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, 1 December 2021

Thank You, NITI Aayog

 


 

Context :

NITI Aayog bats for incentives to segregate waste at source /  Eco Times  / 01 Dec 2021

 

Extract :

 

NITI Aayog has proposed imposing a fee on waste disposal to disincentive households to throw waste and instead be compelled to segregate it at source.

The proposal is part of the fiscal incentives and disincentives proposed by the Aayog to encourage source segregation as India grapples with the surge in waste generation which is expected to increase three-fold by 2050.

The Aayog has proposed introduction of ‘Pay As You Throw’ policy which will entail a waste collection fee from the waste generator in proportion to the total quantity of waste being disposed of.

“Waste generators will be incentivized to segregate, treat and dispose-off waste at source, leaving a smaller amount to be handed over to the municipal system,” it argued.

India generates about 49.8 million tonnes of solid waste annually while globally over annual waste generation is pegged at two billion tonnes. This is expected to grow to 3.4 billion tonnes, which is an increase of 70% by 2050.

Further, the Aayog has suggested that private operators of landfills should be incentivized to minimize landfill dumping if the duration of their landfill operation permit is determined by airspace available in the landfill, and not on number of years of operation.

“This will, on the one hand, encourage waste recovery, and on the other it will incentivise waste minimization and segregation in the upstream of the solid waste collection system,” the Aayog said in its report on Promoting Behaviour Change for Strengthening Waste Segregation at Source

As per the report, the government should adopt a green public procurement policy that can be a powerful catalyst for promotion of recyclables. “Mandatory or preferential procurement of products that have recycled waste content above a prescribed threshold may be considered for adoption,” it said.

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

MY  TAKE :

Incentivize Housing Societies  ………………………….[ 27 April 2016 ]

 

Extract :

This is because current perception of the garbage generating households ( and of the office bearers of the housing societies ), is :

 

 “  Garbage collection / disposal is Municipality's responsibility “

 

This problem will persist till we succeed in changing this perception to :

 

Garbage disposal is our responsibility "

 

 This change of attitude can be brought about by " incentivizing " the members of the Housing Societies

 

Here is how :

 

*  The society where I live ( Marol / Mumbai ) has 200 Members ( flats )

 

*  Each member pays monthly Municipal Tax of ( approx ) , Rs 600

 

*  That translates to Rs 1.2 lakh per month ( Rs 14.4 lakh / year )

 

*  In 5 years , Society pays to Municipality, Rs 72 lakhs

 

*  Govt / Municipality to make it compulsory for each big society ( size to be

    decided ), to install on its premises :

   

      [ A ]

 

         Methane gas generating plant or Compost Fertilizer plant

          (  to take care of wet / organic garbage )

  

     [ B ]

           Water recycling plant ( to filter and reuse water from shower / wash

           basin / kitchen sink for toilet flushing purpose )

                   

    [ C ]

           A Compacting Press for dry waste ( paper / bags / cartons etc )

 

 

*   Towards installation of such plants, Municipality to give a discount of 25 % to

     the Society in monthly taxes , for a period of 5 years

     

     That is a rebate of Rs 150 / month / flat for 5 years

 

     This would work out to a saving of Rs 18 lakh ( 25 % of Rs 72 lakh )

 

*   This amount should be sufficient for the Society to invest in these plants and

     for paying wages for persons needed to look after their operations

      

I believe such a positive incentive will motivate most of the Societies to undertake to install such facilities

 

 As a negative incentive, Govt / Municipality should levy additional surcharge of 25 % on the monthly taxes ( ie raise to Rs 750 / month in our case ) to those societies which fail to implement this scheme within ONE YEAR of notification

 

It is high time citizens are involved and motivated ( through negative as well as positive incentives ) in keeping their cities clean and its environment pleasant

 

 

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  02 Dec 2021

 

Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Congratulations, Dream Merchant, Shri Sisodiaji,

 


 

Context :

For the first time, we are telling students to dream of a business  : Sisodia   /  HT  /  28 Nov 2021

Extract :

Sisodia, who holds the education portfolio, said some of the promising ideas that had come up as part of the Business Blaster initiative will be televised.

As part of the programme, students in class 11 and 12 will be mentored and provided financial capital of  2,000 as seed money to help kick-start their business ideas. Edited excerpts from the interview with Shri Sisodiya :

Through the Business Blasters programme, we are offering a full-fledged option to students to pursue a career in business. In our society, students are primed to pursue jobs. They are not encouraged to harbour dreams of starting their own company or business or innovation. We are introducing this dream to students for the first time, and I believe it is being done at the right age. By the time students enter college, they are too conditioned to pursuing jobs their seniors have been doing. Changing the mindset at that stage, within three years, is tough. This is why we began the entrepreneurship mind set curriculum in school.

Delhi government schools have around 350,000 students in classes 11 and 12. We asked them for business ideas and received around 51,000 ideas. Among these, some will fail. Some students may succeed, but might not be inclined to pursue their ideas further and could choose something else in life.

