Sunday, 22 August 2021

Thank You, Dr Rajan

( Tamilnadu Finance Minister / ptrajan9@gmail.com )

Context :

TN wants a Union-to-State methodology on accessing data for better governance / BL / 22 Aug

Extract :

[ A ] DATA ACCESS

Ø The Tamil Nadu government wants to approach the Centre to create a template for Union-to-State data connectivity and data sharing for better governance. A lot of data is not within the State’s reach — it is either with the Union government (like the IT department) or with the PSUs (oil marketing companies) — and there is no access to such data for the States, said Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.

Ø The State government is also planning an integrated database and data from all sources, including ration shops and voter IDs that are within the State’s control. It is also planning to do a door-to-door survey to have the huge database to create an integrated profile of every household and every citizen, the minister said in a discussion with S Narayan, Member, Economic Advisory Council and Tamil Nadu’s former finance secretary.

[ B ] COMMUNICATION WITH CITIZEN

Ø “One of the things I am going to focus on is improving the communication with the common man. The government’s communication with the voters is not going to be through traditional newspaper advertisements. We will leverage digital media and get the government’s message, data to the people and take feedback as aggressively as possible, and tailor our actions based on the feedback that we hear from the many. We always hear from the few, who have access to us. But we want to hear from the many. There are tools for us to get to the many, and if need be, bypassing the few,” he said.

Dear Dr Rajan,

Thank you for raising these very important issues of,

# Union-State sharing of data

# Setting up a Digital Channel for getting feedback from citizen re various governance issues / reforms

In this connection, you may want to look up my following blogs / e-mails sent to Central Cabinet Ministers / State Chief Ministers / Niti Aayog etc :

[ A ] DATA ACCESS / SHARING

Ø E - Governance ? …………………………………………………….[ 03 April 2014 ]

Ø Break-down the Silos ! …………………………………………..[ 16 Sept 2017 ]

Ø Adopt Innovative Ways………………………………………….. [ 19 Oct 2017 ]

Ø Integrity Index………………………………………………………… [ 05 Nov 2017 ]

Ø Who is Nirav ( Silent ) ? ………………………………………….[ 15 Feb 2018 ]

Ø Too Many Cooks , spoil the Broth ? ………………………..[ 26 Feb 2018 ]

Ø Astonishing Estonia…………………………………………………. [ 28 Dec 2018 ]

[ B ] COMMUNICATION WITH CITIZEN

Ø Hey, Govt ! do you mean Monologue or Dialogue ? [ 16 Apr 2021 ]

Ø I SIN >< U SIN …………………………………………………………[ 18 Aug 2013 ]

Ø ROMP - A Panacea ?........................................... [ 06 Aug 2015 ]

Ø Congratulations , Pratham Mittal !........................ [ 23 Aug 2018 ]

Ø People’s Pulse ? People’s Confusion ?.................... [ 12 July 2018 ]

Ø Jan Bhagidari : a LIQUID democracy ?..............[ 17 Oct 2017 ]

Ø Constructive Criticism ? …………………………………………….[ 28 May 2017 ]

Ø Twitter Seva ( V 2.0 ) ? …………………………………………….[ 26 May 2017 ]

Ø How To Shame MPs / MLAs ?................................ [ 24 Mar 2017 ]

Ø How come “ E Mail , E Mail – No Reply “ ?............[ 14 Oct 2017 ]

Ø Reforming Elections and Lok Sabha …………………………..[ 20 Dec 2016 ]

With Regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 23 Aug 2021

Saturday, 21 August 2021

From Express Way to Electrified Way ?

Context :

Rs 1100 toll for one-way trip on Mumbai-Nagpur e-way / TOI / 21 Aug 2021

Extract :

Ø The toll for a light vehicle (car) for a one-way trip down the Rs 55,000 crore Samruddhi Corridor connecting Nagpur and Mumbai will be around Rs 1,100 / - , said MSRDC joint managing director, Anilkumar Gaikwad

Ø Gaikwad said, “ Toll would be as per guidelines issued by Central government in 2008.Light vehicles would be charged Rs 1.65 per km . Toll will be for the exact Km used on the highway.

Ø Toll for heavy vehicles will be thrice the rate for light vehicles

Ø Shinde said the plan is to establish Solar Power plants of 250 MW along the corridor

Ø We are developing the project so that vehicles will operate at a speed of 150 Km per hour. Travel timing from Nagpur to Mumbai will be reduced from 15 hours to 6-7 hours

Ø A “ Reverse Toll “ ? Possible ! ………………………….[ 07 May 2017 ]

Ø In this blog / e-mail, I had suggested exploring the technology for generating power in the form of piezo-electric panels embedded on the highway surface, which generate electricity due to tyre pressure

Ø There is practically no progress in this technology over the past 4 years

Ø Over the past 4 years, there have also been experiments of generating electricity by embedding Solar Panels in the concrete surface of a highway. Even here, there is no progress but for a couple of “ pilot stretches “ of 100 – 200 meters

Dear Shri Gadkariji,

You are keen,

“ to explore solar energy generation potential on National Highways and to

install solar panels in available places “

You only option, seems to be : use of current PV solar panels technology

Ø As to the question of “ available places “ is concerned, how about installing those solar panels

right above the expressway ,

– on tall mounting framework, high enough to let buses / trucks / ODC (

Over Dimensioned Consignments ) / Cranes etc., to pass under –

and covering the entire length of 706 km ?

Ø We already have “ proof of concept “ in the form of Solar Panels installed over Narmada Water Canals in Gujarat – which, besides generating power also prevent water evaporation, thereby saving precious water .

Ø ( from Wikipedia entry )

# Gujarat has about 458 km (285 mi) of open main canal, while the total

canal length, including sub-branches, is about 19,000 km ( 12,000 mi )

at present.

When completed, the SSNNL's canal network will

about 85,000 km ( 53,000 mi ) long.

# Assuming a utilization of only 10% of the existing canal network of

19,000 kilometres (12,000 mi), it is estimated that 2,200 MW of

solar power generating capacity can be installed by covering the

canals with solar panels.

# This also implies that 11,000 acres (45 km²) of land can be potentially

conserved along with about 20 billion liters of water saved per year.^[5]

HOW MUCH POWER CAN WE GENERATE BY COVERING ENTIRE EXPRESSWAY ?

Ø Area available = Length x Width of Expressway

= 700,000 Meter x 120 Meter = 84 Million Sq Meter

Ø To generate 1 MW , we need 9290 sq meter ( say, 10,000 sq meter ) of Solar Panels

Ø Therefore, 84 Million Sq Meter coverage can produce 8,400 MW (8.4 GW)

Ø Assuming 1 MW needs investment of Rs 6 crore ( considering taller framework ), we would need Rs 50,400 Crore of additional investment ( over and above Rs 55,000 cr for the Expressway construction itself )

ANY NEW ALTERNATE / CHEAPER / MORE EFFICIENT , TECHNOLOGY ON THE

HORIZON THAT SHRI GADKARIJI SHOULD EXPLORE ?

Dear Shri Gadkariji,

About a month ago, I sent to you following e-mail :

Ø How to reduce Carbon Emission to Net Zero ? ………[ 25 July 2021 ]

In that e-mail, I mentioned about following new technologies under development ,

[ A ] Solar Panel which are 1,000 times more powerful than current panels

Dr Akash Bhatnagar, from MLU’s Centre for Innovation Competence

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).

New Solar Cell Innovation Provides 1,000 Times More Power / Interesting

Engineering / 22 July 2021

[ B ] Iron – Air Batteries that can store Solar generated power for 150 hours ( 6

days )

World's cheapest energy storage will be an iron-air battery

/ RechargeNews / 23 July 2021

The Boston-based company ( Form Energy ) says,

- its first commercial product is a “ rechargeable iron-air battery “ capable of delivering electricity for 100 hours at system costs competitive with conventional power plants and at less than 1/10th the cost of lithium-ion”.

Form Energy president and chief operating officer Ted Wiley said:

“ We’ve completed the science, what’s left to do is scale up from lab-scale

prototypes to grid-scale power plants. [ At full production ], the modules

will produce electricity for one-tenth the cost of any technology available

today for grid storage.”

Dear Shri Gadkariji,

Opportunity does not knock twice .

On other hand, a phone call to Dr Bhatnagar ( MUL ) and to Ted Wiley ( Form Energy – Boston ), might enable us to achieve our target of 450 GW renewable energy, by 2025 instead of 2030

You might even want to announce :

“ On this Expressway, there will be no TOLL what-so-ever ( of Rs 1100 ) for Electric Vehicles and a toll of Rs 2200 for ICE vehicles “ . A preview of FAME – III ?

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 22 Aug 2021

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Friday, 20 August 2021

Mukeshbhai, How about CMR ?

CMR = Corporate Moral Responsibility

CSR = Corporate Social responsibility

Context :

Glitches in App spell trouble for Aanganwadi workers / HT / 20 Aug 2021

Extract :

What was the purpose of Poshan Tracker App ?

Around 6 months ago, Poshan Tracker App was launched with an aim to monitor nutritional outcomes in REAL TIME, which will be vital in improving maternal and child health

What is the trouble ?

Anganwadi workers ( 125,000 in Maharashtra alone / earning between Rs 4,500 – Rs 8,000 PM ) are unable to upload data ( of mal-nourished children / pregnant women / lactating mothers ), using Poshan Tracker App

Reason ?

The Smartphones with 2GB RAM which the Central Govt gave them in 2019 are unable to support Poshan Tracker App.

The App keeps hanging every time they try to upload a photo. So, they have to reinitiate the uploading process repeatedly

Result ?

Starting August 17, AWs have started returning the insufficient phones to the State Women and Child Department ( WCD )

Why ?

The warranty of the phones expired in March. Since then, AWs have to pay for repair from their own pockets. “ These phones are not of good quality. So, often cameras malfunction or hardware gets damaged. Hence, these need repairing which costs between Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. AWs with such a low salary, cannot afford it “ . So many AWs are now using their PERSONAL phones. However, AWs are not getting the money to charge their internet package. AWs get Rs 599 for a 3-month package. But those who are using their PRIVATE phones are not getting the money. So, they are paying the money from their pockets.

Any other problem ?

Almost 90 % of Aanganwadi workers have completed Class 10 and have mostly studied in Marathi medium schools. They cannot read English, but the application is completely in English.

On a daily basis, they have to seek help from neighbours or their children to fill up the forms.

Also, there is no option to delete a form. So, if someone has typed a wrong name in English, they cannot delete it. This is leading to inaccurate reporting.

… but, when a 3 year old child becomes a year older , the application doesn’t update it. Thus the child keeps getting a nutrition package of the second age category

Similarly, women remain enlisted in the category of PREGNANT, even after delivery. So, she keeps getting nutrition package of a pregnant woman !

Recourse ?

In July, Aanganwadi Karmachari Sabha approached the Bombay High Court, seeking intervention in the matter.

“ The payment of AWs’ honorarium is linked to logging in data into the app. These technical errors are affecting the income of AWs. We have therefore approached the HC with the demand that the pay shouldn’t get deducted “

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

Dear Mukeshbhai Ambani,

Saving millions of women / children from pre-mature deaths due to mal-nutrition, would be the most humanitarian / noble act

I urge you to :

Ø Offer to Central Government, to donate Jio Smartphones to 14 lakh Aanganwadi workers

Assuming that Jio smartphone is expected to sell for Rs 3,499 each, this will cost Reliance , Rs 490 Crore ( one time )

Ø Offer to these 14 lakh Aanganwadi workers, your Jio internet data plan – but totally FREE

Assuming that this is your Rs 69 / month plan , it would cost Reliance, approx. Rs 10 crore / month , ie: Rs 120 Crore per year ( recurring cost )

Ø Offer to re-vamp the Poshan Tracker mobile app by integrating facility for entering data in all major Indian languages – may be, even “ Speech Recognition “ feature ( of course, in all those languages, so that Aanganwadi workers just need to “ Speak “ to enter data ( automatic “ Speech –to – Text “ conversion and data-entry )

Jio phones to be delivered PRE-LOADED with revamped Poshan Tracker app

It is quite possible that, not only would the Central Government accept your offer but may even allow these expenses to be adjusted against your CSR obligations

If that happens, your humanitarian initiative could well become a BENCH-MARK for other big companies

If Govt accepts your offer but refuses to treat it as CSR, then please treat it as your CMR ( Corporate Moral Responsibility )

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 21 Aug 2021