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, 16 February 2018

Candidates / Spouses / Kids : Assets ?




Economic Times ( 17 Feb ) carries following news :











The Supreme Court on Friday expressed alarm over the undue accretion of assets of law-makers, a sure sign that they were misusing their offices, and made it obligatory for candidates to reveal the source of their incomes and that of their spouses and dependent children, apart from their share or interest if any in government contracts. 



This, the court said, would go a long way in letting the electorate make an informed choice of the candidate. “In our opinion, such information would certainly be relevant and necessary for a voter to make an appropriate choice at the time of the election whether to vote or not in favour of a particular candidate.” 


However, the bench baulked at the prospect of setting up a permanent mechanism to keep tabs on and probe the assets of law-makers and their immediate families, saying it may end up in a “political witch-hunt”.


 Unfortunately, in our country, neither the Parliament nor the Election Commission of India paid any attention to the problem so far,” the bench said.
 

The judges attributed the sharp spike in non-performing assets and other such financial ills ailing the Indian state to such misuse of office by legislators to humour their own in bagging major government contracts.
 

Such undue accretion of assets was certainly a matter which should alarm the citizens and voters of any truly democratic society, it said, as it was a sure indicator of the beginning of a failing democracy.


“If left unattended, it would inevitably lead to the destruction of democracy and pave the way for the rule of mafia.” “Democracies with higher levels of energy have already taken note of the problem and addressed it.
 

Unfortunately, in our country, neither the Parliament nor the Election Commission of India paid any attention to the problem so far,” the bench said.
 

Legislators, the court said, are deputed by the people to get grievances redressed. “But they become the grievance.” The bench said that there was no reason why the election rules should not be changed by the government to make such undue accumulation of assets an electoral disqualification, besides a criminal offence


“If assets of a legislator and his / her associates ( wife, dependent children ) increase without bearing any relationship to their known sources of income, the only logical inference that can be drawn is that there is some abuse of the constitutional office,” the court said. 


The court said that the citizen, the ultimate repository of sovereignty in a democracy, must have access to all information that enables critical audit of the performance of the state, its instrumentalities and their incumbent or aspiring public officials. 




Dear Hon Supreme Court :


There is no need for  setting up a permanent mechanism to keep tabs on and probe the assets of law-makers and their immediate families “


All that is required is to add one more field in the Income Tax Form ( revised one introduced in 2016 ) , which says :


If either yourself or any member of your near family ( spouse / children / son-in-law / daughter-in-law ) have held any position in Parliament or State Legislature or Municipal Corporation , at any time during past 5 years , provide full details below :…………………. “


For 2016-17 assessment year, the tax department has unveiled new income tax return form


For persons with income above Rs 50 lakhs, it requires submission of following details ( with cost of each item ) :


*  All immovable assets ( such as land / buildings etc )

*  All movable assets ( such as Cash, Jewellery , Vehicles , Yachts etc )

*  All liabilities ( such as loans )




For rest of the “ permanent mechanism “ and “ informed choice of the candidate  “ , find


Solutions at :



 

FilteringCandidate Information ?  [  18  Sept  2016  ]

 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/filtering-candidate-information.html

 

 

ReformingElections and Lok Sabha [ REaL ] [ 20 Dec 2016 ]

 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/reforming-elections-and-lok-sabha-real.html

 

 

17  Feb  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs




Need : More than an Judgement





Times of India ( 17 Feb ) carries following news :




Rivers national assets, no single state can seek rights over them, says SC



The Supreme Court on Friday said waters of inter-state rivers were national assets and no single state could seek full rights over it, extinguishing origin states’ claim of exclusive rights over the waters of an inter-state river. “ (Rivers) Being in a state of flow, no state can claim exclusive ownership of such waters or assert a prescriptive right so as to deprive other states of their equitable share,” said a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.


The CJI narrated the gradual shift of the international river-water-sharing principle from the ‘Harmon Doctrine’ to the more equitable sharing propounded in the Helsinki Rules of 1966 and Berlin Rules of 2004. The ‘Harmon Doctrine’, based on an opinion of former US attorney general Judson Harmon issued a hundred years ago, holds that a country is absolutely sovereign over the portion of an international watercourse within its borders. The CJI said the principle of equality did not imply equal division of water, but equal consideration and economic opportunity for the co-basin states.


“To conceive that equality rests on equal sharing of water within an arithmetical formula would be fundamentally violative of the established conception of equitable apportionment because the said concept inheres multiple factors,” the SC said and asked all river water tribunals to follow this principle.



The SC also referred to the Campione Consolidation of ILA Rules on International Water Resources 1966-99, which advocated taking into consideration the inclusion of water of an aquifer, that is underground water or ‘fossil water’ intercepted by the boundary between two or more states, while determining the shares of basin states over an inter-state river.


During its exhaustive search for principles for equitable sharing of interstate rivers’ water, the SC cited the National Water Policy of 1987 and 2002, which more or less reiterated the Helsinkisss Rules. The policies stated that the “drinking-water needs of human beings and animals be the first charge on any available water”, the SC said.





While welcoming this judgement, I feel that the larger issues raised by me in respect of “ Natural National Resources “ in my following 4 year old blog , remain unanswered


I urge the Central Government to come out with a draft legislation for public debate

Needed- some Simple Answers !  [  17  Feb  2014  ]






17  Feb  2018





Not a U - Turn : a Right Turn





Today’s Hindustan Times , carries following news :








The government has decided against formulating an electric vehicle (EV) policy in an apparent U-turn from its position so far, providing a breather to many carmakers that are unprepared for an abrupt shift to the clean-fuel technology.

“There is no need for any policy now,” Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport, said at a press briefing on Thursday. He was addressing reporters along with Amitabh Kant, chief executive of government think tank NITI Aayog.

“What we need is just action plans,” said Kant, backing Gadkari’s stand on the policy.

“Everyday, new technology is coming into the market. Technology is always ahead of rules and regulations. And in India, it becomes very tough to change rules and regulations, so let there be just actions,” Kant said, explaining the reason behind the decision.
=================================

This is a welcome announcement !

All that was left unsaid to the Auto Industry , was :

“ Look , 

Focus on the goal – viz : no more sale of Petrol – Diesel vehicles from 01 April 2030

We leave it to you to decide :


·         How you want to “ phase out “ production of Petrol-Diesel vehicles

·         How you want to “ phase in “ manufacture of Electric Vehicles

·         How many months before April 2030, you will stop production of Petrol-Diesel vehicles , so that , on 01 April , you are left with NO INVENTORY

·         How you will go about promoting EV without subsidy ( to you or to buyer )

·         How you will solve the issue of Battery Charging Infrastructure ( ala TESLA ? )

·         How you will overcome “ Range Anxiety “ ( eg: using ISRO’s solar car roof ? )

·         Which Battery Technology you want to adopt

·         Why you should develop your own Solid State battery

·         Whether you want to continue to depend upon imported Lithium-ion Batteries or you want to get a license from ISRO for its small battery

·         How you wish to go about developing vendors for components for EV

·         Whether you introduce a “ Exchange Program “ ( New car for Old Car )

·         Whether you want to gradually move into “ EV leasing “ rather than selling

·         Whether you want to turn yourself into the business of  “ Transporting Service Provider “ rather than “ Selling of a transport product “ 


Dear Shri Gadkariji ,

Congratulations on enabling market forces ( read : competition ) to shape the future course of Electric Vehicles by formulating their own “ Action Plans “ , rather than asking the actors ( manufacturers – buyers – ride share operators – dealers – owners of battery charging infrastructure – component suppliers – banks offering car loans etc ) , to follow a rigid government script

The rate at which EV technology is changing , it was simply impossible for any government script to remain valid for more than a few weeks !
=================================

17  Feb  2018

Thursday, 15 February 2018

Who is Nirav ( Silent ) ?





Of course, no one expected Nirav Modi to declare his misdeeds from the roof top . He was expected to remain silent


But today’s news-papers are shouting with following headlines :


·         Nirav Modi virus spreading rapidly
·         Parl Panel asks for FinMin reply
·         ED seizes Rs 5,100 cr Nirav Modi assets
·         Diamantaire Modi left India with family in Jab 1st week
·         PNB sends two more complaints to CBI
·         More skeletons tumble out of PNB vault
·         Nobody will be spared : FinMin
·         Mehul Choksi, Gitanjali Gems under SEBI lens
·         Govt moves to revoke Passport
·         PNB exec tried to cover tracks before retiring
·         ED searches 23 premises
·         In 2016, Nirav paid Rs 48 cr in duty, penalty for smuggling
·         How PNB missed warning signs to avert Rs 11 k – cr fraud
·         Nirav Modi scam may lead to stricter norms for loans, credit
·         CBI, ED and Income Tax Dept taking speedy action : Prasad
·         CBI, Ed to look into others role in Bank Scam
·         Cong says : Nirav Fraud is “ System Failure “………( congrats for admitting ! ) 





What bothers common citizens is , the  deterministic regularity  with which ,


·         These scams keep surfacing


·         Culprits guilty of swindling the citizens manage to run away to safe havens


·         Agencies responsible for catching the culprits, facilitate the running away


·         Bankers responsible for ensuring prevention of scams, also manage to get away !


·         Those responsible for “ designing / implementing “ a  FOOL-PROOF SYSTEM , just don’t care !




·         Opposition parties await with bated breath, such opportunities !





And the greatest pity is that , the Newspapers and TV channels do not think they have any duty / role to perform in reforming the SYSTEM , beyond printing bold headlines or conducting non-productive / mud-slinging / acrimonious panel discussions !



I urge them to act as the TRUE VOICE of the citizens and insist upon the Policy Makers to implement my following suggestions ( repeatedly sent as email to all concerned ) :




E - Governance?  [  03  April  2014  ]



AHalf-hearted Measure ?  [  07  March  2016  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-half-hearted-measure.html

 


Stilla long way to go !  [  25  Aug  2016  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/08/still-long-way-to-go.html

 


Unitedwe Succeed : Divided we Fail  [  29 Sept  2016  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/09/united-we-succeed-divided-we-fail.html

 


Keep Trying  [  24  Dec  2016  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/12/keep-trying.html

 


Break-downthe Silos !  [  16  Sept  2017  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/09/break-down-silos.html

 


Blockchain for  E Governance  ? [  04  Dec  2017  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/12/egovernance-blockchain-digitalindia.html

 


Crimeand Punishment  [  23  Dec  2017  ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/12/crime-and-punishment.html

 


CyberCrimes/ DigitalIndia / e-Governance [ 09 Jan 2018 ]


https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/cybercrimes-digitalindia-e-governance.html

 

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

 

Dear Shri Jaitleyji,

 

When used for mining / trading of Bitcoins , that BLOCK-CHAIN technology is an evil application but if used for stopping Financial Frauds, it can be a Saviour !

 

Please , do not lose any more time !

 

16  Feb  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs