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, 25 May 2016

A RIDDLE WRAPPED IN MYSTERY ?



In his broadcast to the world , on  01 Oct  1939 ,  British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill said :

" I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma  "

I got reminded of this while reading a news-report in Hindustan Times ( 25 May 2016 ), titled :

" Apple can open stores , but has to source 30 % locally "

Report adds :

"  Apple's case came for waiver of sourcing norms came to the finance ministry six days back, but was not justifiable .

They ( Apple ) could not prove through enough merit that the technology they want to sell , is CUTTING EDGE technology and STATE OF THE ART

But they can open stores if they meet the norms , sources said

The finance ministry has also asked the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( DIPP ) , to come up with a policy explaining CUTTING EDGE , and STATE OF THE ART technology, sources said  "

How about someone asking DIPP , what are the meanings of the upper-case words , in its following definition of a START UP ?

An entity will be identified as a startup , if  :

It is working towards  INNOVATION, development, deployment, and commercialisation  of  NEW PRODUCTS , PROCESSES , or SERVICES  driven by TECHNOLOGY  or  INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY


No wonder , the official web site of the Start Ups (www.StartupIndia.gov.in ) , launched 3 months back , does not even bother to provide a LIST of the Start Ups registered on that site , so far  !

Nor can one fill in a REGISTRATION FORM , online !

And , if you are a BRAVE-HEART , try downloading the Mobile App from the site  !

May be that App looks like what I had imagined in my following blog :

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, 20 January 2016


START UP RE-DEFINED


No doubt , you have read the definition of a Start Up in the Start Up Action Plan document

I have tried to envisage below, how that might look on that Mobile App for Registration :


*   Is yours a Private Ltd Co / LLP / Partnership  ?...........................................  Yes  /  No


*   Is your Company more than 5 years old ?....................................................Yes  /  No


*   Is your Start Up formed by splitting an existing business ?............................ Yes  /  No


*   In last 5 yrs, has your turnover exceeded Rs 25 Crores ?.............................  Yes  /  No


*   Is your product/service " DIFFERENTIATED "  ?............................................ Yes  /  No


*   Is your product / service " COMMERCIAL "  ?............................................... Yes  /  No


*  Is your product / service " INNOVATIVE "  ?................................................  Yes  /  No


*  Is your product / service driven by ,
    " TECHNOLOGY  / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY "  ? ............................................Yes /  No


*  Is your product/service ,
   " NEW / SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED "  version "  ?.................... ...................... Yes / No

  
*  Does your product/service add " VALUE " to customers  ?................................ Yes / No


*  Does your product/service add " VALUE " to " WORKFLOW " ?.........................   Yes / No


*  Have you got certification  from Inter-Ministerial Board ?................................ Yes /  No


*  Have you got recommendation from Incubator in Post Grad Indian College ?.......Yes / No



MY  TAKE :


#  Each year 12 million persons join India's work force

#  Of these , 3.5 million are Graduates

#  Rest ( 8.5 million ) are 10th / 12th Standard pass or less

#  No more than 1,000 persons will fulfill above mentioned " Eligibility Criteria " for Start Up

#  There will be endless debates on the correct meaning of words in CAPITAL letters above !


WHY  SUCH  STRINGENT  " ELIGIBILITY  CRITERIA "  ?


#  At Rs 2.5 cr loan per Start Up, Govt Fund of Rs 2500 Cr can help only 1,000 Start Ups !

#  Any relaxation in " eligibility criteria " , may result in MILLIONs of persons queue-up !



WHAT  IS  THE  IMPLICATION  ?

