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, 27 August 2021

Right to be Forgotten ? forget it !

 


Context :

Right to be forgotten, left alone inherent aspects of privacy: HC   /  HT  /  26 Aug 2021

Extract :

Ø  The Delhi high court has held that an individual has the “right to be forgotten” and “to be left alone” as facets of protection to their privacy.

Ø  The move is significant because India does not currently have a Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF), which is part of the Personal Data Protection Bill being reviewed by a parliamentary panel.

Ø  It is also significant because, in 2017, the Supreme Court held that the Right to Privacy is a fundamental right (as part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty).

Ø  Justice Asha Menon, on Monday (August 23), made the assertions while accepting an unnamed actress’ plea for removal of her nude videos from Youtube and other web portals by the next date of hearing.


Ø  The court said that


            #   the “right to privacyincludes the right to be forgotten and the right

                  to be left alone as “inherent 

                  aspects” when a person is being exhibited against his / her will.


            # “….the plaintiff is entitled “to be left alone” and “to be forgotten”, she is

                 entitled to protection from invasion of her privacy by strangers and

                 anonymous callers on account of such publication,

                streaming / transmission of the suit videos by the defendants,”

                

            #  “….the right to privacy of the plaintiff is to be protected, especially

                 when it is her that is being exhibited against his/her will

                

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

MY  TAKE  :

Ø  Privacy is Dead . RIP

Ø  If ( and when ), Data Protection Bill becomes an Act, and if it says “ Right to privacy is a fundamental right “ , then it will be an UNIMPLEMENTABLE law


Ø  Whether a person has given an explicit consent or not, personal / private data of all of us is all over the World Wide Web ( mostly without our consent )


Ø  Such data is hosted on thousands of websites ( their servers ). No idea where these are located, nor any idea of WHO owns these servers


Ø  It is likely to have been downloaded on millions of devices ( mobiles-tablets-laptops-PCs etc ) – spread all over the entire world !


Ø  Through any number of Apps ( eg: WhatsApp ), videos get “ forwarded “, millions of times


Ø  No individual person has ever succeeded in getting any Court to pass orders against these millions ( by names ) and no police force has ever succeeded in “ punishing “ the violators


Ø  That is why such a law would be “ Un-implementable “.


Ø  Knowing this, no one comes forward to file a case in court. It will drag on for years and earn fat fees for the lawyers !


Ø  I just came across on Youtube , two video of a famous Bollywood celebrity, saying unmentionable things about himself and his family members. Both videos were uploaded one year back and been “ viewed “, 33 lakh and 41 lakh times ( 5 minutes to 25 minutes ). A third one ( also uploaded one year back ) has been “ viewed “ 52 lakh times !


Ø  Why do you think this person is not filing a case against Youtube ?


Related Readings :

Ø  Privacy ? What is that ?................................[ 04 May 2017 ]

 

Ø  Delusion of Privacy ? ……………………………………….[ 10 June 2017 ]

 

Ø  2024 ! – V 2.0 of Orwellian 1984 ? …………………[ 07 July 2017 ]

 

Ø  Wherefore Art Thou, O Romeo ? …………………….[ 20 Sept 2017 ]

 

Ø          An  Open Letter to Dear Hon CJI.…………………….[ 13 Apr  2018 ]

 

Dear Shri Kiran Rijijuji

( Minister for Law and Justice / mljoffice@gov.in )


You may want to re-draft Data Protection Bill , in such a way that it becomes “ Dead at Birth “


My following earlier e-mail should convince you :

Anant ( without End ) : Anadi ( without Beginning )……………… [ 28 Aug 2020 ]

 

Extract :

Ø  Parallel to the Theory of Thermodynamics , I would like to propound the

             following  as far as the “ Theory of Information “ is concerned :


            “ Like Entropy , content keeps growing with each and every human

             interaction, either with other humans or with his environment ,

             and content  can no longer remain hidden, nor can it be destroyed  

             

            ( source : Nightmare - Aadhar - Privacy / 04 March 2918 _



 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 28 Aug 2021 

Thursday, 26 August 2021

No More Delayed Projects ?

 


Prime Minister Modi Asks For Dossiers On Delayed Projects To Fix Responsibility / Swarajya /  26 Aug 2021

 

Extract :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the Cabinet Secretary to prepare "dossiers" of delayed projects within one week and identify the officers and agencies responsible for the delays.

According to sources, PM Modi has issued the direction for fixing responsibility while chairing the monthly review of infrastructure projects and the government's flagship programmes on Wednesday.

On earlier occasions, Modi had asked the government departments to fix the responsibility for delays in project execution which not only results in time overrun but also cost escalation.

“The message was for every Central and state government department that now they will be held responsible for delays. The PM emphasised on the dossiers twice,” it is reliably learnt.

MY  TAKE  :

 

Dear Narendrabhai,

 

I hope those “ dossiers “ help you in fixing the responsibility of delays on specific officers – and take appropriate actions ( stagnation – transfer – demotion – dismissal ? )


But then, you just won’t have time to read hundreds of dossiers ( one for each delayed project )


In fact, this ( preparation and review of dossiers by you ) should NOT even be necessary, if the following suggestion ( which I have been e-mailing to all Cabinet Minister for past 6 YEARS, ) gets implemented :


Simply enable millions of citizen to openly VIEW on some website, PERT charts for each and every Infra project, which clearly highlights, dynamically / every day :


Ø  Amount of “ Time-Delay “ and “ Cost Over-run “ , as compared to the targets


Ø  Name of the Officer responsible ( along with his Mobile No / Email ID ) for each ACTIVITY on PERT


PERT technique was introduced in USA, some 50 years ago


Today, India’s software geeks are capable of :


Ø  Developing a much superior technique ( with DELAY-ALERTS being delivered on Mobiles )


Ø  Punishment / Promotion of concerned officers, as outlined at :

Artificial Intelligence to fix MP / MLA Salary ?................ [ 22 Feb 2018 ]

 

Let the entire process be available for REVIEW by citizen in an open / transparent manner


Things will improve dramatically

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 27 Aug 2021  

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

 

Nothing prettier than PERT ! ………………………………………… [ 04 Dec 2015 ]


Extract :

 

My suggestions  :

  

*    When any Ministry submits any Project Proposal for Cabinet approval, it must

      be accompanied by a PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique ) chart

     , clearly showing all the " Activities " lying along  the CRITICAL PATH ( earlier

      known as the CRITICAL PATH METHOD )

      

       That PERT Chart must accompany a tabulation showing , for each " Activity ",

 

     #   " Pessimistic Time "

 

     #    " Optimistic Time " , and the

 

     #    " Most likely Time "

 

      Since Admiral Rickover , introduced this mandatory requirement for awarding

      tender to build the first nuclear submarine, some 50 years ago , all US

      government departments follow this procedure for all govt contracts

        

 *    Insist that all the government departments / contractors, responsible for

       execution of any of these "activities", update the PERT chart status online on

       the web site of the Project Monitoring Group

        

*   PERT charts for all the projects should be made visible to the general public

 

 *   If there is any " slippage " in any activity lying on the CRITICAL PATH , the

      name of the department or contractor responsible , must appear in bold RED

      letters , against that activity

     

      This is the only INNOVATION that we need , to ensure that the projects get

      completed in time and within budget

     

 

Remembering Admiral Rickover ! …………………………….[ 04 June 2017 ]


Extract :

 

Decades ago , Admiral Rickover ( US Navy ) introduced the concept of PERT and

insisted that all future bids ( for Navy Contracts ) be accompanied by a PERT chart

  

If Defence Acquisition Council wants to ensure that this procurement does not

 meet the fate of many of our earlier attempts to develop indigenous technologies

 , where a 4 year project went on for 24 years , then DAC should seriously

 consider my following suggestion ( earlier sent as email to all Policy Makers )

 

 

PERT for Digital Dashboard………………………………………… [ 27 Feb 2018 ]


Extract :

Very soon, the Chief Minister will be able to monitor the status of all development projects in the state, in real-time, on his mobile, laptop and other digital platforms via a digital dashboard.


The State Directorate of Information Technology has been working on an electronic interface that aggregates and visualizes data from multiple sources.


In the second phase, members of the public can access a portion of the live dashboard, giving the workings of the projects transparency.


The digital dashboard will also help the CM fix loopholes, curb scams and anticipate and lift roadblocks.


My Suggestion :

If this “ digital dashboard “ has to become an instrument for fixing

accountability of officers / agencies responsible for project delays , then I urge

Shri Fadnavisji to employ project planning and review technique described in my

following blog

 

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

Monitoring Projects in Real-time ? ……………………………….[ 11 Aug 2020 ]


Extract :


After a long wait , this suggestion seems to be on the verge of “ acceptance “


Suggestion :


          Ø   Getting all Infrastructure Projects Status updated in real time

          Ø   Enabling “ Distributed Updating “ of Project Status by different Ministries /

               Agencies

          Ø   Allowing all citizen to view latest status of any project, online on a Govt

               website

 

What tells you this might happen ?


Following news report in today’s Business Line ( 11 Aug 2020 ) :

Finance Minister launches online dashboard for National Infra Pipeline 

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

Next Day – after next – after next ?

 


 

Context :

Bombay HC talks tough on child malnutrition   /   Hindu  /  23 Aug 2021

 

Extract :

Ø  The Bombay High Court on Monday said if there are more deaths of children due to malnutrition in the Melghat region in Maharashtra, it will hold the principal secretary of the State Public Health Department responsible.

Ø  The court was informed by the petitioner that in the last one year, 73 children had died in the region due to malnutrition.

Ø  State counsel Advocate Neha Bhide, told the court that all steps were being taken to address the issue.

Ø  To this, the court said, “If your (government) machinery is so well equipped, then why have there been 73 incidents of children deaths due to malnutrition?”

Ø  The court went on to say, “If on the next date of hearing we are informed that there have been more deaths of children due to malnutrition, then we will hold the principal secretary of the State Public Health Department responsible. The Public Health Department secretary has to rise to the occasion.”


Dear Hon Judges of Bombay High Court,



Thank you for making absolutely clear as to “ WHO “ ( a person, not a vague department name ) you will hold responsible


That said, in case of a default, what “ punishment “ can you hand down to that person ?


In absence of an appropriate law, could you hand down ANY punishment at all ?


Our constitution allows you to only “ Interpret “ existing laws


It does NOT allow you to “ Enact “ a new law


At the same time, nothing stops you from “ Recommending “ passing of a new law , to punish bureaucrats for committing CRIMES of OMISSION , as explained at some length in my following blog ( earlier sent as e-mail to our Cabinet Ministers / State Chief Ministers etc ) :


Ø  Needed : a Service Liability Act…………………………. [ 12 June 2019 ]

 

Extract :

To hold every Public Servant “ accountable “ for causing hurt / damage to any citizen , what we urgently need is a “  Service Liability Act Govt Employees ) 2019 “ , which clearly spells out :

 

#   Extent of hurt / damage

 

     Minor injuries  /  Temporary-permanent Disabilities /  Deaths

 

 #  Coverage

 

    Individual Citizen  /  Community  /  Entire Country

 

#   Time Frame

 

     Short term  /  Medium  Term  /  Long  Term

 

#   Economic Impact on the Sufferers

 

     Mild ( loss of money ) / Medium ( loss of assets )  /  Severe ( loss of earning capacity )

 

#  Cause

 

·         Negligence ( abdication of responsibility ) / Indecisions on part of a Public

          Servant

 

 

·         Poor but honest decisions

 

 

·         Mala-fide decisions ( with pecuniary gains for decision taker )

 

 

 

Here is my Conceptual Frame Work for an Online Rating Form :

 

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

 

                        SLAM  :  Service Liability Assessment  Matrix 

 

                      ( an online form / Mobile App , for rating by citizens )

 

Assessment Parameter

Weightage

Most (5)

Certain (4)

Possible(3 )

Negligible(2)

Least ( 1 )

Extent of Hurt

20 %

Coverage

30 %

Time Frame

10 %

Economic Impact

30 %

Perception ( Most likely reason for mishap )

10 %

 

TOTAL    : …………{ Call it “ AQ = Anger Quotient “   or   “   WS = Wrath Score “ }

 

 

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

 

Let the Service Liability Act Proposed ) , prescribe various levels of punishments ( for Govt Employee/s , determined responsible for the root-cause of this mishap )

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  26 Aug 2021


CC :

supremecourt@nic.in


Legislation or No legislation ! …………………….[ 06 Nov 2019 ]

 

Extract :

In matter of  the stubble burning creating a “ life and death “ situation for citizens of Delhi, the Supreme Court seems to be telling the Chief Secretaries of Punjab – Haryana – Rajasthan – UP :

 

“  Just because there is no law to hold you accountable for playing with the lives of millions of citizens , does not mean , you can wash your hands off your responsibility .

 

We, the Supreme Court , are not here , merely to “ interpret “ the existing laws. In the interest of the citizens, we have also the responsibility to compel the legislative wing to “ enact “ appropriate laws