Constructive Criticism ?

During his “ Man ki Baat “ yesterday , Shri Narendra Modiji said :

“I am also influenced by good and bad things like the aam aadmi (common man),” Modi said during his monthly radio show, Mann Ki Baat. “Constructive criticism strengthens democracy. For an aware nation, an awakened nation, this churning is very important.”

But , how do you get a 1000 million citizens to give such a “ feedback “ to the government ?

They can neither write “ snail mail “ nor “ e mail “ !

But they can send an “ objective assessment “ of the government’s  “ performance “ if the government were to make available on their smart phone , a Mobile App ( RUN – Rate Us Now ) , as suggested in my following blog ( Figures in GREEN denote my rating after 3 YEARS of NDA regime , as on 29 May 2017 ) :

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What  are the  Chances  (  Figures in RED as on 18  May  2014  ) 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2014/05/what-are-chances.html 

 Here are the " Chances " which I attach to fulfillment of each of BJP's following poll promises ( as mentioned in its Manifesto ) , by the end of 3rd year :

*  Ensure minimization of Black Money and setting up of a Task

    Force  ......... ( 50 % / 50 % )

*  Special Courts to stop hoarding and black-marketing. ( 100 % / 0 % )

*  Set-up a Price-Stabilization Fund.......( 100 %  /  25 % )

*  Develop labour-intensive Manufacturing ...  (  10 %  / 0 % )

*  Empowering youth for Self-Employment...  ( 25 % /  10  % )

*  Transforming Employment Exchanges to Career Centers   ( 10%  /  0 % )

*  Eliminating corruption thru E-Governance... ( 10 % / 50 % )

*  Rationalization / Simplification of Tax-regime.. ( 20 % / 50 % )

*  Insulate intelligence agencies from political intervention and

    interference..... ( 10 % )

*  Strengthening physical infrastructure with expediting work on

    freight and Industrial Corridors..... ( 15 % /  50 % )

*  Setting up Gas-Grids and National Optical Fiber Network up to

    the village level.......  (  30 %  /  30 % )

*  Quadrilateral project for Bullet Trains..... (  5  %  / 5 % )

*  Establishment of National E - Library.....  (  40  %  / 0 % )

*  Implementation of National Education Policy .. ( 50 % / 20 % )

*  Evolving further the PPP model to PPPP model .. ( 50 % /  50 % )

*  Building 100 Mega-Cities................  (  0  %  /  0  % )

Did I miss out any  ?

Parallel with whatever the Pollsters may - or may not - do , it would be worthwhile for BJP Tech-Team , to come out with a Mobile App ( to be named , " RUN - Rate Us Now " ? ), to find out what voters feel , on a 5 point scale

Or , an App that would let the voters prioritize among various promises

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Dear Shri  Narendrabhai :

Such a Mobile App is THE  ONLY  WAY  to enable millions of ordinary citizens to provide a hassle-free unbiased  “ Constructive Criticism “ , in a hurry

It is also the only way to silence those “ head-in-the-sky “ PUNDITS  !

29  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Time to get Charged Up ?

Not only for those 6 million Electric cars that Shri Gadkariji / Shri Piyush Goyalji , want to put on the Indian roads by 2022, but also for India’s Auto Industry ( whose fate seems so uncertain ! )

Read following news that appeared on Independent.co.uk ( 25 May 2017 ) :

Electric cars are charged while moving at more than 60mph on new Scalextric-style track

Sir Richard Branson has speculated that electricity will become virtually free

A Scalextric-style stretch of road capable of charging cars while they drive at speeds of up to 100kmh (62mph) has been created in France in a breakthrough that could make electric vehicles much more popular.

While range anxiety has diminished as a problem for electric vehicles with some models now achieving distances of about 300 miles on a single charge, it still then takes time to recharge the battery.

So the ability to charge a car while it was moving would be a significant step.

In a statement, Qualcomm Technologies said it had “ designed and built a wireless system capable of charging an electric vehicle dynamically … at highway speeds ”.

Two vehicles were able to use the 100-metre track to top up their batteries at the same time and it worked in both directions.

Steve Pazol, vice president and general manager of wireless charging at Qualcomm Incorporated, said: “ We are inventors … this dynamic charging demonstration is the embodiment of this.

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. The combination of a global team of expert engineers and Qualcomm Halo technology … has enabled us to really push the boundaries of the possible and outline our vision for future urban mobility.”

The track itself was built at Satory near Versailles by Vedecom institute, which was set up as part of a programme of investment by the French government. Its Fabric project is looking into the technological feasibility of charging electric vehicles on the move.

Such “disruptive technologies” were “ essential to enable the French car industry to sell accessible electric and hybrids vehicles to a great number of people ”, the institute added. 

In an article about the charging system, the This Is Money website suggested there were still “ a few potholes in the concept ”, including how motorists would be charged for the electricity.

Business tycoon Sir Richard Branson, who is involved in Formula E electric racing cars, has predicted electricity will eventually become virtually free.

Speaking in 2015, he predicted the world would be powered entirely by clean energy in 30 years and added :

“ Turn the clock another 30 years and we’re almost going to be powering the world with no energy costs at all.

“ There’s a very, very bright future for everybody.”

But following questions remain :

·         What would be the “ cost per km “ of laying down those “ Charging Pads “ ?

·         From where will those “ Inductive Charging Pads “ get their own electricity ? If that power is going to come from Coal-based Power Plants , there is no gain as far as reducing the air pollution is concerned !

