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, 5 July 2019

LIBRA : Am I the only one worried ?





Till last week ,   I thought so when I sent following email to  Cabinet Ministers :


LIBRA : The coming battle of Currencies ?




Apparently, some other, very knowledgeable persons too seem to be worried with potential implications of Libra on :



#  Other crypto-currencies


#  fiat currencies issued by Reserve Banks of various countries


#  Thousands of mobile payment wallets issued by Banks – E Com web sites – Mobile apps
    launched by umpteen FINTECH companies




For details of these potential implications, read :



Libra is a Quasi-Fiat Digital Currency    /   Libra currently looks more like a fiat currency than a cryptocurrency     


Those who do not have time to read this entire article, here are the highlights :



# ….token economy that would bypass a lot of regulation and banking solutions to introduce
   a whole new kind of financial services convenience.



#   Libra Globalcoin resembles more the launching of a digital bank with a digital currency
    than anything related to cryptocurrencies or Bitcoin.



#  To even make the comparison is really dumbed down for mass adoption. Facebook wants
    to use Bitcoin hype for its own profit.



#  The reality is then that Facebook’s Libra could be an on-ramp for the death and dead end
    of crypto



#  In other words, it looks like a blockchain, but it’s not a real blockchain. In the same vein
   as EOS or Ripple. It’s the same scam as Tron, just smarter in that the Libra coin is
   tethered to a fiat basket.



#  It’s not truly decentralized. It’s not truly open, as the ledger of transactions will be
    accessible to Libra Association founding members exclusively.



#  Libra can pretend and be packaged to be whatever it wants to gain mainstream adoption



    (  Following the adage : “ If you can’t lick them , then join them “ : , I had. In my earlier mail , suggested to negotiate with Facebook to get it to agree to implement :

Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ] 



#  Facebook can thus ‘move fast and break things’ all over again, more or less with a clean
   slate.



#  The Libra Association will work with a list of authorized resellers. It creates a barrier to
   entry and transforms the Libra Association into a regulatory body for the Libra ecosystem



#  Small financial institutions will have no choice but to work with an authorized reseller if
   their clients want to get paid back in Libra, for instance. All the founding members become
   a sort of Visa or Mastercard for the 21st century



#  This is how you begin a dynasty that leads to a global digital currency that has no nation
   or state, but belongs to the entire world. Facebook will own it, literally.




#  Facebook or other companies will have to set up servers, will have to run the software,
   will have to validate transactions. Facebook will have all our chat and Libra coin data.



#  Libra could become an instant hit and power many of the peer-to-peer and even business-
    to-customer transactions. It could also launch the biggest unregulated shadow digital
    bank the world has ever seen. Out with the old and in with the new



#  Given the current nature of the Libra Association, there’s a chance that Libra becomes a
   quasi-sovereign currency in Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey or South Africabut it would be
   controlled by private companies that don’t care about monetary policies.

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


Dear  Shri  Ravi  Shankar Prasadji  /  Madam Nirmala  Sitharamanji  :



Even as you are fully occupied with sorting out hundreds of questions in connection with yesterday’s budget, I once again urge you to :



Ø   turn this “ Libra Threat “ ( from Facebook ),

 
Ø   into  a “ Liberating Opportunity “ ( for 310 million users of Facebook ), by telling Facebook ( in as blunt a manner as possible ) :



  If you wish to operate in India , you  must sign / implement :

Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]  


Some 67 years ago, Bapu gave an ultimatum to the British Empire , : Quit India :


May our National Goals ( $ 5 trillion economy ) give you the courage to tell Facebook :   Sign up or Quit

========================================
=====
06  July  2019
Rsvp : hcp@RecruitGuru.com





Saturday, 29 June 2019

LIBRA : The coming battle of Currencies ?


LIBRA  :  The coming battle of Currencies  ?


Source :



Extract  :

Facebook also created a new subsidiary, an app called Calibra, that will let users ,
Ø   “ send and receive “ the currency ( obviously, bypassing RBI / Banks etc ? )

The Libra Association will oversee Libra Blockchain and
Ø  manage Libra’s reserve to assure the stability of the Cryptocurrency’s value “ ( taking over the main responsibility of RBI  ?  )
Libra web site does not mention Facebook and it has a
Ø  different branding than Facebook ( to tie up the legal luminaries in knots ? )
Facebook assures that ,
Ø  It ( Libra ) is regulated and that financial data is kept separated from Facebook ( to ensure no incidental liability for Facebook’s own huge profits , in case of court cases against Libra ? )
We can expect to see real world cash – exchanges for Libra, beyond the Calibra digital wallet ( a serious threat to all Wallets / Payment Apps including BHIM ?  )

There is no word yet on whether Libra will institute a ‘ user age minimum ‘, although Libra’s web site says, that,
Ø   users will need a government-issued ID to sign up

European watchdogs demand detail on Facebook's cryptocurrency  

Extract :


Facebook last week announced plans to launch Libra within the first half of 2020, part of an effort to expand beyond social media to e-commerce and digital payments
Facebook’s project has raised privacy concerns among U.S. lawmakers and prompted European central bankers to claim oversight to ensure it would not jeopardize the financial system or be used to launder money.

MY  TAKE  :
#   Libra is not just another Crypto-currency ( like Bitcoin ) , which anyone with a powerful
     computer can “ mine “ and create personal “ assets “, which they can trade on crypto-
     exchanges . It aims to replace , not only all other existing crypto-currencies but even “
    government-backed “ fiat “ currencies  !

