Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Sunday, 16 July 2017

Slum Free by 2022 ? Forget it !



Hindustan Times ( 12 July ) carries following news report :


“ Miles to go before govt can make city slum-free by 2022



HIGHLIGHTS :


·         Target for making Mumbai slum free…………………………   2022


·         No of slums under BMC jurisdiction………………………………. 7 Lakh


·         Slums surveyed in past 2 years…………………………………..   20 %


·         Area to be covered…………………………………………………………  3307

 hectares

·         Slum clusters surveyed so far………………………………………   363 ( 1.42 L hutments )


·         Re-development of clusters to start after complete survey


·         Bio-metric details of residents being compiled to record the eligibility of all slum dwellers for FREE HOUSING under the SRA scheme





Why such a SLOW PROGRESS ( which may take another 10 years to complete ? )


·         Govt lacks the staff to conduct slum-to-slum survey


·         Slum dwellers are reluctant for Bio-metric ID


·         Slum dwellers just don’t believe anything will ever come out of this exercise





What is the SOLUTION ?


·         Some 50 km from Mumbai , FIRST build a Satellite City with enough 300 sq ft flats ( to be given FREE ) to accommodate the 7 lakh slum dwellers


·         In the same city , also offer plots ( FREE ) , to businesses / industries , in strict proportion to the “ No of Jobs “ they will offer to the slum dwellers that get shifted ( without jobs nearby , no slum dweller will ever shift out from present location / nor can he be expected to daily commute 50 km for a job ! )


Availability / allotment of FREE plots ( - and , may be ELECTRIC POWER ? ) , will attract businesses to move out of crowded Mumbai ( where Salaries / Wages are sky-rocketing ) . Such migration of businesses / industries , will lessen the burden on Mumbai’s infrastructure


Salaries / Wages of 5 years ( for the numbers of jobs promised to be created by the enterprise wanting those FREE plots ) , must be deposited in advance by the allotted , with the State Government


Govt to transfer monthly salaries / wages ( through DBT ) into the bank accounts ( linked with Aadhaar ID ) of the appointees , after appropriate safeguards


This will ensure availability of JOBS to the slum dwellers , BEFORE they move to the new city , eliminating the biggest resistance to shifting ! 






Can this be ACHIEVED ?


Yes , if we have the political will like that of the China – and , of course the resources !


Look at the following report :



10  April  2017  }




Beijing is one of the most crowded cities in the world—home to 24.9 million people in the metro areas. It's also one of the smoggiest, with some of the worst air quality in the world. In an effort to combat the city’s rapid growth (an average of 600,000 residents per year flocked to the city between 2000 and 2013) and the traffic congestion and pollution associated with it, China plans to build an entirely new city to take the pressure off its capital, Curbed reports.

The Chinese government recently announced a regional economic project called the Xiongan New Area, which will be a new metropolis built about 60 miles south of Beijing.


According to China Daily, Beijing will remain the functional capital of China, but the new city will take over some of the general economic functions that have so far been concentrated within Beijing.


The idea is that some of Beijing’s industry and business will move to Xiongan, and with it, some of its population.


With jobs no longer concentrated so densely in Beijing, people will be able to live closer to their work, giving them more transportation options and cutting down on air pollution.

================================


Dear Shri Venkaiah Naiduji / Shri Fadnavisji :



Knowing that China consumes nearly 50 % of entire World’s consumption of STEEL and CEMENT , is not going to help ! But improving upon China’s pragmatic planning , will !





17  July  2017


Saturday, 15 July 2017

A New Way to E-Way ?



Economic Times ( 14 July ) carries following news report :




“ Govt Bets Big on Tech to Ensure E-way Bill Does Not Bring Back Inspector Raj “


The proposed e-way bill for moving goods within the country would rely heavily on technology, employing RFID chips and QR codes, to ensure that monitoring of goods movement does not bring back inspector raj and slow down goods traffic on highways, officials said. 


The e-way bill is proposed as a permit of sorts in electronic format, which will have details of the goods carried on a vehicle.


"Effort is to have high technology interface," said a government official, adding that it would ensure that all data regarding an e-way bill is captured on it.


Having it embedded on RFID chip or a QR code will help in checking these in a non-intrusive manner without holding up a vehicle.


" These would be checked with hand-held devices or RFID chip readers,"  the official said. 


A group of officers from state and union finance ministry will work on the tech and design of e-way bill, the person said.


According to the proposed framework, GST Network will generate e-way bills that will remain valid for one to 15 days, depending on the transport distance.


One-day permit will be for a distance up to 100 km while a 15-day permit will allow more than 1,000 km transit, as per the proposed law.


A tax officer can intercept any conveyance to verify the e-way bill or the physical goods for all inter-state and intra-state movement of goods 


Rules governing the e-way bill have not yet been approved by the GST Council and are expected to be taken up when it meets next month on August 5. 


Express Industry Council of India (EICI), which represents small and large express delivery service companies engaged in domestic and international door to door transport services of parcels and documents, had expressed concerns about it, saying it could prove a logistical challenge. 



