Digitized India ?

A few days back , India banned 59 Chinese Mobile apps

Then Central Govt threw a grand challenge to startups to launch locally developed apps to replace those banned ones – including one for Video Meetings ( like Zoom )

That made Reliance Jio to come out with JioMeet ( 100 participants + FREE )

No doubt rest will follow

Question :

Was that our “ Priority No: 1 “ ?

Or , is finding an URGENT SOLUTION to the following problem, our “ Priority No : 1 “ ?

HRD makes 1^st attempt to know student access to Net and Computer  

Extract :

Ø  While a recent Unicef report said more than 270 million students in India have been impacted by the school closure due to Covid-19 and that only 24% Indian households have Internet access, there is no clear government assessment yet on the subject

Ø  The HRD ministry is also, meanwhile, working on guidelines for digital education with specific provisions for children without Internet and device access.

     It has advocated TV- and radio-based programmes beaming out at panchayat

     community halls, besides teachers addressing student queries on a weekly basis over

     the phone or WhatsApp

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

Here are some good news :

Ø  Maharashtra launches 3 channels on JioTV for X , XII , online learning 

Extract :

          The state school education department launched three educational channels on JioTV

          Mobile application, and one Radio Channel on JioSaavn, on Sunday

          The lectures will be aired for six hours daily

         The department aims to replace physical classes with this initiative.

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Ø  5G & Wi-Fi 6 : Powering our connected future  

  

Extract :

Edu-tech platforms can be made more interactive, seamless, and democratized.

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Ø  Microsoft, NSDC partner to offer digital skills to youth in India 

          Extract :

          The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) on Wednesday said it has

          entered into a strategic partnership with Internet giant Microsoft with a vision to

          equip over 1 lakh Indian youths with digital skills in the next 12 months.

          Microsoft will collaborate with NSDC’s eSkill India portal to provide free access to

          learning resources …….

         “The digital transformation of India is driving demand for tech-enabled jobs across

          every industry and with it the need for digital skills,” said Anant Maheshwari,

          President, Microsoft India.

        “The collaboration aims at accelerating online learning for enhancing the employability

        of the young workforce in a rapidly evolving digital environment. With focus on new-

        age and advanced skills, the initiative will meet the growing demands of

        our, economy,” said Manish Kumar, CEO & MD, NSDC. {mkumar@nsdcindia.org }

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

Ø  Deepfakes Are Becoming the Hot New Corporate Training Tool 

Extract :

THIS MONTH, advertising giant WPP will send unusual corporate training videos to tens of thousands of employees worldwide

AI is now being used by major corporations for such anodyne purposes as corporate training

Pretorius hopes to distribute the clips, 20 modules of about 5 minutes each, to 50,000 employees this year.

AI video and image-generation technology are now available to any interested amateur

Synthesia, the London startup that powered WPP’s deepfake project, makes video featuring synthesized talking heads for corporate clients including Accenture and SAP. Last year, it helped David Beckham appear to deliver a PSA on malaria in several languages, including Hindi, Arabic, and Kinyarwanda, spoken by millions of people in Rwanda.

Making a video with Synthesia’s tools can take seconds. Select an avatar from a list, type the script, and click a button labeled “Generate video.”

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

My Take :

Ø  27 crore ( 270 million ) students are unable to attend classes due to lockdown

Ø  20 crore ( 200 million ) Indian households have TV sets

Ø  Hence, all Indian States should follow the example set by Maharashtra and launch TV channels for each SUBJECT taught at each STANDARD class

Ø  Disadvantage of TV Channel-based “ lectures “ is that these are one-way monologues.

    There is no “ dialogue “ between teacher and students ( No questions / answers –

    ensuring that TV watching students understood the subject being taught )

Ø  This is why ZOOM / GOOGLE MEET / JIO-MEET are preferred ( since interactive )

Ø  But, to use these platforms ( for online education purpose ) require :

#   Internet-enabled device ( a Computer / Tablet / Big Smart phone )

#   Internet connection ( Broadband Cable / Fibre or Wi-Fi )

[ A ] …..How can we make available device ( FREE or at nominal cost ) ?

Fortunately , Shri Prakash Javdekarji has taken following timely initiative :

          HRD seeks Rs 60,900 crore for giving laptops to college students 

     Extract :

          The Union Human Resource Development ministry…… plans to launch a

          Rs 60,900 crore scheme to provide laptops/devices to over 4 crore college students

         over the next five years, to bridge the digital divide. [ 80 lakh / year ]

         The plan for laptops comes at a time when the education system is faced with the

         challenge of running nearly an entire academic session in online mode due to Covid-

         19 and is grappling with the reality of a huge chunk of students being left out due to

         the lack of access to computers and internet.

        The higher education department has proposed to launch from 2021-22 a scheme for

        ‘ Making Devices Available ’ to 40% of students in higher education, estimated to be

        4.06 crore in five years

       The ministry proposes to start with distributing laptops / tablets of about Rs 15,000

       each to 1.5 crore students in 2021-22 at a cost of Rs 22,500 crore

      Of this, Rs 13,500 crore is expected to be borne by the Centre and the remaining Rs

      9,000 crore would be the states’ share

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

     I urge Shri Prakash Javdekarji ( HRD Minister ) to consider my following proposal as a

     much cheaper alternative to the above-mentioned plan :

     

Let Central Government float a global tender for pre-owned desktops ( in working condition and less than 5 years old ) for 100 million units ( 10 crore ).

I think we could get for Rs 2500 each ( at total cost of Rs 25,000 crore ).

Deliveries could be spread over 24 months

[ B ]……How to provide FREE internet connections to ALL households ?

Government may not be in a position to provide a FREE connection – at least till our economy is fully back on the track

And no one can expect the Private Sector companies to provide FREE connections

I urge the government to evaluate and urgently implement, one of the following options :

In my following blog / email,

( 08 April 2018 / https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/04/wifi-lifi-broadband-internet.html ),

I re-reported :

“ The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has mooted a concept of open architecture-based public Wi-Fi grid to bring down the cost of internet by 90 per cent.

By doing so, it will allow small entrepreneurs such as tea stalls, grocery shops and vendors to set up and maintain access points.

Device manufacturers, payment companies, ISPs / telcos and consumer internet companies can provide the remaining pieces to set up public data offices (PDOs), it said on Thursday “

Details at :

https://www.cdot.in/cdotweb/web/product_page.php?lang=en&catId=3&pId=30

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/trai-shares-concept-of-open-architecture-based-public-wi-fi/article23446957.ece

I also suggested following alternative :

But what we need is :

FREE internet connectivity to every Indian , everywhere , all the time

Here is my suggestion to achieve that

(https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/04/wifi-lifi-broadband-internet.html ):

*  Very soon , whole of India will switch over to LED lamps ( street lamps – homes –

    shops – offices – factories etc )

*  Within next few months , electric power will reach all the villages under “ Saubhagya “

*  Broadband over Power Lines  has established that internet can be delivered over

    simple electrical distribution network ( - that means , to every place in India )

   { http://tec.gov.in/pdf/Studypaper/BPL%20[Final].pdf  }

    I believe, this technology is already working in USA – Canada – Europe etc

*  Li-Fi technology can deliver internet to all internet-connected devices , which are

    receiving light from an LED lamp , placed above

Li-Fi provides better bandwidth, efficiency, connectivity and security than Wi-Fi and has already achieved high speeds larger than 1 Gbps under the laboratory conditions. 

By leveraging the low-cost nature of LEDs and lighting units, there are lots of opportunities to exploit this medium. 

Li-Fi is the transfer of data through light by taking fibre out of fibre optics and sending data through LED light bulb

( source : http://tec.gov.in/pdf/Studypaper/lifi%20study%20paper%20-%20approved.pdf  )

Related Reading :

Light Communications as a part of 5G and beyond   /  23  Sept  2019

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  13 July 2020

   

    

.

Corona Kavach Cover

Context :

Irdai gives go ahead to 29 insurers to market Corona Kavach policy

Extract :

Ø  Several insurers have announced the launch of the ‘Corona Kavach' policies for

    #   three -and-a-half months;

    #   six-and-a-half months; and

    #   nine-and-a-half months

with sum insured ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh ( in multiples of Rs 50,000 )

Ø  Launching the product, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said premium for the base cover ranges between  Rs 447  to Rs 5,630 excluding GST, which varies depending on the age of the person, sum insured and policy period opted

Ø  Launching its Corona Kavach policy, HDFC ERGO said the new indemnity health policy will offer cover against medical expenses incurred due to hospitalisation of individuals seeking treatment for COVID-19, on positive diagnosis for the virus in a government authorised diagnostic centre

Ø  "So for instance, if a person between 0-35 years wants to opt for a base cover with sum insured of Rs 50,000 for three and a half months, the customer needs to pay Rs 447, excluding GST," the insurer added

Ø  Krishnan Ramachandran, MD & CEO, Max Bupa Health Insurance said the Corona Kavach plan from Max Bupa is competitively priced. The premium for Rs 2.5 lakh cover for an adult (31-55 year age group) is around Rs 2,200

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

Now take a look at the following data from :

 https://www.statista.com/statistics/657244/number-of-people-with-health-insurance-india/

[ A ] … No of people with Health Insurance across India  ( Millions / %age of total )

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

Year	Total ( Million )	Govt Sponsored Schemes ( incl RSBY )	Group Business	Individual Business
FY 2014	216.2	155.3 (71.8 % )	33.7(15.6 %)	27.2( 12.6 % )
FY 2019	472.1	357.1(75.6 % )	72.9( 15.4 % )	42.1( 8.9 % )

Overall, the penetration of health insurance in India stood at just around 35 percent in financial year 2018

[ B ] … Key figures of public health insurance

The gross direct premium income of the Indian health insurance industry was about 370 billion Indian rupees [ Rs 3,700 Crore ] in financial year 2019.

Public health insurance recorded the highest premium income of over 200 billion [ Rs 2,000 Crore ] Indian rupees that year with the highest share of premiums written in the western state of Maharashtra

A vast number of people seek care from private providers. Over 64 percent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country was from out-of-pocket expenses in fiscal year 2016

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

[ C ] … Increase in number of “Individual Business “ policies from FY 2018 to FY 2019

FY 2018  …….. 33.3 million “ Individual “ Policy Holders

FY 2019……….  42.1 million “ Individual “ Policy Hoders

Therefore , increase in ONE YEAR = 42.1 – 33.3 = 8.8 million policies

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

[ D ]  …  Average Premium per “ Individual “ policy

FY 2019 ……….. Total Individual Policies = 42 million

                       Total Premium Amount = Rs 20,000

 million ( Rs 2,000 Crore )

Hence, average annual premium = Rs 476 / - 

  

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

QUESTIONS – OBSERVATIONS :

( A )  Insurance Industry

Ø  On your own , you could sell Personal Health Insurance to only 8.8 million ( 88 lakh Middle Class / Rich ) people in FY 2019, and on average earned Rs 476 / year by way of premium .”

Out of that Rs 2,000 crore that you collected ( by way of premium in entire FY 2019 ) , possibly your payout to the few ( 10 % of number insured = 8 lakh persons ? ) could have been Rs 1,000 crore, leaving you with GROSS PROFIT of Rs 1,000 crore

For much shorter terms ( 3.5 / 6.5 / 9.5 months ), how do you justify premium amounts announced for CORONA KAVACH ?

Going by your FY 2019 actual sales, how many CORONA KAVACH policies do you expect to sell in next 3 / 6 months ?  May be 1 million ( 10 lakh ? ) ?

How much premium do you expect to earn from these 10 lakh individuals ?

Say, ( ave ) Rs 1000 / policy x 10 lakh persons ? = Rs 10000 lakh = Rs 100 crore ?

And, if out of these 10 lakh insured persons , say ONE lakh ( 10 % ) get infected / hospitalized , how much do you expect to payout ? Rs 50 crore ?

Rs 5,000 / - per Covid patient hospitalized ?

I understand that you may not want to make public, your internal calculations of sales / expenses / profits etc . 

But I suppose you have to furnish your projections to IRDAI [irda@irdai.gov.in / irdandro@irdai.gov.in  /  irdamro@irdai.gov.in ]

Dear Shri Subhash Chandra Khuntia

chairman@irda.gov.in

I suppose you have answers to all of my questions and will safeguard the public interest during these trying times

You may even want to ask the Insurance Companies :

“ For CORONA KAVACH , do you have to have same profitability standards as with your other / standard / normal , offerings ?

For once, could you treat CORONA KAVACH differently as your MORAL SUPPORT to alleviate the sufferings of Covid infected POOR people ?

 ( B )   Central Government

    

Ø  No poor person seems to be taking out any “ Individual Health Insurance “ . He / she depends upon Govt-sponsored Schemes

Ø  In light of these, it is almost looks certain that those 82 crore POOR people ( to whom the Central Government is planning to give FREE rations for July-November ) , are unlikely to apply for CORONA KAVACH

Ø  This, despite the fact that these very 82 crore POOR persons are the ones who need the CORONA KAVACH the most, since they are most vulnerable because of their congested living conditions ( impossible to maintain Social Distancing )

Ø  They have lost their jobs / income and have no money even for buying groceries , leave aside any money for CORONA KAVACH insurance premium

Ø  It was for this reason that in my following earlier blog / email , I had urged the Central Government to pay the COVID KAVACH premium on behalf of these 82 crore POOR people

[ Read :   Corona Kavach Insurance     /    07 July 2020 ]

Ø  But , even at Rs 500 / - by way of premium ( for next 6 months ) , covering 82 crore POOR would require the Government to shell out, Rs 41,000 crore ! Untenable !

Ø  I urge Dr HarshVardhanji to persuade the Insurance Companies to accept Rs 100 / - per insured , needing Rs 8,200 crore

Ø  Argument ( for lowering the premium to Rs 100 / - per insured ) is as follows :

#  Being able to sell 82 crore ( 820 million ) policies at one go, as against only 8.8

     million policies in FY 2019 ( almost 93 times ! )

#  Within 1 month , earning ( from Central Government ) Rs 8,200 crore by way of

    premium, as against Rs 2,000 crore earned during FY 2019 ( spread-over entire

    year )

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

With Regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  11 July 2020

Congratulations, Shri Uddhav Tackereyji

What for ?

For taking steps for immediate availability of Remdesivir and other Covid drugs , in order to stop Black Marketing

See report :

CM steps in to curb black marketing of critical Covid drugs

Extract :

The tenders must be filled by Tuesday and once the state govt acquires the drugs, they will be supplied to both the BMC and privately run hospitals , at the same price

DMER head Dr T P Lahane told Mumbai Mirror late on Saturday night that the state is seeking to buy 20,000 vials of Tocilizumab, 60,000 vials of Remdesivir, and 6,80,000 Favipiravir tablets

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

Without doubt , Maharashtra’s  needs are both, greater and much more urgent than for other States

But , other States are bound to float tenders – may be for smaller numbers .

Manufacturers / importers will be hard-pressed to 

meet all these demands

It is heartening that vials ordered by Maha Govt will be supplied directly to the hospitals – and not to Medicine Shops

I suppose , as of now, there is no “ order “ from Govt telling the manufacturers :

“ You cannot sell directly to Medicine Shops “

But then , it is certainly NOT any government’s job to act as an “ Intermediary “ in the supply chain ( between the manufacturers and the drug stores ) – in order to stop Black Marketing by the drug stores

That ( permanent / technology-enabled stopping of Black Marketing of any Life-Saving , essential medicine ), can only be done by implementing :

Ø  Thank You All   …………….[  10  July  2020  ]

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

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  12  July  2020