#  Facebook alone will do all the mining / creation of Libra ( its entire reserve )

#  Facebook will “ dole out “ tiny portions of Libra to its users who are willing to sign up
   Calbra for giving away personal / private data ( what can any govt do to stop such
   individual contracts between Calibra and its users ? )

#  It is high time NDA government quickly strikes a deal with Facebook , in terms of :

     Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ] 


   At least, Libra wants users ( of Calibra ) to get a Govt ID for registration !

For once, let us do something smarter –and faster – than EU / USA  !

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

29  June  2019
hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Friday, 28 June 2019

Thanks , Shri Piyush Goyalji ,


Thanks , Shri Piyush Goyalji ,


For bringing some clarity to a utterly confusing issue
Today’s Eco Times carries following news :




Extract :

The government is planning to set up a national data governance centre to hold all public data, and establish guidelines for the management, sharing and monetisation of information. State agencies and even startups could access the data through this facility.
 

Public data relates to freely available information that is collated by various agencies or companies in the course of their operations and which can be traded without restrictions or be used for public utility purposes. This includes traffic and illness patterns. 


“Data has an economic value, but who, when and where uses that, that would then lie under a national data-sharing policy to be developed under the data governance centre,
 

But recently, commerce minister Piyush Goyal directed his ministry to take out the data elements from the draft ecommerce policy, leaving the PDP Bill to handle those. 


“Shouldn’t all this community or public data be available at one centralised location with the government, so that it can be used by everyone, including government agencies to make relevant laws and even help startups 

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

I am glad that the Govt ( Ministers and officers ), have finally appreciated that :


Personal data ( of course , aggregated and anonymized ), have ECONOMIC VALUE , which must be unleashed



I hope, they will not hesitate to take the next logical step, viz :


  Data Owners MUST be compensated , each and every time , some private party / agency is enabled to make money from use of this data for commercial purpose . Govt must keep away from the temptation of making money from selling the user data “



Refer  :   Bulk Data Sharing / Selling Policy ?   [  12  March  2019  ]





Dear Shri Goyalji,



Here is your unprecedented opportunity to bring about a totally new DATA COMPILATION / SHARING / MONETIZING REGIME , not only in India but as a BENCH MARK for the rest of the world !




A DATA REGIME which ensures for the DATA OWNERS , a just “ Compensation “ for one of their most precious “ Asset



I urge you to implement :


Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]    [   14  Feb  2019  ]

 

Related Readings :

 

Taxing the Data Thieves ?                                   [  04  March  2019  ]

 

Data is the New Oil                                              [   30  Jan   2019  ]

 

A Matter of Motive                                               [   04  Aug  2018  ]

 

Tim Berners-Lee Speaks                                     [  30  Sept  2018  ]

 

Wealth of Nations                                                 [  17  Aug  2018  ]

 

Data Privacy Law : a Pandora’s Box ?                 [  15  July  2018  ]

 

Trade  Off  :   Privacy  vs  LiveEasy  ?                  [  25  March  2018  ]

 

PrivacyForSale                                                   [  26  Aug  2017  ]

 

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

28  June  2019

 

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Thursday, 13 June 2019

Who is responsible ?




Following new appeared in today’s DNA :


Adani Electricity, BMC — neither owns up to shoddy wiring


Adani Power said their responsibility ended after installing of the meter box; BMC pointed to the Disaster Control Dept . It is not clear who is in charge of maintenance of the electricity wires


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


Dear  Shri  Narendrabhai,



Do you believe ,


#  Any court of law would be able to establish who is really responsible  for loss of these
    lives ?


#  Even if the poor parents of those boys were offered FREE legal services to fight this case,
    how many years would it take for the court to establish the guilt ( BMC / Adani / Disaster
    Control Dept ? )


#  Even if you are helpless ( pains to think so ! ) to introduce the Public Service Liability (
    Government Employees ) Act – 2019 , as requested in my email yesterday, can you not ,
    at least make a beginning by launching a Mobile App ( as suggested ) within the first 100
   days, to ascertain PUBLIC PERCEPTION of , “ Who should be held responsible for this
   mishap ? “ .



   Once, for a change, can we try to get a QUICK FEEDBACK on what millions of citizens
   think / believe / perceive – and in a matter of hours ?



Going back a few thousand years , there was only ONE court in the days of Raja Ram – his own-, where he would have to hear the complaints of ordinary citizens , decide who is guilty and hand out the punishment to the  guilty



But when, from an ordinary Dhobi, he overheard the allegations against Sati Sita , he became an “ interested party “ – and not fit to “ judge “ the case !



What Agni-Pariksha Sati Sita went through to prove her innocence , is deeply etched in the minds of millions of Ram-Bhakts


  
I believe, if NDA has to survive beyond 2024 general elections, you need to subject your govt employees to such an AGNI-PARIKSHA – and now !



I hope you will clearly see that building / launching this APP on a billion mobile phones, could be bigger than re-building RAM MANDIR at Ayodhya ( just one distant place ).



Insist that all mobiles sold in India after 02 Oct 2019 ( Bapu’s 150 th birthday ) must be pre-installed with this app



Mechanics :
  
 As each mishap occurs, a short ( with a long press ) headline will get pushed onto the
 mobile phones of those who have downloaded the App – enabling that phone to RATE only
 once ( before self-destruct )


========================================================
13  June  2019

hcp@RecruitGuru.com