Steps in the Right Direction

E MAILS SENT TO NDA MINISTERS / SECRETARIES :

*  Do not StopHere  

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/do-not-stop-here.html }

*  RIP , CreditCards 

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/11/rip-credit-card.html }

*  Conspiracyof the Cards  

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/conspiracy-of-

   cards.html  }

*  From  UPI to  UTI  

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/from-upi-to-uti.html  }

*  Reincarnationof Smart Phone 

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/reincarnation-

    of-smart-phone-with-saral.html }

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If following news reports are any indication , it will be a matter of only a FEW WEEKS , before the Government launches a UPI / AEPS based , Mobile Wallet App , that enables completion of a DIGITAL  PAYMENT  TRANSACTION , suggested in my above listed emails, as follows :

PROCESS TO BE USED :

*  Both , the BUYER and the SELLER , " JUST PEER " into the camera of a Smart phone (

   kept on sale counter ) , to identify themselves biometrically and linking with their

   respective bank accounts

*  Seller " SPEAKS OUT " , into the phone , the PAYMENT AMOUNT for the purchase

*  Buyer " SPEAKS OUT " into the phone , the PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS

*  Payment Amount gets transferred , from the BUYER's Bank Account to the SELLER's bank

   account ( with confirmation messages flashing on the counter based mobile )

All the " speaking " ( asking for payment / giving payment instructions ) can be in any Indian Language ( in course of time biometrics of Voice Recognition , to be added )

ADVANTAGE  :

This SIMPLE , 3 STEP process , which requires nothing more than the EYEs and VOICEs of the Buyer and the Seller , is the ONLY WAY , our country can become a LESS CASH economy within 6 months , by getting rid of all other complicated methods !

REMEMBER ! NO ONE WILL NEED TO BE " TRAINED " FOR MAKING A DIGITAL PAYMENT !

TECHNOLOGIES TO BE USED :

Google Action / Google Translate / Google Talk / UPI / AEPS

MOTIVATION TO BE USED : 

10 % of tax ( GST in future ) to be automatically transferred to BUYER's DPF ( Digital Provident Fund ) account ( see my email :

DigitalProvident Fund ; An Unparallel Opportunity 

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/digital-provident-fund-unparalleled.html }

BY-PRODUCT :

GST ( or VAT ) will be transferred to appropriate Government , immediately / automatically

Records of ALL digital transactions will become available to IT / ED / Finance Ministry

800 Million citizens will get a " Old Age Social Security " , without depending upon Govt  

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YOUR THUMB COULD BE YOUR TICKET TO FLY

( Source : Times of India / 17 Dec 2016 )

" Your thumb could soon be all the documentation required to enter an airport. And once the government is able to achieve this the second phase could see you flashing your thumb to board the aircraft, at least for domestic flights.

While it may sound as science fiction, the aviation ministry has already started work on the first part and Hyderabad airport has successfully completed a pilot project on using biometric identification for allowing entry into the terminal there.

"Over a billion (100 crore) Aadhar cards have been issued so far. At the time of issuing these cards, biometrics, fingerprints and iris scans, are taken and fed into a national digital registry. Presently, air travelers have to show their air ticket and a valid identity card to enter airports.

We are examining the technical feasibility of asking people to give their Aadhar card numbers at the time of booking tickets. At airports, they can press their thumb for biometric identification; enter terminals and board domestic flights ( for international passports will be needed )," said a senior aviation ministry official.

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ACCELERATING DIGITAL PAYMENTS

Ravi Shankar Prasad to Push for Transactions Via Aadhaar Cards

( Eco Times / 17 Dec 2016 )

Further accelerating efforts towards digital payments, Union minister for electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said that transactions through the Aadhaar card will be promoted...

“ Of the total 112 crore bank accounts, around 40 crore are already linked to Aadhaar card,“ he said. Prasad added that Aadhaar-based payments can be an all-pervasive way of digital transactions since it doesn't require everyone to have a smartphone.

“ All people need, is to remember their Aadhaar number and authenticate themselves through their biometrics.

The merchants will not need to invest in any expensive sophisticated technology for this -all they need is a small finger print reader that can be attached to any smartphone. Currently , these devices cost anywhere between `1500/2,000, but as the volumes grow, their cost will also drop.“

A SIMPLIFIED APP FOR AADHAAR PAYMENTS IS ALSO IN THE WORKS, WHICH WILL HAVE A STANDARD INTERFACE AND IS LIKELY TO BE LAUNCHED NEXT WEEK.

ET had reported on Friday that the government plans to roll out a payment system that will allow customers to pay for fuel by simply pressing their fingers on an Aadhaar-verifying device, which would trigger the transfer of money from their bank accounts to the filling station.

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18  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Life Insurance for All ? Possible

Life Insurance for  All  ?  Possible 

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Letter sent to a few LIC Officers on 17 Dec 2016

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 Dear LIC Officers,

While thanking my friend / colleague, Gurudatt for forwarding myemail to you all , I want to admit my total lack of knowledge re Life Insurance Policies or that domain , in general

However , my today's blog below ,( sent as email to NDA ministers / secretaries ) , might interest you since it contains my suggestion re leveraging NDA's current initiative for DIGITAL PAYMENTS , for providing for our millions of citizens , an opportunity to create for themselves , a POST RETIREMENT PROVIDENT FUND , without feeling the pinch of regular   INSURANCE PREMIUM payments

Whereas , I have suggested creation of DIGITAL PROVIDENT FUND , you may want to suggest to Shri Modiji , an alternative in the form of a CONTINUOUS stream of tiny DIGITAL PREMIUMS for their LIFE Policies , every time they carry out a DIGITAL PAYMENT TRANSACTION ( @ 10 % of tax paid , as suggested in my blog )

I suppose , you can find a way to keep updating the " SUM ASSURED " , dynamically , with each such " deposit " , and even flash it as a SMS on the mobile of the person making a DIGITAL PAYMENT

You could offer an ANNUITY option to the user and call it DIGITAL LIFE ! 

  

Not only , such a modification of my original suggestion , bring Life Insurance Policy benefits to 800 million citizens , it will also bring about a revolution in the area of SOCIAL SECURITY, of a kind no other country in the world boasts !

If there are any questions , feel free to write / phone

Warm Regards,

Hemen Parekh / Mumbai / hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Digital Provident Fund : An Unparalleled Opportunity

Shri Amitabh Kant ( CEO-NITI Aayog ) is a born innovator !

To promote digital payments , recently he announced following schemes :

*  Digi-dhan Vyapar Yojana ,   and   *  Lucky Grahak Yojana

Both schemes will give out prizes / awards to Vyaparis and Grahaks , who accept / make, a DIGITAL payment

Following are the highlights :

*  Total Estimated Cost :  Rs 340 crore

*  Focus                 :  Poor / Middle class citizens ( Grahaks ) / Small Businesses

                                ( Vyapari )

*  For Transactions :  Between Rs 50  to  Rs 3,000

*  First Draw          :  25 Dec 2016

*  Last Mega Draw  :  14 April 2017

                                For Consumers : Rs 100 L / Rs 50 L / Rs 25 L

                                For Merchants  : Rs 50 L  /  Rs 25 L  / Rs  5 L

* Transaction Types : Only UPI / USSD / AEPS / RuPay cards ( Private Credit

                                Cards / private E Wallets usage will NOT qualify )

                                

* LUCKY GRAHAK YOJANA :

   Daily  Draws :

   15,000 winners * 100 days * Rs 1000 each ( Total : 15 lakh persons /  Rs 150

   Crore )

   Weekly  Draws :

    16 weeks * 7000 Grahaks * ( Rs 1 L / Rs 10,000 / Rs 5,000 )

* DIGI-DHAN VYAPARI YOJANA

   Weekly Draws

   16 weeks * 7000 Merchants ( ? ) * ( Rs 50,000 each / Total Cost..... ? 

GOOD  NEWS :

As suggested in my following blog / email , private cards / wallets have been KEPT OUT !

 CONSPIRACY  OF THE  CARDS 

{ http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/conspiracy-of-cards.html  }

BAD  NEWS  :

No of Digital Transactions on 08 Dec ( in one day ) :

*    E Wallets.......... 270 lakhs    ( practically , all PRIVATE / INELIGIBLE )

*    RuPay ..............  16 lakhs    ( 1600 lakh in 100 days ? )

*    UPI / AEPS........  0.48 lakhs ( 48 lakh in 100 days ? )

It appears that , over the next 100 days , out of ( potentially ) 2000 lakh Grahaks who will carry out DIGITAL PAYMENTS using RuPay / UPI-AEPS , barely 15 lakh ( less than 1 % ) , will win prizes , totaling ( possibly ) , Rs 200 crore ( average of Rs 1,333 per winner )

That translates to :

In Daily Draw, by spending Rs 1500 ( ave of Rs 50 - 3000 ) , you get a 1 chance in 100 ( 15000 out of 16 lakh ) to win Rs 1,333/- !  99 % OF THE GRAHAKS , WILL WIN NOTHING !

In Weekly Draw , By spending same amount ( Ave of Rs 1500 ) , you get 1 CHANCE IN 112 LAKH TRANSACTIONS ( 16 lakh transactions / day* 7 days ) , to win Rs 1 lakh !

But then , of course , all LOTTERY SCHEMES work this way , with a very SLIM CHANCE of winning . It is always a " LONG SHOT / LOW PROBABILITY " of winning

Now I submit the following suggestion for consideration by  Shri Narendra Modi-ji :

*  The average value of a transaction is Rs 1,500 ( ave of Rs 50 - 3000 )

*  Government collects 15 % tax on each transaction ie : Rs 225 per transaction

*  Let Government declare :

   Out of this tax amount of Rs 225 , we will deposit into an automatically 

   created  DPF ( Digital Provident Fund ) account of each user , Rs 22.5 ( 10%

   of tax collected )

   

   Of course , actual amount to be deposited into DPF will vary from case to

   case depending upon actual transaction / tax value

   

IMPACT  :

*  With each and every digital payment , user's DPF account grows , providing a

    POST RETIREMENT SOCIAL SECURITY

    

*  Unlike PPF , withdrawals from DPF , will be taxed at a moderate 5 % rate

*  This will motivate 100 % users to use digital payments and benefit , instead

    of just 1 % of users benefitting !

    

*  Within 12 months , we would have created 800 million DPF accounts, as 

    against 200 million EPF / PPF accounts , created over past 50 years !

  

*  Government can invest DPF corpus into Infrastructure SPVs to generate jobs

*  BJP will win all 5 upcoming State Elections with a whooping majority - without

    SC / EC calling it a " Freebie " !

   

Dear Narendrabhai :

In the forthcoming Union Budget on Feb 01 , I urge you to introduce my suggestion of :

DIGITAL  PROVIDENT  FUND  ( DPF ) , which will , popularly come to be known as ,

NDA Inc's " 10 % of Tax " CASH BACK SCHEME !

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17  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 

                                    

One Up on Donald Trump ?

US President-Elect , Donald Trump has proposed to reduce US Corporate Income Tax from 35 % to 15 %

He hopes that this will work as an incentive for US Companies operating abroad to resettle their manufacturing operations back to USA , thereby creating jobs in USA

Earlier , the then British Chancellor of Exchequer , George Osborne,  too had proposed to , reduce UK Corporate Income Tax from 30 % to 15 % , in order to counter the thinking of many foreign companies planning to pull out of UK after BREXIT, resulting in job losses

Now , even if this Corporate Tax reduction does bring , some overseas manufacturing operations of American Companies back home ( to take advantage of lower taxes to increase profits ) , that may not result in increased jobs !

Here is why :

*  More and more American Companies are resorting to ever-greater 

    AUTOMATION ,needing less and less workers

    

*  With Solar Power tariff expected to drop to a mere 4 CENTS PER KWH ( Rs

   2.8 ),electric energy required to power those ROBOTS , is getting dirt cheap !

   Nor do robots unionize / demand higher wages / go on strike or get tired after    8 hours !

*  Increase in generation of cheap ( at exponential rate ) Solar Power will generate massive unemployment in the US Oil / Gas industry ( no way , Mr Trump can stop this )

  

Just as every company is trying its best to reduce manufacturing costs, in order to become a " LOW COST COMPANY " ( in relation to its Competitors ) , so does every COUNTRY also try to turn itself into a " LOW COST ECONOMY "

How can India become such a " LOW COST ECONOMY " ?

