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

Thursday, 28 May 2020

Soniaji speaks




Context :


Extract :
Ø  “ We again urge the Centre to unlock its coffers and help the needy.
        Put direct cash of Rs 7,500 per month in the account of every family for the next six months and provide
         Rs 10,000 immediately;
        Ensure safe and free travel of labourers back home, employment opportunity and rations; and
       Increase the number of work days under MNREGA to 200 days to facilitate jobs in villages,” the Congress
       chief said.

Ø  Sonia Gandhi said that “ there is no dearth of money, it should be utilised properly  ”.

Ø  “That 20,000 crore which the government has kept for beautifying the central vista project in Delhi should be used to help these famished people walking on the roads,” she said.

========================================================================================
Question :
Who does Soniaji classify as “ Needy    ?  It would be nice if she had clearly defined who are the “ Needy
Absence of such clarity / specificity, could do injustice to many - besides providing fodder for political fire !

Let us assume :
Ø  10 crore MGNREGA workers ( have to be “ Rural and Unskilled “ as per the Act )
Ø  10 crore worker rendered jobless ( local + migrant ) from 6 cr MSME ( Urban + Semi Skilled )
Ø  Total of 20 crore “ NEEDY – POOR “


Implication of Soniaji’s suggestion :
Ø  ONE TIME payment ( DBT ) of Rs 10,000/-  to each needy
Rs 10,000 / - x 20 cr needy  =  Rs  2 Lakh*Crore

Ø  OUTGO over next 6 months
Rs 7500  x  6 months  =  Rs 45,000 per “ needy “  x  20 crore persons  =  Rs   9 lakh*crore

Ø  Total   >  Rs 11  Lakh*Crore


Remember this in the context of the recent announcement of Smt Sitharamanji , allocating an additional Rs 40,000  cr to the original budget of Rs 61,000  cr for MGNREGA , taking the total to Rs  1.1  lakh*crore
 
So , what Soniaji has suggested is TEN TIMES of what the Government has provided for the NEEDY  !

When “ needy “ have to be given Rs 11  lakh*crore , saving Rs 20,000 crore ( Central Vista ), is not much help !

But could Soniaji be right when she says :  there is no dearth of money, it should be utilised properly  ” ?

She could be right  !

Only last Aug , a Govt Task Force came up with a big report called : NATIONAL  INFRASTRUCTURE  PIPELINE [ NIP ]

Talking about NIP , Shri Modiji had said :
 (  Quoted from news report )
"For the development of modern infrastructure, an amount of 100 lakh crore has been earmarked for this period ( 2020 - 2025 ), which will create new job opportunities besides improving the living standards," Modi had said.

[  Source :  Infra funding requirement pegged at ₹111 lakh crore during 2020-25  ]



 

Hence , postponing NIP by ONE YEAR ( 2021 – 2025 ) , could release Rs 20  lakh*crore  to help out the needy !


 

Soniaji’s suggestion would help maintain our economy on some kind of a “ Life Support System “ for 6 months



But , in order to take our economy, off that Life Support System and fully REVIVE it on a long-term / permanent basis ,  we MUST invest heavily in INFRASTRUCTURE . May be much more than earmarked Rs 100 lakh*crore


 

There is a way to meet these, seemingly opposite requirements as explained in my following earlier e-mail :


MGNREGA : Can it morph into UBI ?   …………………………………………..[ 11  May  2020 ]



Extract :

 

       #     MGNREGA should be re-named, MGNRUGA ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Urban Employment Guarantee
              Act )


      #    Besides RURAL households, it should cover URBAN households as well


        Besides “ Unskilled Manual Work “, it must also cover “ Semi-skilled / Skilled “ work as well

        [  De facto , this is already happening – ignoring the provisions of MGNREGA Act – as can be seen from :




      #   Number of “ Guaranteed Days of Work Employment / year “ should be :

Ø    Rural Areas ………………….. 300 days ( up from current 100 days )


Ø    Urban Areas :

                 Class II towns ………………… 200 days

                 Class I Cities……………………  100 days


#    If an Urban establishment provides work to any of the REGISTERED UNEMPLOYED, referred by MGNRUGA

              web site, it will not be required to pay wages ( to those  persons ), for periods mentioned above

   
      For them, the wages will get paid directly by the Ministry subsidizing , at rates prescribed under
      the Act ( DBT ) . Any wages paid in excess , will have to be borne by the establishment concerned


 #    My suggestion will extend the scheme to cover urban offices / factories / shops etc , where millions have

        been rendered jobless due to lockdown



As to the problem of finding those Rs 111 lakh*crore for NIP – without raising taxes ( direct or indirect ) or market
borrowing , read my earlier e-mail :


Mothballing Mega-Projects ?                                    [ 21  May  2020  ]



 Madam Gandhiji  /  Shri Rahul Gandhiji  /   Shri  K C Venugopalji



Based on my suggestions, I urge you to frame ( in consultation with all opposition parties ) ,  a

Ø   COMPREHENSIVE  CONSTRUCTIVE ECONOMIC  REVIVAL  SCHEME ,


and present it to Shri Modiji


Considering that he is a strong believer of :  Subka  Saath  ,  Subka  Vikas ,  I think he will accept to
implement the same



with regards,

Hemen Parekh


29  May  2020




Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Congratulations, Dr Om Prakashji


Congratulations, Dr Om Prakashji


Commissioner – Agriculture /  Rajasthan  /




What for ?

For taking first step towards implementing my suggestion re use of DRONES to drive away locust swarms


How ?

Here is that report :




Highlights :

Ø  These are designed to spray 10-litre of chemicals, along with creating a sound that would disperse the locusts into different areas……..


Ø  “It has successfully contained the movement of locusts in an open area and on the foothills where it was not possible for the usual tractors to make it reach “ 
 

Ø  An official at the agriculture department says that they are soon rolling out a tender for engaging 30 drones for the said purpose


Ø  “ The biggest advantage of the drone is that it can fly above the flying zone of the locusts giving the flexibility to the officials to carry out combat operation while they are flying. Earlier , the operations were restricted to when they are resting on a tree or on a crop “ , said Om Prakash 
 

Ø  Their demand for drones is in the hundreds but due to the lockdown, it is not being made available by the State

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

What was your suggestion ?


Nearly 2 years back ( 04  Sept  2018 ) , I sent following mail :

Flock Dynamics      ,


-           Where I wrote :



 DRONES  HERDING  OTHER NON-HUMAN SPECIES

 This could comprise herding of :

*   Locusts / Insects / Hornets / Wasps / Mosquitos etc chased / led by a drone , to self-
     destruct by flying into electrified fences

 

See Graphics :


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEgptcfyZFU38IPiQvlNSlLr_yFy1EScf7w4mH68cbBk2_CGFGCXwQVdQOiCPwGBMjXUejzJA8RnMx40-aIbW8jRmbz2CFQvYRVFD0eb1OGMUXt7wUF0NDkI5HZyzKALC8qf3KpOFgtz3/s640/bird.jpg
=============================================================================================


Then a few days back , I sent following e-mail :

Locusts are invading !   ………………………………………..[  24  May  2020  ]



-          Where I reasoned :

Now , we would need lakhs of drones ( with load carrying capacity of 25 kg of pesticide ) to spray over millions of acres of farm land


       This may not be feasible


Can we enable this DRONES to herd away these swarms of locust to some remote deserts ?

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

This e-mail being sent to the following Policy Makers 

:









































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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecuitGuru.com   /   28  May  2020




Sunday, 24 May 2020

Locusts are invading !




Over the past few days, there are reports of millions of locusts invading farms in Northern India


Ready crops are getting eaten up within hours


Farmers are trying to shoo away the invading armies by beating drums and vessels – all to no avail


This has been happening for decades – with no real solution at hand


Now comes the news that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved use of drones to fight the pest


Here is that report :  




Extract :
The Ministry of Civil Aviation, in an order dated May 21, granted conditional exemption to the agriculture ministry to use remotely piloted aircraft - as drones are more formally known - to spray pesticide and in aerial surveillance and photography, specifically in “anti-locust” measures


The drones will need to have a Unique Identification Number (UIN) or Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN), as per the order. India has granted DANs to around 20,000 drones so far.



We seek a balance between socio-economic, safety and national security considerations before allowing a particular type of drone operation,” said Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, who overlooks the drones division at the ministry.


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


Now , we would need lakhs of drones ( with load carrying capacity of 25 kg of pesticide ) to spray over millions of acres of farm land


This may not be feasible


Can we enable this DRONES to herd away these swarms of locust to some remote deserts ?


Or over the sea ?   Or fly into some raging fire ?  Or fly into electrified wire-mesh SCREENS ( 30 feet x 30 feet ) - mounted on a truck-trailer ?



Just the way people of small town Hamelin hired the Pied Piper to herd those thousands of rats into the river, by playing a ( rat – captivating ) tune on his flute !



 Yes, here is how :


[ source :   Flock Dynamics   /  04  Sept  2018  


– where I described the underlying technology as follows :



Now, researchers have equipped drones with an algorithm that lets them herd away flocks of birds without human input.


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEgptcfyZFU38IPiQvlNSlLr_yFy1EScf7w4mH68cbBk2_CGFGCXwQVdQOiCPwGBMjXUejzJA8RnMx40-aIbW8jRmbz2CFQvYRVFD0eb1OGMUXt7wUF0NDkI5HZyzKALC8qf3KpOFgtz3/s640/bird.jpg
=========================================================



DRONES  HERDING  OTHER NON-HUMAN SPECIES

This could comprise herding of :

*   Locusts / Insects / Hornets / Wasps / Mosquitos etc chased / led by a drone , to self-
     destruct by flying into electrified fences

*   Rats to follow a drone to drown in rivers / ponds ( Pied Piper of Hamelin ? )

*   Sharks made to stay away from beaches where humans swim

*   Schools of fishes lured to swim into the fishing nets of trawlers

*   Migrating herds of animals to reach water-holes , following a low flying drone

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

I urge following officers from the Civil Aviation Department to consider my suggestion :


Ø  Shri N S Tomar – Hon Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare / ns.tomar@sansad.nic.in


Ø  Shri Parshottam Rupala – Hon Minister of State  /  p.rupala@snsad.nic.in


Ø  Shri Kailash Choudhar  /  Hon Minster of State   /  kailashchoudhary@gmail.com


Ø  Shri Amber Dubey      /     amber.dubey@gov.in

Ø  Shri Gulshan Kumar   /     gulshankumar.moca@nic.in

Ø  Smt Bandhula Sagar   /    cfc.moca@gov.in

Ø  Ms  Divya Arora          /    divya.arora@gov.in


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

Related Readings :

A Swarm-O-Drone is born                                      [  16  Nov  2017  ]


Drone – a – Charya                                                 [  02  Sept  2018  ]



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

With regard,

Hemen Parekh


hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  25  May  2020