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, 18 April 2021

From E-Way Bills to Express-ways of Commerce ?

 


 

 

Context :

Real Time Data on Vehicles without E-Way Bills   /    MINT  -  19 April 2021


Extract :

Ø  The government is working on a system to soon provide report to GST officers on a real-time basis for those vehicles which are moving without e-way bills, to help intercept stuck trucks at toll plazas and check GST evasion.

Ø  The tax officers would also be provided analysis reports on identifying e-way bill EWB with no movement of goods as it would help officials identifying cases of circular trading. It would also provide reports on recycling of e-way bills for tax evasion prone commodities to help officers in identifying tax evaders.

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

MY TAKE :

 

Dear Shri Piyush Goyalji,

 

Congratulations on making a beginning to implement my suggestions in following 4 YEAR old E Mail :


Ø  A New Way to E-Way ? ………………………………..[ 15 July 2017 ]


Extract :

 

My request / suggestion to GST Council :

Ø  Aim to turn India’s highways into friction-less “ Conveyor Belts of Commerce “

Ø  Look up conveyor belts in the warehouses of Amazon / Flipkart / UPS / FedEx etc , which carry hundreds of packages per minute – with each package carrying dozens of different items ( can we replace “ packages “ with TRUCKS and “ conveyor belts “ with HIGHWAYS ? )

    Each item within each box , has RFID chip and QR code ( interlinked )

Ø  Sensors placed along the conveyor belt “ reads “ each package and each item inside each package . No need to stop the flow of the packages

Ø  E-way Bill too , will have all the QR Codes / RFID data , of each item loaded onto the truck ( Price / Origin City / Destination City / Supplier with GSTN registration number / Recipient with his GSTN registration number / GST – ISGST – SGST amount for each item / Date of Dispatch / Validity of E Way Bill etc )

Ø  Just like today’s Mobile Apps of UPS / FedEx enable online tracking of each package and of individual items within each package , that “ high technology interface “ being proposed by the Government should incorporate the following technologies :

                   #   QR code / RFID chip

                   #   GPS based NaviC .......................  (  30 Mar 2017  )

                   #   Internet of Things ( IoT )

                   #   Internet of Vehicles ( IoV )............ (  04 Mar 2017  )

                   #   BlueTooth / NFC

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

Dear Members of GST Council :

Ø  Here is YOUR opportunity to lead the way ( - in this case , the HIGHWAY ! )

Ø  There is no technical reason why Software Super Power India, cannot lead the world in ,

              Ease of Doing Business

Ø  If you guarantee the business / industry that “ NO INSPECTOR “ will stop the truck along its journey , they will willingly implement ANY / ALL technologies to serve the purpose of E Way Bill

Ø  Remember, all corruption starts by permitting HUMANS to “ interpret “ whether a given process was “ correct / incorrect “ as prescribed – and collect their “ hafta “ for offering to interpret it in favour of the Business / Industry , violating the process !

Ø  By implementing my suggestion  " Fast  Forward to IoV ? " ( 03 July 2017 )  ,

               

technology will SHUT DOWN the truck engine , upon detection of a violation !

And automatically unlock the engine when the violation gets corrected by EDITING the E-Way Bill , on GSTN web site !

            

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  19 April 2021

 

 

Saturday, 17 April 2021

BANMALI arrives : Named as Poshan Tracker

 


 

Dear Smt Smriti Iraniji,

( Minister of Women and Child Development / min-wcd@nic.in )


Congratulations on launch of mobile app POSHAN TRACKER , which I had earlier named ,

BANMALI  (  Ban Mal-Nutrition in India  )

 

Context :

To give people Poshan, Govt prescribes a Tech Diet    /   Eco Times /  17 April 2021

Extract :

Ø  Last month, the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of electronics and IT launched an ambitious data-driven platform called POSHAN TRACKER, to daily monitor the activities of more than 1.1 million Anganwadi workers

Ø  These workers – spread across the country- are responsible for making sure that pregnant women, infant as well as young children get adequate hot meals, rations, vaccine doses and medication

Ø  They are also responsible for ensuring early intervention in case of disabilities or flagging other developmental concerns

Ø  Close to 1 million Anganwadi workers have downloaded the Android App on their smartphones and are using it DAILY, to key in EVERYDAY STATISTICS

Ø  The project was launched in JANUARY ( 2021 ), and it went live in MARCH

Ø  Since then, 10 LAKH workers have been registered and more than 3 CRORE end beneficiaries have been registered

Ø  EACH DAY, data about vaccines and children’s height, weight, MALNUTRITION along with details of whether infrastructure such as toilets are present, is being uploaded

Ø  Anganwadi workers have to download the APP, which can even e integrated by States for their own programs in this area

Ø  The DASHBOARD shows,

#   Real time data of the attendance of workers

#   Number of vaccines

#   Hot cooked meals

#   Take-Home Rations that are provided

It can be broken down state and district wise

Ø  Every day, a VIDEO-CONFERENCE is held to address any issue faced by these workers or authorities while using the TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM

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

MY  TAKE :

In June 2016 , I sent following e-mail to our Cabinet Ministers :

Ø  Saving 1.2 million Kids ……[ 29 June 2016 ] , where I suggested as follows :

 

How can we ensure that they get some nutritious food every day ?

#  FOOD  /  PACKING  / MANUFACTURERS  /  DELIVERY POINTS ( find details in

     link above )

#  TECHNOLOGY 

     *  Each NEUTRA-KID bar wrapper will have a bar-code ( till such time inserting

         RFID sensors become a reality )

          

     *  Bar code will carry all normal instructions + Delivery Destination ( Post

         Office )

 

     *  Each NEUTRA-KID bar will pass thru a Bar Code Reader on the Assembly

         Line , before dispatch

          

     *  Info collected thru this reader will get transmitted to the Central Server of

         concerned Ministries

          

     *  After taking his / her weight and entering in an online Database , hosted on

        the Central  Server of the concerned Ministries, each targeted child will get

        registered at the  nearest Post Office

         

      *  Each registered child will be issued a blue tooth enabled Smart phone, duly

          pre-installed with a Mobile App called " BANMALI " ( Banish Malnutrition in

          India ) , in which Child's data / Aadhar No will be entered

                      

      Every day, the concerned child ( and parent ) will visit the post office to

          collect the NEUTRA-KID bar

          

     *  Before handing over bar, child will be weighed on a weighing machine and

         the weight  entered in BANMALI

 

         The weight record graph will appear on the screen of the PC located at the

         Post Office  ( Blue Tooth )

          

     *  This record will also get transmitted ( of course , automatically ) to the

         COMMUNITY  HEALTH CENTRE where the concerned child is " registered " (

         this will be compulsory in order to be eligible for this Scheme )

         

     *  Every time , a child is taken for his/her monthly HEALTH CHECK UP ( also

         compulsory  in order to receive next month's NEUTRA-KID bars ), concerned

         doctor will examine the child and enter his findings in BANMALI

 

             

         Doctor will be required to enter medicines prescribed as also , increase /

         decrease in the QUOTA of NEUTRA- KID bars recommended for the next

         month

       

        

·   All of these data will get relayed to the Central Servers of the concerned Ministries

 

      As to the roles to be played by various agencies involved , I conceptualize as

      follows  [ find details at link above ] :

 

      #   WOMEN  and  CHILD  DEVELOPMENT  MINISTRY

      #   FOOD  MINISTRY

      #   POST OFFICES

      #   COMMUNITY  HEALTH  CENTERS

 

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

RELATED READINGS :

Ø  A Mobile App named " BANMALI "………………………………….. [ 15 Sept 2016 ]

Ø  BANMALI is the TOTAL SOLUTION …………………………………..[ 14 Nov 2016 ]

Ø  Can Akshay Patra Banish Malnutrition ? ………………………….[ 05 June 2017 ]

Ø  Thank You Madam Maneka Gandhiji ………………………………..[ 21 Dec 2018 ]

Extract :

            #   For what ?

                 For accepting my suggestions ( all sent as above E Mails to Cabinet

                 Ministers )

             #  How  ?

           By launching “ Poshan Abhiyan “ at the hands of Shri Modiji

           on 08 March 2018

 

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

Ø  Poshan Tracker – Helping make India malnutrition free by 2022  

Extract :

#   National Nutrition Mission named as the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s

     Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) Abhiyaan

     was launched in 2017, as a multi-ministerial  convergence mission,

      with the overarching vision to make India malnutrition free by 2022.

     

     

    The Ministry of Women and Child Development has rolled out Poshan

     Tracker application

    The Poshan Tracker is built using centralized data architecture, that

     also aligns with the digital  technology systems of other ministries and

     programs.

    

    The system provides a digital identity to each beneficiary through a

    digital card, and allows convergence of call centre with the technology

    platform

      

    The system generates automated alerts to the critical last-mile

    beneficiaries. 

Ø  Poshan Tracker Update: Find Out Why You Are Unable To Login To The App      [  30 March 2021 ]

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh   /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  17  April  2021

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

Copy To :

National Nutrition Resource Centre - Central Project Management Unit (NNRC-CPMU) 


Ms. Aditi Das Rout   /  adrout@nic.in

Dr. Harmeet Singh  /   hs.grewal@nic.in

Shri Sanjiv Gajraj  /   sanjiv.gajraj@gov.in

Shri Parimal Karan   /  p.karan67@nic.in

Shri Sunil Kumar Choudhary   /  sk.choudhary75@nic.in

Shri Umesh Kumar Motish  /  u.motish@nic.in

Shri Manish Kumar Singh  /  manishks.rth@nic.in

Shri Amal Mazumdar  /  amal.mazumdar@nic.in

Ms. Stakshi Taryon  /   stakshi.taryon87@nic.in

Shri Ravi Jain  /  ravi.jain85@nic.in

Shri Amit Gupta  /  amit.gupta81@gov.in

Shri Yogesh Sharma  /  yogesh.sharma97@nic.in

Ms. Mamta Singh  /  mamta.singh90@gov.in

Ms. Shivani Sharma  /  shivani.sharma91@nic.in

Ms. Neha Sharma  /  neha.sharma26@nic.in

Ms. S. Sindhu  /  s.sindhu92@nic.in

Shri Shyamvir Singh Verma  /  shyamvir.singh55@nic.in

 

 

 

Friday, 16 April 2021

Hey, Govt ! do you mean Monologue or Dialogue ?

