A Pre-paid Electricity Meter ?

In an interview with Economic Times ( 15 May ) , Minister for Power / Renewable Energy , Shri Piyush Goyalji says :

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“ UPA has been a sad example as during its tenure , people used to receive high power bills all of a sudden .

In some cases, the poor will not receive bills for months together and one day , he will receive a bill for last two years

Then he is harassed to pay up

We are talking to all the States that they have to ensure monthly bills , so people don’t get a shock

If there is a default, then action can be taken on a monthly due amount  “

As compared to those old days , of course , things are much better now

In case of many DISCOMS , people can make an Online Payment from their web sites

I believe , some of these DISCOMS have even launched their own AEPS mobile wallets / apps , using which , power consumers can make payments against their monthly bills

But , how about a Prepaid Electricity Meter , with following features / functionality ?

·         It will be a Tablet look-alike device

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·         It will show daily – weekly – monthly , power consumption of the premises

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·         It will show the “ average / highest / lowest “ monthly consumption

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·         It will also show how many UNITS remain to his BALANCE , at any given time

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·         It will show a GRAPH comparing consumptions during any two “ periods “

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·         It will have facility to enter ( type in ) , customer’s Aadhar Number ( of course, linked to his Bank Account Number )

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·         After login ( using biometric identification of Finger + Iris + Voice ) , customer can “ Re-charge “ his “ Account “ with ( say ) , Rs 1,000 / - at the beginning, using the built-in Virtual Keyboard ( Device will have built-in camera )

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·         When the “ balance “ to his credit falls to ( say ) Rs 100 / - , an alarm will ring and he will also get Email / SMS / WhatsApp reminder

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·         If he fails to “ Re-Charge “ his account , power will get disconnected upon the balance falling to Rs 10/-  !

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·         Power will start flowing again as soon as consumer “ re-charges “ through device

None of this ( hardware + software + wireless telecom ) , is a Rocket Science !

Any Start Up can come up with such a total , end-to-end , solution within 6 months !

Only thing , this device cannot stop is UN-METERED THEFT of power , where wires get pulled from a power-line , bypassing the meter !

Other than this one limitation , this suggestion has the potential to dramatically improve the Financial Positions of the State DISCOMS !

Dear Shri Goyalji ,

Would you like to pose this challenge to our Start Ups ?

19  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs  

Easier said than done !

Economic Times ( 15 May ) carries following news report :

“  Startup Inc’s Sop Story to be part of Book of Jobs “

Cos eyeing benefits under Startup India will have to declare job creation estimates 

Companies eyeing benefits under the Startup India programme will soon have to declare upfront how many jobs they will create in order to qualify as the government moves to make employment generation the guiding principle for all its major programmes.

“We will soon notify the new definition for startups, which goes beyond innovation,“ a senior government official said.

Innovation is currently the main criterion for startups to qualify for benefits such as tax holidays and fast-track patent filing under Startup India.

To qualify as a startup under the new definition, an entity would have to declare its job creation target and meet certain financial standards besides having a certain level of innovation in its product or service.

When PM Narendra Modi launched the Startup India initiative in January 2016, one of its main thrusts was to create employment opportunities for the youth, but it was not included as a mandatory requirement.

The initiative has not yet taken off in a big way , as only 10 startups have been approved for availing of the tax benefit by an inter-ministerial board.

DIPP has recognised 798 applications as startups but not given them the tax benefit.

Companies incorporated after March 31, 2016, could avail of a three-year tax holiday in the first seven years of their existence under the Startup India initiative.

Startups are expected to create 250,000 jobs in India by 2020, up from 80,000 now, according to a Nasscom report. 

QUESTION IS :

Writing down on a piece of paper that “ you will create so many jobs ( by xyz date ? ) “ , is not difficult but do DIPP have the manpower – and a mechanism – to count the “ Actual No of Jobs “ created ?

ANSWER :

No

Can technology help “ count “ the actual number of persons employed by such a start up and transmit that figure to DIPP , daily ? – automatically ?

Yes , it can !

If DIPP were to implement my  following suggestion ( earlier sent as email ) 

:

“  From  BAD to  MAD  “  ( 01 June 2016 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/06/from-bad-to-mad.html }

18  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

From ELON to ION

A news report in  Hindustan Times ( 11 May ) reads :

“ Ather Energy plans to clone Tesla’s charging biz model “

Under this plan, Ather Energy ( Bangalore based manufacturer of electric 2 wheelers ), plans to install charging stations at malls, cinemas, offices and business parks

Just like TESLA which has put up ( mostly in USA / Europe ), 5400 Supercharger Stations and 9000 “ Destination Charging Connectors that replicate the convenience of home charging by providing hotels, resorts, and restaurants with Tesla wall connectors “

But Indian Electricity Act says  :  Sorry ! You cannot sell electricity !

So the plan hinges on changes being effected to the Electricity Act 2003 , even as Ather Energy’s letter travels from PMO to DIPP to Department of Heavy Industries to Ministry of Power  !

Under the Act , an individual or a private Institution cannot sell electricity unless one obtains a discom license to distribute power, from a competent State Government Authority

I am confused !

Already now , many homes who have installed “ Reverse Metering “ arrangement for their roof-top solar-panel generated electricity , are “ feeding “ power into the State Grids . May be that is not a “ sale “ but a “ barter “ ?  Without paying GST ?

And already from this month , Tesla has started selling Solar Roof-Top Tiles , for delivery around the World . I have no doubt that millions of Indians will start installing these tiles on their roofs / terraces , because :

·         These will be cheaper than current clay tiles

·         They are more efficient ( in conversion of solar Energy ) than PV solar panels

·         They come with guarantee of “ Infinity Years “

·         They are unbreakable and look much better

{ https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-announced-that-teslas-solar-roofs-will-have-an-infinity-warranty/ } 

Expect these households to “ sell “ their surplus electricity to their neighbours  !

Or get a Auto-Garage to fix these tiles on the roof of their cars to continuously charge their EV car’s Li-ion battery , ( ala ISRO-designed EV ) !

Imagine !  No need for any EV Battery Charging Station !

Those having any doubts ( re Indian ingenuity / innovation ) , should read following news ( Economic Times / 11 May ) , re Mumbai based Start Up, “ ION Energy “ :

“ ION Energy specialises in creating a layer of infrastructure to enable the adoption of electric vehicles in India

It leverages proprietary enhancements to the Lithium ion tech in its energy storage systems ( - ala Tesla’s POWERWALL  ? )

“ We are an energy storage company working on two broad principles ,

·          first is decoupling of energy storage systems from their applications

·          the  other being standardization of design such that energy storage systems can be used across a variety of applications interchangeably  “

said Akhil Aryan , founder of ION Energy .

ION IS LOOKING TO DELIVER A BETTER PRICE PER KILOMETRE , FIVE-SIX TIMES BETTER ACCELERATION , 10-12 TIMES LONGER LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING TIME , COMPARED TO EXISTING OPTIONS

I suspect that Akhil’s vision is to get anyone and everyone , to not only generate Solar Power but to store it and “ sell “ it ( - to anyone and everyone ? )

Why not , when the RAW MATERIAL ( sunlight ) costs ZERO ! And " Manpower Cost " is negligible !

“ Decoupling “ millions of houses from State Electrical Grid Supply  ?  You bet !

And , let us not forget the praise that Shri Narendra Modiji heaped on illiterate village woman , Noor Jehan of UP , in his “ Man Ki Baat “ ( Nov 2015 )

She put up a small workshop to assemble lanterns which can be re-charged using Solar Power . She rents out these lamps for Rs 100 per month

When the lamp gets dis-charged , villagers brings it to Noor Jehan who re-charges using her solar panel power , for Rs 3-4 !

Is she “ Selling “ electricity ?  It is time for a thorough re-vamp of our Electricity Act

And as for that 90 page , “ National Electric Vehicle Policy “ document which NITI Aayog has prepared in consultation with Rocky Mountain Association and likely to release today or tomorrow , policy recommendations in respect of Vehicle Charging Infrastructure may already be rendered “ Out-dated “ by ELON and ION !

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12  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

  

Credible Data on Job Creation ? Here is How

Hindustan Times ( 10 May 2017 ) carries following news report :

“ Modi sets up high-level panel to provide credible data for employment policies “

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday set up a high-level task force under Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya to fine tune jobs data so that the government can frame policies to spur employment.

The task force will recommend solutions which can be implemented in a time-bound manner.

“The PM has directed that this task be expedited so that policies on employment can be formulated with a proper appreciation of impacts, based on credible data,” a PMO release said.

The task force also includes labour secretary Sathiyavathy, chief statistician TCA Ananth, Pulak Ghosh of Niti Aayog and Teamlease chief Manish Sabharwal.

At present, data on employment is collected and published by certain agencies including the Labour Bureau but the coverage is very small.

The Labour Bureau data covers only a few sectors and the methodology is not based on updated panel of survey respondents.

“The net result has been that both policy making and analysis are conducted in a data vacuum,” the PMO said.

Asserting that the government attaches the highest priority to job creation, the PMO said, “India suffers from a lack of reliable, timely data on employment, which has made it difficult for policy makers and independent observers to assess the extent of employment generation at different points of time.”

Modi had directed his ministers to come up with a solution to fill this long standing gap in the country’s statistical architecture.

In the last budget session of the Parliament, minister of state for planning Rao Inderjit Singh admitted that the overall unemployment was rising, and the rate was highest among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The unemployment rate has increased to 5% from just 3.8% in 2011.

In January, a United Nations report said India may witness marginal increase in unemployment between 2017 and 2018.

The World Employment and Social Outlook report said: “Unemployment in India is projected to increase from 17.7 million last year to 17.8 million in 2017 and 18 million next year. In percentage terms, unemployment rate will remain at 3.4 per cent in 2017-18.”

Dear Shri  Sathiyavathy / TCA Ananth / Pulak Ghosh / Manish Sabharwal :

There are only following technology-based solutions to compile “ Credible Employment Data “ and for job-generation

And compile such data :

·         Automatically and Unbiased ( without human intervention / dependence  )

·         Dynamically  ( on continuous / on-going basis – 24*365 )

·         Accurately     ( with 99 % accuracy  )

Please consider to implement my following suggestions ( earlier sent as Emails ) :

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·        

From  BAD to  MAD  (  01  June  2016 )

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{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/06/from-bad-to-mad.html  }

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·          QuarterlyLabour Survey : A Still-Born  Child ? ( 22 March 2017 )

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{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/03/quarterly-labour-survey-still-born-child.html }

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·         AnnualEmployment Survey ? ( 26  Oct  2015  )

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{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/10/annual-employment-survey.html }

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·         NationalCareer Service Portal  ( 21  July  2015  )

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{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/07/national-career-service-portal.html }

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·         JobMelas are NOT an Answer  !  ( 13  Feb  2017  )

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{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/02/job-melas-are-not-answer.html  }

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·         Incentivizing  Employment ? (  24  Aug  2016  )

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

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·         50Million Jobs in 5 months ?  (  24  June  2016  )

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{  https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/06/50-million-new-jobs-in-5-months.html  }

10   May 2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs