Wormholes Across the World ?

Can Indian businesses / industries / Start Ups , create Wormholes across the World ?

Although  , at 22 million , Indians constitute the largest diaspora in the World , it is getting difficult by the day , even for the skilled Indian Professionals to travel to other countries , in search of jobs / work

All over the World , job opportunities are shrinking . Robots are replacing workers – even knowledge workers

In each country, local citizens are resenting foreign nationals eating up their jobs

Soon enough , they will prevail upon their political leaders to pass laws that will prohibit foreigners from working in their countries

These forces are far more vocal and powerful than Donald Trump , who wants to cut back on H1B visas !

How can India prepare for such an “ Isolationist “ world ?

In  my following blogs , I have talked about  such ways :

·         BackFactory of the World ?

       { https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/09/back-factory-of-world.html }

·         CanIndian IT re-invent itself ?

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/02/can-indian-it-re-invent-itself.html }

·         WillHolograms beat H1B visa ban ?

    { https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/01/will-holograms-beat-h1b-visa-ban.html }

Following news appearing in MINT ( 03 March 2017 ) confirms my belief :

Forget email, Slack and the humble telephone.

When workers at one Australian company want to talk to colleagues in China, they just turn their heads and look down the "wormhole".

Large screens at the end of each row of desks offer a digital window between offices in Melbourne and Xi'an—7,000 kilometers apart—at real-estate company REA Group Ltd.

“You really do feel you are looking through a window,” said Nigel Dalton, chief inventor for REA

"Email is not an efficient mode of communication and nor is it very humanistic. ”

The always-on video conference, also known as a wormhole or portal, is part of an evolution in office design with efficiency in mind.

Other innovations soon to be seen at an office near you include augmented reality office spaces, real-time translation tools and super-fast 5G internet, which should allow many workers more flexibility to work remotely.

The wormholes help colleagues communicate and get to know each other

But when you think you’re the last one left in the office, someone could still be “there,” in virtual form.

Seeing things: Augmented reality

Virtual- or augmented-reality headsets aren't just for gamers, Minnett says. They could actually be used at work.

A device, like Google Glass or Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, could overlay digital images onto the real world.

AN EMPTY OFFICE COULD BECOME A CONFERENCE SPACE, WHERE PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT PHYSICAL LOCATIONS CAN WRITE ON DIGITAL WHITEBOARDS OR EXAMINE VIRTUALLY REPRODUCED PRODUCTS.

Speak to me: Real-time translation

Here’s one that isn’t ready for prime-time just yet: real-time language translation for video conferencing. While advances are being made, the technology to converse smoothly with a non-native speaker remains elusive for now, REA’s Dalton said. “That will change the world,” he said.

Faster than a speeding bullet: 5G

The next evolution of mobile networks, known as 5G, is expected to roll out in the next few years and could do much more than just make it easier to work from home.

AT&T’s chief strategy officer John Donovan says the technology will open the doors to “new experiences in virtual reality, self-driving cars, robotics, smart cities, health care and so much more.”

03  March  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Poverty Alleviation – the Chinese Way

During and after recent Union Budget , there has been a lot of public debate re desirability of introducing UBI ( Universal Basic Income )

A monthly guaranteed income of Rs 5000 to the poor families was being talked about

Idea is to enable our poorest to “ eke out a minimal existence “

Whereas there can be no quarrel re need to provide succour to our poor , I believe , this might lead to the development of a “ Dependency Culture “ ! – for everything , people looking up to the “ Sarkar Maa Baap “ !

In this background , following news report ( Times of India / 26 Feb 2017 ) , makes interesting reading :

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“ CHINA  TO  SHIFT  7  LAKH  POOR  FOR  BETTER  LIFE “

“ Over 7 lakh people in China’s southwest Guizhou province will be relocated this year at a cost of $ 6.6 billion as a POVERTY ALLEVIATION measure

A total of 1.81 lakh families will be moved from remote inhospitable areas in the hope of providing them a better life in the province which is one of the most impoverished provinces in the country

Over 3,600 villages will be moved , accounting for about 30 % of those to be relocated

China plans to lift 10 million people above poverty line this year “

The report does not say whether the Chinese Government will provide “ jobs “ to these people

But ,

They will need to be housed ( even if in 250 sq ft flats )

And they will need schools / hospitals / roads / electricity / gas / public transport / garbage clearance / water / telecommunication / markets and a hundred other amenities

And constructing / providing all of this “ Infrastructure “  facilities would create “ jobs “ !

Enough jobs for each adult family member getting displaced !

