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

Sunday, 7 June 2020

Providing Jobs : a Fundamental Right ?




Newspapers would have us believe so


Eg :  Following headline

                 
All that Supreme Court said was :

“ We propose that all states should put on record what scheme they have prepared for providing employment to these workers who have come.

We would also like a district-wise or village-wise data on who has come in and from where.”

The Court proposes to include this in its June 9 order.

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

Here is another headline :

Govt weighs new employment options for migrant returnees


Extract :

With millions of migrant workers having returned home to the countryside in the midst of the lockdown imposed to slow the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) ,the Narendra Modi government is weighing multiple options --- from road construction to horticulture -- to find them work.

 

It’s also planning an initiative to upgrade their skills to suit the needs of a post-Covid-19 world.

 

A senior official involved in planning the initiative said schemes such as the job guarantee programme, rural housing for the poor and village road construction will be used to provide immediate jobs to the returnees.

 

“Apart from these schemes, we are also looking at supporting them in horticulture, animal husbandry and road construction works,” said the official, who didn’t want to be named.

 

The initiative will not entail any additional financial support from the exchequer, the officials explained.

 

Existing centrally sponsored and central sector schemes will be used to address a situation they described as extraordinary.

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

My Take :

Considering that the Schemes are already “ existing “ and funds required are already “ allocated “ (  will not entail any additional financial support ? ), then what is meant by “  weighing multiple options “ ?


 By the time those government officials get done “ weighing multiple options “ , most likely those migrant workers would have returned to the cities where they were earlier working !


As per news reports , there are some 13.2 crore persons registered under MGNREGA


Of which , only 16 % ( 2.1 crore ) have been given work ( job-cards ) in May 2020


If the idea is that the migrants must not return to their cities ( of work ) and should continue living in their own villages ( in UP – Bihar – W Bengal etc ) , then the question arises :

“Does Centre have the money to provide work around the year, to 13.2 crore persons ? “

Short answer is :  NO



Next :

If Centre cannot give jobs to these 13.2 crore persons , can private businesses / industries ( in UP – Bihar – W Bengal etc ), give them full time jobs ?


Once again , the answer is : NO




Next :

What is the way out ?

Answer :  Help them get SELF-EMPLOYED




Here is how :

Permission to create jobs ?  …………………………………………………..[ 14 Mar 2020 ]


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

 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 ]


Thank You , Prakashbhai ( Javadekarji )                              [ 03 Apr 2019 ]


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


I do not expect ( or wish ) any of our Cabinet Ministers to commit “ political hara-kiri “ by publicly admitting :


“ There is no way India ( Public + Private Sector put together ) can create 12 million full time / salary-paying jobs each year ; so let us stop beating around the bush.


Let us stop fooling ourselves with all these sundry schemes for providing employment to millions of jobless. Let us learn to ignore those ivory-tower economists/economic advisors.


All that this government ( or, for that matter, any other government of the World ) can do is to help it’s citizen become Self-Employed



Dear Shri Narendrabhai,


I urge you to tell the government officers :


“ Just get out of the way of persons trying to become Self-Employed.


If any rule / regulation comes in the way of a person trying to become Self Employed, just go ahead and drop / delete that rule.


Till the time you get around to change it, do not hesitate to break the rule. Do not wait for ok from any higher authority “




Dear Shri Narendrabhai,

No doubt “ Unlock 1 “ which begins today, will be followed by “ Unlock 2 – 3 – 4 “ etc


No matter how many Unlock periods follow, India is unlikely to get back to GDP of even 5 %, unless we succeed in Unlocking the Self-Employment potential of our people


PM-SVANidhi ( Street Vendor Loan Scheme ) is an excellent example of this “ Process of unlocking the Self-Employment potential “


But vested interests and “rule–bound“ bureaucrats [ MNRE officers + Bankers + Municipal Officers + Police ] will , most likely ensure that this scheme is “ Still Born “ !



Please , tell them :


“ Although this Scheme envisages making 50 lakh Street Vendors become Self Employed ( at budgeted outlay of Rs 5,000 crore ) , I challenge you to remove all road-blocks and give loans to 500 lakh street vendors “



Dear Shri Narendrabhai,


As far as those ROAD-BLOCKS – and how these can be removed – is concerned, please read my following e-mail sent to you , a few days back :


Thank You, Shri Hardeep Singh Puriji   ………………………………..[ 01 June 2020 ]





With regards,


Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  08 June 2020



Saturday, 6 June 2020

Let Technology Tell Truth



All over India there is hue and cry about unavailability of hospital beds for Covid patients , despite States directing all private hospitals for 20 – 30 % reservation


Just few headlines :


Covid-19: When will states run out of beds? 



Everywhere, patients are saying :

We are being turned away by hospitals, claiming they have no empty beds.



This made Delhi Government to launch a Mobile App which is supposed to “ tell “, which hospital has how many empty beds available . A great initiative with some “ teething troubles “, because App shows 200 empty beds whereas hospital says, we have none !



There are wide-spread reports that , on the sly, private hospitals are admitting rich patients who can dish out Rs 15-17 lakhs for Covid treatment !



This made me send following e-mail to AAP MLA , Raghav Chaddha :


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


APP  FOR  VACANT  HOSPITAL  BEDS


Dear Raghav, [raghavchadha111188@gmail.com ]


Cc : 'moh.delhi@gov.in'  /  'msisodia.delhi@gov.in' / cmdelhi@nic.in


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


At the outset  , congratulations on launching of the mobile app which shows how many beds are available in each hospital in Delhi


In long run , this app can morph enough to transform the entire Healthcare Ecosystem in entire country


In your interview with a journalist last evening on NDTV, when discrepancies were pointed out, you made following remarks :


Ø   Data in respect of “ Empty Beds “ are being uploaded by each concerned Hospital authorities personnel

Ø  Very often, this uploading gets delayed


Ø  Sometimes , the uploaded figures are being fudged on purpose


Raghav,



As long as this ( data uploading ) process remains “ manual “ , depending upon a human , what you described above , will continue to happen !


The only PERMANENT and FOOLPROOF solution is to transfer this process from humans to TRANSPARENT – UNBIASED technology


Eg : 


Simple CCTV cameras mounted on each bed – and laced with a simple software which detects whether a bed is empty or occupied – and uploading that STATUS into database, dynamically , every 10 minutes !



No big deal !  Really , extremely simple !  And neither very expensive



If you pull this off, you will set a benchmark for all other states



With regards,


Hemen Parekh




PS :


Following report will show you how technology can be beneficially exploited :


Clearview AI is by far the most frightening.
Its facial-recognition app could end our ability to walk down the street anonymously.


The user takes a picture of a person, uploads it, and sees auto-populated public and semi-public photos of that person, along with links to where those photos appeared.


The system’s backbone is a database of more than three billion images that Clearview claims to have scraped from Facebook, YouTube, Venmo, and millions of other websites.




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


Dear Dr HarshVardhanji,


To begin with, I urge you to adopt this TECHNOLOGY-BASED solution in all Government Hospitals so that the Mobile App launched by Delhi government “ tells the truth “ – at least as far as the government hospitals are concerned


And when it works ( which any startup can implement within a week ), you can recommend it to all the State Governments



Related Readings :


with regards,

hemen Parekh  

hcp@recruitGuru.com  /  07  June  2020



Friday, 5 June 2020

Sun : Power that never fails





2016

I sent following blog / email to Cabinet Ministers :
Unlimited Power : and round the clock ?   ……………………………………….[ 29 July 2016 ]

 Where I wrote :

But imagine if it was possible to export / import power, to and from, anywhere in the World, using a World Power Grid !


Then imagine this :


Sun is shining on some or other part of the World, during its local day-time


Nearly 20 % of the World's surface is receiving Solar Energy , at all times , including on vast tracts of sea / desert / forests or other un-inhabited regions, where there is no local demand / consumption of power


Installing Solar Power generating panels in such regions can generate, a huge amount of power


And, without bothering to " store " such power into storage batteries , it can be exported to other regions of the World , which are facing night and have no capacity to " store " whatever solar power it may have produced during its own day-time


All this can happen if we have a World Power Grid ! A power-sharing eco-system for the entire World !


In that case , all through 24 hours , regions in daylight will keep generating solar power and keep exporting to regions under night sky - without bothering to store !

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

2018

I sent following blog / email to Cabinet Ministers :

Liu Zhenya : The Visionary                                                      [ 04 June 2018 ]


Where I wrote :

Liu Zhenya is the Chairman of 




He is planning a globally interconnected International Grid of electric power



The GEIDCO plan involves building nine latitudinal and nine longitudinal lineslinking every continent on Earth except Antarctica.


“Like a river with many tributaries, it will connect over 100 countries and 80 per cent of the global population, with a total length of 180,000 kilometers,” Liu said in April 2018 .

The benefits could be immense, as well.


The GEI would improve reliability and, he predicted, even ultimately reduce the average cost of electricity.


Most importantly, interconnecting grids and power sources over larger distances can facilitate greater penetration of renewable powersmoothing out the inevitable geographic and temporal variability in solar and wind power production by balancing supply with distant loads.


The GEI could thus turn the 12-hour time difference between New York and Beijing into an advantage, sending power in one direction or the other as those cities’ demand peaks at different times.


“It is a radical solution for overcoming the world’s energy dilemmas,” Liu said.


“ JUST 7.7 PER  CENT OF THE SAHARA’S SOLAR ENERGY WOULD MEET GLOBAL ELECTRICITY DEMAND. ”

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

Two weeks later, I sent following alert to our Policy Makers :

Connecting Everything ?   ……………………………………………………………..[ 15 June 2018 ]

 

Content :

 

China wants to connect EVERY THING
*  Countries  (  OBOR  )
*  Power  Generating  Stations
*  Vehicles 
*  Citizens
*  Currency
*   World  Trade


China is consuming nearly 50 % of the World’s STEEL and CEMENT

It has also near monopoly in RARE EARTHS ( including  Lithium  for Electric Car Batteries )

On top of this , China is buying up MINES ( of all kinds of minerals ) , in Africa , in return for heavy investment in local infrastructure projects in those African countries

Any guesses about “ What next ? “

================================= 

2020

Yesterday, I came across following RFP ( Request For Proposal ) on the website of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy [  (www.mnre.gov.in  ] :

https://mnre.gov.in/img/documents/uploads/file_f-1590573144563.pdf 


DEVELOPING A LONG-TERM VISION, IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, ROAD MAP AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTING ,

ONE SUN, ONE WORLD, ONE GRID


which reads at places ( not full 26 pages ) :


Ø  One Sun, One World, One Grid ( OSOWOG )
          India’s Prime Minister recently called for connecting solar energy supply across borders, with the mantra of ' One Sun, One World, One Grid '  ( OSOWOG )

.
The vision behind the OSOWOG mantra is “The Sun Never Sets” and is a constant at some geographical location, globally, at any given point of time


The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, has a critical role to play in synergizing over 140 countries, across the far east and the far west regions, to build consensus, launch energy policy imperatives and set up a framework for such a global cooperation


India, through the OSOWOG initiative, plans to take another leap towards building a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources that are seamlessly shared for mutual benefits and global sustainability.



Ø  Scope of Work

The scope of work is planned to be undertaken in a phased approach consisting of three phases :

Phase I    :    Assessment stage – Desk Review and Stakeholder Consultations: ( 6 months )

Phase II   :   Potential assessment and pilots identification: ( 4 months )

Phase III  :   Full scale roll out: ( 3 months )



Ø  Key Engagement Objectives

#   Develop a long-term vision for OSOWOG

#   Develop an action plan and a road map to achieve OSOWOG’s vision

#   Institutional framework to implement OSOWOG



Ø  Submission of Proposals

The Bidders must send their offer electronically, comprising a technical proposal and financial proposal. Your proposal must reach the dedicated email : sk.gupta81@gov.in , on or before the deadlines as mentioned in this RFP [ 6th July, 2020 ]


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


Congratulations , Shri  R  K  Singhji

(  Minister for MNRE  /  Rajkumar.singh19@sansad.nic.in  )


At age of 87, I may not be around to see the realization of what I visualized 4 years ago


But I have a deep sense of satisfaction that, when realized, this initiative of yours will save 12 lakh pre-mature deaths in India EVERY YEAR , due to air pollution caused by fossil fuel based power plants


When this project gets fully implemented across the world, I believe , electric power could be made available to end-consumers at Re: 1 / Kwh  !


In Solar Power , there is neither any cost of Raw Materials ( sunlight being free ), neither any cost of Labour ( conversion being automatic – needing hardly any manpower )


That Re: 1 / - would be the cost of Money ( interest payable on funds required for solar panels / transmission lines / storage batteries / other allied equipment )


Related Readings :

40 GW : 70 GW : 300 GW : 800 GW   …………………………………………..[ 24 May 2019 ]


Solar Power : Internal Rate of Return  …………………………………………..[ 27 Jan 2018 ]




With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  06  June  2020