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

Monday, 18 June 2018

Connecting the News







On face of it, the following news appear unrelated:




Highlights :

*   The number of daily travellers of BEST buses in Mumbai has dropped from 42 lakh (

     per day ) to 25 lakh . BEST’s annual loss is about Rs 900 crore and its accumulated

     loss is over Rs 5,000 crore .  BEST will need Rs 10,000 crore in the next 5 / 6 years

    for its existing operations . 

    BEST’s running cost is Rs 107 per Km ( for its diesel buses ) whereas Greater

    Hyderabad Municipal Corporation , just signed a lease agreement for Electric Buses at

    Rs  8.7 per Km  !

   [ Ref : https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/05/ev-electricvehicles-eesl-   wetlease.html  ]




 

Mumbai: Price capping for your taxi and auto rides to be delayed further 

 

https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/mumbai-price-capping-for-your-taxi-and-auto-rides-to-be-delayed-further/story-4hGjTJJo1DL2WZKsaT3nWN.html

 

Highlights :

 

*  During peak hours , UBER / OLA charge a “ surge price “ which is 4 to 5 times the normal price !

Khatua Panel – 2016 ( which reviewed the recommendations of Hakim Panel – 2012 ) wants this limited to 2.5 times ( still taking advantage of the fact that the citizens do not have a faster / cheaper / better alternative ! )

 

 


Dutch may soon get paid for cycling to work


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/dutch-may-soon-get-paid-for-cycling-to-work/articleshow/64609156.cms 

Highlights :

One innovative idea is to compensate employees for cycling to work, with Van Veldhoven proposing a reimbursement of 19 cents ( Rs 15 ) per kilometre cycled from home and back

 


Van Veldhoven is to discuss the proposal and other ways of promoting bicycle use
through fiscal rewards such as subsidies to buy bicycles " with major national employers
and small and medium enterprises," her ministry said in a statement.


More than half of people's daily trips in the Netherlands are less than 7.5 kilometres and

more than half live less than 15 kilometres from work.


"With the development of the electric bicycle, this distance can easily be covered," the

ministry added, saying nearly 100 million euros have been budgeted to increase bicycle

roads and its parking space.





Now , let us assume that Mumbaikars travel 10 km each way to and from work place

That is 20 km per day .

If we were to reimburse a Mumbaikar  opting to use an ELECTRIC BICYCLE , at just Rs 5 per km , he would get Rs 100 per day ( @ Rs 5 per km ) by way of reimbursement .

For 300 days in a year , they would earn Rs 30,000 

Now , under FAME Scheme , government is already giving a subsidy of Rs 29,000 to a buyer of Electric Motor Cicycles

But India’s ATHERENERGY  E Bike is priced at Rs 1.09 Lakh  [ e340 model ]

That means , after the subsidy , a buyer would need to put up Rs 80,000 from his own pocket

But, in 3 years’ time , a buyer would get Rs 90,000 by way of reimbursement

Then there is a cheaper alternative in the form of :

*  a  GeoOrbital  wheel , selling for $ 1000 ( approx. Rs 70,000 ) , to be coupled to

*  a standard 26 inch bicycle ( HERO / HERCULES etc ) selling for Rs 10,000

A total of Rs 80,000 / - ( Range of 12 miles / recharge of 3 hours from domestic outlet )

 


I urge our Policy Makers to consider emulating the Dutch

It is high time BEST / UBER / OLA get some serious competition !

 


18  June  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 

 

 

 

 

 






Sunday, 17 June 2018

#WaterCrisis #Famine #Drought


Water  Mutiny  of  2020



Will our petty politicians ever find time to read the following ?






Govt is ignoring key issues, water crisis: Opposition 

http://htsyndication.com/htsportal/ht-mumbai/article/govt-is-ignoring-key-issues%2C-water-crisis%3A-opposition/28109367 

 

 

In Delhi’s Sangam Vihar, life is sometimes cheaper than water 


https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/in-delhi-s-sangam-vihar-they-kill-for-water/story-wwl2T5yYaEFwtwoNEst4YI.html 

 

 

I foresee a future (- around June 2020 ) when those thousands of plastic bucket-carrying women and children , simply walk into the posh bungalows of Karnataka politicians and start filling up their empty vessels with precious water from their bathroom taps  !

 

Why wait for hours for that water tanker to reach your street and then fight with neighbours for a few drops of water ?

 

What would those politicians do “when” this happens ?  [ not, “ if “ this happens ! ]

 

Sure , they would call the local policemen. Even knock the doors of CJI

 

But what would those policemen do when they find out that their own wives / children are those “ stealing “ water from Shri Kumarswamy’s  bungalow ?

 

Will they fire bullets on their own loved ones ?

 

Do we see a “ History repeats itself “ type of situation ?  Albeit with a difference

 

Just hold on till June 2020 , when ( as per above-mentioned report of NITI Aayog ) , taps will run dry in the city of Bengaluru ( Shri Kumarswami may want to consider handing over the post of Chief Minister to the Congress Party – or even BJP ! )

 

That unforgettable history of what the British like to call , the “ Sainik Mutiny “ of 1857 ?

 

And what we , Indian citizens proud of our glorious heritage , like to call “ The First War of Independence “

 

It is still not too late for politicians ( belonging to all parties ) to read – and ACT :

 

 

Water Wars Are Looming !







Clean Drinking Water

 



What are “ side effects “ of Ethanol ?

 




 





Deja Vu ? #Latur #Marathwada #Waterwar 




Need : More than an Judgement 




Water Water Everywhere ? Even in Latur ? 




Water Wars ?  [  08 April 2016  ] 




Is Uma Bharti helpless ?  [  25   Dec  2015  ]

 




18  June  2018










 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 




#HealthCare #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #NITIaayog


AI  for  Healthcare




Economic Times ( June 17 – 23 / 2018 ) carries an article titled :






This article is discussing the implications of the discussion paper brought out by NITI Aayog , titled :





AS per that paper , the strategy should focus on following sectors :


*     Education


*    Agriculture


*    Healthcare


      AI driven diagnostics in remote areas, personalized treatment , early identification of
      pandemics


*    Smart Cities


*    Smart Mobility





In an interview , Shri Amitabh Kant [ CEO – NITI Aayog ] said :



  NITI is already  working on proofs of concept in healthcare and agriculture …… For this , the task force will make proper roadmaps on implementation of each pilot project . The task force will ultimately be responsible for execution “




The discussion paper notes :



In addition, the government aims at leveraging technology to improve healthcare facilities through the:


a)     the National eHealth Authority (NeHA) which will strategize  eHealth adoption, define standards and a framework for the health sector, put in place electronic health exchanges for interoperability


b)     the Integrated Health Information Program (IHIP) to provide EHR to all citizens of India and provide interoperability to existing EHR/EMRs,



    c)   the  Electronic Health Record Standards  for India






QUESTION :


How to go about collecting / compiling into a CENTRAL DATABASE , health records of
millions of sick Indians , using Electronic Health Record Standards  ?



ANSWER :

Here is what I blogged in Jan 2018. I urge the Task Force on Healthcare  to consider :

 

2024 ! – V 2.0 of Orwellian 1984 ?

 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/07/2024-v-20-of-orwellian-1984.html

 


There are 7,000 million people on the earth

It is possible that , at any given time , some 7 million of these are lying in ICU , connected with :


*   Electroencephalogram ( Brain Monitor )


*   Electrocardiogram      ( Heart Monitor )


*   Pulse Rate Meter


*   Oxygen Level Meter


*   Glucose Level Meter........etc


As soon as these instruments get embedded with Internet of Things ( IoT ), a central server could collect all of these " measurements / readings " on 24*7 basis , for all 7 million persons
 

Then it will combine these readings with following data about each of those 7 million persons :


*   Country / Region / City  /  Language 


*   Race /  Religion  /  Gender /  Age


*   Height /  Weight  /  Colour  /  Biometrics 


*   Blood Group / DNA  / Past Medical History.....etc



It will also record , who died / when  !


Using such massive data base, can BIG DATA / Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning , figure out what " Customized healthcare / Medical treatment / Supplementary diet " should be " prescribed " for each human on this earth ?


Shall we support such " Invasion of Individual Privacy " , in the larger interest / benefit of entire mankind ?


I think , we should 



18  June  2018



Friday, 15 June 2018

Connecting Everything ?




China wants to connect EVERY THING



*  Countries  (  OBOR  )




*  Power  Generating  Stations
 
 


*  Vehicles 
  




*  Citizens






*  Currency




*   World  Trade




China is consuming nearly 50 % of the World’s STEEL and CEMENT


It has also near monopoly in RARE EARTHS ( including  Lithium  for Electric Car Batteries )


On top of this , China is buying up MINES ( of all kinds of minerals ) , in Africa , in return for heavy investment in local infrastructure projects in those African countries


Any guesses about “ What next ? “



15  June  2018



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Added on 08  Dec  2019 :

China due to introduce face scans for mobile users