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

Saturday, 24 August 2019

Saluting the Reform Architect : Arun Jaitleyji




RIP :  Shri Arun Jaitleyji



Today’s newspapers carry millions of words describing a slew of ECONOMIC REFORMS that Shri Jaitley initiated during past 5 years



Frequently mentioned among dozens of these reforms , are :


#   GST

#   NPA resolution mechanism



Without doubt, these are important achievements which will change the rules of governance



But , without exception, the editors and expert authors / writers, missed out his greatest reform, viz :



“ Starting 2017 , introduction of OUTPUT BUDGET



Here is the genesis :



#   Immediately after NDA govt assumed office in May 2014 ( but before presentation of its
     fist budget in Feb 2015 ), I sent following email to Shri Jaitleyji,


     

    BUDGETING BY OBJECTIVES                           [  05  Dec  2014  ]




-          urging him to shift the budget emphasis from :



#  Expenditure Allocations “ for various Ministries and refocus on  actual / physical /
      measurable , ACHIEVEMENT TARGETS for each Ministry


      
#      Resource Inputs   to  Physical Outputs   ( Productivity of Inputs )




I followed this up in my following emails :


An Unprecedented Budget Reform                           [  09  Dec  2016  ]

Another {  Welcome   } First                                    [  01  Feb  2017  ]



With introduction of this OUTPUT BUDGET, Shri Jaitley succeeded in re-focussing the efforts / actions of all the Ministries, from :



#    Amount of budgeted / allocated money / funds , actually SPENT ( by year-end ) , to



#    Actual / Physical / Measurable TARGETS set at the beginning of the year, and achieved
      by year-end, as a “ MEASURE  OF  ACHIEVEMENT




This was a reform in changing the :


#     ATTITUDE of the bureaucrats and Ministers

 
#     way to measure ACHIEVEMENTS

    
#     way to hold Ministers ACCOUNTABLE


#    way to measure the ministerial PERFORMANCE  through an ongoing SCORE CARD


#    deception of “ Shooting first and then drawing concentric circles around the hole “


#    culture of Opaqueness to Transparency of govt achievements



Some day when political / economic historians write the HISTORY of REFORMS undertaken by the NDA government, I have no doubt that this OUTPUT BUDGETING will top the list




Dear Departed Soul ,



You have carved out your name in the annals of India’s REFORM HISTORY  - for which , not only this but all the coming generations of Indians will remember you !



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25  Aug  2019


Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com


Saturday, 17 August 2019

Cutting Edge Research Proposals ?




Business Line carries following news report :



Highlights :


#   Called Supra, the initiative is one of PM Modi’s 100-day transformative ideas



#   As part of the Modi government’s 100-day transformative ideas, the   Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)    plans to announce a new scheme with the sole objective of funding exploration of new scientific and engineering breakthroughs with global impact.


#   “The idea is to fund disruptive ideas that can lead to new areas of study, new scientific concepts, new products and technologies.   The focus is not incremental or short-term advances in the understanding, but new science or truly disruptive technologies,” SERB Secretary Sandeep Verma told BusinessLine.


#   Called Scientific and Useful Profound Research Advancement, or Supra, the scheme is designed to attract high quality research proposals consisting of new hypotheses or challenge existing ones and provide ‘out-of-box’ solutions.


The proposals have to be extremely bold and the outcome should be really cutting edge. The principal investigators (PIs) should be able to convince the reviewers about its long-term impact on our fundamental scientific understanding or the disruptive nature of the technology that is being pursued, Verma said.


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

 
Dear Dr Sandeep Vermaji ,





Nearly a year ago, Shri Modiji set up,


PM – STIAC  [  Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council  ]



The committee was to advise the Prime Minister on all matters related to S&T, innovation and monitor the implementation of PM’s vision on the same.


Encouraged by PM’s vision, I submitted, a set of problems which required some “ out-of-the-box “ thinking and “ cutting edge research


You will find their details at the following blogs ( each sent as email to the Cabinet Ministers ).


Dear Shri Vermaji,



I fully appreciate that you will get inundated with hundreds of proposals , which, I believe you will “ EVALUATE “ using some “ Rating / Ranking “ system


 
And I do hope , you will publish on your web site, not only the rating mechanism but also list the final selection of the proposals in the descending order



You may wish to consider “ Rating / Ranking “ of the proposals by a panel of eminent Scientists / Technocrats




Acknowledging each proposal will go a long way to encourage citizens to send in their own proposals



With regards,


Hemen Parekh 

 Mumbai  





18  Aug  2019

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

Problem :      


[ Source :  Man who sees Future /  28 Aug 2018 ]


Unavailability of clean drinking water in drought / famine affected areas

Pollution thru Plastic Bottles / Mountains of Land Fills – Garbage Dumps



Tech from :

Prof  Omar  Yaghi ( Uni of California ) / Skipping Rock Labs ( UK )

Details at :
-----------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------

Problem
 :

Loss of Forest cover / Rampant Desertification
Tech from :

Zhong Zhihua, Chinese Scientist (Chongqing Jiaotong University ).

Details at :

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


Problem :

Millions sleeping in Streets / Slums, for want of affordable houses


Tech from :

Chris Kelsey ( Cazza )
 / WinSun ( China ) / Formwerkz ( Singapore )



Details at :



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

Problem :

Traffic Jams on City Roads / Hours to reach Office-Home

Tech from :

Electric Front Wheel for Bicycle from Geo-Orbital ( Cambridge – USA )


Details at :

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


Problem :

Charging of Batteries of Electric Vehicles takes hours !

Tech from :
Flash Battery Charger from Stores-Dot ( Israel )


Details at :

     All Charged Up ?

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

Problem :

No transmission lines for taking electricity to far-flung villages


Tech from :

Bicycle Generated Power from Manoj Bhargava ( BillionsinChange )


Details at :


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

Problem :

No way to store ( for use at night ), billions of KWH of Solar Power


Tech from :

PowerPack Batteries from Elon Musk ( TESLA )

Details at :

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

Problem :

Fossil Fuel Power killing millions / Urgent need to generate Solar Power


Tech from :

All over the World

Details at :


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

Problem :

Dependence on import for Li-ion batteries / Fast charging button batteries


Tech from :

Venkataraman Thangadurai and colleagues ( University of Calgary / Canada )




 “ The technology we have developed would enable absolutely stable, robust, safe, high-powered, all solid state lithium batteries for future energy storage , which have many potential applications , including charging of electric vehicles 


And then there is Israeli firm  Stores-Dot , which claims to be developing a car battery  that can be charged in 5 minutes and give a range of 300 miles !


A research group at the University of California (UCR), Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering has developed nano silicon anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries, by simply using a low-cost chemical process and waste glass bottles.



The batteries will not only extend the range of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles, but also provide extra power with fewer charges to laptops, cell phones, and similar personal electronics.



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

Problem :

High value currency notes facilitating generation of BLACK MONEY


Tech from :

RFID technology from Sanjay Sarma ( MIT ) [ SESARMA@MIT.EDU  ]


Details at :


Tech from :

TERAHERTZ Camera developed by Ramesh Raskar ( MIT )

Details at :



Tech from :

Birmingham City University ( Internet of Clothes )

Details at :



============================
Problem :


Making available high speed Internet to entire India ( remotest corner )

Tech from :

GoogleLoons  ( from Google ) / Drones ( from Facebook )

A  Welcome  Initiative

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

Problem :

Poor road construction methods resulting in perennial pot-holes

Tech from :

Cold Asphalt technology from COLAS ( France )


Details at :


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


Some of the other Sources ( listing Research Concepts )- this is not a comprehensive list :

Water above our heads                                                          [  29 Mar 2019  ]


Health Data Vault                                                                    [  16 July 2019  ]


The Biggest , FREE , Desalination Plant : Sun + Sea             [  09  July  2019  ]


Traffic Congestion ? Finally, a solution in sight ?                     [   31  May  2019  ]


Census 2021 : an Unprecedented Opportunity                         [  11  April  2019  ]


100 % verification of VVPAT ? No problem !                             [  02  April 2019  ]


VVPAT ?   How about EVBAT ?                                                  [  28  Mar  2019  ]


The Future of TV Viewing ?                                                          [  26 Mar 2019  ]


RBI : how about an audible note ?                                               [   23 Mar 2019  ]


E – Car Extrapolation : a Wishful Thinking ?                                [   20 Mar 2019  ]


Anti – Pollution Towers                                                                  [  14  Mar  2019  ]


A Grass-Root Revolution                                                                [  11  Mar  2019  ]


Ray , a drop of golden Sun                                                             [  18  Feb  2019  ]


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


SARAL                                                                                              [  10  Feb  2019  ]


Organizing the Unorganized                                                              [  04  Feb  2019  ]


National Clean Air Tax ? – a Pigovian tax ?                                        [  11  Jan 2019  ]


Thank You Madam Maneka Gandhiji                                                   [  21 Dec 2018  ]


Trans-portability Theory                                                                       [  10  Dec  2019  ]


Transport : an Integrated Logistic Plan ?                                             [   20  Nov  2019  ]


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