My request / suggestion to GST Council :


·         Aim to turn India’s highways into friction-less “ Conveyor Belts of Commerce


·         Look up conveyor belts in the warehouses of Amazon / Flipkart / UPS / FedEx etc , which carry hundreds of packages per minute – with each package carrying dozens of different items ( can we replace “ packages “ with TRUCKS and “ conveyor belts “ with HIGHWAYS ? )


·         Each item within each box , has RFID chip and QR code ( interlinked )


·         Sensors placed along the conveyor belt “ reads “ each package and each item inside each package . No need to stop the flow of the packages


·         E-way Bill too , will have all the QR Codes / RFID data , of each item loaded onto the truck ( Price / Origin City / Destination City / Supplier with GSTN registration number / Recipient with his GSTN registration number / GST – ISGST – SGST amount for each item / Date of Dispatch / Validity of E Way Bill etc )


·         Just like today’s Mobile Apps of UPS / FedEx enable online tracking of each package and of individual items within each package , that “ high technology interface “ being proposed by the Government should incorporate the following technologies :


   #   QR code / RFID chip





#   Internet of Things ( IoT )






#   BlueTooth / NFC


==========================


Dear Members of GST Council :


Here is YOUR opportunity to lead the way ( - in this case , the HIGHWAY ! )


There is no technical reason why Software Super Power India , cannot lead the world in ,

“ Ease of Doing Business “



If you guarantee the business / industry that “ NO INSPECTOR “ will stop the truck along its journey , they will willingly implement ANY / ALL technologies to serve the purpose of E Way Bill



Remember , all corruption starts by permitting HUMANS to “ interpret “ whether a given process was “ correct / incorrect “ as prescribed – and collect their “ hafta “ for offering to interpret it in favour of the Business / Industry , violating the process !



By implementing my suggestion



,
technology will SHUT DOWN the truck engine , upon detection of a violation !



And automatically unlock the engine when the violation gets corrected by EDITING the E-Way Bill , on GSTN web site !



16  July  2017



Friday, 14 July 2017

Making Aadhar Omnipresent ?



And making it a  FAIT  ACCOMPLI  ?


A 5 judge bench of the Supreme Court well soon hear a petition on the alleged “ illegality / un-constitutionality “ of Aadhar


In the meantime , following news caught my eyes :




Hindustan Times ( 14 July ) headline :


“ Govt slams states over slow progress in Aadhaar linking “


Scores of students in government schools across the country may be deprived of mid-day meals if their states continue the slow progress in getting them enrolled under Aadhaar





Business Line ( 14 July ) headline :


“ Open Aadhaar enrolment centres in branches , UIDAI tells banks “



The Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI ) has asked private as well as public sector banks to set up Aadhaar enrolment facility in at least one out of 10 branches in the coming weeks


At present , there are 25,000 active enrolment centres across the country….


There are 120,000 bank branches………..



=================================


Now consider this :

·         Aadhaar enrolment centre consists of,

A physical space ( 10 feet by 20 feet room ) for waiting of applicants


#  2 / 3  computers to enter data ( name / address / DOB etc ) , of applicant


A device to record Finger-Print and Iris Scan


#  6 / 8 employees to man the Centre



Already Smart phones are available with Bio-metric Readers ( Finger print + Iris scan )




If these phones were pre-loaded with an app { OMNI-DHAAR ? } , where the owners ( and their friends ) can enter ( type ) the desired DATA , then such a Smart phone can morph into a Aadhaar Enrolment Centre !


Omni-dhaar will instantly transmit the data entered to the Central Server of UIDAI for verification / confirmation ( ie: no duplication ) / dispatch of Aadhaar Card



Imagine , millions and millions of Aadhaar Enrolment Centres – without incurring of any expense on part of the government !



And those millions of students will persuade their parents to buy them a smart-phone , loaded with “ Omni-dhaar “ !



Only last week , Karbonn has already come out with a smart phone with


#   pre-loaded BHIM mobile wallet app


#   Biometric Reader


 So , what I am suggesting is not much “ out of place “ !



And the government would not have to worry about the Supreme Court striking this down , as “ un-constitutional “ !




15  July  2017





Revolutionizing Transport ?



Shri Nitin Gadkariji would have nothing less than full implementation of :


·         Internet  of Vehicles [ IoV ] [ 04  March 2017  ]



=======================================================


·         Can  Technology Outsmart  Traffic  Offenders ?  [ 16  June  2017  ]




=======================================================


·         UrbanTransport Policy  [ 09  June 2017  ]




=======================================================


He has made a beginning by setting a target of issuing Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID ) or FAST-ags to 5 MILLION vehicles in ONE YEAR , to minimize cash transactions at toll plazas



The Transport Ministry will make all toll lanes RFID enabled and FAST-ags will be provided for all vehicles sold at dealerships



The Ministry has already asked automakers to fit DIGITAL TAGS in all vehicles


Toll lanes would also be enabled for a touch-and-go prepaid card system soon



A FAST-ags is linked to an account where the user adds money. When the vehicle approaches the lane at a toll plaza , a sensor reads the tag attached to the front windscreen of the vehicle , deducts the fee and the gate opens



The Ministry is also looking at more technology-based solutions


Soon , a GPS based toll collection system would be piloted at the Eastern Expressway , which will do away with the concept of toll gates



 Let no one doubt Shri Gadkariji’s determination to implement  :


·         Whosays Impossible  ?  [ 31  May  2017  ]




======================================================

·         Leveraging  NaviC ?  [  30  May  2017  ]


14  July  2017