So , by spending $ 6.6 billion ( approx. Rs 46,000 crore ) , China is ,

·         Creating lakhs of jobs

·         Alleviating Poverty without handing out a “ dole “

Shri Vankaiah Naidu , might want to visit Guizhou province of China to assess if this Chinese Model would work for us

03  March  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Thank You , Varun Gandhi !

Financial Express ( 28 Feb 2017 ) carries following news :

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“ Are your MPs, MLAs not performing ?  Varun Gandhi introduces private bill in Lok Sabha to recall them “

MPs and MLAs should be recalled within two years from being elected if 75 per cent of those who voted for them are not satisfied with their performance, according to a bill moved by BJP MP Varun Gandhi.

“Logic and justice necessitate that if the people have the power to elect their representatives, they should also have the power to remove these representatives when they engage in misdeeds or fail to fulfil the duties,” Varun said.

As per the legislation, recalling process can be initiated by any voter of the constituency by filing a petition before the Speaker, signed by at least one-fourth of the total number of electors in that constituency.

After confirming its authenticity, the Speaker will move the application to the Election Commission for its verification and authentication of the voters’ signatures on it. The Commission will verify the signatures on it and will organise the voting on 10 places in the respective constituency of MP or MLA, it says.

If three-fourth of the votes that member was polled in his election, go in favour of the recall process, the member will be recalled, the bill proposes.

Within 24 hours of the receipt of the result, the Speaker will notify the result to the general public. Once the seat gets duly vacated the Commission can organise a bypoll in that constituency.

“A free and fair election is the right of the citizens of the country and in the event of their elected representatives no longer enjoying their confidence, the people must have a right to remove them,” Varun said. It is on the edifice of accountability of politicians that the true idea of democracy can be achieved, he added. At present there is no recourse to the electorate if they are unhappy with their elected representative.

For ensuring that a recall process is not frivolous and does not became a source of harassment to elected members, the entire process has several safeguards incorporated in the bill.

Recall petition will kickstart the process and electronic based voting to finally decide its outcome, the bill says.

The bill provides for verification of signatures and first review by the Speaker of the House concerned. At the same time to ensure that a representative cannot be recalled by a small margin of voters, the threshold for success of a recall petition is accordingly high.

Dear Varun Gandhi :

Even though there is very slim chance of this bill getting passed ( even in a diluted form ) , you deserve congratulations for this initiative !

Should you face the inevitable stiff resistance ( including from the BJP MPs ) , I request you to get them to , at least support introduction of the following / non-binding , Mobile App suggested by me in Aug 2015 :

ROMP– ( Recall Our Member of Parliament ) – a Panacea ?

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/08/romp-panacea.html }

And as to the matter of setting some “ PERFORMANCE TARGETS “ for the MPs / MLAs , you may request Shri Amit Shah to refer to the examples listed at :

TheThin Line – Sample Objectives

{ http://latterstolntemployee.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-thin-line-sample-objectives.html }

I do hope that millions of Indian Voters come forward to support your bill , which , if passed , would go a long way to increase our parliament’s productivity

02  March 2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Future Home is Here !

Extract from a news in DNA ( 03 March 2017 ) :

·         140 room hotel Urbanpod started operations in Andheri ( Mumbai ) on 02 March

·         Each room is 50 sq ft ( single guest ) –or 90 sq ft ( two guests )

·         18 rooms for female guests and 106 rooms for male guests

·         Room facilities include : A comfortable bed / TV / locker / lights / free WiFi / adjustable Air Conditioning / dresser / lockable sliding door

·         60 seater café for mini meals like ones on “ on-board “ a flight

·         Total project cost = Rs 9 crore

·         Per room cost = Rs 8-9 lakhs ( Rs 16,000 per sq ft )

·         Room Tariff = Rs 2,000 – 2,500 ( includes breakfast )

·         Target Customers = Single , transit and group travellers

·         Prefabricated rooms designed by Formwerkz ( Singapore ) and supplied by some Chinese firm

·         THE HOTEL GOT “ ASSEMBLED “ ( ON SITE ) WITHIN 9 MONTHS OF GETTING SITE

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Now consider the following :

·         In last Union Budget , “ affordable housing “ ( in 4 metros ) , is defined at carpet area of 30 sq meter ( 323 sq ft ) which equals approx. 6 rooms ( pods of 50 sq ft each ) of Urbanpod hotel ( costing Rs 52 lakhs )

·         BUT THE CURRENT GOING RATE FOR A 323 SQ FT FLAT IN MUMBAI IS RS 100 LAKHS !

·         All over India, millions of families are in search of “ affordable “ houses

·         All that they can “ afford “ for a 323 sq ft house is Rs 10 lakhs !

·         Can price of 6 pods of Urbanpod be brought down from Rs 52 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs ?

ANSWER :

Constructing buildings using mass production technique of 3 D Printing , pioneered by WINSUN ( China ) , can bring down the cost ( of a 323 sq ft house ) to well below Rs 10 lakhs – more likely to Rs 5 lakh !

Remember , we are scaling up from 140 pre-fabricated rooms to 140 MILLION affordable homes !