The third set of students will be those who succeed. They will be progressive and innovative and will create jobs.

These ideas will be taken to the last stage in February, when we will connect investors with the 10 best ideas. We will give direct admission to the top 100 students into institutions such as Delhi Technological University.

Yes, it is already happening. We have asked schools to engage local entrepreneurs and create a panel.

At the second stage, as students go to the district and state levels, we will attach business coaches with them. MBA students or others in higher education could serve as coaches.

Lastly, investors are aware they are dealing with school students and will coach them.

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

MY  TAKE  :

Some 3 YEARS ago, I sent following e-mail to Shri Sisodiaji :

Thank You, Shri Sisodiaji, ………………………..[ 29 Dec 2018 ]

Extract :

Dear Shri Sisodiaji,

 

 Congratulations on this initiative to re-orient the very FOCUS of our Education System from producing “ Job Seekers “ to “ Job Generators 

 

 If adopted universally ( - with incorporation of my above-mentioned suggestions ) all over India ( by all the State Governments ), we would have ready by 2025,

 

 GM ( Genetically Modified )  GENERATION of ENTREPRENEURS

 

 

That suggestion ( for refocusing of our Education System ) was described in following 6 YEAR old e-mail :


TEN MILLION ENTREPRENEURS ?........................ [ 19 Oct 2015 ]

 

Extract :


Here is how we can produce a generation of ENTREPRENEURS, 5 years from now ( if we start NOW ) :

 

*   Introduce " Entrepreneurship " as an mandatory subject in High Schools and

     Colleges

  

*   Each such School / College to be " Adopted " by a Corporate ( CSR ? )

 

*   Each adopting Corporate will bear the full expense of running this course (

    Teachers' Salaries etc )

 

*   Such expense to be tax-exempt ( or offset as Corporate CSR obligation )

 

*   Exams to be in the form of presentation by teams of final year students on,

  

    " HERE IS A BUSINESS I PLAN TO START "

  

*   Presentations to be judged by Panels of Venture Capitalists / Angel Investors /

    Incubators etc

 

    

*   Winning teams ( 1st / 2nd / 3rd  prize), to be offered funds by the Panel

     Members ( as seen in some TV  programs )

 

     

*  Fund amounts should be small ( Max Rs 100 lakhs ) and preference to be given

   to projects involving :

   healthcare / education / manufacturing / agriculture / food processing

    etc

 

*   Winning Teams, setting up Start Ups with these VC funds, to be encouraged

       to hire graduating students from the non-winning teams

    

 *  This " encouragement " to be in the form of reimbursement of salaries of such

     hires ( only such hires ),  under,

      " Employment Generation Subsidy

     from concerned State Government, where this Start Up gets registered, since,

      employment is a State Subject

 

    Such Salary-reimbursements will be for first 3 years of Start Up

  

·       To create an entire GENERATION of ENTREPRENEURS, we need to start at the

        roots

 

·      Some years later, when this FIRST generation becomes parents of their own 10

        year olds, those SECOND generation youngsters will have entrepreneurship in

        their genes !

 

·       This is one way of preparing a GM ( genetically modified ) Generation, to which,

        there ought to be all round support

 

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

Dear Shri Sisodiaji,


I am marking a copy of this blog / mail, to all State Chief Ministers

I hope they will emulate your innovation

Thanking you once again for starting a grass-root revolution


With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  01 Dec 2021

 

CC :

Sh R Subrahmanyam ( Sec Edu ) / secy.dhe@nic.in

Shri Arvind Kejriwal ( CM – Delhi ) / cmdelhi@nic.in

Shri Sisodiya ( Dy CM – Delhi ) / msisodia.delhi@gov.in

Dr Sunita Kaushik ( Dir-SCERT ) / dir12scert@gmail.com

Dr Nahar Singh ( Dy Dir – SCERT ) / drnahar.singh@gmail.com

Sh M Ramamoorthy ( DCA ) / dcadelhiscert@gmail.com

Sh Sandeep Kumar ( Sec Edu ) / secyedu@nic.in

Sh Sanjay Goel ( Dir Edu ) / diredu@nic.in

Sh Binay Bhushan ( Sp Dir – Pvt Schools ) / add.dir.edu@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

Thank You, Smt Sitharamanji

 


For What ?

For considering my suggestion to introduce IndiaBit ( my favorite name ) – a RBI backed crypto-currency

 

What makes you think your suggestion is under consideration ?

Following news report :

No plan to recognize Bitcoin as currency , says FM  /  Business Line  /  30 Nov 2021


Extract :

The government has no plan to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.

In response to another question, the Finance Ministry said the Reserve Bank of India has urged the Centre to amend the RBI Act, 1934 to widen the definition of bank notes to include digital currency. This will facilitate the introduction of the Central Bank of Digital Currency (CBDC).

Asked “whether the Government has any proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country,” Sitharaman said in written response, “No Sir.” This response comes at a time when the government is planning a Bill to regulate cryptos in India.

