEY :

 *     Networking  of   Currency    Notes

 *     Redesign  Bank Notes  for  Black Money  Management

 *     Currency  Maps  of  India

 *     Oracle has   spoken  !

 *     Wealth of   India  ?

 *     There is  a  Simpler  Way  !

 *     A Tale  of  Two  Tracking

 *    Trash the  Cash

 *    Forever  probing  ?

 *    This cannot   be  true  !

 *    Global Corruption  Index

 *    Going Cashless

 *   Track  the  Black

 *   March   of  the   Algorithm 

I hope our Policy Makers realize the impact that bringing Rs 65 lakh*crore of BLACK MONEY into productive MAIN STREAM can have on our economy / employment / infrastructure / education / health / poverty etc

And only one person has the courage - and the people's mandate - to implement my suggestion

I hope someone will see that this reaches Shri Narendra Modiji  !

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12  Oct  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

FEAR works better than PERSUASION

Business Standard ( 11 Oct 2016 ) carries a news report titled :

Black money disclosure gives tax cushion: FM

It further reads :

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" As much as Rs 65,250 crore of undisclosed assets were brought to light during

 the four-month  ONE-TIME

COMPLIANCE  window that ended September 30, yielding the government Rs

 29,362 crore in taxes, half of it in the

 current financial year.

Shri Jaitley said the BJP led government has in the last two-and-a-half years

 taken steps

 to curb BLACK  MONEY  and the first decision it took after assuming office was

 to constitute the Special

Investigating Team.

" Every decision we have taken is to try and make India through PERSUASION ,

 through LAW , through

 COMPLIANCE opportunities and even through FEAR...a tax-compliant nation.

" After all, payment of taxes is necessary if we are to eliminate poverty.

 Payment of taxes is necessary if rural 

  India is to develop. These are all made for a positive national purpose," he

 said.

He said every person who evades taxes is not discharging his national

 obligation. "

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you have noticed those words , which I have shown in CAPITAL letters , viz :

PERSUASION  /  LAW  /  COMPLIANCE  /  FEAR

Now consider this :

*   Of that Rs 65,250 Cr of " undisclosed assets " , no more than Rs 9,000 Cr 

worth got disclosed " Voluntarily "

     through PERSUASION

*   Remaining Rs 59,000 Cr worth of assets were recovered through " Search 

and Seizure " operations carried

     out at the office and residential premises of the tax-evaders ( nothing "

 Voluntary " here ! )

*   That means , some 90 % of the recovery  was due to FEAR  !

*   May be , it was only FEAR that motivated 90 % of those 64,000 tax-evaders

who opted for the scheme

Now , depending upon which expert source you like to consult , BLACK MONEY,

*  siphoned away ABROAD by Indians during 2005-14 , is Rs 35 lakh*crores

*  stashed away LOCALLY ( in vaults / land / gold etc ) is approx Rs 30 

lakh*crores

   " Given that India's GDP in 2016 is expected to be USD 2.3 trillion, the size of 

India's black economy is

   approximately USD 460 billion (over Rs 30 lakh crore), which is larger than 

the stated GDP of emerging markets

   like Thailand and Argentina { Source : Ambit Capital Research } "

So , what IDS ( Income Disclosure Scheme ), has managed to recover ( mostly

 through " Search and Seizure "

operations ) is barely 0.5 % of the total BLACK MONEY . And only through FEAR !

And  that " Search and Seizure " operations , must have cost the government , 

some Rs 65 crores , considering

*  the number of IT and Police officers involved , over the 4 month period (

 Salary + Travel + Admin expenses )

*  the cost of that massive advertisement / publicity campaign unleashed

*  the time of the officers of various govt ministries

Now , employing schemes like IDS , if we want to recover , not mere 0.5 % but

 the entire 100 % of the BLACK MONEY , how much would it cost and how long

 would it take ?

