A Roof Over Every Head ?

Following are the targets for constructing  “ AFFORDABLE HOUSES “  :

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TARGETS :

#   Maharashtra  /  1.1 Million  /  2015 - 20  /  602 per day

#   Gujarat         /  5  Million   /  2013 - 18   /   2,740 per day

#   Centre         /   20  Million  /  2015 - 22  /  7,827  per day

These targets were set 2 years ago ( 4 years ago in case of Gujarat )

No one knows how many actually got constructed in past 2 years

My guess : Not more than 5 % of the pro-rata targets !

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WHY  ?

·         Lack of political will / Vested interests / Losing scope for bribes   

·         Lack of latest technology

·         Honest officers shying away from taking bold decisions for fear of getting one’s head chopped off by CVC / PAC / CBI / JPC / you name it !

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WHAT LATEST  TECHNOLOGY ?

Constructing houses using 3 D Printing Technology

In case you missed, DNA ( 07 March 2017 ) carried following news :

“ 3 D  printed house takes a day to build , lasts 175 years “

The structure , which cost just over Rs 6 lakh to construct, was printed using concrete ink at the build site

One of the best recent examples of this is an entire 3 D printed home recently erected in Russia . Local technology company Apis Cor { http://apis-cor.com/ }  printed a 400 sq ft ( 37 sq mt ) home from scratch, using an on-site mobile printer , in just 24 hours

The main components of the house , including the walls and structural foundations, were printed using a concrete mixture. Other pieces like the windows and internal furnishings were added later on, as was a new coat of paint to the exterior of the house

All told, the total construction cost of the house added up to $ 10,134 ( approx. Rs 6,76,550 )

The house features a hallway, bedroom , living room , and kitchen

According to the company, it can last up to 175 years

HOW  TO  GO  ABOUT  ?

Read my following earlier blogs / emails :

·         Building  Castles in  the  Air  ? ( 25  July  2015  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/07/building-castles-in-air.html }

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

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

·         A Quantum Jumpof 50 Million Houses ?  ( 13  Feb  2016 )

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

·         A  3 D printed  Office  ( 27  May  2016  )

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

·         A  Good Policy :  Devil  is in  details  ( 10  Dec  2016  )

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

·         Future  Home is  Here  ( 02  March  2017 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/03/future-home-is-here.html }

IMPLICATIONS  :

If  targets  have to be met ( even by 2025 ) , there does not seem to be any viable alternative , other than 3D printing of houses

Without doubt , adoption of 3D printing technology is bound to have major implications for the following aspects of our Construction Industry :

·         At Rs 308 billion , it contributes 5 % of our GDP

·         It garners 40 % of India’s “ Development Investment “

·         It employs ( directly + indirectly ) , some 35 million persons ( 16 % of our working population ) – including 23 million persons employed in our Brick Kilns ( which will disappear with the arrival of Concrete Ink )

·         There are 500 companies manufacturing Construction Machinery ( who will need to “ re-invent “ themselves ! )

 NOW  IMAGINE  THIS :

Only a few weeks back , Elon Musk ( Tesla ) , unveiled “ Solar Roof Tiles “ , to replace normal roof tiles on buildings

These tiles incorporate Solar PV cells and will generate enough electricity for the building

No other maintenance required other than occasional wash !

And Tesla’s POWERWALL battery pack will store the electricity produced during the day , for use at night !

I imagine that one day soon , Elon will team up with Apis Cor ( Russia ) and WinSun ( China ) , to make that 3D printer lay down Solar Roof Tiles , automatically ,as the final layer !

08  March  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Caterpillar Morphing into Butterfly ?

But then , a caterpillar has no choice !

It is simply ordained – a matter of evolution – a matter of survival !

A case in point :

Hindustan Times ( 08 March 2017 ) carries following news report :

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“ Now , use your Aadhar card to make payments “

The government launched on Tuesday an Aadhaar card-linked payments system that will allow customers to ditch their debit and credit cards and pay using fingerprints.

Aadhaar Pay, a new Android-based smartphone app, will also eliminate the fee charged by private card companies such as MasterCard and Visa. The app is available on Google Play Store.

Merchants must download the app on smartphones connected to a biometric reader. A customer has to enter her Aadhaar number in the app and select a bank for payment. Biometric scans are used as passwords.

This is the government’s latest move to encourage people to go cashless. The app was first announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech in February. The government targets 25 billion digital transactions on various new payments platforms in 2017-18.

The government issued one billion Aadhaar cards till April 2016, the latest year for which data is available. At least 400 million of these are linked to bank accounts, and the government hopes to link the rest by the end of this month.

Aadhaar Pay has been developed by IDFC Bank in collaboration with several government organisations, including the agency that controls Aadhar cards.

“Basic banking services will come to those who do not have even basic mobile phones,” he said.

The State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank will launch their merchant platforms for Aadhaar Pay in the coming weeks.

The app has some limitations, though.

It works only where there is internet connection, unlike debit or credit card machines which can work on telephone lines. Plus, the app can’t be used to transfer funds or get immediate information on refunds.

But the metamorphosis will be complete when AEPS ( Aadhar Enabled Payment System ) , enables crores of illiterate rural Indians to effect “ Payment Transactions “ , using just their

·          IRIS ( looking into the camera of the Merchant’s Smartphone )

·          FINGER ( touching the screen of that phone;no separate reader attachment )

·          SPEAKING ( into that phone )

To know how this is inevitable , read my earlier blog / email :

“ Simplicity– the Ultimate Mobile Wallet ? “ ( 13  Feb  2017  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/02/simplicity-ultimate-mobile-wallet.html }

ONLY  THIS  WILL  DECIDE  WHICH  MOBILE  WALLET  WILL  SURVIVE  !

08  March  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Innovative Financing ?

DNA ( 07 March 2017 ) carries following news report :

“Metro rail Companies may be allowed to issue TAX-FREE BONDS “

The Ministry of Urban Development has proposed allowing agencies implementing metro rail projects to issue bonds, including TAX FREE BONDS, to raise funds for projects

The Ministry had last week held a workshop with States and Union territories to discuss the draft policy , which will soon be sent to the Cabinet for approval

While detailing the Budget for 2017-18 ( april – March ), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said a new metro rail policy  - focussing on INNOVATIVE models of implementation and FINANCING as well as standardization and indigenization of hardware and software will be announced

Now consider this in light of the following recent report from Asian Development Bank :

“ According to the ADB estimates India would require to invest as much as $4363 billion during the 2016-30 period or an annual amount of $ 291 billion, or to 7.4% of the GDP, which is way above that of all major economies and many fold larger than the $ 118 billion currently spent.

However, mitigating climate change would require that India spend $ 5752 billion over the fifteen year period which amounts to an annual outlay of $ 343 billion or 8.8% of the GDP.”

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As you can see from ADB report above , funding requirement of Metro Projects , is only a small fraction of India’s total funding requirement for all types of infrastructure

So , why restrict TAX FREE BONDS to only METRO projects ?

In my view , this innovation must be extended to ALL types of Infrastructure Projects , as suggested in my following blog / email ( to NDA Ministers ) , some 3 YEARS ago :

Monday, 7 April 2014

Don't Ask " How " ?

At the bottom of the 42 page Election Manifesto of BJP , released yesterday , I tried to search , if in very small print somewhere , there was a footnote which read ,

"  Please , don't ask how we plan to implement these promises ;

   From where we plan to find all the money to execute these projects "

Here are my back-of-the-envelope estimates of what some of the MAJOR projects might cost :

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PROJECT   .................................... Approx Cost ( Rs Lakh * Crores  )

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·           100 Mega Cities........................   90

·           Interlinking of Rivers..................  60

·           Sagar Mala of Ports....................  30

·           Highways ( 25,000 Km )..............  50

·           Housing ( 100 mill units )............  100

·           Rivers Cleaning..........................  10

·           Other Infra Projects....................   100

            #   Freight Corridors

            #   Gas Grids

            #    OFC Network

  Total ..........................................Rs  430  Lakh Crores

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Admittedly , not all of these money will be required in the very first budget that NaMo government ( - of course , only if voted to power ! ) , would present by end June 2014

But a problem does not go away by postponement  !

There is only ONE viable solution to the  FUNDING  problem , viz:,

*  Union Government must NOT even try to fund these projects  !

There is NO WAY , it can find these kind of money through  taxation  !

There will be a revolt  !

ANSWER

*  Make it possible for the PUBLIC to invest into these projects by " owning "

    these projects - and earn a reasonable " tax-free " return on  investments

    ( Bonds ? ) in these projects

*  Towards  this end , create various  INFRASTRUCTURE SPVs

*  Immediately modify  PERSONAL INCOME TAX  regime as follows :

   

    #    Up to  Rs 5  lakhs..................... NIL

    #    5.1  - 10 lakhs.......................  8 %

    #    10.1 - 20 lakhs......................  6 %

    #    20.1  - 50 lakhs.....................  5 %

   #     50.1 - 100 lakhs.....................  3 %

   #     Above 100 lakhs......................  1 %

What is likely to happen with such " INVERSE  TAXATION  " regime  ?

Following few things :

*  Total personal tax payer base will go up dramatically from current 4

     crores tax-payers

*  with this " INVERSE  TAX  REGIME " , there will be no incentive to  evade

    taxes and to generate " BLACK  MONEY  "

    There will be no resistance to accept ALL payments by cheque / electronic

    Clearance

    The more you disclose as your income , the less you pay by way of taxes

    ( Of course , incrementally )

*  For a change , we will learn to reward honesty / efficiency / productivity !

    No need to bribe those Income Tax officers  !

*  Suddenly , lakhs of crores of BLACK MONEY will become  WHITE MONEY

   

*  There will be a huge surge in bank deposits ( - even with , the inevitable

    lower interest rates )

*  Banks will be awash with funds to finance businesses / infrastructure

    projects etc , encouraging entrepreneurs / self-employed to set up new

   businesses ( at 2 % interest rates of loans ) and generate millions of jobs

In any case , BJP manifesto promises :

*   Rationalization and simplification of the tax regime - which is currently

      repulsive for honest tax payers

   

*  The process of bringing black money to India , what belongs to India , will

    be put in motion on priority

*  Minimize scope for Corruption

Dear Narendrabhai  ,

Here is your chance to ditch the " Historical Baggage " into the Indian Ocean

and come up with an  INNOVATION   that will take India ahead of China  !

If President Kubitschek of Brazil ( 1956-61 ) - son of a poor salesman - could construct Capital city BRASILIA and a 1500 Km highway , in 41 months , surely , you can do better , 57 years later  !

07  March  2014

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs