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

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

Thank You, Dear Prime Minister

 


 

Context :

Gati Shakti IT interface to store infrastructure projects data   /  TOI   /  14  Oct  2021

 

PM Modi unveils Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti plan: All you need to know  /  TOI  / 13 Oct 2021

 

PM Narendra Modi to unveil Gati Shakti master plan next week  /  TNN   /  10  Oct  2021



 

 

Extracts :

 

The IT interface for Gati Shakti Master Plan will capture all details of existing and upcoming projects and will also highlight the gaps for last mile or missing connectivities

 

Officials said a detailed presentation on the IT interface and data capturing was made before officials and representatives from private sector on Wednesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme

 

TOI has learnt that implementation of the scheme will also be monitored at three levels , including the level of an apex panel headed by Cabinet Secretary

 

 

One of the key focus areas will be monitoring of the progress and resolving issues as there is a strict timeline for the plan’s execution

 

Currently, the biggest challenge is to bridge the gap and complete the missing link between different infrastructure projects

 

The data and details fed by all agencies in the system is crucial  

 

As the multi-modal connectivity plan will focus on shifting from “ disjointed planning “ to “ integrated planning “ of centrally sponsored infrastructure projects , officials don’t rule out the government also right-sizing the plans to meet the requirements

 

Though the government hasn’t specified the size of the programme in financial terms, it will subsume the Rs 110 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline,  which was launched by the PM in 2019

 

Under Gati Shakti, a digital platform has been created which will bring 16 ministries including Rail and Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects

 

The platform will provide high resolution satellite images, infrastructure, utilities , administrative boundaries , land and logistics

 

 

PM Gati Shakti, an initiative to be launched by PM Narendra Modi on Oct 13, is a comprehensive Geo-Spatial Digital Platform , intended to break silos that often confound government decision making and bring about a fundamental shift in PROJECT PLANNING and EXECUTION

 

The core of the Gati Shakti will have 200 layers that the GIS system offers

 

Official sources said the platform will help private players who are part of the Central Government projects, too. The government wants to look upon them as partners , not just contractors

 

Accessing a COMMON  DATABASE  of information , will deliver planners a significant advantage

 

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


MY  TAKE :


Following are the e-Mails that I sent to our Cabinet Ministers , over the past 6 YEARS :

 

 

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 :


          Ã˜   Getting all Infrastructure Projects Status updated in real time

          Ã˜   Enabling “ Distributed Updating “ of Project Status by different Ministries /

               Agencies

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

               website

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

No More Delayed Projects ? ……………………………….[ 26 Aug 2021 ]



Extract :


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

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

 

Dear Narendrabhai,


Will Gati Shakti digital platform, bring back people’s faith in the government’s capability of EXECUTING infra projects , without over-runs of TIME and COST ?


Yes, it can , provided ( and pardon my repetition ) :

 

The entire process on the DIGITAL PLATFORM ( a portal ), is made “ accessible “ for VIEWING by citizen in an open / transparent manner

 

 

With regards,

 

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  14  Oct  2021

   



 

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Thank You, Sundar Pichai

 


 

What For ?

For providing a “ Proof of My Concepts

 

Where reported ?

Google Cloud unveils carbon footprint tracker, satellite imagery suite    /  Money Control  /  12 Oct 2021

Extract :

Alphabet Inc's Google will tell its cloud customers the carbon emissions of their cloud usage and open satellite imagery to them for the first time for environmental analysis, as part of a push to help companies track and cut carbon budgets.

The new features were among announcements Google Cloud made Tuesday to kick off its annual customer conference, which is being held virtually this year due to the pandemic.

Google's new carbon footprint reporting tool, shows the emissions associated with the electricity that was used to store and process a customer's data.

In addition, Google will now warn customers when they are wasting energy on inactive cloud services.

"This is something we have now realized is applicable to a lot of these commercial opportunities," said Jen Bennett, a technical director at Google Cloud.


In Short :

A Google computer sitting in Sao Paulo ( Brazil ) will continuously monitor 10 internet connected computers in my Andheri ( Mumbai ) office and tell me if I am doing well ( consuming very little electricity - how about some “ Reward “ ? ) or if I am doing bad ( consuming too much electricity- and dishing out some “ Punishment “ ?  )


Where did you suggest this ?