#  Funds are just insufficient to help 12 million persons to become " Self Employed "


MY  SUGGESTION :

In India , we are talking of getting " Unemployed " to launch " Start Ups "


Anywhere between 100 million to 400 million " Unemployed " for whom neither Public Sector nor Private Sector , is in any position to create jobs


We want them to become " Self Employed " - what Shri Narendra Modi described in USA , as our " PERSONAL  SECTOR "


They are unlikely to launch technology driven , Web-based businesses , even if their businesses require them to have a Smart phone , on which , their customers can reach them


They aspire to become ( list can run into 200 trades ! ) :


*  Street-side Vendors ( Vegetables / Shoes / Purses / Fruits / Trinkets )

*  Craftsmen ( Plumber / Electrician / Carpenter / Repairer  )

*  Dhobi / Barber / Pan Beedi shop-owner / Tailor / Mochi

*  Doodh-wala / Ruddi Paper-wala / Gajra-wala / Delivery Boy

*  Cook / Maid / Courier / Tuition Teacher / Beautician / Taxi Driver

*  Home-cooked Tiffin Service /  Car wash  /  Gardening ......



How can we help millions of  JOBLESS  to set up such  MICRO - BUSINESSES  ?

By Government ( Central / State / Municipal ) getting out of their way !


HOW  ?


*  No licenses / permits / approvals / conditions / criteria

*  Simple online registration on proposed Web site of DIPP for Start Ups

*  No personal Income tax for individuals

*  No Corporate Income tax for Start Ups for 10 years ( no chance of profit in first 3 years )

*  Amnesty Scheme for enabling Rs 10 million*crores of BLACK MONEY to flow into such
   Self Employment


It is still not too late for our  Policy Makers will think " Out of Box " and implement :


www.hemenparekh.in > Blogs > A New Economic Order - Start Up Act - 2015


Anything less just won't make much of a difference !

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

26  May  2016

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make    Yourself    Heard

Dear Visitor :

It is time for YOU to speak up - and demand that YOU are heard

By emailing this suggestion - incorporating your OWN improvements - to the following Policy Makers

(  Just multiple copy all the following Email IDs into the Recipient column of your Outlook and Copy / paste this suggestion in the Message Box ) :


    narendramodi1234@gmail.com; 38ashokroad@gmail.com;ajaitley@del5.vsnl.net.in; jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in;piyush.goyal@gov.in;nitin.gadkari@nic.in; spprabhu1@rediffmail.com;bandaru@sansad.nic.in;smritizirani@nic.in;nsitharaman@nic.in; ravis@sansad.nic.in;sureshprabhu@irctc.co.in;prakash.j@sansad.nic.in;secy-ipp@nic.in; amitabh.kant@nic.in; shaktikanta.das@nic.in; rsecy@nic.in; adhia1981@gmail.com; ceo-niti@nic.in; atul-chaturvedi@nic.in; uma.bharati@sansad.nic.in; d.pradhan@sansad.nic.in; rprudy.office@gmail.com; rudypr@rediffmail.com; eam@mea.gov.in; mosvks@mea.gov.in; mvnaidu@sansad.nic.in; mnaqvi@sansad.nic.in; rao.inderjit@sansad.nic.in; mljoffice@gov.in; sadananda.gowda@sansad.nic.in; ministerminority@gov.in; najmah@sansad.nic.in; minister-ca@nic.in; ramvilas.paswan@sansad.nic.in; gandhim@sansad.nic.in; akumar-alpha@sansad.nic.in; jpnadda@sansad.nic.in; hm.moca@nic.in; geete@sansad.nic.in; simratbadal@yahoo.com; ns.tomar@nic.in; rmsingh@sansad.nic.in; tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in; dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in   


  


Needed : Policy for Natural resources


Hindustan Times ( 25  May  2016 ) carries a report with following headline :

"  Take charge of all private wells , HC tells state  "

Report goes on :

Stating that water is a " natural resource that belongs to entire nation "  and not to any private entity , the Bombay High Court ( HC ) on Tuesday directed the government to requisition or take charge of all private wells till the time the state faces water shortage

This order raises following questions :

#  What about other Natural Resources that too, belong to entire Nation ?

#  Can these continue to " belong to private parties " when there is no
    shortage ?

#  Who shall decide , what is a Natural Resource and how can it be used for
    the benefit of the entire Nation ?

#  Should it be left to the judiciary to decide upon these issues , only when
    someone files a PIL or should NDA government bring out a definitive and
    comprehensive LAW to regulate use of National Resources ?


I request NDA Ministers to read my following blog , and come up with a proper law  :

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, 16 February 2014

Needed - some Simple Answers !


