#MainBhiChowkidar

Some 2 days back, Shri Modiji started this campaign, by launching a video , in which people of all ages and from all walks of life are seen singing , “ Main bhi chowkidar “

Idea is to rope in millions of Indian citizens to help catch the corrupt ( -  indeed the job of a Chowkidar )

But the citizens are left wondering :

“  I have located a guy in my neighbourhood , who is a proclaimed tax-offender . How do I turn him in ? “

Dear Narendrabhai,

Your very welcome initiative fails to empower ordinary citizens with a tool to truly become a Chowkidar

That tool is a Mobile App , called “ Be-ware “, which I described as follows in my email to the Cabinet Ministers , dated 30  AUG  2016 :

Be-Aware / Beware !

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Income Tax department to launch a  Mobile App ( called , " Be-Ware " ? )

Anyone can download it from the web site of IT dept by entering his Aadhar Number / Jan Dhan Bank a/c Number

" Be-Ware " will display ( alphabetically ) , names of those Tax Defaulters

Long press on any name , will reveal the person's data ( as seen currently on IT dept web site )




http://office.incometaxindia.gov.in/administration/Pages/tax-defaulters.aspx

Below each data-sheet , will be a button which reads " INFORMER "

Touching it will open a box , wherein the " Informer " can provide information leading to locating / arresting of that defaulter

Just click " SEND " button after typing in the info

That simple !

A return acknowledgement SMS from IT department will give a  REGISTRATION  LINK , clicking which will show the informer , info provided by him , on IT dept web site ( Proof of Pudding ! )

And every time he logs in at this LINK , he will get to know the progress made by IT department in the case

It will also enable him to submit " Supplementary Data " ( about the Defaulter ) , from time to time

A total transparency  , in an atmosphere of Co-operation instead of Confrontation !

Based on info provided , if - and when - IT department recovers any of that TAX DUES , that Informer's  Jan Dhan Bank A/c will get credited with 5 % of the amount recovered ! ( the most welcome and well-earned, DBT ? )

And , the INFORMER will NOT be required to pay any Income Tax , on such deposits  !

One simple rule will apply ( like " Terms and Conditions Apply " )

In case more than one Informer submits similar information about the same Tax Defaulter , the person submitting it FIRST , will get 5 % and each subsequent informer , will get a ENCOURAGEMENT PRIZE of Rs 1,000 / -

In such a case , the decision of the IT department will be final and binding on the informers

If implemented , rest assured that all smart phone manufacturers would want to pre-install " Be-Ware " on each and every phone shipped !

In such cases , the App can be " Activated " by the phone-owner , by registering his Mobile Number on the IT department web site

IT Dept Guys  !

Rope in millions !  Start a " Track-a-Crook " viral fever ! Get back Crores of public money with little effort !

Income Tax Free " manna from heaven " of 5 % , will launch a million sleuths into ,

" BRING  THE  CROOK  TO  BOOK " business !

No place for the Corrupts to hide !

But needed , one most important assurance for success :

All " Informers " must be fully protected under " The Whistle-Blower Protection Act " !

Way to Go , with some BOLD / OUT OF BOX , thinking !

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Dear Shri Modiji,

My suggestion is a sure way to take this battle against corruption to the people

It will reassure the citizens about your dedication to this cause

It is bound to go viral

It does not violate Model Code of Conduct

 

It can be launched within 4 days  !

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18  March  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Anti – Pollution Towers

Congratualations,  Smt Jyotsnaben  Mehta

[  BMC Corporator  /  Counsillor219.d@mcgm.gov.in
  ]

For what ?

For moving a notice of motion to set up Anti Pollution Towers in Mumbai to combat air pollution

(   Mumbai: In a bid to breathe clean, BJP corporator demands anti-pollution tower    )

While moving the notice, Smt Mehta said :

" Delhi and other states have already installed the anti-pollution tower that can remove nearly 90 per cent of the particulate matter ".

She added that the tower can clean air up to 3 km radius and over 75000 people will get clean air to breathe. “

Has this been tried abroad ?

Yes

In Chinese city of Xian, a 100 meter ( 328 feet ) tall air filtration tower was erected last year . It consumes very little electric power and has managed to reduce pollution by 15 %

The full-size version could reach as high as 500 meters ( 1,640 feet  ) while the surrounding greenhouses could cover nearly 30 square kilometers ( 11.6 square miles ).

