Bitcoin : Illegal in India

Times of India ( 02 Jan ) carries following news :

Trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, other crypto-currencies illegal, says Arun Jaitley

Bitcoins or such crypto-currencies are not legal tender and those indulging in such transactions are doing it at their own risk, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today as MPs expressed concern over trading on these platforms.

During the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, DMK member Kanimozhi sought to know whether the government was considering regulating crypto-currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as India " accounts for more than 11 per cent " of such trade globally.

Jaitley emphasised that the Centre's consistent position was that such currencies were not legal tender.

"The government is examining the matter. A committee under the chairmanship of secretary, department of economic affairs, is deliberating over all issues related to crypto-currencies to propose specific actions to be taken," he said.

While a repeated message was being given that such currencies were not legal tender, more detailed steps would be taken once the report of the committee is submitted, he said

I am fluxommed  !

If , as Shri Jaitleyji says , “ Bitcoins are not LEGAL tenders “ , then I suppose, that statement / admission,  implies that those ,

·         “ Mining “ the Bitcoins  ( same as printing of fake currency notes )

·         “ Trading “ in Bitcoins  ( determining its exchange-rate  vis-à-vis  RUPEE  ),

 are engaging in ILLEGAL activities !

An illegal activity can be defined as ,  “ breaking / violating “  SOME existing LAW

But , it seems , the Government does not know WHICH LAW has been broken  !

And if you don’t know which “ Law “ has been broken, then of course it stands to reason that you also don’t know , under what which Criminal Procedure Code , to charge the law-breakers  !  Hence  this  hesitation  ?

Never before , have I come across a case where some act is considered “ Illegal “ but no one knows which “ Law “ has been broken !

And therefore , what “ Punishment “ to demand from the Hon Judge , for the law-breaker !

After this “ Statement of Helplessness “ ( - that too in Lok Sabha ! ) , I would not be surprised if criminals can look forward to a “ REGIME of WARNING “ from the local policeman , whenever they engage in some ILLEGAL activity !

They may even carry a hard-copy of Shri Jaitleyji’s statement in their pockets , to show to the policeman !

So much for , “ CRIME  DOES  NOT  PAY  “ !

-  except in the case of sky-rocketing prices of Crypto-currencies , paying 10 % profit per day !

03  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

28 Hour Working Week ?

In my recent blog , I had mentioned that the ave. annual working hour in Germany was 1363 in 2016

Subtracting 2 weeks of annual vacation , that comes to 27.26 hours per week for 50 weeks

Now comes news which says :

German Union seeks 28 hour working week ( at least , for a 2 year period , after which , the workers must be allowed to return to the current norm of 35 hour week !

Union is also demanding a SIX per cent wage increase – against an offer of TWO per cent by the Employers

Both sides expect to reach a compromise around FOUR per cent , against a Consumer Price Rise of 1.7 per cent in 2017

Union thinks that the employers will grant 4 % because order books are bulging and employers will not risk a general strike !

Unemployment is also at its record lowest because of booming economy ( 3.6 % in Aug 2017 )

Germany has 301 Industrial Robots per 10,000 employees ( the highest in EU ) as against world ave robot density of 69  !

In 2016, India added 2600 robots ( as against 21000 in Germany and 90,000 in China  )

But if wages continue to rise rapidly , I feel the Indian Manufacturers would resort to greater number of robots

Is there a way we can discourage Indian Manufacturers from resorting to rapid AUTOMATION and instead , hire more workers ?

Yes !  There is  !

Indian Policy Makers may want to refer :

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

SavingJobs : Creating Jobs  [  19  Dec  2017  ]

 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/12/saving-jobs-creating-jobs.html

 

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

RobotsRobots Everywhere , not a Soul to See !  [  10  April  2016  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/04/robots-robots-everywhere-not-soul-to-see.html

02  Jan   2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Parking Mess ? It will get worse !

Hindustan Times ( 29 Dec ) carries following news :

“ Will motorists fall in line ? Experts suggest way out of parking mess “

Experts have suggested following measures :

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

( # 1 )…….   Increases taxes and fines

                  My  Take :

                   This is OK and may have small improvement effect

 

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

( # 2 )…….. The RTO should not register vehicles that don’t have parking space

                 My  Take  :

                 This won’t work !

                 Can you stop those hundreds of families arriving at Bombay Central /

                 VT , from all over India , and ask :

                     “  You cannot enter Mumbai , unless you prove that you have a flat to

                    live in “  ?

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

( # 3 )…….  Ban on second vehicle / If one already owns a four-wheeler, a second

                 buy should be prohibited

                My   Take  :

                This too , won’t work !  To know why , read :

                         One Car per Family ?  [  27  Sept  2016  ]

 

                   https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/one-car-per-family.html

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

 ( # 4 )……  Improve Public Transport

                 My  Take :

                     This is what will help MOST

 

                   Read :

 

                   PUBLICTRANSPORT AS A SOLUTION ?  [  15  Feb  2016  ]

 

              https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/02/public-transport-as-solution.html

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

( # 5  )…..  More parking lots / Increase the number of parking spaces to

                 accommodate an increasing number of vehicles

                 My  Take  :

                      India witnessed addition of 32 lakh Cars in 2017  ( 8757 / day )

                 

                    In Mumbai , vehicle population is growing by 700 / day  !

 

                    But more “ land “ is NOT getting created  !

 

                    Read :  Why don’t they park intheir flats ? [ 01 Sept 2017 ]

 

                   https://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2017/09/why-dont-they-park-in-their-         flats.html

 

 

                 

Even as these suggestions are “ getting examined “ , I suggest that Govt / BMC , consider the following :

 

Leveraging NaviC  ?   [  30  May  2017  ]

 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/05/leveraging-navic.html

 

02   Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 

How many will get ready by 2022 ?

[ Source : Business Line / 29  Dec 2017  ]

·         Total number of houses being funded under PMAY (U)…………………….   37,42,667

·         Total number of houses approved under PMAY so far……………………….. 36,00,819

·         Includes approval granted in 29^th meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee , as follows :

      #    Andhra Pradesh …………. 142,447

   #    Uttar  Pradesh………………120,645

  #    Karnataka…………………….  118,646

  #   Madhya Pradesh………….    100,341

Now for the facts on the ground :

The Narendra Modi government’s ambitious project to provide pucca houses to all by 2022 may have to be scaled down, as the progress so far has been rather tepid.

After a delayed start in November last year, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY )-Gramin, the main component of the project, saw construction of just 885 houses in rural areas in FY17, a far cry from the initial target of building 44 lakh houses.

The ministry of rural development has now extended the deadline for constructing the 44 lakh houses to the end of 2017, but even this plan looks very ambitious.

As per the original three-year plan, another 33 lakh houses were to be built in 2017-18, but the government is not in a position to adhere to the target.

The scheme for urban housing (PMAY-U) has also seen slow progress and the government blames the issue of land acquisition for this.

To meet the objective of housing for all by 2022, the 75th year after Independence, the government had launched PMAY-U in mid-2015 to help build affordable houses in cities.

However, only about 41,000 houses have been built till end-March 2017, out of the approved 16.3 lakh houses under the scheme by the Centre.

The slow start of the PMAY-G would make it difficult for the government to achieve the target of helping 1 crore homeless and people living in kutcha houses to shift to pucca houses of 25 square metres by FY19.

The Centre’s budget outlay was only Rs 15,000 crore for FY17, less than half of required amount of Rs 34,650 crore.

Like me , I am sure ,there are many who believe that the Government had done the right thing by setting VERY AMBITIOUS TARGETS , in 2015

Unfortunately , those who set the targets , got lost in bureaucratic jungle , or did not get to read :

Shelter@ Speed of Snail ? [ S 3 ]  - { 21  Sept  2017  }

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/09/shelter-speed-of-snail-s-3.html

02  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs 

Who are the Unknown ?

I am fond of saying :

·         All the problems of the World are “ Known “

·         In most cases, some or other solutions ( to these problems ) , are also “ Known “

·         Only “ Unknown “ are persons who have made up their minds , not to rest till these solutions get implemented !

Following recent news are classic example :

“ Workforce grows, but job creation fails to keep pace “

http://premium.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/news-analysis/workforce-grows-but-job-creation-fails-to-keep-pace/article10001740.ece

About 26 million people joined the potential workforce in the year to August 2017, while only about 1.5 million people were employed on an incremental basis , according to a survey data provided by BSE-CMIE

Country's organised sector created 4 lakh jobs in 2016-17

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/best-of-the-week/india/countrys-organised-sector-created-4-lakh-jobs-in-2016-17/articleshow/62311902.cms

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

China created as many jobs as France's population since 2012

http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/china-created-as-many-jobs-as-france-s-population-since-2012-117123100032_1.html

 

That's welcome news in Beijing, where leaders have already met their goal to add 11 million new urban jobs this year as they put greater focus on cutting debt and excess capacity

Cities have added more than 65 million jobs since late 2012, keeping unemployment low

The employment rate for college graduates — including almost 8 million this year alone — exceeded 90 per cent over that time

 

I hope , among our Policy Makers  –  and more importantly, among our Policy Implementers , both in the government and in the industry  - are some of those “ Unknown “ persons who can take forward the baton from :

NationalJobs Policy : a  Treasure Hunt

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/12/national-jobs-policy-treasure-hunt.html

02  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs