Gig Economy : A New Name for Self-Employment / Entrepreneurship ?

 

Context :

Good job ! How gig economy has changed the employment landscape in pandemic times

( Business Line / 09 Mar 2021 )

Extract :

Ø  This year’s Economic Survey noted India becoming one of the world’s largest flexi-staffing or “gig-work “ economies, thanks to the emergence of digital technologies

Ø  Estimated No of Gig Workers…………. 3 million in a work force of around 500 million

Ø  Maximum demand for gig workers :

#    Last mile delivery of essential goods

#    Creation, moderation and cataloguing of digital content

#    Tele-sales and Operations Management

#    Online proctoring or remote online exam invigilation

 

PROMINENT FACILITATORS OF GIG WORKING :

[ A ]   

Nimish Sharma , CEO and co-founder , Workex [ nimish@workex.xyz  / support@workex.xyz ]

Highlights :

#    On its digital platform, Workex lists gig jobs from over 500 cities

#    In the pre-pandemic days, nearly 60 % of the assignments came from

      companies in Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka and it shrank to 36 % at the

      peak of the lockdown

      

#   “ Blue collar work is almost entirely a local demand-supply market. Businesses

       prefer blue-collar workers who live closest to their pin codes.”..

        explains Nimish Sharma

      

[ B ] 

Annanya Sarthak, CEO and co-founder, Awign [ sarthak@awign.com ]

Highlights :

#   ( Awign ) is not a job-listing platform. Instead, it contracts large chunks of

      projects from companies big and  small and executes by parceling out small

      fractions of a large task to thousands of gig workers

     

#   With nearly 8 lakh gig workers on its platform, Awign claims to have utilized

      the services of more than 90,000 workers

      

#   About a third of those enrolled on its platform are college students

#   In the nine months since the pandemic, more than 2.5 LAKH gig workers

     have executed nearly 2 MILLION , “Digital Tasks “ for Awign

     

#   In Jan 2021 alone, nearly 2,500 gig workers helped in creating 1,25,000

     pieces of DIGITAL CONTENT every day, including Video and Audio clips

     

#   “ That’s why we are witnessing an EXPLOSION in the demand for DIGITAL

      CONTENT gigs “ , said Sarthak

#   The average salary of a Gig Worker on Digital Platforms increased from Rs

     10,000-15,000 to Rs 15,000 –20,000

     

#   The ability to break down complex Digital Projects into a series of tiny,

      repeatable tasks allows Awign to  Employ a large team of remotely-located gig

      workers who can execute them  after undergoing a training session that lasts

      about an hour

              

 #   “ Anyone who is a graduate with decent communications skill and access to a

       Camera-enabled computer, could be an invigilator.

       It entails monitoring of exam takers to ensure there is no wrongdoing and

       answering simple questions that candidates may have such as whether a

       scientific calculator can be used. 

       Exam proctoring can pay as much as Rs 500 per test session “, explains

       Sarthak

     

#   In a country of India’s size, educational institutions, the various arms of the

     Government and the Private Sector together, conduct close to a MILLION

     TESTS and exams annually

    

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

MY TAKE :

For past few years , I have been requesting our Policy Makers to focus and facilitate, SELF EMPLOYMENT, since it is simply impossible to generate 12 MILLION new jobs each year, year after year

Above-mentioned article clearly demonstrates that, if my suggestions are considered , it is entirely possible to create 12 MILLION , "Self Employed " every year 

Following is a ( partial ) list of my 64 e-mails sent to our Cabinet Ministers , on this matter :

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

2021   [ 3 ]

Small Steps for Small Firms ? Not enough………………………[ 07 Mar 2021 ]

Gaining Ground : Virtually ………………………………………………………[ 01 Mar 2021 ]

ApprenticeShip : Unanchored and ready to sail ? …………[ 08 Feb2021 ]

2020   [ 17 ]

Congratulations, TATA………………………………………………………………[ 27 Dec 2020 ]

Human Resource Capital of the World ?............................[ 23 Nov 2020 ]

Social Security for Unorganized Labour ………………………………[ 17 Nov 2020 ]

Migrant workforce = 42 Crore ( MSME + Self Employed )…[ 09 Oct 2020 ]

Fresher need not apply ? ………………………………………………………….[ 09 Sept 2020 ]

E-Waste : Converting a Threat into Opportunity …………………….....[ 04 July 2020 ]

Congratulations , Shri Mahesh Kumarji………………………………….[ 20 June 2020 ]

Dairy Business : Calling Entrepreneurs ………………………………….[ 10 June 2020 ]

Providing Jobs : a Fundamental Right ?...............................[ 07 June 2020 ]

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

Street Vendor Loan Scheme………………………………………………………[ 14 May 2020 ]

Wages during Corona Lockdown ?.......................................[ 30 Apr 2020 ]

When the dust settles………………………………………………………………….[ 17 Apr 2020 ]

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

Congratulations, Shri Ajit Pawar / Shri Nawab Malik……………[ 06 Mar 2020 ]

Unending Caravan of Data-Bases ?.......................................[ 20 Jan 2020 ]

Job Creation : Not a question of options ………………………………….......[ 13 Jan 2020 ]

 

2019   [ 5 ]

Something is better than Nothing……………………………………………[ 21 Sept 2019 ]

Census 2021 : an Unprecedented Opportunity………………………[ 11 Apr 2019 ]

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

Congratulations , Anilbhai Naik…………………………………………………[ 08 Feb 2019 ]

Organizing the Unorganized………………………………………………………[ 04 Feb 2019 ]

2018   [ 8 ]

Idea for Self Employment ?................................................[ 11 June 2018 ]

Not Funds : They need Freedom………………………………………………[ 29 Apr 2018 ]

#Jobs #SelfEmployment #Unemployment……………………………[ 29 Apr 2018 ]

#GoogleJobs #JobSearch #GoogleIndia…………………………………[ 25 Apr 2018 ]

#BPO #IBPS #DigitalIndia #LiFi #WiFi………………………………….[ 11 Apr 2018 ]

Self Employed Indians inherit the Earth ?........................... [ 26 Jan 2018 ]

Safeguarding Existing Jobs ?................................................[ 24 Jan 2018 ]

Miracle of Self Employment…………………………………………………………[ 06 Jan 2018 ]

2017    [ 11 ]

National Jobs Policy : Treasure Hunt …………………………………….[ 15 Dec 2017 ]

Discovering the Obvious ?..................................................[ 30 Nov 2017 ]

In a State of Denial ?..........................................................[ 22 Sept 2017 ]

Ready to be Ridiculed………………………………………………………………….[ 23 Aug 2017 ]

Who is Clueless ?................................................................[ 16 July 2017 ]

How much Capital to create One job ?.................................[ 22 June 2017 ]

Taxing Times for Robots ?...................................................[ 01 Mar 2017 ]

Baby Steps won’t do !..........................................................[ 12 Feb 2017 ]

Will Holograms beat H1B Visa Ban ?....................................[ 31 Jan 2017 ]

The Mini Wall of Mexico……………………………………………………….......[ 28 Jan 2017 ]

Universal Basic Income………………………………………………………........[ 20 Jan 2017 ]

2016   [ 7 ]

How About Virtual Call Centers ? …………………………………………[ 04 Oct 2016 ]

A Booster Shot ? …………………………………………………………………....[ 04 Sept 2016 ]

Missing the Woods for the Tree ? …………………………………………[ 12 Aug 2016 ]

Robots Robots Everywhere , not a Soul to See ! ……………….[ 10 Apr 2016 ]

Age of Automation ………………………………………………………………....[ 25 Feb 2016 ]

Exporting Manpower ? ………………………………………………………… ..[ 23 Feb 2016 ]

TEN MILLION START- UPS IN ONE YEAR ? ………………………….[ 16 Jan 2016 ]

2015   [ 10 ]

AGENDA FOR REFORMS ………………………………………………………….[ 01 Oct 2015 ]

Start-Up Eco-Systems / USA vs INDIA ………………………………….....[ 01 Oct 2015 ]

WHEN IS RANK # 1 BAD ? ……………………………………………………..[ 26 Sept 2015 ]

TREADING THE BEATEN PATH ? ……………………………………………[ 25 Sept 2015 ]

FROM JOB-SEEKERS TO JOB-CREATORS ? ………………………….[ 15 Sept 2015 ]

MYTH OF JOB CREATION ? ……………………………………………………..[ 13 Sept 2015 ]

A NEW ECONOMIC ORDER ? aka " Start Up Act - 2015 "………....[ 12 Sep 2015 ]

– A game-changing REFORM, now being implemented ( partially ) as One Person Company

Maid in India ? …………………………………………………………………………[ 10 Aug 2015 ]

If Mohamed cannot go to Mountain ……………………………………….[ 26 July 2015 ]

CREATE SELF EMPLOYMENT …………………………………………………..[ 21 Feb 2015 ]

2013   [ 1 ]

HALF – A – WORLD APART ……………………………………………………….[ 17 Feb 2013 ]

2012   [ 1 ]

IT PAYS TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR …………………………………………[ 30 Jan 2012 ]

2011   [ 1 ]

NSSO WORKFORCE SURVEY – INDIA ……………………………………[ 02 July 2011 ]

 

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  10 March 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small Steps for Small Firms ? Not enough

 

Context :

Abridged Annual Return in Form MGT-7A for OPCs & Small Companies

 

Extract :

Ø  “Provided further that the Central Government may prescribe abridged form of annual return for “One Person Company, small company and such other class or classes of companies as may be prescribed”.

Ø  “(1) Every company shall file its annual return in Form No. MGT-7 except One Person Company (OPC) and Small Company. One Person Company and Small Company shall file annual return from the financial year 2020-2021 onwards in Form No. MGT-7A.”

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

Context :

OPC Annual Filing – Important Statutory due dates for FY 2019-20 

Extract :

E-Form AOC 4 due date

• This is to be filed with relevant ROC, within 180 days of the close of financial year.
• In case of an OPC, the annual financial reports contain only particulars such as Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Auditor’s Report, and the Consolidated Financial Statement.

ROC Form MGT 7 Due date

• This is one most important RoC return filing for an OPC (One Person Company), which contains current / updated information about the directors and shareholders of the OPC. 

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

Context :

List of Annual Compliances by One Person Company 

Extract :

Ø  A One Person Company shall file its Annual Return within 60 days of entry of ordinary resolution in Minute Book.

Ø  With a view to facilitate ease of doing business and for reducing the burden of One Person Company, the Central Government has prescribed abridged form of Annual Return to be annually filed by One Person Companies.

Ø  Annual Return of every One Person Company shall be signed by the company secretary or where there is no company secretary, by the director of the company.

Ø  The financial statements of a One Person Company can be signed by one director alone.

Ø  Cash Flow Statement is not a mandatory part of financial statements for a One Person Company. Financial statements of a one person company need to be filed with the Registrar, after they are duly adopted by the member, within 180 days of closure of financial year along with all necessary documents.

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

MY TAKE :

Dear Smt Sitharamanji,

 

Ø  This is a very welcome announcement , but I urge you to “ Go the Whole Hog “ and totally abolish Corporate Income Tax for first 10 years of operations for “ One Person Companies “ as suggested in my following earlier e-mails :

 One Person Company [ OPC ] – A welcome FIRST step……………..[ 15 Feb 2921 ]

 21-22 Budget Blues : One Person Company ( OPC )……………………[ 01 Feb 2021 ]

 A New Economic Order ? aka " Start Up Act - 2015 "…………….. … [ 12 Sep 2015 ]

 

Ø  There is no way , either Public Sector or Private Sector, can generate 12 million NEW paid jobs each year

Ø  In the past one year , millions of persons employed with our 65 million MSME have lost their jobs

Ø  This is on top of 55 million youth ( out of 219 million in age group of 15 – 24 ) already unemployed

Ø  Government must pull out all stops to enable them to become “ SELF EMPLOYED “

Ø  By making my suggested announcement ( viz: No Corporate Tax for OPC for 10 years ) , Govt loses nothing, since, in any case these 55 million are NOT paying any PERSONAL INCOME TAX !

Ø  On the other hand , by getting them “ Registered “ on Income Tax Department portal as “ ZERO TAX PAYERS “ ( despite honestly declaring each year’s PROFIT and accumulating OFFICIAL wealth-corpus ) , Govt will be able to track, how much INCOME they are managing to EARN by becoming SELF EMPLOYED

Ø  This is a simple and straight forward method to bring these 55 million into “ Organized Data-Base “

Lesson from History :

Ø  A few years back when Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna ( PM-JDY ) was launched, no one had ever thought of allowing people to open a bank account with ZERO balance ! It was unthinkable . But it was a revolutionary / out-of-box thinking on your part which has by now, enabled 41.75 crore ( 417.5 million ) citizen to open bank accounts.

Ø  In March 2015, the percentage of ZERO BALANCE accounts, was 58 % . Today it is a mere 7.5 %

This is a proof that the Govt. committed to #FinancialInclusion to all citizens

   ( source : Jan Dhan accounts cross 41 crore, only 7.5% zero-balance accounts )

 

Ø  Implementing my suggestion will ensure #TaxAccountability for all ( even for those paying ZERO tax )

 

With regards,

Hemen parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  08 March 2021

  

 

 

 

Supreme Court is Angry : and rightly so !

 

   

 

Context :

SC pulls up Centre for delay in installation of CCTV cameras in offices of CBI, NIA, ED  /   Tribune /  02 Mar

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

Extact :

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre for “dragging its feet” over installation of CCTV cameras in the offices of investigating agencies such as CBI, ED and NIA even as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought more time to implement the court’s December 2 order.

“We are getting a distinct impression that you (government) are dragging your feet,” a Bench headed by Justice RF Nariman told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

Noting that the issue concerned the rights of citizens, the top court said it was not ready to accept the excuses offered in the Centre’s letter seeking adjournment.

In a move aimed at checking police brutality, the Supreme Court had on December 2 last year ordered the Centre, States and Union Territories to install CCTVs with night vision cameras in each police station, including central probe agencies such as CBI, ED, NIA, etc. across India.

"The State and Union Territory Governments should ensure that CCTV cameras are installed in each and every police station functioning in the respective State and/or Union Territory. In addition, the Union of India is also directed to install CCTV cameras and recording equipment in the offices of CBI, NIA, ED, NCB, DRI, SFIO and any other agency which carries out interrogations and has the power of arrest," it had said.

On Tuesday, Mehta sought adjournment of the case as the issue may have ramifications.

“We are not concerned about the ramifications…This concerns the rights of citizens…We are not accepting the excuses,” the top court told the Solicitor General and sought to know about allocation of funds for installation of CCTVs in the offices of the central probe agencies.

After perusing a report placed before it by senior advocate and amicus curiae Siddharth Dave on the timeline of different states to comply with its direction, the court gave three weeks to the Centre to file an affidavit on the issue.

The December 2, 2020 order had come in a case relating to CCTV installation in police stations and examination of witnesses by police. The CCTV installation was revived by the top court following a case of custodial torture in Punjab.

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

MY TAKE :

Of Course, Supreme Court has right to get angry, considering that its directive in this matter is nearly 3 years old

Torturing a “ suspected criminal “ to get him to admit his ( alleged – and yet unproven ) crime , has been outlawed in most countries around the world. I believe, this method is illegal even in India

But everyone knows that torturing is rampant in police-stations, all over India

According to police, the legally approved methods ( interrogation /  investigation / evidence collection / deposition by witnesses / circumstantial evidence etc ) are TOO SLOW / TOO TIME CONSUMING and often unsustainable in a court of law

But none of these can be excuse for resorting to torture, which is, without doubt, a violation of Human Rights

Having said that, allow me to add :

Ø  By all means, installing CCTVs at all ( 16,000 ) Police Stations will go a long way in reducing torture – even if it fails to eliminate it completely. To resort to torture, Police Station In-Charges will find hundreds of “ reasons “ for non-functioning of CCTVs / recording equipment

Ø  Monitoring / watching CCTV cameras on LIVE / REAL-TIME basis will require LAKHS of “ human vigilante “, on 24x7 basis. They need to be trained in deciphering the footage where torture ( even verbal abusing / threatening – and not physical ) SEEMS to be taking place    

 

RELATED READINGS :

 

Ø  CCTV in Police Stations . Tomorrow Everywhere ……[ 19 Sept 2020 ]

Ø  Supreme Surveillance Solution ?.............................[ 05 Dec 2020 ]

 

Extract :

 # We have a total of some 16,671 police stations spread among 718

    districts ( ave of 23 / district )

     

#   Each police station may need 20 CCTV cameras , ie., 460  cameras per

     district ( 23 x 20 )

     

#  Recording for say 12 hours / day, amounts to a CCTV footage of 5520

    hours / day, to be reviewed by the District Committee Members for

    “ human rights violation

        

#  From a video / audio, how does a human detect / conclude a “ human

    rights violation “ ?  

 

I urge the Supreme Court to consider,

 

     Integration with those lakhs of CCTV cameras , a ( human independent ) technology-based software which can detect in a VIDEO-RECORDING, the “ human emotions “ listed above and then alert ( by automatically e-mailing that offensive portion of a VIDEO-CLIP ) to Human Rights Commission / District – State level Oversight Committees Members / any other designated persons or agencies , along with full details of :

 

      #   District / Police Station Number

      #   Name – Rank of interrogating Police Officer

     #    Name / Aadhar ID of suspect being interrogated

     #    Date / Time of interrogation

     #    Suspected Offence for which being interrogated

     #    FIR No

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

Dear Shri Amitbhai Shah,

I urge you to consider exhaustive solution ( described in my above-mentioned e mail ) which :

Ø  Will be cost - effective / practical

Ø  Will not require training thousands of persons to visually “ monitor “ those lakhs of CCTV cameras

Ø  Being “ technology – based “ ( non-human “ based ) , it will not get biased

Ø  It will automatically “ alert “ authorities / lawyers / watchdog committee members for violations

Ø  It will satisfy the Supreme Court being first of its kind in the entire world

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  08 March 2021    

 

Congratulations, David Temkin

 

 

( Director of Product Management, Ads Privacy and Trust , Google / david@google.com / david@gmail.com / david@brave.com )

 

What For ?

For following revolutionary announcement on Google Blogs :

Charting a course towards a more privacy-first web  /  Google Blogs  /  03 March 2021

 

Extract :

 

It’s difficult to conceive of the internet we know today — with information on every topic, in every language, at the fingertips of billions of people — without advertising as its economic foundation.

 

But as our industry has strived to deliver relevant ads to consumers across the web, it has created a proliferation of individual user data across thousands of companies, typically gathered through third-party cookies.

 

This has led to an erosion of trust:

 

In fact, 72% of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and 81% say that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits, according to a study by Pew Research Center.

 

If digital advertising doesn't evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web.  

That’s why last year Chrome announced its intent to remove support for third-party cookies, and why we’ve been working with the broader industry on the Privacy Sandbox to build innovations that protect anonymity while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers.

Even so, we continue to get questions about whether Google will join others in the ad tech industry who plan to replace third-party cookies with alternative user-level identifiers.

Today, we’re making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products.

We realize this means other providers may offer a level of user identity for ad tracking across the web that we will not — like PII graphs based on people’s email addresses.

We don’t believe these solutions will meet rising consumer expectations for privacy, nor will they stand up to rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions, and therefore aren’t a sustainable long term investment.

Instead, our web products will be powered by privacy-preserving APIs which prevent individual tracking while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers.

 

Privacy innovations are effective alternatives to tracking

People shouldn’t have to accept being tracked across the web in order to get the benefits of relevant advertising.

 

And advertisers don't need to track individual consumers across the web to get the performance benefits of digital advertising. 

Advances in aggregation, anonymization, on-device processing and other privacy-preserving technologies offer a clear path to replacing individual identifiers.

In fact, our latest tests of FLoC show one way to effectively take third-party cookies out of the advertising equation and instead hide individuals within large crowds of people with common interests.

Chrome intends to make FLoC-based cohorts available for public testing through origin trials with its next release this month, and we expect to begin testing FLoC-based cohorts with advertisers in Google Ads in Q2. 

Chrome also will offer the first iteration of new user controls in April and will expand on these controls in future releases, as more proposals reach the origin trial stage, and they receive more feedback from end users and the industry.

This points to a future where there is no need to sacrifice relevant advertising and monetization in order to deliver a private and secure experience. 

 

First-party relationships are vital

Developing strong relationships with customers has always been critical for brands to build a successful business, and this becomes even more vital in a privacy-first world.

 

We will continue to support first-party relationships on our ad platforms for partners, in which they have direct connections with their own customers.

 

And we'll deepen our support for solutions that build on these direct relationships between consumers and the brands and publishers they engage with.

Keeping the internet open and accessible for everyone requires all of us to do more to protect privacy — and that means an end to not only third-party cookies, but also any technology used for tracking individual people as they browse the web.

We remain committed to preserving a vibrant and open ecosystem where people can access a broad range of ad-supported content with confidence that their privacy and choices are respected.  We look forward to working with others in the industry on the path forward.

 

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

Dear Shri Ravishankar Prasadji,

 

This is a very significant announcement on part of Google

Its significance lies in the following statement of David Temkin :

“ Today, we’re making explicit that once third-party cookies are phased out, we will not build alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products “

He goes on to add :

Ø       >      We realize this means other providers may offer a level of user identity

                  for ad tracking across the web that we will not — like PII graphs based

                  on people’s email addresses “

>      Instead, our web products will be powered by privacy-preserving

        APIs which prevent individual tracking while still delivering results for

        advertisers and publishers.

 

Ø      >     Advances in aggregation, anonymization, on-device processing and

               other privacy-preserving technologies offer a clear path to replacing

               individual identifiers

>    In fact, our latest tests of FLoC show one way to effectively take third-

      party cookies out of the advertising equation and instead hide individuals

       within large crowds of people with common interests.

 

 

Dear Shri Prasadji,

It is time to write and ask  David :

You are talking with other players in your industry for “ creation of a  PRIVACY  SANDBOX  to build innovations that protect anonymity while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers “ .

While wishing you success in convincing other industry players to join you ( of which there must be thousands ) , how about partnering with INDIA – at entire country level – to implement following “ Innovations “, which enable advertisers to create DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES of our 1.4 billion citizen ( hide individuals within large crowds of people with common interests  ),  

 

      Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]………… [ 14 Feb 2019 ]

 

      SARAL ( Single  Authentic  Registration for Anywhere  Login )….[ 10 Feb 2019 ]

 

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  05 March 2021