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

Friday, 26 January 2018

Self Employed Indians inherit the Earth ?




If you too are one of those persons in search for a solution to India’s “ Jobless Growth “ , you may want to read :




 


Made in China’ smartphones may have taken the world by storm, but it is ‘trained in India’ technicians who are ensuring that users get more bang for their buck — by repairing the most expensive of mobiles across the world.

With greater demand for mobile phone technicians, institutes in India are not only training students to work with mobile manufacturers and at service centres but also helping them set up repair shops abroad.

Unnikrishnan Kinanoor, Executive Director at Britco and Bridco, one of India’s oldest mobile repair training institutes, which was set up in 1998, says : “With mobile sales growing across the globe, quality manpower is required to service the sophisticated devices. India’s biggest strength is manpower and, with the right training, they can work anywhere in the world.”

The Kerala-headquartered institute now has nine centres in India, besides branches in Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Somaliland. Its students work with leading OEMs such as Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Micromax, Flextronics, TVS Electronics and Lava.

In 2017, 350 Britco students went abroad either through placement or on their own to start businesses. In 2016, that number was over 300.

 “Most students prefer the Gulf countries where even fresher earn over ₹40,000 a month,” Kinanoor adds. Professionals with two years’ experience earn up to ₹1.25 lakh a month.

“In India, salaries do not rise after technicians hit a ceiling of ₹25,000. That is why going overseas is an option for many,” says Shuaib Sogay, founder of Mumbai-based Prizm Institute. Its alumni run mobile repair businesses in the US, Canada, Germany and the Gulf countries.

Many opt to stay in India too as smartphone sales are rising rapidly here.

Over 3 crore smartphones are being sold in the country every quarter, next only to China and the US.

“This requires an equally massive workforce of technicians. There aren’t enough skilled hands to repair phones in India. That’s why even a small fault takes many days to be resolved,” says Sogay.

The two institutes also help students set up businesses on completion of the course.

It requires an investment of about ₹1 lakh, excluding infrastructure.

And even a fresh technician can easily expect to earn over ₹1,000 a day. Our intention is not to create technicians but entrepreneurs,” says Kinanoor.

The fee for the courses ranges from ₹9,000 to ₹1 lakh depending on the duration and course level. The top-end courses at Britco include language training to help students overcome communication difficulties overseas.

Both Prizm and Britco are investing in R&D.

Britco’s R&D team travels to China regularly to buy new repairing equipment and tools, as does Arshad Shaikh, who runs a business from two shops in Mumbai’s City Center Mall, the hub of mobile repairs in the city. “I travel to China regularly to get low-cost spares. I also update myself with latest technology on these trips,” he says.

 With shops in the heart of the city, he earns over ₹1.5 lakh a month. “I am planning to start another shop when my brother completes his training,” he adds.



That brings us to the opportunity for “ Self Employment “ for India’s 12 million jobless getting added to our workforce, each year



In the form of “ Recycling / Repairing of  E – Waste



Following figures prove my point :





·         In 2014, approximately 41.8 million tons of e-waste was generated worldwide.


·         The amount of worldwide e-waste generation is expected to be 49.8 million tons in 2018


·         Only 6.5 million tons of total global e-waste generation in 2014 was treated by national electronic take-back systems


  • Currently, only 15-20 per cent of all e-waste is recycled.

  • According to a recent report by EPA, every day, we are to get rid of over 416,000 mobile devices and 142,000 computers either by recycling or disposing of them in landfills and incinerators.

  • Another EPA report reveals that by recycling one million cell phones, we can recover more than 20,000 lbs of copper, 20 lbs of palladium, 550 lbs of silver, and 50 lbs of gold.

  • Cell phones contain very high amount of precious metals such as silver and gold. Americans throw away approximately $60 million worth of silver and gold per year.

  • Each year, globally, around 1 billion cell phones and 300 million computers are put into production.

  • The amount of global e-waste is expected to grow by 8 per cent per year.

  • Roughly 80 percent of e-waste generated in the U.S. is exported to Asia, a trade flow that is a source of considerable controversy.

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


QUESTION :


Can , at least 5 million Indian youth get self employed , repairing / recycling ”  E Waste “ generated globally ?



Absolutely , if NDA government comes up with a scheme to encourage Private Industries / Individuals to come forward and set up 5,000 training institutes of the type set up by Britco and Bridco ( each training 1,000 students per year )



Is that possible  ?  Will private individuals come forward to set up such “ Repair Training Institutes “ ?



Yes , if Government implements my following suggestion :



SkillCapital of the World ?  [  06  June  2016  ]

Unfortunately , I do not see Shri Arun Jaitleyji announcing this in his budget speech on coming Tuesday ( 01 Feb 2018 )

What a missed opportunity to win 400 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections – without spending from govt coffers or raising taxes !
=================================

27  Jan  2018


Thursday, 25 January 2018

Bhavantar = Bhav Antar ( Price Difference )




Hindustan Times ( 24 Jan ) carries following news :








Highlights :


·         Direct Cash Transfers to farmers for market losses


·         Could be replicated nationally to curb rural dissent


·         Govt fills gap between federally – fixed prices and market rates for select crops


·         MP govt paid Rs 140 Crore in 1st cycle ( Oct 16-31, 2017 )


·         In 2nd cycle ( Nov 1-30 ) , Rs 746 crore was paid


·         Scheme currently covers oilseeds and pulses





I am glad , MP government has started implementing my following suggestion ( although , with some variance ) . Let us hope this finds a place in Shri Jaitley’s Budget Speech :



ADifferent Kind of UFO ?  [  22  Sept  2017  ]



The UFO which all of us understand , stands for “ Unidentified  Flying  Object “



What I have in mind is “ Universal Farm  Output “



Something like currently talked about “ Universal Basic Income “ for the very poor



A great majority of our farmers , too , are very poor – and very indebted



Whenever the rains fail and their crops wither , they are forced to commit suicide ( - since for them , honour comes before life ) . Some 17,000 + every year



Other day , on TV , I heard a farm expert  wonder :


“ Even when the rains are reasonable , farm income of an ordinary farmer  barely comes to Rs 6,000 per acre ,


But ,


Our “ Farmer MPs “ ( who have declared their profession as “ Farming “ ) , show in their income tax return , “ agricultural income “ at Rs 6 lakh per acre , even when their land is located in a famine-stricken area  “



How come  ?  Using what “ technology “ do they pull off such a miracle ?



Of course , we will never know !



But that prompts following suggestion



Government has fixed MSP ( Minimum Support Price ) per quintal for most farm produce



It will buy , at this price , whatever quantity of grains , a farmer produces



But , during a famine , poor farmer cannot produce anything , not being in possession of that superior “ technology “ !



During such occasions , I suggest that the government pays him as follows :



·       *    MSP ( for the quantity of grains produced )


              or


·       *    Rs 6 lakhs per acre of land,


-      -  whichever is higher  



Of course , we will need to lay down very strict criteria for deciding which farmer will get this UFO , where and when and how often !


For our poor farmers , there cannot be a better “ Republic Day Gift “ than this !


26  Jan  2018
 


Oh ! for some learned arguments !



Continuing his arguments in the on-going Aadhar case in Supreme Court , advocate for 27 petitioners , Shyam Divan said yesterday :


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


·         Although an Indian entity operates the unique identification system, its source code and proprietary technology are with foreign entities


·         A foreign military contractor has developed it and has all the rights over the technology. It can take it all away tomorrow


·         The proprietary technology belongs neither to the government or the UIDAI


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


Perhaps the petitioners are forgetting that the Operating Systems of dozens of electronic gadgets that we use daily, are “ owned / controlled “ by foreign entities


These are “ controlled “ by these foreign entities to such an extent that :


·         Software Updates are “ automatic “ ( not needing explicit permission of users )


·         Data ( of the users ) is picked up 24*7 ( again without user permission )



EXAMPLES :

·         TV sets ( Samsung – Sony etc )


·         Mobiles ( Google – Apple – Samsung etc )


·         Mobile Apps ( thousands launched by foreigners )


·         Tablets ( Dozens of foreign makes )


·         Desk Top Computers ( Microsoft – HP – Lenovo etc )


·         Speaker Assistants ( Google – Apple -  Amazon – Samsung – Microsoft etc )


·         Domestic Appliances /  Robots


·         Wi-Fi Connected Cars ( Merc – Audi – Jaguar – Mesarati – Tesla etc )


To day’s news says :



          Car that reads human emotions developed


Ford has created the ‘Buzz Car’ — a customised Ford Focus RS incorporating wearable and artificial intelligence technology.


When you’re behind the wheel of a car, you experience a range of emotions, including road rage, fatigue and even excitement.


Now, Ford has developed a car that can read these emotions, and display them on the vehicle.


The driver wears two sensors on the wrists — one monitors heart rate and the other measures skin response.


Every time the sensors detect a ‘buzz moment’ — when the driver’s heart rate increases — a light display appears across both the interior and exterior of the car.


·         E Commerce web sites / Social Media web sites , which track our every “ key-stroke “ and thoroughly “ profile “ us for “ Customized Service “


I can go on but I think I have proved my point, viz:


If we do not want our PRIVACY to get compromised , then we would need to buy out ALL of these “ Foreign Entities “ which read us like an “ OPEN BOOK


25  Jan  2018



We can do better !




If French can do it , we can do better !



WHAT  ?


Times of India carries following news :

French lawmakers vote for 'right to make mistakes'


French lawmakers have voted for a flagship article in a new law which will give citizens the "right to make mistakes" in dealings with the government without being automatically punished.
 

The article, which was adopted by a show of hands Tuesday night in the National Assembly, is the "cornerstone" of a law for " a state in the service of a trustworthy society", according to the government.



The law is part of reforms President 
Emmanuel Macron  touted during his electoral campaign to allow citizens to make a mistake in good faith in their dealings with the authorities without risking punishment from the first infringement.
 


It will be up to the administration to prove that the person was acting in bad faith.

" The expansion of the right to make a mistake adopted by the Assembly just now ! " minister of public action and accounts Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter.
 


" It is a revolution in the relations between the administration and the administered."


To err is human but the divine forgiveness of the government will be " limited to the first mistake ", according to a change made to the article at the insistence of dissenters.

At the opening of debate, the minister said the government had listened to "the French who like their public services but not their administration", citing a letter of grievances sent him by one "Alexandre".


Lawmakers will have to consider dozens of further articles in the bill on the extent of the right to make mistakes.


The right to err will not apply in a number of cases, such as public health.


Considered a "catch-all" by some officials, the bill deals with subjects as diverse as modifying procedures for obtaining a permit for the installation of wind farms at sea or the possibility of making donations to churches by SMS.


HOW  CAN  WE  DO  BETTER  ?

By issuing a GR ( if enacting a law will take time ) , incorporating provisions of my following email to the Policy Makers :



Friday, 20 June 2014



To Err is Human




To forgive is divine ( provided it was a honest error )



All of us keep making errors , all the time



But rarely same " mistake " twice



Often , decisions taken at a point of time , turn out to be " poor " , with passage of time



Reasons are simple :



*  We never have all the information - relevant to the problem we are trying to solve - available with us , at the time of taking a decision



*  Even when most of such relevant info is available , we may not have the capacity / competence to " process " such info



*  As humans , we have our biases / prejudices , based on our previous experiences , which influence our decisions



*  Quite often , and often against our own better evaluation / judgement of a given situation , we are wrongly influenced by our peers / bosses / subordinates or even voters - all of whom have different expectations / vested interests !



*  Additional - and more relevant - information surfaces , AFTER we have taken a decision ( happens all the time  !  )



To encourage Babus and Ministers to take FAST decisions , Narendra Modi must insist that they carefully " Record " on the files :



*
What info / data he wished was available for a better decision


*
What different " views / opinions " were presented to him for consideration


*
What " Data / Views " he would have obtained if he had more time


*
Who all , the decision might offend


*
What is the likely " Cost " of postponing that decision


And finally a declaration :


*
This decision is not likely to benefit any of my near relatives / friends , directly or immediately


After all of this , if the decision appears to be " Wrong " in hindsight , it must be " forgiven " and treated as an honest error


To err is human  !

25  Jan  2018