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

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

Data is the New Oil





This is what we are being told by the economists and other internet experts ( including Mukesh Ambani )


That begs following question :


If old Oil made citizens of those OPEC countries so rich , can new Oil ( citizen’s private / personal data ) , make Indian rich ?


I always believed it could - and in order to realize that dream , I suggested a mechanism in the form of :


Privacy  for  Sale     ……………………………………….. [  26  Aug  2017  ]


Only Answer ;  a Statutory  warning  ……………..[  10  Nov  2018  ]



And repeatedly urged Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji , to modify the proposed DATA PROTECTION BILL to incorporate my suggestion , which would enable 300 million Indian users of Facebook to earn $ 20 ( Rs 1,400 ) per month !



Far more than that Rs 600 per month that might get announced in tomorrow’s  BUDGET  under Universal Basic Income !



Here is the evidence :





Extract :

According to a report, the Menlo Park, California-based company is paying as much as $20 (roughly Rs. 1,400 ) monthly to people to install a VPN app called Facebook Research on their iOS or Android smartphones.

The Android and iOS app, the existence of which Facebook has confirmed, is offered via third-party app testing platforms and asks for root-level permissions, giving it broad access to the activity on the participating user's smartphone. The Android app will continue to be offered, Facebook said.


Facebook responded………….

..It wasn't ‘spying' as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate.


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


To the critiques ( of my suggestion ) :



Of course , Facebook will not agree to pay $ 20 ( Rs 1400 ) per month to its 300 million Indian users for parting with their personal data ( - there are 10 ascending DATA LEVELS described in my proposal – each carrying higher price tag )



But , among the Social Media web sites , there seems to be an acceptance ( - even if grudging ) that they will need to compensate their users for their personal data , using which they have minted billions of dollars of Ad Revenue over the years – and continue to do so



If all the countries agree to implement my suggestion , I have no doubt that all the Social Media web sites will fall in line and agree to share their profits with their users



This is a golden opportunity for India to lead the rest of the World  !



And , my suggestion is not confined to only the Social Media web sites



It covers ALL web sites including E Com / Search engines / Fintech / Apps / Mobile Wallets etc



Even if each of these sites / apps , agrees to pay its user , just $ 1 ( Rs 70 ) per month, it is entirely possible that the Indian Government need not,



#    Introduce Universal Basic Income



#    Worry about finding Rs 7 lakh*crore per year



#    Hassle with the thorny issue of “ WHO “ is poor enough to be eligible for UBI



#    Fret over the method of this Direct Benefit Transfer



#    Decide which of its existing subsidies need to be withdrawn ( - horror in an election year ! )




Dear Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji ,


I am sure , you will not fail to see the SIMPLICITY / ELEGANCE of my suggestion , which does not impose any financial strain on the exchequer , nor fear any opposition from other political parties



Just re-draft that  Data Protection Bill



================================================================
31  Jan  2019


Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Congratulations , Shri GopuKumarji




Following is the email that I just sent to Shri GopuKumarji ( CECRI )


 –  with copies to Cabinet Ministers / NITI Aayog / PM-EAC / PM-STIAC etc

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


Dear Shri GopuKumarji,


Just came across the following news report in today’s Business Line :

Govt-owned electrochemical lab cracks sodium-ion cell tech  

 

It reads :

 

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

 

CECRI…..will be ready to license technology for the mass production of Sodium Ion cells, if things go as planned .

 

The production could be a  big pep to Electric mobility because sodium-ion batteries cost a tenth of the conventional lithium ion batteries

 

 

Sodium, available in abundance in sea water, has long been a preferred option, but the metal is also tricky to handle due to its reactive nature.

 

 

The difficulty has not deterred scientists at CECRI from trying, who have already developed the technology for making lithium-ion cells and have offered to it to the industry.

 

 

 

Congratulations to your entire team on this “ game changing “ breakthrough – especially considering that ,

 

#  India has no deposits of Lithium and must spend heavily to import it from Bolivia-China etc

 

#  Extracting Sodium from our abundant supply of sea water is not an issue

 

 

 

I take the liberty to endorse this email to our :

 

 

Cabinet Ministers

 

NITI  aayog

 

Members of PM’s Economic Advisory Council

 

Members of PM’s Scientific , Technology and Innovation Council

 

Trade Associations ……..etc

 

 

I urge the Central Government to take the following steps URGENTLY :

 

 

#   Without waiting for the next Republic Day , announce award of Bharat Ratna to CECRI team

 

 

#   Authorize CECRI to transfer this technology , FREE of any cost , to companies ( Foreign or Indian ) which set up

     manufacturing  plants ( under a SPV , exclusively for this purpose  ) in India . These licensees shall be

     prohibited from transferring this technology to any other Company anywhere

 

 

#   No GST on Sodium-ion cells produced by these licensees , nor payment of any Corporate Income Tax for 10 years

     for these Licensees

 

     If for any reason , it is not possible to exempt the entire income from Corporate Income tax , then , at

     least the income derived from exports of sodium-ion cells , should be exempted

 

 

I appreciate that it is too late to incorporate these announcements in tomorrow’s Union Budget


But , nothing stops the Government to make these announcements NEXT WEEK – or at least before the Election Code of Conduct kicks in by next month !


With regards – and admiration ,


Hemen  Parekh

From: Hemen Parekh [mailto:hcp@recruitguru.com]

Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2018 6:14 PM


----------------------------------------


Subject: RE: Lithium - Ion Cells

Dear Shri GopuKumarji,


Following might be of interest to you

Regards,

Hemen

These fragile, futuristic batteries run longer with a little oil

A new design could help solve a problem that has long troubled aluminum-air power cells





Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2018 2:57 PM


To: Hemen Parekh


Subject: Re: Lithium - Ion Cells


Dear Mr Parekh,

      Thanks for your mail and I am to say that at present CECRI does not work on Al/air. However, we did this work in 1985 to 1995 and gave up due to various reasons. 