I have given some suggestion in this regard in my blogs :

*  "  AUTOMATIONIS INESCAPABLE " 

     { http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/11/automation-is-inescapable.html  }

*  "  UNLIMITEDPOWER - AND AROUND THE CLOCK ? "

    {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/07/unlimited-power-and-round-clock.html  }

*  "  SUN  IS THE  SOLUTION  "

    {  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/sun-is-solution.html  }

To the list of measures that I suggested in these blogs , add the following :

   Reduce the " COST of ENERGY " by accelerating generation of Solar Power

   We must meet our target of generating 100 GW of Solar Power by 2022 , ie : 15 GW per year ( as against Chinese adding 14 GW per year )

   

   We just cannot compete with others by using Oil at $ 50 per barrel !

   Over the past 2 years , Solar Power Plants being set up in India have dropped their prices per  Kwh from Rs 7.6 to under Rs 4.0 !

   

   Last week , Amplus won the bid for the 500 MW rooftop grid connected scheme by quoting as low as Rs 3.0 per Kwh !

  

 This is just a beginning of a  SOLAR POWER REVOLUTION  in the making !

 On 29 Nov 2016 , news papers reported :

" The cost of solar power has dipped well below the ₹3-mark, if software major Infosys is any example.

The company has 6.6 MW of ground mounted solar capacity (and another 600 kW on the roofs) at its Hyderabad facility. The cost of generation of electricity, averaged over 20 years, works out to  ₹2.85,  Infosys’ Executive Vice-President, U Ramadas Kamath, told BusinessLine recently. "

Now imagine what it could do for the Indian Economy , if solar power were to be made available to homes/commercial establishments / industries, at 29 PAISE PER KWH ?

If we were to believe Techno-Guru , Tony Seba ( author of " Clean Disruption " ) , this will happen by 2030 !

In his book , he writes :

" Solar panel costs have dropped from $ 100/W in 1970 to $ 0.65 / W in 2013....Every time industry capacity doubles, costs drop by 22 percent ....

Furthermore, as soon as 2015, two-thirds of Americans will be able to buy unsubsidized solar power at rates cheaper than what they currently pay for their utilities

Panel costs are so low they are not the main cost factor in residential and commercial solar power plants. More than solar panels, so-called soft costs now account for a higher percentage of total installation costs . Soft costs include, the cost of permits, regulations, taxes, interconnection fees , inspection and installation

Globally , solar PV installed capacity has grown from just 1.4 GW in 2000 to 141 GW in 2013 .. a compounded annual growth rate of 43 percent

Should solar PV continue to grow at 43 percent annual clip, the solar capacity installed base will be 56.7 TW by 2030

Should solar continue on its exponential trajectory, the energy infrastructure will be 100 percent solar by 2030

The cost of fuel ( the Sun ) is zero . The ongoing costs of operations and maintenance ( O&M ) are close to zero

CONSEQUENTLY, THE COST OF BORROWING THE CAPITAL ( THE INTEREST RATE ) CONSTITUTES MOST OF WHAT A SOLAR USER PAYS FOR SOLAR ENERGY

For Lancaster ( a county in USA ) , the cost of Solar Power ( cents per kwh ) was 7 cents at interest rate of 10 % ( on capital employed ) . It dropped to 3.5 cents per kwh , when interest rate dropped to 1 % "

SO , IT IS CLEAR THAT THE " TRICK " LIES IN BRINGING DOWN THE INTEREST RATE FOR SOLAR POWER PLANTS, TO 1 % OR LESS !

Including Japan , Australia , Canada , Eurozone , S Korea , Sweden , UK  and USA , many countries have managed to keep their Central Bank interest rates , at 0 % - 1 %

At least for SOLAR POWER PLANT ( SPVs ) , can we bring down the interest rate to 0 % ?

This is entirely possible ! Read my blog : FROM  GREED TO  GREAT 

{  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/10/from-greed-to-great.html  }

But our PARALLEL  GOAL ( parallel to making India , a LOW COST ECONOMY ) , is to :

*  INCREASE EMPLOYMENT ( to take care of 12 million people getting added to our work force , each year )

By itself , a mere " Reduction in Corporate Tax " , is unlikely to motivate Companies to hire more persons ( what Donald Trump , is planning )

But they will hire more if that REDUCTION in Corporate Tax , is directly linked to the number of persons they employ

That is :

THE MORE THE NUMBER OF PERSONS THAT A COMPANY EMPLOYS , THE LESSER THE ( INCREMENTAL ) CORPORATE TAX IT PAYS !

A frame work of how this DEPENDANCY ( of tax on employment ) can be implemented , is explained in my blog :

"  INCENTIVIZING   EMPLOYMENT  "  

{  http://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/08/incentivizing-employment.html  }

Call it , " Killing Two Birds With One Stone "

Doing better than Donald Trump is no big deal , if there is political will  !

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16  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

To Catch Black Money , Ask Google ?

For over a year , I have been sending emails to NDA ministers / Secretaries / MPs / MLAs etc , to persuade them to come out with NEW PLASTIC notes ( Rs 500 / 1000 ) , which are embedded with RFID micro-chips ( thinner than human hair and costing 30 paise each )

This simple / cheap innovation , based on GPS / IoT / IndiaStack based technology platform, will then enable IT / ED departments to visualize on their mobiles / tablets / desk-tops , any accumulation of ( say ) , 1000 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination, in an area of ( say ) one square meter, anywhere in India !

Then , there will be no place for any such ACCUMULATION / CONCENTRATION , to hide !

Now I suggest another ALTERNATIVE where Google can help IT / ED to locate such hoards of BLACK MONEY

Scientists at MIT ( including NRI , Ramesh Raskar  /  email = raskar@mit.edu ), have developed a TERAHERTZ CAMERA that can " read pages of a book, without opening the book "

If our Policy Makers were to request Google , to modify its Mobile Operating System ( ANDROID ) , in such a way that it converts cameras built into any Smart Phone , into TERAHERTZ CAMERAS , our problem gets solved !

And all that RBI has to do , is to provide to Google , the Serial Numbers of ALL of our NEW , high denomination notes , for storing in Google Cloud Database

Now , this TERAHERTZ CAMERA of an ANDROID based smart phone ( some 80 % of smart phones are Android-based ) lying in my pocket, will " read " the Serial Numbers of all currency notes ( also lying in my pocket ), compare each with the Google Cloud Database , compute the TOTAL VALUE of the high currency notes in my pocket and send an ALERT to IT / ED departments !

But then, rarely a huge amount of the HIGH DENOMINATION notes , are carried in shirt / pant pockets

These are lying in steel cabinets at home or in bank lockers

There is NO technical problem in equipping these Cabinets / Lockers with small internet connected and GPS enabled , TERAHERTZ CAMERAS , talking to IT / ED departments !

Of course , embedding Rs 500 / 2000 notes with RFID sensors has other advantage of being able to DETECT any large amount of Rs 500 / 1000 notes getting transported in any vehicle

NDA government has already " mandated " , Indian Automobile Manufacturers to install RFID chips into all vehicles ( from 2018 ) , so that these vehicles do not need to stop at toll nakas and that the toll gets collected automatically.

So , those RFID chips built into the vehicles ( for toll purpose ) can also be configured to talk to the chips embedded into the notes being transported and alert the IT / ED !

And what is the difficulty for the government to mandate all manufacturers of STEEL CABINETS / BANK LOCKERS , to pre-install RFID chips in their products ?

When it comes to catching the BLACK MONEY hoarders , leave no stone unturned !

A report from LIVESCIENCE ( http://www.livescience.com/56054-new-tech-could-read-closed-books.html )  describes this technology as follows :

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Using technology akin to X-ray vision, scientists can read CLOSED  books, identifying letters printed on stacks of paper ......

The researchers used a TERAHERTZ camera to scan a STACK of card-size, 300-micron-thick sheets of paper. Each had a single letter about 0.3 inches (8 millimeters) wide written on only one side in pencil or ink.

Another possibility of greater use in daily life may be "future scanners that can scan through large amounts of documents WITHOUT HAVING TO  MECHANICALLY SEPARATE  THE PAGES, which could be useful for libraries, BANKS and others," Heshmat said. " Such a future scanner wouldn't use terahertz waves, but perhaps infrared light."

Other potential industrial applications may include analyzing any materials organized in thin layers, such as layers of paint or coatings on machine parts or pharmaceuticals, Heshmat said.

The scientists detailed their findings online today (Sept. 9) in the journal Nature Communications.

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It is high time we find technological solutions to the problem of elimination of Black Money , where there is no scope for human interpretation / intervention / influence !

I have no doubt , Minister for IT , Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad can get his team to implement these solutions , within 3 months

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14  Dec  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs