Green Buildings ? Put Greed to Work !

Two days back , Maharashtra Government came out with a policy under which all new buildings will need to comply with “ Energy Conservation Building Code “

Under this code ,

·         All upcoming buildings will have to be fitted with LED bulbs only

·         Existing buildings will be encouraged to replace old bulbs / tube lights ( including all government buildings )

·         Street lights will be fitted with sunlight sensor switches and LED bulbs

·         Agricultural pumps will be powered by Solar Energy

·         Village Drinking Water Schemes will also get powered by Solar Energy

·         Anganwadi and jails will have to use energy-efficient gadgets

Congratulations to Shri Chandrashekhar Bawankule ( State Energy Minister ) , who said :

·         Govt will spend Rs 840 cr to implement this policy

·         Changes will save the government, around 1,000 MW of energy and Rs 6,000 cr in 5 years

·         Those who don’t abide by the rules will face punishment

·         The government will come up with incentive schemes to encourage old buildings to switch to LED lights

·         If the new norms are flouted, then the final occupation certificate can be withheld

·         Green buildings will be offered incentives in taxes or in the form of FSI

The news reports failed to make any mention of the government offering any “ incentives “ to buildings ( old or to new ), for installing of Solar Panels on roof tops !

While no one will quarrel with sundry incentives for “ saving power “ ( coal-based DIRTY power , at that ! )

 , it is indeed surprising that there is no incentive for “ generating power “ of the “ clean ( solar ) “ variety , on each and every roof top !

In the long run , it is only the roof top solar power that can save the World !

This ( apparent ? ) lack of enthusiasm for roof top solar , is all the more surprising considering that IIT-Madras has invented a small roof top plant ( along with a storage system ) , costing just Rs 20,000 , which can run a couple of tube-lights, fans, charging points and a TV !

A higher model can run all essential load ( minus washing machine and air conditioners ) of a middle class family

Economic Times ( 26 May ) writes :

“ This rooftop plant has been installed under CSR and government sponsorship in 15,000 rural homes and was successful in facing a three day power cut during Chennai floods in Dec 2015 “

An official in the Solar Energy Corporation of India ( SECI ) said :

To install a roof top of the present technology , a middle class family will require 1 KWH solar roof top and storage , costing about Rs 1.2 lakh and a space of 100 sq ft

What is holding back the government to incentivize millions of homes / buildings , to come forward and install the IIT-M innovation ?

I believe the answer lies in the Government displaying the same kind of “ Out of Box “ and innovative thinking which Shri Suresh Prabhu ( Railway Minister ) , recently displayed, while announcing train travel under  : TRAVEL NOW /  PAY  LATER :  scheme , under which you do NOT need to pay the train fare up-front but pay it later ( after enjoying your train journey ) !

A service charge of 3.5 % will be levied on such tickets and the customer will have to pay the ticket amount within 14 days of the purchase of the ticket.

To avail this service, it is mandatory for the passengers to provide their names, email ID , mobile number , PAN card or Aadhar details

I urge Maharashtra government to adopt this innovative financing model for roof top solar plants where :

·         Individual building owners or Societies will install the plants on their roofs ( model / size / supplier etc to be decided by each consumer )

·         Plants will need to be installed only by Channel Partners ( supplying agencies ) which are empanelled by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy , who have submitted installation data ( Project Completion Report for grid connected rooftop projects ) on the SPIN portal

·         Submit “ Bill / Certificate of Grid Connectivity “ to govt  for “Green Solar Loan “

·         Loan will be repayable at 5 % interest rate , over a 15 year period

·         SOCIETY WILL BE ABLE TO PAY THE  EMI  FROM THE SAVINGS IT WILL MAKE  BY NOT HAVING TO BUY THE GRID POWER FROM STATE DISCOM

·         Societies will even be allowed to repay the EMI in the form of the solar power it generates and FEEDS into the State Grid , under the “ Reverse Metering “ Scheme

Dear Shri Piyush Goyalji :

The surest / fastest way of  “ GOING GREEN “  is to  “

HARNESS  HUMAN GREED  “  !

{  https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/01/sun-our-soul-new-sos.html  }

Let us demonstrate to the World that , despite USA pulling out of the Paris Accord , our commitment to “ GOING  GREEN “ remains the same !

06  June  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

   

Bold Step ? or Reckless Step ?