(  China built the world’s biggest air purifier – and it is actually working  ) 

Any examples of this technology in India ?

 Yes

A startup named Kurin System in India has come up with plans for a "City Cleaner" that will be 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide on each side . It could purify 32 million cubic meters of air everyday  

As per the report, Kurin’s co-founder, Pavneet Singh Puri said that the new air purifier will scrub air in the vicinity of three kms and provide clean air for 75,000 people.

It will feature 48 fans to pull in the polluted air and push out clean air, which will run on electricity generated using solar panels. It will be constructed with locally sourced materials.

The company says that the air purifier tower can be completed within four months once the project gets a green light from the authorities and is expected to cost Rs 1.75 crores to 2 crores per tower

 ( India could soon get a 40 feet tall air purifier tower in Delhi to combat rising air pollution levels    )

How many towers will be needed and what would these cost ?

Each tower ( of Kurin Systems ) claims to purify air in an area of 28.27 sq km ( radius of 3 km )

#   Delhi ( NCR ) , with an area of 1484 sq km will need at least  53 towers ( Rs 106 cr @ Rs 2 cr per tower )

#   Mumbai with an area of 603 sq km will need 20 towers ( Rs 40 cr @ Rs 2 cr per tower )

     Even if the claims of the tower manufacturers are exaggerated and the actual number of towers required is

     three times , the capital funds required are insignificant in the annual expense budgets of the municipalities

     This requirement of funds must be viewed in the context of BMC ( MCGM ) having a Fixed Deposit of Rs

    69,135 crores !

     

Where can these be erected ? 

Having a base of 20 feet X 20 feet ( = 400 sq ft ), these towers cannot be erected on the footpaths

Ideal places would be

#   Public Gardens

#   Compounds of Government Offices / Municipal Schools

#   Compounds of Residential Complexes  /  Co-Op Housing Societies

Can we think of offering any “ incentives “ to Resi Complexes / Housing Societies ?

If following incentives are offered , builders and societies will rush to set up such towers , in all the polluted cities :

[ A ]     Incentive by the Municipal Corporation

           #  No licensing fees for tower-sides used as hoardings

[ B ]    Incentive by the State Government

           #   20 % rebate from Property Tax payable by the Societies which put up such towers

[ C ]    Incentive by the Central Government

           #   No income tax on “ Adverising Revenue “ earned by the Housing Society, by renting out the sides of the

                Tower that can be used as HOARDINGS ( 20 feet wide x 40 feet tall )

                At present , in metro cities, road-side hoardings cost anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 30 lakh per

                month to rent out . 

At these rates, Housing Societies can earn a very substantial monthly income by

               offering to rent out these towers – as with renting their terraces for mobile towers

  

If using towers as hoardings is commercially lucrative , why not Bombay Municipality do it on its own ?

Absolutely !  Why not ?

Can the tower manufacturers be motivated to sell these for FREE or for 50 % discount to municipalities  ?

Of course !

Just give them the advertising / leasing / renting rights , on the towers for 10 years – and no Income Tax

As simple as that . No other motivation required !

Why does this proposal needs URGENT / TOP PRIORITY examination ?

Just one look at the following statistics will convince you :

#   33 % of global edible food is wasted

#   56 % of such wastage happens in rich countries

#   Meat production currently uses 77 % of agricultural land

#   Agri production consumes 70 % of global water

#   8 million tons of plastic goes into oceans each year

#   Exposure to indoor/outdoor air and water 

pollution costs at least 9 MILLION lives annually

#   Top 10 % emitting countries emit 45 % of total global GHG emissions

#   Bottom 50 % emitters emit only 13 % of total global GHG emissions

#   Climate mitigation actions for achieving Paris Agreement target will cost US $ 22 trillion

#   Combined health benefits from reduced air pollution could amount to $  54 trillion

#   Air pollution causes 6 – 7 million early deaths annually

#   In India alone , some 12 lakh persons die an early death due to air pollution

#   15 of the top 20 most polluted cities of the World, are in India

#   In all the major cities of India, about 800 to 1000 tons of pollutants are being emitted into the air daily

( source : Millions to die prematurely by ’50 due to pollution: UN )

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14   March  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Bulk Data Sharing / Selling Policy ?

Just what I have been advocating for past 2 years to get the Social Media to pay Indian users for use of their private / personal data

What are you driving at ?

·          I think , with this announcement , government seems to have accepted in principle that ,

#  Users of Social Media web sites are the sole “ DATA OWNERS “ of their personal / private data

#  Social Media just cannot be allowed to mint tons of money, selling user data, without compensating

    such users first ( in advance of using such data )

#  Left to their own selfish “ corporate policies “, Social Media are unlikely to pay in advance ( not  

    reimburse at some later date , after a long court case ! ) for such user-data

#  There is no way an individual can force a Social Media web site to enter into some kind of “ data

     purchase agreement “ with him

#   It , therefore , becomes the Indian Government’s responsibility to prevent such “ DATA THEFT “ by

     forcing the Social Media to enter into “ BULK DATA PURCHASE AGREEMENTS “ with the government

#   The only practical way to implement such a regime of a transparent / equitable and  omnibus ,“ DATA

     SALE “ is through implementing :

                  Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]

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What data ? What policy ?

Just came across following news :

Govt clears policy to sell vehicle registration data   

Name of the Policy  :

Bulk Data Sharing Policy

What data ?

·          Vehicle Registration Number

·          Engine and Chassis Number

·          Date of purchase and Insurance Validity

·          Colour

·          Details of loan provider ( will not have the owner’s name )

·          In all , 28 fields of data for each vehicle will be shared

Cost and Conditions :

·          Commercial organizations of individuals will need to pay Rs 3 CRORE for FY 20

·          Educational Institutions will need to pay Rs 5 LAKH, but are allowed to use it for research only

·          Organizations requesting data should be registered in India and be majority – owned by an Indian resident or company

·          Organizations will also need to go through security audits

Is there any FREE data that one can get ?

·          In addition to the data for sale, “ free access to the vehicle’s basic data is available to all the registered users through mParivahan App or through the web portal of the Ministry. The information available shall be restricted to the basic details regarding statutory compliances and the owner’s name. The purpose of this information is to promote statutory compliances and also facilitate individual hiring/ renting or purchase/ sale of vehicles and hiring of drivers ”

Privacy Worries :

·          The policy itself admits “ there is a possibility of triangulation “ – matching the data with other publicly available databases to determine information that can compromise their privacy ( That’s because the Vahan app, also run by the ministry, maps registration details against names. And names, in some cases, can help track other details, including addresses, e-mails, and phone numbers )

·          Experts said the move effectively means personal information of millions of Indians will now be sold

Is there a precedence ?

·          According to the Ministry, at present, the data is shared with specified law enforcement agencies andin addition, data is also shared with Automobile Industries , Banks, Finance companies etc., at specified rates for each data set

·          Banks and insurance companies purchase data at ₹50 per record and transport companies and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) take it at ₹100 per record.

Any other plans to “ monetize “ personal data of users ?

·          The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the railway budget for financial year 206-17 had also announced its plans of monetizing the huge pool of passenger data available with the Indian Railways. In October, 2018, IRCTC, railways’ ticketing arm, had issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) seeking offers on its data from private players.

What about data protection ?

·          The data will be encrypted with the public key of the nodal person of the purchasing organization who will manage the data securely

Logic advanced by the Ministry :

·          It is recognized that sharing data for other purposes, in a controlled manner, can support the transport and automobile industry. The sharing of data will also help in service improvements and wider benefits to citizens and government. In addition , it will also benefit the country’s economy. The prime focus is on delivering simpler, better and safer services to the citizens…

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Dear Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji,

In a relay race , at each hand-over of the baton, the next player does not ask :

“  Shall I run or not run ? “

That decision gets taken for each and every member of the entire team , before entering the race !

Once entered , it is only a question of grabbing the baton and running like mad

With the Cabinet having decided to “ monetize “ the USER DATA for 230 million vehicles, nothing stops you to grab

that policy and “ monetize “ the private / personal data of the 500 million internet users of our country

You have the power – and the onus – to enable each user to earn Rs 30,000 per year by selling his ( anonymized and aggregated ) data to Social Media

No UBI ( Universal Basic Income ) can do this trick – and without costing the exchequer anything !

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13  March  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com