This is with reference to the controversy surrounding the pricing of KG-6 gas of Reliance , which started with $ 2.4 , is currently $ 4.2 and slated to rise to $ 8.4 / unit , from April 2014


Writing in yesterday's Times of India , ( Swaminomics ) , eminent economist , Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar , made following points  :



>   Reliance ( KG - 6 ) accounts for only 10 % of the gas production in our
     country . Balance 90 % is by Public Sector Companies such as ONGC etc


>   Hence , any increase in selling price will mostly benefit government itself

     ( Any idea , what will government do with this windfall  ? )


>   Price - hike envisaged is recommended by a committee headed by Mr C
     Rangrajan  ( - implying , infallible / sacrosanct  ?  )


>   By introducing price control on gas , " India's name is mud globally , and
     top exploration companies now avoid India "


>   An economic rule of thumb is that " traded Commodities " should be
     priced on par with the import price ( my question : irrespective of the
     actual cost of production in India ? )


     The Rangrajan price of $ 8 / unit , is well below the import price



Not being an economist , I am confused  !


May be Mr Aiyar can dispel my following doubts  :


#   By taking out of our own soil ( or sea ) , does gas become a " traded
      commodity "  ? - even if entirely sold in India ?


#    Is KG-6 gas a " Natural Resource " which belongs to the Nation - and
       not to Reliance  ?


#    Is Reliance the " Owner " of the gas or a mere " Contractor "  ?


#    Would Mr Aiyar , want the Central Government to extend the same logic
      to other " Natural Resources " ( belonging to the country ) , being dug
      out from the earth ( by private companies ) , such as :



      *   Oil / Coal / Shale Gas etc  (  Fossil Fuels )


      *   Ores of Iron / Copper / Zinc / Aluminum etc


      *   Trees ( timber ) that grow in our jungles


      *   Any number of minor minerals / chemicals



      Should these too , be treated as " Traded Commodities " , whose local
      selling prices must be same as Imported prices ?



#    What about the  air / wind  that blows freely over our land  ?


      Does it belong to the Nation or not  ?


      Or , does it belong to the Companies setting up  WIND FARMS  , to
      generate electricity  ?


      Should such power be " Price Controlled " or not  ?




#    What about the  Sunlight  that falls on our vast land  ?


      Who does it belong to  ? To our government or to the companies setting
      up mega Solar Power Projects  ?


     Should there be a price control on such power - produced , using a  National Resource  ?




#    What about the hydro - power generated by private sector companies
     from the water flowing in our Country's rivers  ?


     Does - or does not - that water belong to the Nation  ?


     Should not such power be price - controlled  ?




#   Tomorrow , if a private sector company ( or a consortium of Indian
      Companies , in joint venture with foreign companies ) , invest Rs 1 Lakh
      Crores , to build the 22 Km long Kalpsar Dam across the Bay of Cambay
      in Gujarat , and generate 10,000 MW of power from Oceanic Tides  , -
     can they be allowed to set any selling price  ? At International price  ?


     I suppose , it would be next to impossible for them to " Export " such
     power beyond the shores of India  !



#   Incidentally , what about the Airwaves ( the 2G / 3G Spectrum )  ?


     Is that also a Natural Resource which belongs to the Nation ?


     Having " licensed " it from the Central Government  , can Mobile
     Phone companies , set any selling prices for their services  ?

Even with a combined debt of around Rs 2 Lakh Crores , how are these
    Mobile companies , able to deliver ( nearly ? ) cheapest mobile phone

    services in the entire World ? May be at 10 % of international price  ?




#   In ALL of the above - mentioned cases , should Central Government
     carefully calculate / frequently audit , the " Cost of Production "  ? Then
    link the " Local / Domestic , Selling Prices "  to such " Cost of Production "
    allowing certain  pre-determined " Return on Investment "  ?



#   Even as we agree that " Export prices " of gas are governed by prevailing   
     international prices , how come the " Domestic Prices " of gas are vastly
     different in different countries , ranging from under $ 1 to $ 5 / unit  ?


     Does this itself , not prove that , in each country , domestic prices are
    linked to their own local " Cost of Production "  ?



#  Very often , have we not exported , food grains , at " Below the Cost " ?




Mr  AIYAR ,



You will be doing a great service to millions of ignoramus like me , by offering your own " Views " on the points raised above


And , I suppose , since the fall in production from KG - 6 , is purely and entirely , due to " Technically Sound " reasons , raising of the selling price to
$ 8 ( or even $ 16 / - ! ) , won't result in any increase in production !



Time alone will tell  !

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOOTNOTE :

It seems , Oil Minister , Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has taken some of my suggestions into account while announcing auction of 67 Oil / Gas blocks , yesterday 

Hindustan Times   ( 26 May 2016 ) describes these as follows :


"  Spelling out salient features of the policy , sources said the auction will be done on a REVENUE SHARING model, where bidders will be asked to quote the REVENUE they will share with the government at LOW and HIGH end of the PRICE  and PRODUCTION


The new REVENUE SHARING REGIME will replace the controversial PRODUCTION SHARING contract ( PSC ) model where oil and gas blocks are awarded to those firms which show they will do maximum work on a block 


Also , a single license for exploration and exploitation of conventional and non-conventional hydrocarbons will be issued and operators will have freedom to sell oil and gas on arms length market price , Pradhan said , adding that there would be no cess on crude oil  "



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

26  May  2016


www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make    Yourself    Heard

Dear Visitor :

It is time for YOU to speak up - and demand that YOU are heard

By emailing this suggestion - incorporating your OWN improvements - to the following Policy Makers

(  Just multiple copy all the following Email IDs into the Recipient column of your Outlook and Copy / paste this suggestion in the Message Box ) :


    narendramodi1234@gmail.com; 38ashokroad@gmail.com;ajaitley@del5.vsnl.net.in; jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in;piyush.goyal@gov.in;nitin.gadkari@nic.in; spprabhu1@rediffmail.com;bandaru@sansad.nic.in;smritizirani@nic.in;nsitharaman@nic.in; ravis@sansad.nic.in;sureshprabhu@irctc.co.in;prakash.j@sansad.nic.in;secy-ipp@nic.in; amitabh.kant@nic.in; shaktikanta.das@nic.in; rsecy@nic.in; adhia1981@gmail.com; ceo-niti@nic.in; atul-chaturvedi@nic.in; uma.bharati@sansad.nic.in; d.pradhan@sansad.nic.in; rprudy.office@gmail.com; rudypr@rediffmail.com; eam@mea.gov.in; mosvks@mea.gov.in; mvnaidu@sansad.nic.in; mnaqvi@sansad.nic.in; rao.inderjit@sansad.nic.in; mljoffice@gov.in; sadananda.gowda@sansad.nic.in; ministerminority@gov.in; najmah@sansad.nic.in; minister-ca@nic.in; ramvilas.paswan@sansad.nic.in; gandhim@sansad.nic.in; akumar-alpha@sansad.nic.in; jpnadda@sansad.nic.in; hm.moca@nic.in; geete@sansad.nic.in; simratbadal@yahoo.com; ns.tomar@nic.in; rmsingh@sansad.nic.in; tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in; dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in   


Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Poor Planning for Urban Poor ?



Mumbai Mirror ( 14 May 2016 ) carries a report with following headline :

" Over 2 lakh homes built for urban poor lying vacant "


According to this report :

#   10.32 lakh low cost houses were built under JNNURM / Rajiv Awas Yojna

#   Of these, 2.38 lakh flats found no takers  !



REPORTED  REASONS  :


#  As per Shri Vankiah Naidu ,

   " Allotment could not be made because of the reluctance of slum dwellers
    or beneficiaries to shift , incomplete basic infrastructure and lack of
    livelihood sources "


#  As per town planning experts ,

   "  The problem is that most of these houses are constructed in the outer
    limits of the cities , making it inconvenient for the poor to travel and the
    installment can go up to Rs 4,000 / - per month , which is beyond the
    reach of many of the poor "


Though not an expert , either on housing or on town planning or on earning
 / installment paying capacities of the Urban Poor , I had made some simple
suggestion in my following blog ( dt  05 June 2014 ) :

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Urban Renewal ?


An important aspect of urban renewal is to get rid of slums , by resettling slum-dwellers in better houses


Then convert those vacated slum areas into gardens


But slum-dwellers are unwilling to vacate their huts .


Why  ?


Over the past 25 / 30 years , the standard method was to move the slum-dwellers into some temporary , make-shift transit camps , pending permanent rehabilitation


But that promised " permanent rehabilitation " never came  !


Those who agreed to get shifted into those transit camps , continue to live there for generations - without any hope of ever moving into multi-story concrete buildings with running water / electricity / toilets


Given this broken promises , who would agree to shift out  ?


Second problem is availability of jobs nearby where they are forced to move - even if these buildings happen to be well-built , modern and permanent multi-storied buildings


Who would want to move to a better / permanent house , if it is 30 Km away from a work-place  ?


No one wants to spend 4 hours on the road every day , commuting to a place of work in dense traffic , riding a crowded bus / train  !


But most slum-dwellers would happily vacate their slums and move 150 Km away , if ,


*  It is a well built building with all amenities


*  It is a  permanent home ( - and not a transit facility  )


*  It is given FREE , on ownership basis


*  There is a job within 1 Km of the new home



This is exactly what China is doing , by building ONE brand new Mega City , EVERY 20 DAYS  !


And moving 250 million slum-dwellers into those cities over the next 20 years ( - nearly ONE MILLION people , EVERY MONTH  !  )


May be this is what NaMo was thinking when he dreamt of constructing 100 Mega Cities in next 5 years - at the rate of ONE city EVERY 18 DAYS  !


OLD  cities cannot " Re-new " themselves , until well-planned NEW cities are built first and ready to receive those old city slum-dwellers and offer them jobs



Only problem :



* Mega City of Dholera ( in Gujarat ) is under construction for over last 3
 years and expected to cost , Rs 70,000 Crores


* Central Government has neither the money needed to construct 100 cities,
nor the administrative / technical competence for such a project


*  Democratic Institutions are un-suited for taking bold / harsh /
 controversial decisions - then bulldoze !



It seems urban renewal will remain a mirage  !




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


25  May   2016

www.hemenparekh.in / Blogs

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make    Yourself    Heard

Dear Visitor :

It is time for YOU to speak up - and demand that YOU are heard

By emailing this suggestion - incorporating your OWN improvements - to the following Policy Makers

(  Just multiple copy all the following Email IDs into the Recipient column of your Outlook and Copy / paste this suggestion in the Message Box ) :


    narendramodi1234@gmail.com; 38ashokroad@gmail.com;ajaitley@del5.vsnl.net.in; jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in;piyush.goyal@gov.in;nitin.gadkari@nic.in; spprabhu1@rediffmail.com;bandaru@sansad.nic.in;smritizirani@nic.in;nsitharaman@nic.in; ravis@sansad.nic.in;sureshprabhu@irctc.co.in;prakash.j@sansad.nic.in;secy-ipp@nic.in; amitabh.kant@nic.in; shaktikanta.das@nic.in; rsecy@nic.in; adhia1981@gmail.com; ceo-niti@nic.in; atul-chaturvedi@nic.in; uma.bharati@sansad.nic.in; d.pradhan@sansad.nic.in; rprudy.office@gmail.com; rudypr@rediffmail.com; eam@mea.gov.in; mosvks@mea.gov.in; mvnaidu@sansad.nic.in; mnaqvi@sansad.nic.in; rao.inderjit@sansad.nic.in; mljoffice@gov.in; sadananda.gowda@sansad.nic.in; ministerminority@gov.in; najmah@sansad.nic.in; minister-ca@nic.in; ramvilas.paswan@sansad.nic.in; gandhim@sansad.nic.in; akumar-alpha@sansad.nic.in; jpnadda@sansad.nic.in; hm.moca@nic.in; geete@sansad.nic.in; simratbadal@yahoo.com; ns.tomar@nic.in; rmsingh@sansad.nic.in; tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in; dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in