On the CBDC, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhury, in a written reply, said: “The government has received a proposal from Reserve Bank of India in October, 2021 for amendment to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 to enhance the scope of the definition of ‘ bank note ’ to include currency in digital form.”

It is believed that the RBI’s request will be incorporated in ‘ The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021’, scheduled for the Winter Session.

Chaudhury said the RBI has been examining use-cases and working on a phased implementation of the CBDC with little or no disruption.

“Introduction of CBDC has the potential to provide significant benefits, such as,

#   reduced dependency on cash,

#   higher seigniorage due to lower transaction costs,

#   reduced settlement risk

It could also lead to a more robust, efficient, trusted, regulated and legal tender-based payments option,” he said while admitting that there are also associated risks that need to be evaluated.

The RBI has indicated doing a pilot of the CBDC in the first quarter of FY23. With the RBI considering it for retail and international trade payments, the CBDC could have a larger impact on the financial ecosystem, say experts.

While many see CBDCs as a legalised replacement of crypto-currencies, in reality, the CBDC could just be a digital replica of the physical cash in circulation.

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

What exactly did you suggest ? – and when ?

I sent following e-mail to our Cabinet Ministers :

Crypto : Corruption : Corona : China ………………………..[ 17 June 2020 ]

-       Where , I wrote :

 

Dear Smt Nirmala Sitharamanji / Shri RaviShankar Prasadji / Shri Piyush Goyalji,

 

 

I have no clue as to what mechanism could be used ( Inter-Currency Exchange Rate ) for payment for Imports and remittances for Exports , if – and when – we introduce IndiaBit

 

 

 

But if IndiaBit can ,

 

 

#   To begin with bring out all BLACK MONEY ( stashed away as paper currency notes )

 

      and deploy the same into mainstream economy for productive purposes , and

 

#   Put a Full Stop to any future generation of Black Money ,

 



-      then my proposal deserves a debate

 

 

 

What will convince RBI / Government to issue OFFICIAL VIRTUAL CURRENCY ?

Here is a brief ( non-comprehensive ) suggestion for proposed Law :

 

Ø  While banning Private Crypto, introduce IndiaBit ( Govt Virtual Currency )

Ø  With some effective date, withdraw all Paper Currency ( forget coins )

Ø  Minimum denomination will still be called a RUPEE ( easy to convert from paper to digital )

Ø  As of a given date, bank balances in everyone’s bank account gets converted to IndiaBits

Ø  Set time limit within which people can deposit their paper currency into banks for instant conversion

    into IndiaBits

Ø  After set date, paper currencies held by anyone ( individual or any legal entity such as a Company ),

    loses all value and become illegal for any sell / purchase transaction

Ø  All future financial transactions ( sell / buy of any goods or services ) can only be through mobile-app

    based DIGITAL transactions

Ø  Since all transactions will become DIGITAL, Govt would have full / life-time LOG of each citizen’s “ Sale

    or Purchase “ [ Who bought What , When , from Whom , at What price , Where etc ] .

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

Dear Smt Sitharamanji,

 

A word of caution :


Implementation of my suggestion ( described above ), is bound to meet with strong resistance / opposition from persons holding BLACK MONEY ( stashed paper currency in Rs 2,000 notes )

Expect opposition to quote the “ failure “ of De-Monetization to get rid of Black Money

They will strongly oppose total replacement of paper currency, citing enormous inconvenience / hardship this will cause the poor people . I agree with them

Please enable a JPC ( headed by Opposition Member ? ) to draft the Crypto Bill, with full unanimity

I agree that the objective should be limited to : “ Reduced dependency on cash “

And not : “ Replacement of Cash “

May be, 5 years after introduction of IndiaBit, this ( larger ) objective would find acceptance

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 30 Nov 2021

 

Related Readings :

 In the Eyes of the Beholder ? ………………………………………[ 06 Aug 2017 ]

Virtual Currency ? Time to get Real  …………………………….[ 17 Aug 2017 ]

One  More  Reason ………………………………………………………..[ 22 Nov 2017 ]

What is holding back ?  ………………………………………………….[ 06 Dec 2017 ]

Bursting Bitcoin Bubble ? ……………………………………………….[ 10 Dec 2017 ]

Bitcoin : Illegal in India  …………………………………………………[ 02 Jan 2018 ]

LIBRA : The coming battle of Currencies ?  …………………[ 29 June 2019 ]

LIBRA : Am I the only one worried ?  …………………………..[ 05 July 2019 ]

Who is afraid of the Big Bad Wolf ( aka LIBRA ) ?........ [ 07 July 2019 ]

Latest word on LIBRA : though not the last word………….[ 10 July 2019]

Will China Reign Supreme ?   …………………………………………..[ 15 Oct 2019 ]

Elephant Bonds vs Dragon Bonds …………………………………….[ 04 Nov 2019 ]

 

India’s Draft National Strategy On Blockchain Calls For Official Cryptocurrency[28/01/2020 ]

Time to Un-Block the Blockchain Technology  …………………..[ 30 Jan 2020 ]