       I have also seen the PHINERGY news and also the video and looks interesting.


Best Regards




On 08/28/18 11:19 AM, Hemen Parekh <hcp@recruitguru.com> wrote:




Dear Shri Gopukumarji,


I read with interest following news report :




Where you say :

If mass-produced, cells made with CECRI’s technology can be sold cheaper than those imported from China


Article also talks about development efforts going on , in respect of :


Sodium-ion cells

Lithium-Air , Lithium Titanium Oxide and Sodium Air , cells


In this context , no doubt , you might be aware that Ashok Leyland has tied up with an Israeli Company , PHINERGY , for development of Metal Air battery made of Aluminium


Is CERCI working on this ?


In this context , you might want to look up :

EV juice from Alu-Air Battery ?  [  16  Jan  2018  ]

Ashok Leyland is not waiting !  [  17  Jan  2018  ]     

Holy Grail for Electric Vehicles  [  17  Feb  2018  ]

Ashok Leyland : On the double  [  01  April  2018  ] 

 

With regards,


Hemen  Parekh  /  Mumbai




--
Prof.Dr. S.Gopukumar


Senior Principal Scientist & Professor (AcSIR),


National Coordinator- Innovative Solutions for Solar Energy Research (TAPSUN),


Electro-Chemical Energy Systems Division,


CSIR -Central Electro-Chemical Research Institute,


Karaikudi - 630 006, TamilNadu, India


Tel : +91-4565-241424
Mobile : +91-9443135901


=====================================
31  Jan  2019
Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com


Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Innovation Nation ?




A few days back , I blogged :


Weave  a  Wondrous  Web  [ W3 ]      ( 20 Jan  2019 )




Then saw following news report in today’s Economic Times :




Extract :

Government Norm re Exclusivity :

The norms specify that any e-commerce marketplace entity will not MANDATE any seller to sell any product exclusively on its platform


Marketplace Innovation :

·          ……….while they can’t mandate exclusivity , the brands can still be exclusive to them as they are free to adopt their channel and sales strategy


·          A rewording of the pacts that the companies have entered into with the marketplaces or the sellers would be required to make it clear the brands are exclusive to the platform as part of their sales strategy and the market place has no role in it


·          As part of this, Flipkart has already replaced the phrase ( #Only on Flipkart  ) for the exclusive brands or products prominently displayed on its marketplace with ( # Just Here )


·          Amazon, too , has started to downplay the “ Amazon Exclusive “ tag displayed for the exclusive brands or models on its marketplace


·          All these changes are to ensure the onus of exclusivity lies on the brand rather than the marketplace



Government Norm re Inventory :


Inventory of a vendor will be deemed to be controlled by e-commerce marketplace entity if more than 25 % of purchases of such vendor are from the marketplace entity or its group companies


Marketplace  Innovation :

·          An executive said Flipkart has informed exclusive partners that it will appoint multiple sellers for these brands instead of one, as is done now, to comply with the 25 % clause . Flipkart executives will also distance themselves from the planning of sales strategy for these brands


·          Amazon has already started such a process where it distances itself from any sales promotion planning of the brands . All such activities are now done by the seller team

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


As Americans would say :    You ain’t seen nothing so far 


In my above-mentioned blog ( sent as email to Cabinet Ministers – NITI Aayog – DIPP etc ) , I wrote :

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

It is simply impossible to structure a “ E Commerce  Policy “ which can address 39.92 million permutations / combinations of all the variables of E Commerce “ Business Structures “ and “ Business Processes “  !


So , how will the E Commerce game  get played out  ?


I imagined one possible “ permutation “ as follows :


             *        Holding Company  and  Subsidiary company Reliance Retail Ltd ( RRL )


·            A “ Cooperative “ of 4 million Kirana Shops ( ala AMUL ) – KIRIL



·            Cooperative holding “ non-transferable / non-voting “ shares in RRL


·            Holding Company giving loans to Kirana Shops to buy shares of KIRIL



·            Manufacturers of Consumer Goods launching “ E Com Platform 


·            4 million Kirana shops listing their inventory on this “ E Com Platform “



And here are some “ legit “ ways to overcome those hurdles placed by DIPP :



·         Instead of E Com platforms offering discounts , Banks / Credit Card Companies / Mobile Wallet companies etc to offer “ Discounts “


·         Logistics / Delivery companies to offer “ FREE DELIVERY 


·         Manufacturers to make “ Exchange Offers 


·         Instead of calling it “ Cash Back “ , just say “ 50 % off “ or “ Today’s Price 



I choose to envision the following :


·         “ E Commerce is as elusive as an molecule of Air “ , that travels freely around the Earth – and unstoppable by national boundaries or un-implementable laws ?

Neither its Origin , nor its Destination will be apparent !



·         Someday soon , everything will be displayed and sold “ Online “



·         The only sensible ways is to treat “ E Commerce “ as a “ Traditional Commerce without bothering to define its “Business Structures” and “ Business Processes” ?



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


But then world over , government officers are :


·          Trained to “ re-act “ to a situation rather than address it “ pro-actively “


·          Punished if a “ bold / out-of-the-box / honest “ decision proves wrong in hindsight !


Given this background, technological and business innovations of E Commerce platforms ( Foreign or Domestic ) , will keep 2 steps ahead of the government regulations !


References :
3 Laws of E - Commerce        [  04  Dec  2017  ]

Mukesh has the last laugh !    [  31  Dec  2018  ]



=====================================================================
30  Jan  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com