All management gurus will tell you :

“ If you cannot carry out a threat when chips are down , never give a threat to begin

  with

  That is the worst thing you can do to bring about a solution to your liking

  And , thereafter , no one will ever take you seriously or respect you ! “

CONTEXT :

Today’s headline in Indian Express , which reads :

Notices to 23,000 housing societies , which failed to segregate waste / Civic body to move court against those who don’t comply

The news report quotes Shri Ramakant Biradar ( Assistant Municipal Commissioner of G North ward ) , as follows ,

“ We tried to encourage the residents several times but they are not willing to comply…. If they fail to comply, they are violating the norms of the Environment Act….. and we will move court against them

If proven in court, the Secretary and Chairman of Society can be prosecuted and a heavy penalty can be charged “

EXPECT   THE   FOLLOWING :

·         Even though no Chairman / Secretary ( of any Housing Society ) will believe that prosecuting 23,161 Societies is , even remotely possible , they will be tempted to resign immediately ( - a salary-less / thankless job in any case , with criticism as the only reward ! )

·         No member will come forward to contest the election to Society Managing Committee

·         Corruption / bribing will increase dramatically , to get prosecution postponed

·         If a few court cases do get filed , these will drag on for years , costing the MCGM and those societies , crores of rupees !

·         Who will get prosecuted in those Societies which are under the administrative control of the REGISTRAR of Societies ?

WHAT  COULD  HAVE  AVOIDED  THIS  EMBARASSMENT  ?

Not a “ negative “ but a “ positive “ motivation , through implementation of my following suggestions ( earlier sent as email to MCGM officers / Maharashtra Ministers ) :

IncentivizeHousing Societies  (  27  April 2016  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/04/incentivize-housing-societies.html  }

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Garbage is Green Gold { 3G }  (  10  Sept  2016  )

 

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/garbage-is-green-gold-3g.html }

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Discourage Plastic : Encourage Greed  ( 21  March  2016 )

 

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/03/discourage-plastics-encourage-greed.html }

 

 

06  June 2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

  

Can Akshay Patra Banish Malnutrition ?

Business Line ( 01 June ) carries following news report :

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO focussing on providing mid-day meals to children, is in talks with food companies to co-create nutritious recipes and products that can supplement its offerings under the government’s flagship scheme.

Last week, leading companies such as Nestle India, PepsiCo India, GSK Consumer Healthcare, Reliance Fresh and Viacom18, announced commitments to support the NGO’s programme, ‘Feed the Future Now’, that aims to provide five billion freshly cooked meals to children by 2020.

Shridhar Venkat, Chief Executive Officer, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said:

“The mid-day meals we serve children in schools is one of the most important meals, and sometimes, the only wholesome freshly cooked meal children get in a day. We are in exploratory talks with partners to look at ways to augment the nutrition intake in our mid-day meal programme.”

The NGO is likely to sign MoUs once its plans are formalised.

For instance, with PepsiCo India, the NGO is looking to co-create an OATMEAL-BASED NUTRITIOUS BAR that can supplement mid-day meals.

Venkat said the foundation has its own NUTRITION SPECIFICATIONS and hence is looking to collaborate with partners to ensure those standards are met.

Last week, nine private companies committed financial assistance and announced partnerships to create awareness about the NGO’s latest initiative.

Some of these companies have also reiterated their commitments to fortify their own products with nutrients, cut down on sugar and calories in their products and enhance focus on healthy products.

“By getting into private partnership, we hope to create an urgency in achieving our goals, and make a collaborative effort to implement our ‘Feed the Future Now’ initiative.

 We aim to serve five billion meals by 2020. Currently, we reach out to 1.6 million children across 12 States. So our focus is to scale up our efforts,” Venkat added.

I am glad that Akshay Patra , in close collaboration with the Government and the private sector Food Companies , has started implementing what I had suggested in :

Saving 1.2 Million Kids ( 29  June  2016  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/06/saving-12-million-kids.html  }

Can we get rid of Malnutrition among poor kids , permanently ?

Yes , we definitely can if my suggestions in respect of the following parameters, too get implemented :

·         Food

·         Packing

·         Manufacturers

·         Delivery Points

·         Technology

And the role to be played by :

·         Women and Child development Ministry

·         Food Ministry

·         Post Offices

·         Community Health Centres

These suggestions are detailed at :

BANMALI  is  the TOTAL  SOLUTION  ( 14 Nov 2016 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/11/banmali-is-total-solution.html }

06  June  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

A Breakthrough : in Technology and in Mind-set

On the face of it , the following news reports , appear unconnected :

·         For the first time , in yesterday’s launch of a GSLV satellite , ISRO claims to have employed “ Electric Propulsion “ , using a locally made Li-ion battery

·          

ISRO director , Shri Kiran Kumar said that , ISRO will increasingly use “ Electric Propulsion “ for all of its future satellites ( - which , as per my knowledge , no other country has used so far ! )

·         Indian Railways will install flexible solar panels and batteries to power fans and lights on 250 local trains

“ Flexible solar panels on moving trains is a good idea. However, efficiency of solar panels on moving trains is something which needs to be seen “, said Sunil Jain , CEO at Hero Future Energies ( source : Economic Times / 06 June )

WHAT  IS  THE  CONNECTION  ?

·         As of today , there is no manufacture of Li-ion batteries in India , forcing Indian Electric Car Manufacturers , to import these batteries at a very high cost

     As a result , in the total cost of a EV , battery alone costs as much as 50-70 %

·         Unless India starts manufacturing Li-ion batteries locally and bring down its cost drastically , final selling price of a EV , cannot compete with petrol / diesel car price . And , till this happens , people are NOT going to buy EV !

·         Only a few weeks back , ISRO demonstrated a Electric Car ( using its own locally developed Li-ion battery ) , which was powered by ( flexible ? ) , Solar Panels mounted on the car roof top

So , ISRO has developed technology for Li-ion batteries for propelling a satellite in space AND for driving a car on Indian roads !

WHAT  NEXT  ?

·         In a hurry , ISRO should “ give away “ ( for FREE ) , its manufacturing technology for the Li-ion battery to anyone wanting to set up a Battery Manufacturing plant in India

·         Vendors who plan to supply solar power systems to trains should approach ISRO , on the double !

06  June  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

   

Remembering Admiral Rickover !

Business Line ( 05 June ) carries following news report :

“ Reliance , L&T vying for Rs 25,000 cr defence deal “

“ RDEL and L&T have been asked to submit the bids by June 22

As per the RFP, the first ship will have to be delivered within four years and the remaining in the next seven years from the time the contract is awarded “

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Decades ago , Admiral Rickover ( US Navy ) introduced the concept of PERT and insisted that all future bids ( for Navy Contracts ) be accompanied by a PERT chart

If Defence Acquisition Council wants to ensure that this procurement does not meet the fate of many of our earlier attempts to develop indigenous technologies , where a 4 year project went on for 24 years , then DAC should seriously consider my following suggestion ( earlier sent as email to all Policy Makers )

Friday, 4 December 2015

Nothing prettier than PERT !

Economic Times ( 12 Oct 2015 ) carries a report titled :

" Panel set up for Innovation in Govt Projects "

As per this report, the Prime Minister has put together a team that will decide,

-  how government projects can be executed using cutting edge technologies and practices

The empowered committee for Innovative Collaborations was set up to incorporate the very latest solutions that science and technology has to offer

My suggestions  :

*    When any Ministry submits any Project Proposal for Cabinet approval , it must be accompanied by a PERT ( Program Evaluation and Review Technique ) chart , clearly showing all the " Activities " lying along the CRITICAL PATH

 ( earlier known as the CRITICAL PATH METHOD )

 That PERT Chart must accompany a tabulation showing , for each " Activity ",

     #    Pessimistic Time

     #    Optimistic  Time , and the

     #    Most likely Time

     Since Admiral Rickover , introduced this mandatory requirement for awarding tender to build the first nuclear submarine, some 50 years ago , all US government departments follow this procedure for all govt contracts

   

*    Insist that all the government departments / contractors, responsible for execution of any of these "activities", update the PERT chart status online on the web site of the Project Monitoring Group

     

    

*   PERT charts for all the projects should be made visible to the general public

*   If there is any " slippage " in any activity lying on the CRITICAL PATH , the name of the department or contractor responsible , must appear in bold RED letters , against that activity

     

This is the only INNOVATION that we need , to ensure that the projects get completed in time and within budget

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05  June  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs