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, 14 March 2020

Permission to create jobs ?




One can understand that the Government cannot create 12 million NEW JOBS every year


But I do not understand why the Government,

Ø  Fails to remove obstacles for private sector to create jobs / self-employment

Ø  Requires businesses/industries, to seek its “ intervention “  to create jobs


Context :

Extract :

Ø  Nasscom has sought easing of regulatory restrictions for a month to enable Work From Home ( WFH ) for the sector.

Ø  Today, it is possible for employees to work from anywhere in the world, while remaining within the ambit of organisational information and data access protocols, and organisational security practices, the letter written by Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said [delhi@nasscom.in ]

Ø  Nasscom has sought urgent intervention to waive-off requirements pertaining to WFH under the OSP regime for a period of one month, as an “ interim emergency measure ”.

Ø  The move is important as despite the availability of technology, companies under the OSP regime continue to struggle in operationalising WFH for their employees due to the “onerous” compliance and technical requirements under the prevailing regime. These include setting up Provider Provisioned Virtual Private Networks ( PPVPN ) connectivity, sharing pre-defined locations of extended agents ( employees ) and providing “high” monetary security deposits among others.

Ø  Last year, licensor Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had conducted extensive consultation on OSP regime and recommended the need to remove restrictions. However, DoT is yet to take these into consideration, the letter sent to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

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

Government has responded as reported in :




Extract :

Ø  Employees at leading IT-BPO companies have been given a go-ahead to work from home, according to a notification by the Department of Telecom and Software Technology. In a notification on Friday, the Department of Telecom decided to allow employees operating from SEZs to work from home till April 30. The STPI notification was issued on Thursday and is likely to benefit close to 2 million employees across 3,000 units

“Three years ago, we incorporated a provision in the foreign trade policy to allow work from home. Since the provision was already there, we issued a blanket approval yesterday to implement the policy, given the current circumstances,” STPI director-general Omkar Rai [ rai@stpi.in ] told ET
     The waiver is likely to benefit employees of BPO companies more.

Ø  Nasscom had written a letter to the Department of Telecom secretary Anshu Prakash, [ secy-dot@nic.in  ] saying that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended removing restrictions around work from home last year after a consultation process.

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

Dear Shri RaviShankar Prasadji,

Even at the time Shri Modiji set a target to make India a $ 5 Trillion economy by 2024, it seemed a Herculean task. Almost impossible according to some economic experts

Now, with gradual ( but certain ) slowing down of our economy due to Corona Virus , even ordinary citizens are convinced of this impossibility !

I will repeat what I have, many times said earlier, viz:

Desperate times demand desperate measures.

 Bureaucratic tinkering at the fringe of the calamity, just won’t do. 

There is no way we can unravel the Gordian Knot .

 We have to simply take a sword and cut it !


And here is that process as explained in my following earlier E Mail :


Make every home a “ Distributed BPO – KPO – any Outsourcing Process Organization



Extract :

But then , in today's totally interconnected World , why should it be necessary for housing 10 / 20 / 50 persons in ONE place , under ONE roof , for collaborating on execution of COMMON tasks ?

I am sure , in any given ONE square km of a small town , there are 50 unemployed - and quite possibly , GRADUATE - youngsters , who would be more than happy to " work from home "

They will be happy to set aside , in their homes , a 5 feet by 5 feet space , as a " Home Work Station "

Now , that subsidy of " Rs 1 lakh per seat " that the IT Ministry has promised , is quite sufficient to set up a :

VIRTUAL  CALL  CENTER ,

by connecting those 50 youngsters through a  , VPN ( VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK )

And since these youngsters are working from their homes , they can be asked to work in 3 shifts of 8 hours each , providing " Round the Clock " service to customers !

Dear Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad-ji :

Why give a subsidy to a prospective " OWNER " of a Call Centre ?

Why not give it directly ( DBT / Direct Benefit Transfer ) to those youngsters ?

Of course , this subsidy transfer should take place , only AFTER , the Call Centre Owner , certifies that it has entered into a " Contractual Retainer-ship " with a particular youngster

I would request you to consider the following aspects of my suggestion :


*  No new building premises needed

*  All technologies for a VPN, are existing / well proven  / reasonably priced / easy to
    implement quickly

*  MSPs / ISPs and your own Ministry are pushing internet connections to every corner
    of India

*  Moving from " Ownership of Assets " to " Assets as Service " scenario ( ala Uber-Ola-
    Airbnb etc )

*  Moving from " Employment " to " Self Employment " with direct transfer of subsidy to
    Beneficiary

*  Has the potential to raise India's share in global BPO business from current 36 % to
    50 % in one year

*  Can earn billions of dollars in foreign exchange

*  It would become a LIVING PROOF that DIGITAL INDIA can help our un-employed
    graduates to earn a living

*  Google  /  Microsoft  / Facebook , would be happy to help since " Next Billion " is their
    topmost agenda


In an age where the " Fast and Furious " are out to overtake the " Slow and Steady " , the meek are unlikely to inherit the earth !

=========================================================
Related Readings :

  A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER ? aka " Start Up Act - 2015 "   [ 12 Sept 2015 ]

  Will Holograms beat H1B Visa Ban ?                                [ 31 Jan 2017 ]

  Wormholes Across the World ?                                        [ 03 Mar 2017 ]

  " BACK FACTORY " OF THE WORLD ?                               [ 09 Sept 2015 ]


=========================================================
14  March 2020
hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Friday, 13 March 2020

Opportunity in Adversity ?




Context :



Extract :

 Ø  “We have postponed all internal events that required large gatherings and everyone has been advised to adequately leverage technologies such as tele-presence and video conferencing,” said Harshvendra Soin, chief people officer, Tech Mahindra.

Ø  “Young parents can work from home,” said Rajneesh Kumar, senior vice president, Flipkart Group, adding that workers are being encouraged to use videoconferencing tools to interact with colleagues and customers.

Ø  “We are sure that in the current situation, working from within the safe confines of their homes, the efficiency and productivity of our colleagues would increase,” said a representative for Paytm.

Ø  “By asking some employees to not come to office, our goal is to reduce density and risk for everyone else,” said Andrew Macdonald, senior vice president for rides and platform, Uber

Ø  “All employees, including hourly workers, will receive reimbursement toward their home office set-up expenses, and we are working with our vendors to ensure our contractors’ work-from-home needs are met as well,” said a spokesperson for Twitter.

Ø  On Thursday, Coal India allowed its over 300,000 employees to skip biometric attendance and move to a manual attendance register system

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


What is the Opportunity in working from home ?

Ø  Immediate       :     Control spread of Corona Virus

Ø  Medium Term   :
   #  Save man-hours travelling to work / travelling expenses
                               
#  Reduce Traffic congestion
  Save Petrol - Diesel / Reduce import bill for crude oil

#  Reduce pollution
    
Ø  Long Term        :    Create millions of Self – Employed

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

What Governmental Policies are urgently needed to seize this Opportunity ?


Ø  To create millions of Self Employed

           India BPO Promotion Scheme :  [  IBPS  ]  V  2.0…………… [ 11 April 2018 ]

           A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER ? aka " Start Up Act - 2015 "   [ 12 Sept 2015 ]

 

Ø  To reduce traffic congestion / reduce pollution

           Transport : an Integrated Logistic Plan ?                         [ 20 Nov 2018 ]

 

Ø  To “ Export Services “ all over the World – remotely

           Will Holograms beat H1B Visa Ban ?                                [ 31 Jan 2017 ]

           Wormholes Across the World ?                                        [ 03 Mar 2017 ]

           " BACK FACTORY " OF THE WORLD ?                               [ 09 Sept 2015 ]

 

Ø  To skip “Biometric Attendance

           From BAD to MAD                                                          [ 01 June 2016 ]

 

 

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

What software APPS can help remote-working from homes ?

 

Ø  Google Drive / Notion / Dropbox Paper / Trello / Evernote / Slack / Google Keep / Basecamp / Zoom / Harvest / G-Suite Apps / Microsoft Teams / Doodle / Noisli

 

    { source > Seven apps that make it much easier to work remotely  }

 

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

What funds are countries budgeting to boost economy slowing down due to Virus ?

 

Ø  USA ( Federal Budget ) ……………  $    8.3 Billion

Ø  Maryland ( US State   )……………… $  10.0 Billion

Ø  UK ……………………………………………… $  15.0 Billion

Ø  South Korea………………………………… $  13.7 Billion

Ø  Japan …………………………………………. $    9.6 Billion

Ø  Italy ………………………………………………$   8.4 Billion

Ø  Iran ……………………………………………..$    5.0 Billon

 

No doubt, India too can spend a few billion dollars to lift its economy from current ( but temporary ) global downturn – and, most likely it should

 

But simultaneously , we need to undertake above-mentioned STRUCTURAL REFORMS , through appropriate POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS, in order to permanently lift our economy into a higher orbit, for next 2 decades

 

Best part is :

Implementing these reforms would cost a very small fraction of what other countries are budgeting !

 

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

13  March  2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

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

Added on 14 March 2020 :


 No alternative text description for this image

 

==========================================================
Added  on  15  March  2020 :

Managing remote workers? It takes more than the latest apps  






Thursday, 12 March 2020

Slow and Steady ? Way Democracy Works




Context :

Extract :

The department-related committee……..passed unanimously and placed in the RajyaSabha on Friday, praised EVMs for eliminating invalid votes as well as delays and errors linked to counting of ballot papers

The report said voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) to the EVM had strengthened the voters’ trust and transparency of the electoral process 


Extract :
Key recommendations made by nine working groups set up by the Election Commission :

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

What :

Ø  Digital version of electoral photo identity card  [ e-EPIC to each voter ]
Ø  E-filing of nominations
How   :

Digital Dividend from Demographic Data                                           14 Feb 2019 ]

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

What :
Ø  exploring new voting methods

How :

 Block Chain for Voting ?                                                                  11 Mar 2018 ]

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

What :


>   Integration of voter registration process with citizen-facing services like Digi-Locker
     And UMANG so that necessary documents , maintained by citizens in Digi-Locker and
      UMANG , may be uploaded / connected easily for the purpose of registration


Ø  a single and simplified form for all voter services like registration , change of address, deletion of names

Ø  online registration of prospective voters at 17 years in schools and colleges

Ø  multiple qualifying dates for voter registration on attaining 18 years of age

How :
I am One , I will become Many                                                          [ 06 Jan 2020 ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What :

     >   exploring possibility and feasibility of different voting methods that are secure for
           enhanced electoral participation

Ø  remote voting on a secured EC device to be deployed at “ National Polling Stations “

How  :

From “ Lost Votes “ to “ Remote Votes “ ?                                            [ 12 Jan 2020 ]

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

What :


     >  a cap on political party expenditure

How  :

Electoral Bonds for Transparency ?                                                         [ 03 Jan 2018 ]


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

It is a matter of satisfaction ( - and, no doubt, a pleasant surprise ! ) that MPs , cutting across party lines , have come forward to support these ELECTORAL REFORMS

With the ELECTION COMMISSION and the SUPREME COURT already urging such reforms for a long time, let us hope , before long , NDA government asks EC to conduct all elections, using Mobile App :

VotesApp  [  18  Dec  2012  ]      

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

13  Mar  2020

hcp@recruitGuru.com