 


 

Context :

GoM lays out plan for govt’s media outreach     /  HT  /  02 Dec 2020


Extract :

Ø  The Union government is working on a new strategy to overhaul its media and public outreach, with a group of ministers (GoM) comprising nine Union ministers recommending a focus on 10 key areas as well as detailing ways in which criticism can be addressed and positive messaging can be spread wider.


Ø  “The deliberations of the GoM focused on evolving multipronged strategy to take these 10 big narratives to the people by various means including direct connect by elected representatives and state and district level representatives, engaging with media houses and academia at national and international level, utilising all types of media, feeding them with positive stories and testimonials, developing institutional mechanisms for structured engagements, developing DD International on lines of best international public broadcasters and strengthening a resource pool of domain experts,” the report said.

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


Dear Narendrabhai,

 

At the outset, you – and your Ministers – must be congratulated for trying to reach out to our 1.3 billion citizen, with messages of the REFORMS that your Government is undertaking


The strategy proposed above will make it even easier to convey your messages to people ( in all major Indian languages, I suppose )


But that would be a MONOLOGUE ( one way communication )


What is lacking is a DIALOGUE ( people being able to send their VIEWS on various matters to the CONCERNED govt officers / ministers, AND getting a response within some stipulated time – explaining govt stand / action being taken by xyz date )


If you want to know :

What holds back people to send their views ? “


Answer :

When I want to complain about some matter of ( bad ) governance, first of all, I have no idea as to WHO ( which officers – by their NAMES and DESIGNATIONS ) is responsible

May be, like me, one-in-a-million person would take the trouble to uncover this information


Next question is :

“ What is the E-Mail ID / Phone Number / Twitter page of that Govt officer / MPs / MLAS ? “


Answer :

Even for a person with a Smartphone – tablet – desktop and a good broadband connection, etc., this is a nearly IMPOSSIBLE task !

 [ 95 % of our citizen lack such facility ]


I know, since I search for such CONTACT INFO, for at least ONE HOUR, every day !


If in doubt, please try searching for such CONTACT INFO on any government portal


On WWW, there is nothing more frustrating !


You may ask :

what is the solution ? “


In good old days ( I am sure, you would remember ), Telephone Department used to publish city-wise TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES


Please consider publishing TWEETER PAGE /  E-MAIL ID DIRECTORIES ( of course, with relevant Phone Numbers ) of govt officers, as follows :


Ø  Central Government Departments / Central PSUs / Agencies

Ø  State Government Departments / State PSUs / Agencies

Ø  City wise


If it is not feasible to print / distribute HARD COPIES, then consider a govt portal exclusively devoted to such CONTACT INFO ( easier to update – add – delete – edit ), with an intuitive SEARCH INTERFACE


MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE of such a portal :


Just clicking / touching on NAME of any officer would open up a E-MAIL app with a message box, where a person can either TYPE or VOICE-RECORD his complaint / message. Clicking on PHONE NUMBER would dial / connect him to concerned officer , where he can record his suggestion ( Speech – to – Text technology ? )


For the benefit of millions of citizen without access to internet / devices, you may consider publishing such CONTACT INFO in print News Papers at the rate of one DEPT per day


Since such CONTACT INFO would fall under the category " News You Can Use " and will be greatly valued by the readers, I am sure print media would be happy to download pages from the govt portal and print it for FREE - at no cost to the government ! 


For the Government, it would not require any convincing the News Papers to publish such CONTACT INFO as a " Value Added Service " - which, in turn, would vastly increase their CIRCULATION - and the consequent ADVERTIZING REVENUE ! 


Let citizen tear off and preserve those DAILY CONTACT SHEETS in a file


These DAILY PUBLICATIONS ( one full page / no more , for ease of preserving ) could begin with ENGLISH , followed by HINDI and other languages


My suggestion would lead to a TRUE DIALOGUE between Govt and Citizen


Even if we cannot accept it as a Constitutionally guaranteed FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT, it is high time, we make it absolutely easy to to exercise their,


Right  to  Influence  Policy  Makers ( click for User Interface design )


You may also consider launching :

     I SIN > < U SIN ( 12 Dec 2012 )

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  16 April 2021

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

Related Reading :

>   Needed : a Service Liability Act        (  12  June  2019  )