Innovate : or Stagnate

Stagnate and, get booted out in 2019 general elections  ?

Despite a whole lot of remarkable – and structural – reforms undertaken by the NDA government over the past 4 + years, millions of youth ( many graduates ) are just sitting on footpaths , wondering whether they will ever get a job ( quotas / reservations notwithstanding  )

It is quite likely that , unless they see some light at the end of this “ dark tunnel  of despair and dejection “, they may decide to boot out NDA in the forthcoming general elections , with an attitude :

“  Things can’t get any worse under Mahagathbandhan “

Notwithstanding the fact that the manifestos of the opposition parties , also do not show a candle to light up the tunnel ( - although , even among the opposition parties , there is full agreement that lack of jobs is the biggest issue with the voters )

New jobs getting created in both the Public and the Private Sector are possibly less than 2 million per year , against some 12 million youth entering the job market each year

No political leader seems to have the courage to say :

“  It takes a capital investment of Rs 5 million ( 50 lakh ) to create just ONE JOB in public / private sector

 .

Multiply that with 12 million ( needed ) jobs and we need Rs 60 million*million – which , neither the government nor the private industry has

And that $ 900 Billion is needed , YEAR after YEAR after YEAR  !

[ Rs 60 million*million = Rs 6 cr*million = Rs 6,000,000 Cr = Rs 60 lakh* crore = $ 900 Billion ]

But Shri Narendra Modiji is not a person to get frightened by such figures

He is a strong believer in  INNOVATION  and  OUT-OF-BOX  solutions

Here is what he said in March 2018 :

" Innovation is not merely a word or an event. It's an ongoing process.

You can innovate only when you understand a problem and try to find out its solution.

We must go to the root of the problem and find out of the box solutions...

In the era where knowledge is power, innovation is the driver of growth “ 

[ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/innovation-key-to-realising-dream-of-new-india-narendra-modi/articleshow/63550347.cms   ]  

Dear Shri Modiji,

I appreciate that you may not be able to incorporate the “ Working Details “ of the following innovations in next month’s Central Budget ,

But, you may want to mention these in the budget as ” NDA Wish List “ ( - obvious Policy Statements forbidden by the “ Election Code of Conduct “ if it kicks in by 28 Feb 2019 )

As a precaution , you may consider incorporating these “ Innovations “ in the BJP Manifesto which is under drafting and also consider an online “ Opinion Poll “ of the voters what they feel about these :

#   “ Funding “   Innovation

      Indonesia Shows the Way  ………………………………………………………….. [  23  Dec  2016  ]

 

      FDI : By any other name ?   ………………………………………………………….[  01  July  2016  ]

 

 

#   “ Self Employment Generation “  Innovation

       A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER ?        …………………………………………………..[   12  Sept  2015  ]

 

      " BACK FACTORY " OF THE WORLD ?   …………………………………          [  09  Sept  2015  ]

 

 

#   “ Creation of a Low Cost Economy “  Innovation

       Foundation of Economy   ………………………………………………………………….[  03  Nov  2018  ]

 

 

#   “ Corporate Tax “  Innovation

      Create Wealth to Create Jobs   …………………………………………………………..[  26  Feb  2014  ]

 

 

#   “  Personal  Tax  “  Innovation

       A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE ?  ………………………………………………………………………[  04  Jan  2015  ]

 

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14   Jan  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Who watches the Watchmen ?

When it comes to surveillance, who will watch the watchman ?

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/government-exploring-ways-to-exempt-security-agencies-from-data-protection-bill/articleshow/67413173.cms  

Extract :

The government is in a last mile huddle with security and intelligence agencies to find ways to either exempt them from the Personal Data Protection Bill or put in place a special dispensation to regulate their public scrutiny. 

Some of these agencies, sources said, have suggested a blanket exemption as in Section 24 of the Right to Information Act 

Some others have pointed to the model followed in the IT Act under which 10 agencies were recently designated as authorities empowered to intercept digital traffic through a laid out approval process 

Another view being explored was to have an oversight mechanism to prevent misuse by intelligence agencies.

 

The proposed Personal Data Protection Bill requires entities to obtain consent of individuals before accessing their personal data, which intelligence agencies argue is counterproductive to their mandate of monitoring activity for security purposes 

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In my view, a compromise solution is possible , which :

#   Does NOT require those intelligence agencies to take any PRIOR PERMISSION of the

     individual concerned

#   At the same time, ensures that there is  “ NO  MISUSE “ by those intelligence agencies

Here is how :

In my proposed portal (  www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in  ), provide following sections :

{ for understanding the working of this proposed portal , read :

       Only Answer : a Statutory Warning  [  10 Nov  2018  ]   }

    #   SURVEILLANCE   REQUEST   SECTION

         Any agency wanting to conduct surveillance of online / offline activities of an Indian

         Citizen , shall submit its’  requirement in this section

        This shall contain details such as :

·         Name of the agency

·         What activity of the citizen is proposed to be surveyed and for how long

[  Multiple selection from the following  ] :

#   Visits and postings on Social Media web sites

#   Visits and searches on E Commerce web sites

#   Searches on Search Engines  /  All digital traffic ( including thru Alexa / Google

     Home type devices )

#   Messages sent / received on Messaging Apps /  E Mail services

#   Records of Digital Payment Transactions on Banking / FinTech Network

#   Audio logs from Landline and Mobile Service Providers for telephonic talks…etc

Agency will also need to specify the PURPOSE of the proposed surveillance , by selecting one or more of the following suspected reasons ( list is not comprehensive ) :

·         Tax Evasion  /  Money Laundering

·         Criminal Activity  /   Militancy

·         Fraud  /  Breach of Trust

·         Anti-National Activity  /  Sedition  /  Treason

·         Fake News / Pornographic content posting

·         Speeches / articles likely to create enmity among people

Such a request shall need Online Authorization of , all of the following officers :

#   Chief of Agency concerned

#   Secretary ( Cyber Security ) – Ministry of Information Technology

#   Data Protection Regulator

As soon as such a request is “ Approved / Authorised “ , an email ALERT will go out automatically ( without any human intervention ) to the citizen concerned that she is “ under surveillance “ .

This will ensure that there is NO SECRET surveillance !

Copies of this E Mail ALERT will also get sent to all other Intelligence Agencies for a coordinated effort and for avoiding duplication

  #     SURVEILLANCE  HISTORY  SECTION

          At any time of his choice , concerned citizen can login at this section and see WHICH

          Agency surveyed her and for how long

  #       But the citizen concerned will NOT be able to see following entries by the Agency :

   #   What was the PURPOSE / REASON for the surveillance

   #  WHAT DATA  got collected

   #  FINDINGS  and proposed  COURSE of ACTION , if any

This part will be visible to all other Intelligence Agencies , who will have facility to add their own information / data about the concerned citizen which is in their possession , in order to compile a COMPREHENSIVE  DOSSIER about that citizen .

However, these other Agencies will NOT be able to EDIT any ENTRIES / FINDINGS of any other agencies

Although these ENTRIES are NOT accessible to the concerned citizen in a normal course , the same shall be made available to her in case any government agency relies upon these during a Court Case against that citizen , arising from such surveillance

My proposal,

#  Gives a free hand to the Agencies to proceed with their investigations, without needing

    PRIOR PERMISSION,

And

#  Ensure total TRANSPARENCY of their surveillance activities to the persons being

    investigated

This will assure the ordinary citizens (– and also “ vulnerable “ citizens such as politicians belonging to opposition parties ? )– that they are not being snooped upon secretly !

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

Dear Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji,

I urge you to incorporate my suggestion in the proposed DATA  PROTECTION  BILL , to ensure that it meets with the full support of all the parties

Another, benefit of my suggestion is that the Political Leaders belonging to all parties , will rush to be the very first to REGISTER on ,

www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in

This will set an example to the remaining 500 million Indians who use Social Media regularly

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

13  Jan  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

National  Clean  Air  Tax  ? – a  Pigovian tax  ?

DNA recently carried following news report :

Govt rolls out plan to clean up air, focus on 102 cities    

Extract :

The national plan, whose draft was released earlier this summer, comprises among other ,

*   Targets augmenting the network of air quality monitoring in urban and rural areas,

*   Commissioning of pollution source apportionment studies research,

*   Training of ground staff,

*   Enforcement of new emission norms for thermal power plans

*   City-specific action plans for 102 cities.

Clause 5.8 of  NATIONAL CLEAN AIR PROGRAMME (NCAP ) , reads :

http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/NCAP%20with%20annex-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf 

Air pollution problem becomes complex due to multiplicity and complexity of air polluting sources (e.g. industries, automobiles, generator sets, domestic fuel burning, road side dusts, construction activities, etc.).

A cost-effective approach for improving air quality in polluted areas involves

(i)                  Identification of emission sources

(ii)                Assessment of extent of contribution of these sources on ambient environment

(iii)               Prioritizing the sources that need to be tackled

(iv)              Evaluate various options for controlling the sources with regard to feasibility and economic viability

(v)                Formulation and implementation of most appropriate action plans.

Source apportionment study, which is primarily based on measurements and tracking down the sources through receptor modelling, helps in identifying the sources and extent of their contribution.

The Auto Fuel Policy document of Government of India also recommended for carrying out source apportionment studies.

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

Dear Dr Shruti Rai Bhardwaj ,

Inviting Comments on NCAP. Last Date 17/05/2018. Sent to Dr.Shruti Rai Bhardwaj (MoEF&CC) or email at shruti.rai@nic.in. 

In the spirit of “ Better late than Never “ , as far as “ Source Apportioning Study “ for the “ Traffic Generated Pollution “ is concerned , I propose going one step further , and urge you to commission one of the IITs to implement :

Transport : an Integrated Logistic Plan ?

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12  Jan  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Liar vs Liar ?

I have seen the movie , “ Kramer  vs  Kramer  “  and the play “ Gandhi  vs  Gandhi “

But I do not remember , either the themes or the dialogues

But I wish I was able to retain a versatile / erudite “ Liar “ to plead my case in the Supreme Court in 1984 , when I lost a case to my landlord for retaining possession of  flat rented from him

That human Lawyer who I engaged, did a rather poor job of arguing / presenting my case

If I run into a similar litigation in 2024 , I will not have to worry

 Instead of a “ Lawyer “ , I would retain a “ Liar “ [  - an Artificial Intelligence legal luminary AVATAR   ]

Here is the reason for my optimism :

IBM’s New AI System Can Compose Logical Arguments  

Highlights :

·         IBM recently unveiled a new artificial intelligence system that can craft lengthy, persuasive arguments during a debate.

·         At the show  [  CES  ], it presented arguments both for and against making gambling illegal. It later did the same for the idea of developing autonomous cars.

·         Project Debater does little writing of its own — the AI system’s core strength comes from categorizing and analyzing the arguments fed into it by humans.

·         The algorithm scans short human-written arguments on a potential debate topic for specific keywords and language….

·         Then it groups those arguments by topic, determines whether they’re for or against the proposal, and organizes a speech based on the arguments it analyzed.

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

Apparently , I was not too far off in envisioning the arrival of  “ Project  Debater “ , when some 10 months ago , I imagined it to deliver a judgement on Aadhar privacy issue , as described at ( - of course , drafted by me – a human ! ):

Nightmare ?      [  04  March  2018  ]

Any immediate practical application ?

Of course , hiding in plain sight  !

Over past few decades , dozens  of lawyers have argued in various courts re the Ayodhya / Ram Mandir case

By now , millions of words have been recorded in court records – both for and against

If requested , IBM would be too happy to feed these millions of  “ words / phrases / sentences / paragraphs “ into its Project Debater , pitching TWO LIARS against each other !

Then upload those “LIAR ARGUMENTS“ on its web site . May be even a DRAFT  judgement !

Won’t that be a hugely “ Face Saving Formula “ for all the parties concerned , who have repeatedly proclaimed their intention to “ abide by the Supreme Court verdict “  ?

And for a bonus :  Party losing 2019 elections can always blame “ Artificial Intelligence “ !

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12  Jan  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com