Of course , it may still make economic sense , if the cost of laying “ Inductive Charging Pads “ works out cheaper than creating lakhs of stationary EV charging Stations , all over the country !

·         How does this technology ( Inductive Charging Pads ) compare with “ piezo-electric panels embedded on the highway surface , which generate electricity due to tyre pressure “ , which is undergoing commercial trials in California ?

{ Read : A  Reverse Toll  ?  Possible ( 07 May 2017 )

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-reverse-toll-possible.html  }

·         Can we think of covering all of our highways ( not possible to cover city roads ) with Solar Panels which supply power to those “ Inductive Charging Pads “ ?

(  What about providing enough clearance for tall vehicles ? )

Gujarat has shown the feasibility of such an idea by covering water canals by Solar Power Panels ( which , also reduce water losses due to evaporation ! )

Covering our highways with Solar Panels will make the travel cool / comfortable and the cars will not need powerful air-conditioners ( consuming power ! )

If we can pull this off , then we could eliminate pollution ( caused by Coal-based Power Plants ) AND simultaneously eliminate the need for EV charging Stations on our highways !

In my earlier blog :

( Need ofthe hour : TEAM ) ,

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/04/need-of-hour-team.html },

I had listed a few emerging technologies that our government should try to get ( license ) / develop and then hand-over FREE to our Entrepreneurs / Start Ups

To that list , let us add “ Inductive Charging Pads “ from Vedecom institute / Qualcomm Technologies

Dear Shri Gadkariji :

While wishing you all luck in convincing  ELON MUSK  to set up an Electric Car plant in India , I urge you to reach out to all those developers of “ Revolutionary Technologies “ for coming to India

28  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Twitter Seva ( V 2.0 ) ?

Times of India ( 23 Feb 2017 ) carries following news report :

Centre to launch ' Twitter Seva ' to reach citizens

The Union home ministry will soon launch its own 'Twitter Seva' forum to capture citizens' grievances aired through various social media handles related to the ministries and have them addressed, where actionable, through its departments and divisions.

According to a home ministry official, the ministry will identify some keywords relating to public services rendered by its various departments as well as issues directly handled by the ministry.

Each time a citizen tweets a grievance or complaint relating to the keyword, it will reflect on a central server within the home ministry.

Where these grievances and complaints are found actionable, the department concerned will initiate process for their redressal and accordingly inform the complainant on Twitter.

The authorities concerned will be assigned to resolve problems and difficulties of people on a real-time basis, said a home ministry official.

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Another news in Times of India ( 26 May 2017 ) gives following statistics in respect of the Tweets received :

·         6 / 7 lakhs per month ( through 7,500 handles )

·         #Mociseva ( @DIPPGOI ) processed 750 cases

·         Indian Railways processes 7,000 tweets per day

·         MEA received 10,000 complaints since launch in Dec 2016

Twitter India head of policy , Mahima Kaul said :

“ Many ministries have used their accounts for GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL … the Indian government’s holistic use of Twitter is a pretty good example for citizen engagement “

Moral  of  the  Story  :

If , at first , no one seems to listen to your suggestion for reform , do not give up

Keep sending emails ( to NDA ministers / Secretaries ) , again and again ( remember that childhood story of a spider trying to climb and repeatedly falling until success ? )

Give them a credit for being “ overburdened “ – not curses for being “ clueless “ ! .

I have no doubt that , one day soon , Twitter Seva will graduate into the following full-fledged Mobile App that I have been urging Centre / State Governments to implement , since past 4 YEARS  !  ( - at least 10 emails since 18 Aug 2013 ! )

I  SIN  >  <  U  SIN

{ http://www.hemenparekh.in/2013/08/i-sin-sin-that-could-be-name-of-android.html#.WSkciWiGPcc }

27  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

How About Herbs that Heal ?

An Editorial in Hindustan Times ( 25 May ) reads :

“ Promote viable crop alternative to tobacco “

Extracts :

·         Cigarettes account for just 11 % of tobacco use in India . Bidis , chewing and smokeless tobacco constitute the rest

·         Tobacco is highly addictive and kills half of its users

·         One million of the seven million annual deaths worldwide from tobacco-related disease occur in India

·         India is the world’s second largest producer of tobacco with 60 % of its annual production of 800 million kg , being exported

·         Domestic demand amounts to just 40 % of FCV ( Flue-Cured Virginia ) cultivated in India, so the gains from improved health and lives saved from shrinking domestic demand clearly outweighs losses to farmers

·         Increasing export of this highly addictive crop is not an ethical option

·         The challenge then is to ensure that farmers have a viable substitute for a tobacco crop

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The editorial does not suggest WHAT such alternate viable crop could be

I suggest that the government goes out of its “ normal helping ways “ to enable our tobacco-growing farmers to grow HERBS ( MEDICINAL PLANTS ) and SPICES, for which , India has :

·         Rich traditional knowledge ( read  “ Charak Samhita “ )

·         The right kind of climate

·         Domain expertise in processing for high “ value addition “ ( for exports ? )

I urge our well-established Ayurvedic Industry to take a lead in this matter and form Farmers Cooperatives , along the lines of AMUL

As for the Cigarette Industry is concerned , the disruption can be mitigated by implementing my earlier suggestion :

GoingUp in Smoke ? ( 18  Aug  2013 )

{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/08/going-up-in-smoke.html }

Can we expect Smt Harsimrat Kaur ( Minister for Food Processing ) , to adopt this reform ?

How about growing “ herb that heals “ rather than “ tobacco that kills “  ?

27  May  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs