MAD goes to Mandi

MAD =  Mobile Attendance Device

Mandi = 1834 seasonal mandis of Punjab Mandi Board ( PNB )

Context :

Punjab: An app that is reforming govt, transforming agri markets 

Extract :

Ø  Ravi Bhagat, Secretary, PMB said ,

“Earlier the employees used to mark attendance either through wall-mounted biometric machines or offline attendance process”.

But at times these machines developed some faults, and then many employees chose to visit the mandi directly instead of coming to the office to mark attendance. But this also meant that there was no way to keep track of who is working and who is not.

“So to keep a track of all those field employees and also for their convenience, we introduced the e-PMB app. With its use, field employees can mark their attendance from outside offices as well,” said Bhagat.

Ø  The app also tracks the location of the employee and an employee’s salary has been attached to the online report of this app.

Ø  “Punjab Mandi Board has a total of 4,766 employees across the state and out of these 45 per cent mark their attendance using this app as they are the regular field workers,” said Bhagat.

Ø  The app was introduced in September last year and in just one year, the attendance of employees has improved by over 60 per cent. The app also allows employees to apply for leaves.

Ø  But the app is not just about employees. While initially the app was only meant for employee attendance, from February this year, PMB added many features in the app through which farmers could even get an online stall booked for “apni mandi” ( weekly fruit and vegetable market).

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Dear Shri Ravi Bhagat ,

Secretary – Punjab Mandi Board (  pmb.secretary@punjab.gov.in  )

At the outset, Congratulations for introducing e-PMB app

Then adding features for :

Ø  Location tracking

Ø  Salary Payments ( linked to attendance )

Ø  Leave Application

Ø  Online Stall Booking……….etc

Some 42 MONTHS back , by sending following email,  I suggested to the Central Government to gradually introduce a Mobile Attendance Device [ MAD ] based Attendance System,  to replace Biometric Attendance Devices [ BAD ] based current system,

From BAD to MAD    [ 01 June 2016 ]

            

If all the employees of all the establishments in India were to start marking their attendance using MAD ( - instead of BAD ), then , over a period of a few months, following advantages will ensue as “ byproducts “  :

#   For employees , no need to file a separate annual Income Tax Return

#   Direct deposit of PF / TDS amounts into bank accounts of Govt Depts

#   Direct Benefit Transfer ( DBT ) to every Employer for Stipend Subsidy ,

     based on number of total trainees / apprentices employed

#   Total number of employees in India ( category / region / industry )

#   Employment Density ( Industry wise / Region wise / Skill wise etc )

#   Net Employment Growth Rate ( weekly - monthly / Industry-wise )

#   Co-relation with no of persons graduating at various levels

#   Data about those Unemployed ( " Graduating " less " Employed " )

#   Overtime Statistics ( Use / Abuse )

#   Work-hour Analysis ( Ave hours / week - month )

#   Wage / Salary Rates ( Rs per hour ) - Industry wise / Region wise

     ( of great interest to Foreign Investors looking to bring down

       manufacturing costs , by outsourcing to India / manufacturing in India )

#   Compliance with labour laws / tax laws / Apprentice Act etc

#   Job Market Forecasts through BIG DATA ANALYTIC ( region / industry )

#   Demographic  Profiles of employees  ( Rural to Urban migration )

#   Per Capita Income Growth for persons using MAD app  ( MOM / YOY )

#   Changing composition between Blue Collar and White Collar employees

Detailed working of MAD is described in my above-mentioned blog / email 

Dear Shri Bhagat,

Now that you have PROVED the superiority of the Mobile Based Attendance system , I hope the Central Government will make a beginning by implementing the same for its own 32 lakh employees

By sending this blog as email, I am requesting

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 

( Minister for HRD / nishankramesh@gmail.com ),

 - to ask you to give him , a demonstration of the e-PMB system implemented by you

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

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03 Jan 2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

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Added on 20 Aug 2021 :

Thank You , Dr S Jaishankarji,

Thank You , Dr S Jaishankarji,

( External Affairs Minister  /  eam@mea.gov.in  )

For accepting my following suggestion ( sent as e mail to Cabinet Ministers ) :

Need of the hour ? : TEAM  [  21  April  2017  ]

By TEAM , I mean :  Technology Evaluation and Acquisition Minister

Whose job description will be :

Remain constantly on look-out for developing / developed technologies from around the World , evaluate their relevance to India’s myriad problems and acquire the same from the developers ( including patent rights / IP rights , to exploit it / improve upon it )

Make available these acquired technologies to Indian Companies ( both , in private and in public sectors ) / NGOs / Start-Ups etc , FREE of cost ( conditions apply in respect of production targets / pricing / time to implement / after-sales service etc ! )

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In today’s Economic Times, I came across following news :

MEA sets up emerging technologies division

Extract :

Ø  The external affairs ministry on Wednesday announced the setting up of new, emerging and strategic technologies  ( NEST ) division

Ø  NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies

Ø  Its mandate shall include, but not be limited to, evolving India’s external technology policy in coordination with domestic stakeholders and in line with India’s developmental priorities and national security goals

Ø  It will also help assess foreign policy and international legal implications of new and emerging technologies and technology-based resources, and recommend appropriate foreign policy choice

Ø  NEST will negotiate technology governance rules, standards and architecture, suited to India’s conditions, in multilateral and pluri-lateral frameworks

In my e mail , I had not only listed following 10 urgent problems  facing India, but also listed the contact details of Scientists / Institutions which have developed technologies to address these problems of national importance :

>  Unavailability of clean drinking water in drought / famine affected areas    
 

>  Pollution thru plastic bottles / Mountains of Land Fills – Garbage Dumps

 

>   Loss of Forest cover / Rampant Desertification  

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

  

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

   

>   Charging of Batteries of Electric Vehicles takes hours !

     

>   No transmission lines for taking electricity to far-flung villages

     

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

     

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

    

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

>  High value currency notes facilitating generation of BLACK MONEY

   

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

     

>   Poor road construction methods resulting in perennial pot-holes

I hope, NEST will work in close co-ordination with :

Ø  Dr HarshVardhan  ( Minister for Science and Technology )

           drhrshvardhan@gmail.com   /   dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in  

Ø  Professor K VijayRaghavan ( Principal Scientific Advisor )

           office-psa@nic.in   /  sti-india@psa.gov.in

Chairman,  PM – STIAC  

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

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

02  Jan  2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Ban ? How many things ?

Context :

Navy bans use of social media, smartphones for personnel

Extract :

Ø  A new directive issued by the Indian Navy on Friday has banned the use of social media and smartphones for all its personnel.

Ø  Listing out what will now be treated as contraband in the Navy, it says that Facebook will be banned and there will be no more smart phones on naval bases or dockyards and even ships.  All staffers from the Chief and below will have to all delete their Facebook accounts

Ø  The order says that they are also considering further ban on

#    Messaging apps,

#    Blogging,

#    Content sharing, and even

#    E-commerce sites

-      which means that online shopping will also be prohibited

Ø  “A ban on use of social media may be introduced as a precautionary measure but the efficacy is debatable.

     Use through proxies or fictitious handles would have to be addressed.

     Procedures may have to be fine-tuned as we go along since the use of social media is

     proliferating across multiple platforms,” Commodore Uday Bhaskar said.

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My Observations / Misgivings / Fears :

Ø  Banned sites ( eg; 827 pornographic sites ) can be accessed using proxy sites

Ø  I had anticipated banning of Smart Phones, 2 years ago !  Here is what I wrote :

         { source :      PRIVACY : A Lost Battle                          [ 16 Jan 2018 ]  }

 “  WHAT  NEXT  ?

Next expect the government to ask its officers not to use in their homes , internet enabled devices ( including Smart phones ) , embedded with AI software such as :

#   Cortana     (  Microsoft  )

#   Bixie         ( Samsung   )

#   Assistant   (  Google   )

#   Siri           (  Apple  )

#   Alexa        (  Amazon  )

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

WHY  ?

These devices learn a lot about ,

·         WHO    you are ,

·         WHERE    you live / work ,

·         WHAT    you like / wear ,

·         HOW    you dress ,

·         WHERE    you take your family for holidays / eat out ,

·         WHO    is your boss / are your friends,

·         WHERE     you buy and  WHAT ,

·         WHERE     you studied and  WHAT  did you study ,

·         WHICH     is your bank /  WHAT  is your bank account ,

·         WHAT      is your current salary ,

·         HOW       much tax you paid last year ,

·         WHAT      properties you own and WHERE ( and , at WHAT price purchased

                         / WHEN )

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Ø  With arrival of 5G networking technology, IoT ( Internet of Things ) will proliferate. Every home will have a dozen Internet-connected devices . Already many people are wearing Smart Watches / Wrist Bands . Many homes have Smart TVs

By 2023, expect refrigerators / microwave ovens / washing machines / wall clocks ( all internet connected ) etc will be found in many homes

By 2025, expect most “ medical devices “ to be internet connected .

By 2030 , some Central Server ( in Health Ministry ) will track the health of all ( willing ) citizens, who opt to wear a “ Health Monitor “ on the wrist

How many devices will we succeed in “ banning “ ? Who will monitor such ban and how ?

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01 Jan 2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com