In case of doubt , look up following report of World Economic Forum ,

 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Shaping_the_Future_of_Construction_Inspiring_Innovators_redefine_the_industry_2017.pdf

HOW  TO  GO  ABOUT  ?

·         For a detailed FRAME WORK for constructing 200 million homes by 2022 , read,

 #  3 DPrinted Office ( 27 May 2016 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/05/3d-printed-office.html }

#   Good  Policy :  Devil is in Details (  10 Dec 2016 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/good-policy-devil-is-in-details.html }

#  QUANTUM JUMPOF 50 MILLION HOUSES ( 13  Feb  2016 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/02/cheap-houses.html }

 

 

#  A  Dream House  by  2020  ? ( 01 Sept 2015 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/09/dream-house-by-2020.html }

 

 

03  March  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 

Taxing Times for Robots ?

CNBC.com ( 17 Feb 2017 ) carries following news report  :

Bill Gates: Job-stealing robots should pay income taxes “

 

CPAs of the world, take note of a whole new potential client base: According to Bill Gates, if a robot is going to do a human's job, it should also pay a person's income taxes.

"If a human worker does $50,000 of work in a factory, that income is taxed," says Gates in a recent interview with Quartz editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney. "If a robot comes in to do the same thing, you'd think we'd tax the robot at a similar level."

Gates is actually optimistic about the prospect of a workforce made up significantly of robots and, in the interview, he emphasizes the jobs humans will still, and always, be needed to do.

Still, tax revenue is essential to making training and new, irreplaceable jobs available to human workers.

"You can't just give up that income tax," he says. "Some of it can come on the profits that are generated by the labor-saving efficiency there. Some of it can come directly from some type of robot tax."

And the companies making money building this robot workforce ?

Gates speculates they'll be just fine with the idea of a robo-worker that's required to pay its due.

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Now , Bill , being a pragmatist , could not mean this seriously !

He is too intelligent to have overlooked the following :

·         When one salaried worker gets replaced by another salaried worker, computation of taxes payable by the employer, is a straight forward matter .

·         But who is expert enough to decide how many salaried workers , does a robot replace ?  It could be just ONE or even THREE , at another point of time  !  Scope for endless litigation !

·         Most factory workers possess ONE skill ( eg: welding / machining / fabrication / painting / assembling etc )

But , more often than not , one Robot possesses many skills simultaneously and replaces many workers , at one go ( - and no issues of line-balancing / coordination / coffee breaks / leaves / sicknesses etc disrupting the team ! )

·         Even if employers have to pay taxes ( of course , on behalf of the robots ! ) , they would be more than happy to do so ( - and replace human workers )

Reason ?

A Robot ,

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/04/robots-robots-everywhere-not-soul-to-see.html },

·         works 24 hours/day and does not ask for a salary / increment / bonus

·         does not " go slow "or go on a strike

·         does not demand " Quotas / Reservations "

·         does not take holidays or take " Sick Leave "

·         does not resign / demand promotion

·         neither envies other robots nor sabotage their output

·         does not complain against unpleasant work

·         does not get tired and need rest

·         does not slow down after working for 8 hours

·         does not demand " Overtime Pay " @ 200 % of normal

·         perfectly co-ordinates its tasks with other robots

·         willingly " retires / gets replaced " at any age , whenever required

·         is easy to “ Re-Skill / Re-program “ , within hours

·         does not demand Unemployment / Retirement Benefits  ( PF / Gratuity etc )

THAT BRINGS UP THE QUESTIONS :

·          What is a robot ? Does it always have moving parts and be present at the place of work ?

·          Does it have to have  any “ Human-like “ attributes ?  eg : Walk/ Talk / Cry / Laugh  ?

·          Can it “ reproduce “ itself ?

·          Can it , one day become “ smarter “ than a human ? (Ray Kurzweil’s frightening “ Singularity)

·          Can humans using VR - AR headsets / Hepatic Gloves and operating machineries –     equipment – devices from thousands of kilometres away, be called “ Robots “ ? Eg :

#    A boy from Kolhapur loading / unloading in a Amazon Warehouse in New York

#   A girl from Nashik operating exoskeleton in Detroit , to help an old man out of bed ?

#   A eye surgeon in Mumbai removing a cataract in LA , using micro-surgery robot ?

{ refer : The BackFactory of the World :

{  https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/09/back-factory-of-world.html  }

And when ( not “ if “ ) that SINGULARITY arrives , do not be surprised if the robots have become smarter than the smartest human CPA / CA / Tax Consultant , to train their MASTERS / OWNERS / EMPLOYERS , on how to “ EVADE PAYING TAXES “ !

Or, claim to have their “ Substantial Presence “ in countries with no taxes of any kind !

Dear Bill :

Unless you are comfortable with the emergence of a world-encompassing BLACK ECONOMY , parish the idea of taxing the robots !

02  March 2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs