How to Universalize Social Security ?

For a long time , in India , the only Social Securities were :

·         EPF / PPF ( for a few million persons working in Organized Sector )

·         A earning son in a HUF – Hindu Undivided Family ( For a Billion + Citizens )

A few years back , government introduced  Atal Pension Yojana ( APY )

A report in Business Line ( 17 June ) reads :

To expand the outreach of the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), people can now enrol and subscribe digitally to the scheme.

“The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has now introduced “APY@eNPS” which involves a complete digital enrolment process,” said the Finance Ministry on Friday, adding that it will give additional push to cover the as yet unreached population at greater ease.

APY is the flagship social security scheme that is available for all citizens in the age group of 18-40 years and provides them a minimum guaranteed pension. At present, the scheme has over 54 lakh subscribers and it has generated a return of 13.91 per cent.

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Although this facility, would certainly help , it is quite unlikely to cover a billion citizens !

For a comprehensive solution, take a look at :

JanDhan Sarjan Yojana  ( 31  Aug  2015 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/08/jan-dhan-sarjan-yojana.html }

-      where I suggested as follows :

*   If GST is going to be ( say ) 20 % , Government will transfer from this ,

     2 % ( ie 10 % of that 20 % ) , to the PPF account of the Consumer /

     Buyer , who pays for the Goods / Services purchased , using a RuPay

     Card or a " Mobile Wallet " app

     This will motivate millions of self - employed to open  PPF  accounts !

*   Since interest from a PPF account is tax-free , every citizen would , now

     want to make all payments thru RuPay card or a Mobile Wallet App

*   RuPay cards are already tied up with accounts opened under Jan Dhan

     Yojana

*   Mobile Wallets Apps will also get tied-up with thousands of branches of

     Payment Banks , which will open in next 18 months

     Just imagine the number of new accounts that will get opened in the

     1,55,000 + post offices of India Post  !

*   In this way , Social Security will become " Self Financing " !

*   Currently , in India , some 97 % of all payments are " Cash Payments ".

     With introduction of this proposal , these will drastically decline

*   Any payment made , using RuPay card or a Mobile Wallet App , will make

     available to the Income Tax Department , full digitized record of each

     such transaction , including :

     #  Who  made the payment

     #  To whom was that payment made

     #  When was that payment made

     #  For what purchase , was that payment made

     #  What was the amount paid

*   One , very desirable consequence of  Jan Dhan Sarjan Yojana

     will be that our " Domestic Savings Rate " will climb back to 30 % !

02  July  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

No Takers for Brand New Homes ?

A news report in Mumbai Mirror ( 16 June ) reads :

“ 50,000 affordable homes up for sale in Mahul and Trombay “

It adds :

“ However these have been lying vacant for five years , as PAPs ( Project Affected Persons ) have refused to move into them for various reasons – issues like,

·         THE HOUSE IS FAR AWAY FROM THEIR PLACE OF LIVELIHOOD

·         THERE IS LITTLE OR NO RAILWAY AND BEST CONNECTIVITY OR BUS ROUTES

·         NO SCHOOL AND HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN THE VICINITY

If we are serious about renewal of our crowded / congested / crumbling / corroding cities , it is time our Town Planners take a few minutes to read my following blog ( sent as email to Central ministers and State Chief Ministers ) :

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Urban Renewal ?

An important aspect of urban renewal is to get rid of slums , by resettling slum-dwellers in better houses

Then convert those vacated slum areas into gardens

But slum-dwellers are unwilling to vacate their huts .

Why  ?

Over the past 25 / 30 years , the standard method was to move the slum-dwellers into some temporary , make-shift transit camps , pending permanent rehabilitation

But that promised " permanent rehabilitation " never came  !

Those who agreed to get shifted into those transit camps , continue to live there for generations - without any hope of ever moving into multi-story concrete buildings with running water / electricity / toilets

Given this broken promises , who would agree to shift out  ?

Second problem is availability of jobs nearby where they are forced to move - even if these buildings happen to be well-built , modern and permanent multi-storied buildings

Who would want to move to a better / permanent house , if it is 30 Km away from a work-place  ?

No one wants to spend 4 hours on the road every day , commuting to a place of work in dense traffic , riding a crowded bus / train  !

But most slum-dwellers would happily vacate their slums and move 150 Km away , if ,

*  It is a well-built building with all amenities

*  It is a  permanent home ( - and not a transit facility  )

*  It is given FREE , on ownership basis

*  THERE IS A JOB WITHIN 1 KM OF THE NEW HOME

This is exactly what China is doing , by building ONE brand new Mega City , EVERY 20 DAYS  !

And moving 250 million slum-dwellers into those cities over the next 20 years ( - nearly ONE MILLION people , EVERY MONTH  !  )

May be this is what NaMo was thinking when he dreamt of constructing 100 Mega Cities in next 5 years - at the rate of ONE city EVERY 18 DAYS  !

OLD  CITIES CANNOT " RE-NEW " THEMSELVES , UNTIL WELL-PLANNED NEW CITIES ARE BUILT FIRST AND READY TO RECEIVE THOSE OLD CITY SLUM-DWELLERS AND OFFER THEM JOBS

Only problem :

* Mega City of Dholera ( in Gujarat ) is under construction for over last 3

 years and expected to cost , Rs 70,000 Crores

* Central Government has neither the money needed to construct 100 cities,

nor the administrative / technical competence for such a project

*  Democratic Institutions are un-suited for taking bold / harsh /

 controversial decisions - then bulldoze !

It seems urban renewal will remain a mirage  !

02  July  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Artificial Intelligence : Brahma , Vishnu or Mahesh ?

In Hindu mythology ,

·          Brahma  is the  CREATOR

·          Vishnu   is the  PRESERVER

·          Mahesh  is the  DESTROYER,

of the Universe .

Of late , there is a fierce debate as to the role of AI in this Universe

No one doubts that AI will CREATE things we have not even dreamed of

Over the past one month , AI is helping in PRESERVING the computer networks against Cyber Attacks

Then there are ominous indications that AI may even DESTROY the civilization !

Hindustan Times ( 01 July ) carries following news snippet :

“ Hackers can guess a user’s passwords , PINS by monitoring their thoughts , according to scientists who suggest that brainwave-sensing headsets need better security. Electro-encephalograph ( EEG ) headsets allow users to control robotic toys and video games with the mind “

An earlier report ( Business Line / 28 June ) reads ( extract ) :

·         Scientists have developed a new ‘ mind reading ’ AI system that can decode COMPLEX HUMAN THOUGHTS , just by measuring brain activity

·         Marcel Just ( from Carnegie Mellon University ) , said :

“ We have finally developed a way to SEE THOUGHTS of that complexity… The discovery of this correspondence between THOUGHTS and BRAIN ACTIVATION patterns tells us what the THOUGHTS are built of “

·         By measuring the activation in each brain system, the PROGRAMME can tell WHAT TYPE OF THOUGHTS are being contemplated

·         This advance makes it possible for the first time to DECODE THOUGHTS , containing several concepts

The rate at which technology is advancing , it is a matter of 2 / 3 years before :

·         

Those sensors strapped to the head and picking up brainwave patterns , get replaced by human fingers touching the screen of smart phones ( replacement of headsets till Smart Wrist Bands replace those smart phones ? )

·         Smart phones are configured to relay the picked-up “ patterns / thoughts “ to a CENTRAL SERVER for analysis / deciphering those “ thoughts “ on a scale of 1 to 10 ( 1 being “ Extremely Anti – Social / Violent “ to 10 being “ Highly Beneficial to Mankind “ )

·         Smart phone manufacturers ( later on , Wrist-band Manufacturers ) are mandated to build their devices with above-mentioned features )

·         Mobile Service Providing Services are re-configured not to service those phones / wrist bands which are not embedded with ARIHANT

To know how this ARIHANT scheme will SAVE the World from being annihilated by AI , read :

Fast  Forward to  Future ( 3F ) ( 20  Oct  2016  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/fast-forward-to-future-3-f.html }

01    July  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs 

An Instinct for Survival ?

You may also call it :  Competition ,  Oh What a Wonderful  Thing  !

Times of India ( 30 June 2017 ) carries a news report titled :

“ GPS-based fares to replace meters in all kaali-peelis soon “

Highlights :

·         Download the mobile app “ Aamchi Drive “

·         Enter the DROP LOCATION to get an estimate of how much the ride would COST and how LONG it would take for the cab to arrive

·         The GPS enables you to LOCATE taxis in the vicinity and once a cabbie confirms your ride, he will be provided only your name and contact number , not your DESTINATION

·         Once you get into the cab , the driver will get the DESTINATION and he will have to ACCEPT the ride

·         The trip will be MONITORED through a CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM over GPS, so there is NO CHANCE of METER TAMPERING

·         Even if you do not have the App, you can give your mobile number to the driver and register for a single ride , for which an E-RECEIPT is sent on your smartphone at the END OF THE TRIP

·         Unlike OLA and UBER , there will be NO SURGE PRICING ! The drivers will ply as per RTO-approved fares only

I am glad the owners of Kaali-peeli woke up in good time to read :

·         Kaali  Peeli ,  Wake  Up (  03  Oct 2016  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/kaali-peeli-wake-up.html }

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·         Making  Yourself Obsolete  ( 14  Feb 2016  )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/02/making-yourself-obsolete.html }

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·         AnExcellent  advice , Shri  Raotji ( 02  Sept  2016  )

       { https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/an-excellent-advice-shri-raoteji.html }

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I believe , in Mumbai alone there are 38,000 Kaali Peeli taxies

All over the country , there could be LAKHS !

If ALL these LAKHS were to work under “ Aamchi Drive “ ( One Country , One App ? ), that could give OLA / UBER , a run for their money !

It could be END of SURGE PRICING !

I suppose the Kaali Peeli owners realized in good time that if they fail to “ reform and compete “ , they would meet the same fate as that of Air India !

01 July  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs