E-Waste : Converting a Threat into Opportunity

E Waste generated world-wide in 2019 …………… 53.6 million tons

E waste expected to be re-cycled ……………………..  9.3 million tons ( 17.4 % )

E Waste re-cycling capacity of India…………………… 0.8 million tons ( 8 lakh tons )

[ source :  India third largest e-waste generator in world in 2019  ]

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Every year the number is growing exponentially. According to ASSOCHAM, an industrial body in India the, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of electronic waste is 30%. With changing consumer behavior and rapid economic growth, ASSOCHAM estimates that India will generate 5.2 million tonnes of e-waste by 2020.

[ source : Electronic waste in India ]

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Threat :

Ø  E Waste is a serious health and environment hazard

Opportunity :

Ø  If all the E Waste of the World were re-cycled, the precious metals recovered would be valued at $ 57 billion ( Gold – Platinum – Cobalt-Palladium – Indium – Germanium – Bismuth – Antimony )

Ø  E Waste recycling could be a huge industry, employing lakhs of people

Then what is holding us back from becoming RE-CYCLING CAPITAL of the World ?

Ø  As stated above, if recycling is not carried out in the SAFEST – SCIENTIFIC – REGULATED manner, millions could die premature death by inhaling / ingesting poisonous gases released during the recycling process

Is there a SAFE way to do this ?

YES . If recycling is carried out the way CEREBRA does it

But , can entrepreneurs do recycling on a small scale ?

YES . If Central Government takes help from ,

Veena Sahajwalla , 

an Indian-origin scientist in Australia has launched the world’s first micro factory that can transform the components from electronic waste items such as smartphones and laptops into valuable materials for re-use

[ source :   A  Sahaj  Solution  ?    /    18 April 2018    ]

Is anyone already recycling on small scale in India ?

YES .

Read :   Self Employed Indians inherit the Earth ?   /    26 Jan 2018

 

But how to control / regulate thousands of such MICRO – FACTORIES ?

The way I have suggested for “ Scrapping / Recycling of Vehicles “ at :

Car Grave-Yard of World ? ……………………………………………..[ 14 Feb 2018 ]

MahindraAccelo : Saluting a pioneer                            [ 19 June 2018 ]

ScrappingOld Vehicles : Swiss Challenge Solution         [ 24 July 2018 ]

Renameit, “ Vehicle Recycle Policy “  …………………………….[ 08 Aug 2018 ]

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With regards

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  05 July 2020

   

35 years later : Overstaffing continues to haunt

Context :

Nojob cuts but profiles may change: Railways  /  03 July 2020

Extract :

Ø  The Railways on Friday said certain job profiles of its employees might change in the coming days but asserted that there will be no job losses

 

Ø   In an online briefing, Director General (HR) Railway Board, Anand S Khati said the Railways will be " rightsizing and not downsizing ".

Ø  He said the order (sent on Thursday) was to surrender non-functional, non-safety vacant posts………..

Ø  The Railways currently has 12,18,335 employees and spends 65 per cent of its income on payment of salaries and pension.

Ø  Since 2018, the Railways has notified 72,274 vacancies in safety category and 68,366 in non safety category, taking the total number of vacancies notified to 1,40,640.

Ø  The letter to the general managers, approved by the Financial Commissioner, Railways said the freezing of new posts, review of posts created in last two years and surrendering of 50 per cent of existing vacancies was part of "an action plan for economic measure and rationalisation of expenditure."

Ø  The financial commissioner had also proposed a slew of austerity measures

    #   freeze in the creation of new posts,

    #   rationalisation of manpower at workshops,

    #   shifting outsourced work to CSR,

   #   moving ceremonial functions to digital platforms and

  #   cutting down on use of stationary by 50 per cent.

Ø  In the letter, the financial commissioner had also advised the zones to control expenditure by reducing staff cost, rationalising staff and also by making them perform multiple tasks.

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The problem of overstaffing in Public Sector Units, is nothing new. It has been there all along.

What is new ( for Public Sector and Private Sector as well ) is :

As a result of Covid lockdown, demands ( for goods as well as services ) have plummeted

Profits have disappeared . Losses and “ Bank Loan Defaults “, are mounting. Banks are unwilling to lend further. Fixed costs of operations, remain the same

So , what is the “ Quick Fix ? “

Ø  Bring down “ Variable Costs of Manpower “ by ,

#   Early retirement / Voluntary retirement

#   Recruitment Freeze / Not filling approved vacancies

#   More outsourcing

#   More mechanization / automation / digitization ( of office processes )

#   More use of “ Temps “ and “ Contract Workers “

#   From Union Agreements, getting rid of rigid “ Job Descriptions “

#   General Economy Drive

Will not all these steps increase UNEMPLOYMENT ?

Ø  In short term YES, but in long term, by being more productive / competitive, these companies will corner a larger share of the market and hire more people

Have these steps helped Companies in the past to revive ?

Most certainly . Very emphatically .

For specific / real life examples ( of the success of these steps ), read my following letters ( yes, cyclostyled / individual paper letters to each of 7,500 + employees of L&T Powai Works, sent out 35 years ago ) :

RESURRECTION AT GENERAL MOTORS  …………………..[19 Nov 1986 ]

PRODUCEPRODUCTIVITY OR PERISH …………………………………….[ 06  Dec  1985 ]

NOTALONE ……………………………………………………………………[ 20 Aug 1986 ]

ECONOMY(CO-OPERATION) DRIVE  ………………………….[ 21 July 1986 ]

These days, TV / News papers carry daily reports of big companies retrenching employees in order to survive . From my following letter, you will notice that it was no different  35 years ago

[  PRODUCTIVITYAND UNEMPLOYMENT / 12 Feb 1986 ]

Extract :

To  give you an  example, please  see the  chart below  showing   number  of  employees  shed   by  8  reputed companies.

Name of Company		Employees shed or proposed to be shed (Nos.)
1.	AT&T’s Information System Division	24,000
2.	Ford Motor Co.	10,000
3.	Union Carbide Corpn.	4,000
4.	C B S	2,000
5.	Motorola Semi-Convertor Group	9,200
6.	Du Pont	11,200
7.	Kodak	9% of its workforce
8.	Warner-Lambert Co.	21,000
( Source :  Fortune (International) Magazine / October 28, 1985 )

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It will take a lot of courage for  Governments ( Central + States ) / Political Parties and Industry Associations , to tell this bitter truth to the public - that there will be less jobs and the only answer is Self Employment

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  04 July 2020  

Replace Locally : Displace Globally

A few days back , Government banned 59 Chinese mobile Apps

Now, the Ministry of Electronics and Information technology, headed by Shri RaviShankar Prasadji has directed the Ministry “to initiate the Grand Challenge “

The new challenge will look at local apps that can REPLACE , TikTok, CamScanner, WeTransfer and UCBrowser

[ source : A Challenge for App Cos to Build Chinese Rivals    /  03 July  ]

Shri Prasad also talked about :

‘Banning Chinese apps a digital strike’: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad 

Extract :

“In the wake of the ban which we have imposed...I think it is a great opportunity.

Can we come up with good apps made by Indians ?

Let the dependence on foreign apps, with their own agenda for a variety of reasons, stop,” the minister said yesterday.

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Let us think BIG . Let us expand our HORIZON

Even as we go about developing / launching India-made Apps to REPLACE those Chinese Apps, locally, our goal should be to DISPLACE them , globally  !

That thought made me send following email yesterday :

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" MADE  IN  INDIA  " APPS

Sent : Thu 02-Jul-20 10:51 AM

To : 'rsprasad.bjp@gmail.com'; 'ravis@sansad.nic.in'; 'moc-office@gov.in'; 'ravishankarprasad@gov.in'

cc : nandan@nandannilekani.in;

 nandan_mn@infosys.com; 'delhi@nasscom.in'; 'debjani@nasscom.in'

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Dear Shri Prasadji,

Most of those 59 Chinese Apps you banned, are in respect of :

Ø  Video –based Entertainment

Ø  Social Get-together

Ø  Messaging – Chatting – Status Posting …etc

I am not aware if any of these are in the nature of,

Ø  Providing online “ Govt Services “ to citizen ( like UMANG )

Ø  Help people get JOB-ALERTS / APPLY ONLINE from their mobiles

Ø  Attend to Citizen Complaints and give feedback on progress of “ Complaint Solution

Ø  Simplify Social-Economic-Political processes……..etc

Ï urge you to take a look at the ( proposed ) APPS listed below- then advise the Indian Startups re the priorities :

An App for Everything ?                                      [  18  Aug  2017  ]

Without doubt, when launched, many of these will get adopted by developing countries around the World – countries which are facing problems very similar to our own

Here is our opportunity to replace those “ Non-utilitarian Chinese Apps “, not only in India, but in 80 % of the countries of the World

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With regards,

Hemen Parekh

Mumbai / hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  www.hemenparekh.in