An “ Apple to Apple “ Comparison ?

Since the debut of affordable Aakash Tablet , any number of manufacturers have announced launch of similar products
This is all very good for the Indian users , since competition always brings out the best amongst the competitors in terms of quality / service etc
But for the moment , users are confused as to the price-points vs specifications of various manufacturers
It would be nice if some independent authority can develop / publish , a comparison of various tablets in terms of ,
 Network Compatibility [ WiFi – 3G – GPRS Modem etc ]
 Processor Speeds [ Over clocking / Architecture ]
 Operating Systems [ Open vs Closed ]
 USB Ports [ Full size vs Mini ]
 Screen Type [ Resistive vs Capacitive ]
 Import content vs local value addition
 Price
May be an “ Index / Score “ can be developed which can rank all competing tablets on a score of 0 – 10 , taking all the above – mentioned factors into account ( with each factor itself being ranked on a scale of 0 – 10 , to provide individual weightage )
Such an “ Apple to Apple “ comparison by a “ third party “ having no vested interest , would go a long way in helping buyers make a considered decision

With regards

hemen Parekh

Want a Patent ? Be patient !

Newspaper Pravasi ( 26 Feb 2012 ) gives following interesting – but far more distressing – info about working of India’s Patent Office in Mumbai :
 No of patent applications pending ………………………………… 100,000
 Which will take to clear ………………………………………………….. 3 years
 No of requests being examined / year ………………………….. 12,000
 Additional Patent Examiners being trained …………………….. 250
 Which will help clear no of applications / year ………………… 40,000
 New requests being received / year ………………………………… 25,000 +
 Annual growth-rate of requests ……………………………………… .. 20 %
I would not be surprised if Indian scientists working in foreign labs are filing more patent applications abroad than the Indian scientists working in Indian labs !
Innovation will get a huge boost if Patents can be granted – or even rejected – in 6 months !

With regards

hemen parekh

Half-a-Million Reasons to Cheer Amid Slowdown

This was the headline in Economics Times ( 9 Dec, 2011 )
In support , article says :
 State run banks plan to hire as many as 500,000 in the next few years
 To fill 50,000 jobs, 4,400,000 candidates will appear for common recruitment test ( for position of clerks ), by Dec 2011
 A few weeks back, some 1,050,000 candidates appeared for examination for Officers’ post
 In the meantime , private-sector banks did not fill 200,000 positions that fell vacant during last decade
 That helped private – sector banks to increase their “ business per employee “ from Rs 38 million in 2005 to Rs 1,00 million in 2011
Unanswered Questions :
When will India create enough jobs for,
 42 Million youngsters registered with 900+ Employment Exchanges ?
 3.5 Million graduates passing out of colleges every year ?
 16 Million addition to job – market every year ?
With regards
hemen parekh

Hunger is not an Issue !

India’s hunger problem is highlighted in following newspaper reports :
 2,438 children dying everyday for lack of food
( Times of India / May 13 , 2011 )
 An estimated 1.6 million children ( under 5 ) died this year, representing 23 % of global deaths in that age group
( Times of India / Sept. 25, 2011 )
 During Jan-Aug 2011, some 18,486 children ( in age group 0-6 ), died of malnutrition in the state of Maharashtra alone – ie : 77 babies dying of hunger everyday !
( DNA / Sept, 25, 2011 )
 With 21 % of Indian population undernourished ( ie: 230 Million ), nearly 44 % of under-5 children underweight and 7 % of them dying before they reach 5 years, India is firmly established among the world’s most hunger-ridden countries
( Times of India / Jan 01, 2012 )
But hunger is not an issue for any political party during the current State Elections.
How about promising “ hunger quotas “ according to age – groups ?
Model Code of Conduct does not cover this !

With regards
hemen parekh

Democracy - Elections - Voting

For last 65 years since Independence , the Indian people have been brainwashed into thinking that

Democracy…..equals……..Elections……..equals…………Voting

What else can explain the following ?

In the current Mumbai Municipal Corporation Elections,

Ø  More than 13 % of the candidates have criminal records

Ø  7 % have “ Serious Criminal Cases “ pending against them !

Ø  25 % have not passed even SSC ( School Certificate )

Ø  Only 16 % are graduates

Consolation ?

With 131 ( out of 829 ) candidates being multi-millionaires ( Crorepatis ), they might just be above getting corrupt, if elected !

How is that argument , as an “ Opium for the Masses “ ?

Situation is only worse in the current State Legislative Assembly Elections taking place in Uttar Pradesh / Punjab / Uttarakhand  etc

With regards

hemen  parekh

CHINA GROWTH STORY

Writing in Times of India ( 03 June, 2012 ), Subodh Varma provides following 

statistics about the city of Chengdu in China :

Ø  Incentives for attracting Industries from all over the Word

*  Electricity  ………………………..      $  0.13  per Kwh

*  Water  ……………………………..       $  0.70  per Cubic Meter

*  Freight  ( to Europe )……………… $  4.0   per Kg (by Air )

*  Rent ( for Workshops )…….       $   2.9  per Sq Meter

*  Rent ( for Software Park )..      $  8.0  per Sq Meter

*  No of Highways connecting..     8

*  No of International Flights….     129  per  day

*  Wages for Unskilled Worker..    $ 145  per  month

*  Wages for High Skilled Worker..$ 580 per  month

Ø  Outcome

·        207 of the Fortune 500 Companies have facilities in Chengdu

·        Every 2^nd laptop and every 5^th PC in the World ,is running on a chip processed in Chengdu

·        Concentration of heavy precision industries

·        Top Nuclear and Missile Research Centres

Ø  Wage Comparison ( for low skilled new entrant )

·        India  …………………………..  $  90  per  month

·        China  ………………………….. $  145  per  month

·        Japan  ………………………….  $  937  per  month

·        France  ………………………..  $  1734  per  month

·        USA  …………………………….. $  1740  per  month

For policy-makers of both, the Eurozone and India , there are here , a lot of lessons to be learned ! They have lived in denial for too long !

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

Creative Resumes ? Fake CVs ?

Writing in The Economic Times ( Jan 8-14,2012 ), Mishita Mehra provides following findings of a report by First Advantage , which conducts 1.5 million background checks per year in India :
 Who lies the most in resumes ?
• Senior Management ……………………. 2 %
• Middle Management ……………………. 21 %
• Associates …………………………………… 65 %
 What do they lie about ?
• False employment info …………………… 41 %
• Incorrect tenure ……………………………….. 32 %
• Inflated designation ………………………… 15 %
 Which Industry have most liars ?
• Education ………………………………………… 33 %
• Travel & Hospitality ………………………….. 25 %
• Bio-Technology …………………………………. 19 %
 Top Resume Cheat list
• Hong Kong …………………………………………. 47 %
• Singapore …………………………………………….35 %
• India ………………………………………………………11 %
No wonder , Recruiters are saying :
This is no way to Customize Resume !
With regards
hemen Parekh

Higher Education : how do fair sex fare ?

What percentage of girls go for higher studies beyond high school certificate ?

2009 – 10 Survey data, compiled by India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development, provides following figures :

State                        Boys ( % )                   Girls ( % )

> Andhra Pradesh      21.3                            12.3

> Goa                       26.1                            30.9

> Maharashtra           25.3                            16.9

> Uttarakhand           27.5                            45.2

> Meghalaya              14.8                            16.1

> Mizoram                 28.3                            24.7

> Delhi                      50.7                            44.9

When it comes to “ Gender Inequality Index “ ( compiled by United Nations ), India ranks a poor 129 in 146 countries, lagging behind even Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan !

Not surprising, considering that even after debating for over 25 years in the parliament, we cannot pass the Women’s Reservation Bill !

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

Healthcare in India ?

US President Barack Obama recently told US citizens :

“  My preference would be that you don’t have to travel to Mexico or India to get cheap healthcare “.

Of course, 25,500 US citizens who traveled to India in 2010 for medical treatment , would have preferred to get cheap / quality healthcare in their own country – if they could have.

US citizen, Sydney Gambill, who came to India for knee replacement surgery, said,

“ The cost of surgery in US was $ 60,000, whereas in India I paid $ 7,000. Not only the money, but the facilities and post-operative care here is excellent “.

Listen to Mary Knoll, a school teacher from Massachusetts, who got a facelift in India,

“ The surgery was done extremely well and the hospital facilities here is top class “.

Can you blame 150,000 medical tourists to India ( 2010 ), if they got cheap / quality treatment as follows ?

Ø  Angiography……………………………..  $  500 / 600

Ø  Bypass Surgery……………………….   $  5000 / 6000

Ø  Vitrectomy…………………………………  $  800 / 2400

Ø  Cataract ( one eye )…………………. $  500

Ø  Lasik  ( both eyes )…………………… $  600 / 1600

Ø  Gall Bladder Stone……………………. $  700 /  800

[ Source : DNA Money / April 28,2011 and Mumbai Mirror / April 22,2011 ]

With regards

hemen  parekh