[ A ]     Carbon Finance through Carbon Credits ………………………..[ 12 Mar 2021 ]

 

Extract :

    Each such appliance MUST be pre-installed / integrated with SENSORS which will continuously monitor its,


           #   State of Usage ( ON or OFF )

  #   Rate of Consumption of electricity ( Units )


These INTERNET-CONNECTED appliances will continuously relay / transmit these data to the SMART ELECTRIC METER installed in each home


In turn, each SMART METER will relay / transmit to concerned DISCOM ( and to any other specified govt agency servers ), such usage / consumption data, through Internet ( IoT / Internet of Everything ).


These  data-transfer will be separate for EACH INDIVIDUAL APPLIANCE


This will enable DISCOM / concerned Agencies, to know / monitor, IN-EFFICIENT appliances, operating above the CERTIFIED THRESHOLD for each type of appliance


Appliances operating “ above “ the threshold, will be assigned / allotted “ CARBON DEBITS “ , whereas those operating “ below “ the threshold, will be assigned “ CARBON CREDITS “


If the NET of these two is POSITIVE ( + ), that home will be incentivized by a lower tariff – and vice-versa


This model ( of INCENTIVIZATION ) must be further strengthened by measuring the amount of ROOF TOP Solar Power, flowing into the SMART METER , with appropriate linkages to CARBON CREDIT


This linkage will motivate a large number of households to install ROOF TOP solar panels


This scheme will enable us to take the CARBON MARKET / CARBON CREDIT / CARBON FINANCE concept, right inside our 290 MILLION households !

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


[ B ]     A Good Beginning – Need to Accelerate ……………..[ 12 Oct 2021 ]

 

Extract :

    Within next 3 years, all households will replace their DUMB electric meters with SMART meters


    I envisage that the Second Generation of Smart Meters will not only measure the total electricity consumption of the entire household but they will be able to measure / record / transmit ( over internet ), INDIVIDUAL power consumption of each and every appliance / device / lamp etc ., which draws its power through the Smart Meter


    Such measurement of power consumption ( INPUTS ) of INDIVIDUAL devices and comparison  against their RATINGS ( OUTPUTS ) , will enable computation of their ENERGY USAGE EFFICIENCY – and the CARBON CREDITS / DEBITS earned by each device

 

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

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

 

Extract :


TECHNOLOGY  PLATFORM 

This will consist of the following :

 NaviC : the Navigator

 

Satellite based “ Vehicle Tracking / Monitoring “ system, covering entire India. 

 

This will track all 220 + Million vehicles, on 24x7 , taking one reading every 10 minute to compute the Harm Quotient ( HQ ) of each vehicle. Final HQ for a given hour will be the average of the 6 readings / hour


Based on ( variable ? ) TRANS-TAX  formula, NaviC will, every hour, deduct appropriate amount from  FASTag  RFID embedded in each vehicle and transfer to designated account of concerned State Government

 

All Vehicle manufacturers will be mandated to embedded the vehicles with FASTag RFID sensors and other sensors , listed at :

Internet  of  Vehicles  [ 04 March 2017  ]

 

From these sensors , NaviC will be able to pick up DATA re : Energy Source – Type of vehicle – Capacity – Manufacturing date – Purpose – Emission levels  etc , from all vehicles – ships – planes – drones etc

 


Dear Shri R K Singhji,

( Minister for Renewable Energy )

 

I presume a huge number of Govt Offices are using Google’s CLOUD services ( Cloud Customers of Google )


That means, from to-day, each of these offices will get “ warned “ if they are wasting energy !


I urge you to approach Sundar Pichai and ask if Google can help implement suggestions [ A ] – [ B ] – [ C ] , made above


With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  13  Oct  2021

 

 

Related Readings :

  Welcome, Prepaid Smart Meters……………….. [ 25 Sept 2021 ]

  A Smart Move , Shri Singh ! ……………………….[ 07 June 2018 ]

 Smart Meter : No Pending Payments ? ……….[ 08 Dec 2017 ]

 Electrifying : Smartly …………………………………..[ 25 Sept 2017 ]

     Challenges Worthy of Google ? …………………….[ 05 Jan 2017 ]

 

 

 

 

 

A Good Beginning – Need to Accelerate

 


Context :

Water purifiers must mention wastage, efficiency rating:   /   Eco  Times  /  12  Oct 2021

 

Extract :

 

 Manufacturers of reverse osmosis-based water purifiers will now have to rate their appliances on efficiency and water wastage, while water supply agencies will have to declare the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water being supplied, according to officials.


The
environment ministry has notified regulations for water purification systems which will come into effect 18 months from now.



The new
'Regulation on Use of Water Purification System (WPS)' mandate that each water purifier will now come with a ' conformance label '--a star rating like label—declaring its efficiency level as well as water-rejection / wastage levels

 

The Bureau of Indian Standards is learnt to have developed IS standard (IS 16240: 2015) for drinking water purifying systems which will be technology specific and also detail ,

 

#  the acceptable quality of the purified water, besides

 

#  the recovery efficiency of the machine.

 

 At present, purification machines have around 20% water recover efficiency as they are estimated to reject/waste near 70-80% of the water taken in for purification.


The environment ministry--as custodian of green resources--has been pitching for bringing in a more water efficient system in a phased manner, starting with 40-60% efficiency level to reduce wastage.

The RO manufacturer
will now have to obtain standard mark/certification under a licence from the BIS on the water purification system.

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

MY  TAKE  :

 

Ø  IS standard (IS 16240: 2015) does NOT stipulate the maximum amount of electricity that such Water Purifying Systems may consume per litre of water purified .


Ø  Bureau of Energy Efficiency , under its section “  Standards & Labelling “ does NOT even list “ Water Purifiers “ as a domestic appliance needing standardization


Ø  Considering our long-term CLIMATE CONTROL GOALS, it is very important to come up with Energy Efficiency Standard Inputs  - EESI - ( max units of electricity that each domestic appliance may consume per unit of OUTPUT  ) for each and every appliance / gadgets / device / lamps etc., that consume electric power


Ø  Such EESI need to be laid down for different MODELS ( sizes ) of each device


Ø  It should be made MANDATORY for all manufacturers to print this EESI Certificate on the devices

 

 

HOW WILL THIS HELP WITH LOWERING OF POWER CONSUMPTION ?

 

Ø  Within next 3 years, all households will replace their DUMB electric meters with SMART meters


Ø  I envisage that the Second Generation of Smart Meters will not only measure the total electricity consumption of the entire household but they will be able to measure / record / transmit ( over internet ), INDIVIDUAL power consumption of each and every appliance / device / lamp etc ., which draws its power through the Smart Meter


Ø  Such measurement of power consumption ( INPUTS ) of INDIVIDUAL devices and comparison  against their RATINGS ( OUTPUTS ) , will enable computation of their ENERGY USAGE EFFICIENCY – and the CARBON CREDITS / DEBITS earned by each device


Ø  For detailed working , read this :

 

          Carbon Finance through Carbon Credits ………………….[ 12 Mar 2021 ]

 

 

 

Dear Shri Abhay Bakreji

 

( Director General – Bureau of Energy Efficiency   /  dg-bee@nic.in ),

 

 

I am not aware of such an CARBON CREDIT ECO-SYSTEM , existing in any country


 

But then, considering the POWER SHORTAGE CRISIS ( - and the ever-rising prices of diesel / petrol ) over the past few weeks, our need for creating such an Eco-System, is , both URGENT and IMPORTANT


 

Fortunately, implementation of none of my above-mentioned suggestions need any Rocket Science


 

This is a matter of National Interest and does not need any APPROVAL / GREEN SIGNAL from Union Cabinet – although it will go a long way for expeditious implementation !


 

Any initiative in this respect by BEE, will be highly appreciated by all concerned


 

 

With regard,

 

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  12 Oct 2021

 

 

Related  Readings :

 

Ø  Welcome, Prepaid Smart Meters……………….. [ 25 Sept 2021 ]

Ø  A Smart Move , Shri Singh ! ……………………….[ 07 June 2018 ]

Ø  Smart Meter : No Pending Payments ? ……….[ 08 Dec 2017 ]

Ø  Electrifying : Smartly …………………………………..[ 25 Sept 2017 ]

 

Cc :

     Indian Manufacturers of Electric Meters

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

        1     Bentec Electricals & Electronics Pvt Ltd / info@bentecindia.com

        2     Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd / info@genus.in

3     HPL India Ltd  /  hpl@hplindia.com

3.    Itron India Pvt Ltd / ashok.dash@itron.com   

4.    Landis+Gyr Ltd

5.    Larsen & Toubro Ltd / cic@Lntebg.com / infodesk@larsentoubro.com 

6.    Schneider Electric India Pvt Ltd

7.    Secure Meters Ltd  /  sales_india@securemeters.com  

8.    Superior Products Industries   

9.    Towa Engineering Works