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

Friday, 5 February 2021

Mumbai Parking Authority ( MPA ) : A Come Back to What ?

 


 

Context :

Reconstituted parking authority makes a comeback in budget  / HT – 05 Feb


Extract :

Ø  The MPA was reconstituted in January last year. BMC has appointed Tata Institute of Social Science ( TISS ) , as the agency from where urban planners, traffic planners, urban designers and Geographic Information System ( GIS ) designers are being roped in, to help with MPA’s work

Ø  …. it has been given the time line of one year to complete tasks at hand, which include ward-wise survey and GIS mapping of on-street and off-street parking and formulation of the parking policy, fee structure , among other things

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

FACTS :

Ø  By end 2017, no of registered vehicles in Mumbai ………………. 3.05 million

Ø  As of Jan 2019, no of vehicles in Mumbai ……………………………… 3.57 million

            This means, in about ONE YEAR, no of vehicles in Mumbai went up by approx. 0.5 million ( 5 lakhs )

Ø  As per the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2018-19, the vehicle density is at 28,380 vehicles per lakh population and 115 vehicles per kilometre road length

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

PROBLEMS :

Ø  There are few ( economically viable ) methods of creating NEW / ADDITIONAL parking places ( eg: parking in basements of new buildings / multi-storied “pay and park “ buildings )

Ø  It is not possible to stop citizen from buying new vehicles / even restricting no of vehicles / family

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

SOLUTIONS :

Ø  Devise methods to “ dis-incentivize “ purchase / owning of PRIVATE vehicles


Ø  Introduce “ Incentives “ for people to use PUBLIC transport ( local trains-metros – BEST buses )


Ø  TISS may consider collaborating with  Dr. Bernd Bienzeisler, head of the Research and Innovation Center for Cognitive Service Systems at Fraunhofer IAO. (bernd.bienzeisler@iao.fraunhofer.de )

 

(  Ref :   Using AI to measure the demand for parking space  )

 31ST INTERNATIONAL RESER CONFERENCE 2021, HEILBRONN, GERMANY

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

 

RELATED READINGS :

Tata Motors launches what3words enabled Nexon

Ø  Maharashtra plans to make location tracker device must for commercial vehicles     ( TOI – 15 Dec 2020 )

 

Interim Solution :

Un-Implementable Laws : Unstoppable Corruption  ……[ 20 Feb 2017 ]

 

Ultimate Solution :

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

 

 

FOLLOWING  E-MAILS PERTAIN  TO  PARKING  PROBLEMS – SOLUTIONS :

Ø  A Radical Radial Revolution ! …………………………..[ 18 Aug 2016 ]

Ø  Name of the Game : Co-operation…………………..[ 23 Sept 2016 ]

Ø  One Car per Family ? ……………………………………….[ 27 Sept 2016 ]

Ø  Wisdom of the Ancients ……………………………………[ 05 Oct 2016 ]

Ø  A Knee Jerk Approach ? …………………………………..[ 22 Dec 2016 ]

Ø  Internet of Vehicles ( IoV ) ? ……………………………[ 04 Mar 2017 ]

Ø  Shri Raoteji has a Vision…………………………………..[ 23 Mar 2017 ]

Ø  Passing the Buck ?....................................... [ 18 Apr 2017 ]

Ø  Leveraging NaviC ?.......................................[ 30 May 2017 ]

Ø  Who says IMPOSSIBLE ? …………………………………..[ 31 May 2017 ]

Ø  Urban Transport Policy……………………………………….[ 09 June 2017 ]

Ø  Why don’t they park in their flats ?..................[ 01 Sept 2017 ]

Ø  A Sensible Solution………………………………………………[ 03 Sept 2017 ]

Ø  Where will SoBo park its cars ?........................[ 19 Sept 2017 ]

Ø  The  Next  Big  Thing…………………………………………..[ 14 Nov 2017 ]

Ø  Parking Mess ? It will get worse !.....................[ 01 Jan 2018 ]

Ø  It is not that simple !......................................[ 31 Jan 2018 ]

Ø  No Takers ? No Wonder !.................................[ 13 Feb 2018 ]

Ø  Who killed BMC Parking Policy ? I did not !.........[ 31 Mar 2018 ]


    A  Law  on  Parking  ?......................................[ 13 Apr 2018 ]

 

 TRAFFIC  MANAGEMENT RELATED E MAILS :

Ø          Congrats , Shri Shivang Luthraji, …………………[ 22 Sept 2018 ]

Ø  Gathering Speed at Snail’s Pace ? ……………….[ 02 Oct 2018 ]

Ø  Transport Solutions ? Must try everything …..[ 26 Oct 2018 ]

Ø  Better Late than Never !  ………………………………[ 01 Nov 2018 ] 

Ø  When will the rest follow ? …………………………….[ 14 Nov 2018 ] 

Ø  Traffic Congestion ? Finally, a solution in sight ?[ 31 May 2019 ]

Ø  BEST app will have destination alarm ……………[ 02 Sept 2019 ]

Ø  Realization ? Yes but Gradual and Grudgingly ? [ 16 Sept 2019 ]

Ø  A Railway Revolution ? ……………………………………[ 13 Oct 2019 ]

Ø  Congratulations, Avinash Dhakneji…………………[ 15 Dec 2020 ]

 

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

CC to :

Ø  Prof Shalini Bharat, Vice-Chancellor, Director ( TISS ) /  director@tiss.edu

 

Ø  Prof. Dr V H Iyer , Professor Emeritus and Dean

       Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Reserch  /                           vh.iyer@yahoo.com  

 

Ø  Mr. Ashok Datar, Advisor - Mumbai Parking Authority  / datar.ashok@gmail.com

 

Ø  Mumbai Mobility Forum  /  mumbai-mobility-forum@googlegroups.com

 

Ø  Mr A V Shenoy / shenoyav@gmail.com

 

Ø  Dr. Bernd Bienzeisler  /  bernd.bienzeisler@iao.fraunhofer.de

 

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 06 Feb 2021

Wednesday, 3 February 2021

Vehicle Scrapping Policy

 


 

During her budget speech, Smt Sitharamaji  announced that detailed policy will be released by the Transport Ministry, in 2 weeks

Pending that release, news-papers are full of articles on this, raising many questions. Here are some :

Auto sector cheers scrappage policy / Business Line / 02 Feb

Auto scrappage policy ; Devil could be in the details   /  Business Line  /  02 Feb

Centre launches voluntary vehicle scrappage policy  /  HT  /  02 Feb

Incentives should have been offered with policy on scrapping old vehicles / Times City /02 Feb

New policy makes it costly to keep old cars / Times of India / 03 Feb

Green Tax may drive up CNG vehicle sales  /  HT  /  01 Feb

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

First tentative announcement of this policy was made nearly 4 YEARS ago !

Since then, a couple of “ Drafts / Revised Drafts “ have  been circulated inviting feedback / comments from,


Ø  General Public ( Buyers / Users of vehicles )

Ø  Auto Manufacturers / Auto-Component Manufacturers

Ø  Auto Dealers

Ø  Vehicle Scrap Dealers

Ø  Professional Associations

Ø  Trade Bodies ( SIAM – ACMA – SAVE etc )

Ø  Public Transport Authorities / RTOs

Ø  Edu Institutions offering courses in TRANSPORT – TRAFFIC management …etc


With so much debate – and over such a long time -, one would expect that, when released, the policy would answer the following questions (  FAQ  ), sharply / unambiguously :


[ 1 ]

Since “ scrapping “ ( or not ) is voluntary, can I keep “ owning “ my 21 year old car  ? Not a crime ?


[ 2 ]

Can I “ Sell “ it ( to a willing buyer ) or “ Gift “ It ?


[ 3 ]

If it is already “deregistered“ by RTO, do I still have to pay Road-Tax / Green Tax as Owner ?


[ 4 ]

I understand it will get impounded if I drive it on roads but can I keep it parked in my garage ?


[ 5 ]

If traffic police impounds it ( while on road ), will I get any punishment / compensation ?


[ 6 ]

What will happen if I do not take my OLD car for periodic “ re-registration / fitness certificate “ ?


[ 7 ]

What happens if a NEW ( 3 year old ) car fails “ fitness test “ ? Will it get impounded ?


[ 8 ]

What if a 21 year OLD car “passes“ the “ fitness test “ ? Can it continue to run it ?


[ 9 ]

Nearest automated “ fitness testing centre “ is 200 km away ( only 7 out of 25 sanctioned are operational )

Will my old car get impounded while taking it to such centre ?


[ 10 ]

There are only 2 “ authorized scrapping centres “ ( including 1 in Noida ). Where do take my old car ?


[ 11 ]

Are these “authorized scrapping centres“ mandated to pay certain amounts to person surrendering old vehicles ?

There are thousands of combinations of “ Types and Ages of Vehicles “ . Will Govt fix “ scrap prices “ for each combination ?


[ 12 ]

What will Govt ( traffic police / dept ) do with the “ impounded “ vehicles ?  Sell to “ authorized  scrapping centres ?

Will the amount realized get reimbursed to the vehicle’s original owner

Does ownership of an impounded vehicle, pass automatically to the TRAFFIC DEPT or vest with original owner ?

    


[ 13 ]

Will there be any INCENTIVE , either for the OLD car owner or for the NEW car dealer ( or both ) ?


[ 14 ]

Who will bear the cost of such an incentive ( and get reimbursed by the State Govt / central Govt ) ?


[ 15 ]

If govt does not have money for paying INCENTIVE, will it consider motivating old-car owners by crediting into their JAN DHAN Accounts certain number of CARBON CREDITS ( like crypto-currency ? ) and launch VEHICLE CARBON CREDIT TRADING EXCHANGE ?

   

The number of Carbon Credit will depend upon Age/type of OLD car and those of REPLACEMENT car


[ 16 ]

According to news reports, the number of vehicles that will come under the purview are :


Ø  LMV  [ Light Motor Vehicles ] which are older than 20 years :

    51 lakh  ( 5.1 million )

 

Ø  LMV which are above 15 years ( but less than 20 years ) :

    34 lakh  ( 3.4 million )


Ø  Medium/Heavy vehicles which are more than 15 years old

    17 lakh  ( 1.7 million )  [ These  MHV do NOT have fitness certificates ]


How many vehicles can be tested in ONE DAY ( and issued fitness – or failure – certificate ) by ONE testing centre ?  Let us assume 100 / day ( 30,000  / year in 300 working days )

    Hence, to test all 102 lakh vehicles in ONE YEAR , we need 340 Fitness

    Testing Centres !


If we are to depend upon existing 25 centres only, it will take 14 YEARS !


[ 17 ]

I believe, in India, our current Vehicle population is approx. 24 crore ( 2400 lakh ) This population is growing by about 30 lakh vehicles EACH YEAR

       

I assume that, out of this some 200 lakh vehicles will become OLD, each year.

These too will need scrapping EACH YEAR ! 

 

Hence, from 2022, we need to replace 302 lakh ( 102 lakh +  200 lakh )  vehicles EACH YEAR !

      

Do we have the necessary RESOURCES to test these / scrap these / replace these with new ones ?


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

 

By no means, the above is a comprehensive list of questions. Expect many more in coming days


Those looking for some suggestions ( possible answers ), may want to look up my following 18 E-Mails to our Policy Makers  :

 

2016   ( 3 )

PIYUSH PLAN ?                                         [ 27 Mar 2016 ]

Young or Old ?.........................................[ 27 Aug 2016 ]

From OLD to NEW ? No , go NEWER ! …………[ 22 sept 2016 ]



2018   ( 8 )

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

One door closes ; Another opens …………………. [ 27 Feb 2018 ]

Mahindra Accelo : Saluting a pioneer …………….[ 19 June 2018 ]

Scrapping Old Vehicles : Swiss Challenge Solution [ 24 July 2018 ]

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

Transport Solutions ? Must try everything ………[ 25 Oct 2018 ]

Better Late than Never ! …………………………………..[ 01 Nov 2018 ]

Missing piece of Jigsaw Puzzle ? ……………………….[ 15 Nov 2018 ]



2019   (  2  )

FAME II > FAME III > FAME IV  ………………………..[  05 Mar 2019 ]

Congratulations, Shri Saurabh Kumarji……………..[ 13 Nov 2019  ]



2020  ( 3  )

I conceive , I conceive , I conceive !  ………………..[ 25 Feb 2020 ]

Dead on Arrival ?  ………………………………………………..[ 19 July 2020 ]

Alang : Junkyard ? Scrapyard ? SaveYard ?......... [ 12 Dec 2020 ]



2021  (  2  )

Gadkariji : Green Tax is Good  ………………………………[  26 Jan 2021 ]

A Brief History of Electric Vehicles in India ……………[ 30 Jan 2021 ]

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

Dear Shri Gadkariji,


What can go wrong, WILL go wrong 


Nor is it possible to anticipate all the problems in advance and have answers “ready” for each and every situation ( - especially in an issue as complex as VEHICLE SCRAPPING POLICY )


I urge you to expedite the announcement – then make course-corrections as we go along


With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 04 Feb 2021

 

 

Tuesday, 2 February 2021

2021-22 Budget Blues : Digital Census

 


 

Context :

Union Budget 2021: FM Confirms 2021 Census Will be First Digital Census in India 

  

Extract :

Ø  he 2021 national census of India will be held digitally, confirmed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Union Budget 2021 speech. Touching upon the topic, Sitharaman confirmed that the upcoming census of India would become the very first one in the history of India to be held digitally, marking India’s transit towards digitising government and public services, and continue transiting towards paperless operation systems. The FM’s statement falls in line with a previous statement given by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2019.


Ø  Back in 2019, Shah had stated that the 2021 national census would be held fully digitally, and had further highlighted that the government is set to spend up to Rs 12,000 crore in setting up the digital framework for the census. He had also confirmed that a mobile app will be used in the process of census 2021. While the exact specifics have not been issued yet, the previous reports have highlighted that those certified to carry out the census process may be encouraged to used their own mobile phones for the process. It will also be interesting to note the infrastructure that the central government sets up in a bid to maintain the sanctity of collected data.


Ø  The 2021 census of India is set to begin in March 2021, after the previous census was undertaken in 2011 – marking India’s population at 1.21 billion back then.

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

This is indeed a GOOD beginning .

10 years back, census required 30 million enumerators to manually enter citizen data in 1.21 billion PAPER FORMS

And possibly required, thousands of DATA ENTRY operators, many months to enter these data into Servers

May be in 2021, are we ready to capture all data DIRECTLY into a Mobile App ?

 

I suggest following process :

Ø  Once data of all ( 1400 million ? ) citizen gets uploaded onto the Server, downloading / installing of Mobile App will be made mandatory for all citizen ( by that time, I expect everyone to have a Smart phone – which, itself would be a DATA FIELD – with Mobile Number and E Mail ID – as optional  )


Ø  After data of all citizen is uploaded, every day, server will push onto the mobile screens of 5 MILLION citizen, the CENSUS FORM , which is fully pre-filled with his / her data captured during 2021 Census ( as being planned with income-details for online IT Returns )


Ø  Citizen will UPDATE the changed / missing / new data and click EDITED , for auto over-write in Server


Ø  If he fails to click EDITED for 24 hours, EDIT-FORM will self-destruct and old data will continue


Ø  Every citizen will get this opportunity for SELF-UPDATING, once every year ! ( 5 million / day x 300 days )


of course, if so desired, this pre-filled form can be pushed ( to citizen's mobile ), once every 4 months


Or, System would grant access to each citizen to login ( portal ) and EDIT data anytime / as often as he wants 


No need for NPR  or  NRC  ! No duplication of same data, again and again 


No opposition from any section of the Society !


Ø  For new-born to “ join “ and dead persons to “ exit “, following technology to be employed :


BMW, Ford back development of vehicle 'birth certificates' built on the blockchain  



Ø  For details of suggested MOBILE APP and INCENTIVES for CITIZEN ( for self-census ) , read :


             Census 2021 : an Unprecedented Opportunity   /   11  April 2019

 

             Confused about CENSUS - NPR - NRC ?            /   24 Dec 2019

 

             A Case of Mistaken Identity ?                           /  28 Dec 2019

 

              Unprecedented Opportunity Seized !                  /   18 Jan 2020

 

             One Stop Shops ?                                             /   24 Jan 020

 

CC :

Shri Rajiv Gauba – Home Secretary  [  hshso@nic.in  /  r.gauba@nic.in ]

Shri Vivek Joshi – Registrar General of India ( RGI ) [  rgi.rgi@nic.in  ]

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  03 Feb 2021