I leave it to your guess

But , if my following suggestion were to be implemented ( - I have not given up

 for past 2 years ) , then it is possible to convert these Rs 65 lakh*crores worth

 of BLACK MONEY into WHITE MONEY ( without LAUNDERING ) , for less than Rs

 65 crores and in less than ONE YEAR :

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, 8 August 2016

 

Help ! please , rescue me !

You would expect this kind of a cry from an innocent person , locked up behind bars

But can you make a currency note of Rs 1000 / Rs 500 , locked up in a bank locker or a home cabinet , to cry out :

"  Please , liberate me ; I am held hostage by a black marketer "

For over 2 years , I have been saying that making high denomination currency notes to " declare their locations ", is not only possible but that it is the ONLY PERMANENT FOOL-PROOF way , to eliminate from our economy , the twin scourge of CORRUPTION / BLACK MONEY

Those who still have some lingering doubts about both , the feasibility and the inevitability of my suggestion, may want to read the following news report ( DNA / 08 Aug 2016 ):

SMART  DRESSING

Scientists are developing a novel technology for smart clothes that would contact charity shops or auction web sites like eBay when they are not worn regularly

THE  TECHNOLOGY

Researchers from Birmingham City University plan to create an " Internet of Clothes " that tags garments using washable contactless technology , known as Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID )

WASTE NOT , WANT NOT

Researchers said, users can now move away from the idea of ownership of clothing, to use them as long as they need them

HOW  IT  WORKS

Step # 1  : Users will receive a tweet and message every day from the clothing asking to be worn

Step # 2  : Forgotten items in the wardrobe will text owners to remind them they are gathering dust

Step # 3  : If the notifications are ignored by the user, the garments will get in touch with a clothing charity

Report in newspaper " Business Line "  adds :

" Think of the surprise when an owner suddenly receives bids for items they did not know were in their wardrobe "

Now in India , the owners / hoarders of crores of BLACK MONEY , are unlikely to forget how many of Rs 1000 / 500 , currency notes they have stashed away - and precisely where !

But , if those notes were embedded with RFID micro-sensors ( thinner than human hair ) - as repeatedly suggested by me - then those owners would certainly get surprised ( albeit , unpleasant ! ), when they receive an SMS from the Income Tax Department / Enforcement Directorate , saying :

" Please , explain the source of 10,000 currency notes of Rs 1000 each , located in your Bank Locker / home cabinet , at GPS located address, XYZ  ( or different nos at different locations )

Of course , if you disclaim its ownership and surrender these amounts within 24 hours, for productive use by the nation for building infrastructure - and , thereby create millions of jobs , we will not prosecute you "

MY  LOGIC

If clothes remaining unused ( for a long time ) want to become " useful " by being offered for charity , then why not provide the same advantage to Rs 100 lakh*crores worth of high denomination currency notes, lying unused in bank lockers / home cabinets ?

Surely , these notes do not like to be held " hostage / remain unused / gather dust " and would want  to move , from hand-to-hand , by free circulation in MAINSTREAM LEGAL ECONOMY !

Whereas yesterday's passing of GST Constitutional Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha , is no doubt a great reform , it will be , at least 3 years before we see its positive impact on our GDP ( ignoring the fact that it took 10 years of debate / discussions / persuasions to reach this stage ! )

But , on the other hand embedding RFID sensors into high denomination currency notes would need,

#   No discussions ( since, no political party would want to appear to be protecting the black money ! )

#   No passing of any Bill in the Parliament

And its impact on the economy / GDP , will become visible within 3 months of its implementation

For full details of my suggestion , read " Internet ofCurrency Notes "

[  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/11/network-of-currency-notes.html  ]

Shri Narendra Modi often says , "  I like to experiment and take bold , out-of-the-box decisions "

This is one decision that the generations of Indians to come, will remain to him grateful for !

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11  Oct  2016  (  Dushera / Vijaya-Dashmi )

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs