Blog

Thursday, 4 May 2017

Privacy ? What is that ?

Of late , news papers and TV channels are full of reports re “ leak “ of some 13 crore of Aadhar “ data “

Sometime back , 1.2 BILLION Yahoo accounts were hacked !

It is the same story with the web sites of other technology / e-commerce firms

Even the ultra-secure Pentagon Servers have been penetrated !

Supreme Court is asking the Central government :

“ Why is it necessary to insist on Aadhar ID to file a Tax return ? “

Government says :

“ PAN-Aadhar linking needed to curb tax evasion

There has been cases of bogus / fake PAN cards ( - and , of course Ration Cards ! ) “

In the meantime , governments ( both Central and the States ) are requiring Aadhar Id for ever more benefits / services that need to be delivered to the citizens

Now , all of us have been filling in / typing out , our Aadhar Number in any number of forms for the past 5 years

That almost puts our “ Aadhar Number “ in public domain !

Shri B A Pandey ( CEO of UIDAI ) says :

“ The leaked databases do not pose a real threat to the people whose information is publicly available because the Aadhar Number cannot be misused without biometrics “

As of now , Aadhar has IRIS and FINGER Print recognition

I believe , it is only a matter of time before VOICE recognition too , gets added !

I am surprised why no one seems to be asking :

· Does our mobile phones / mobile apps relay EVERYTHING about us to their designers / manufacturers , all the time ? ( Ans : Have no doubts ! )

· Do Google / Facebook / Linkedin / Twiter etc know your “ intentions “ and pass these onto e-commerce companies for a hefty price ? ( Ans : You bet they do ! )

· What will remain “ private “ when IP V 6.0 arrives , when EVERY single object on your body ( and in your immediate surrounding ) , gets a unique URL number and captures your voice / movement / intentions on 24*365 basis and relays that DATA to the BIG BROTHER ? ( Ans : Nothing ! )

Scott McNally ( one time CEO , Sun Micro Systems ) was a visionary

Some 10 years back , he said :

“ Privacy is dead . Period . Get over it “

400+ million poor people of India are simply NOT bothered about the on- going debate

Their only concern is :

Will the government give them ( and their starving children ) , 2 meals a day , in return for any and all the information it wants ?

04 May 2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

A Living Entity ?

Hindustan Times ( 03 May 2017 ) carries following news report :

“MP all set to declare Narmada river , a living entity “

The Madhya Pradesh government will bring a resolution in the state assembly on Wednesday to have a regulatory framework to declare Narmada river a living entity, the first state in the country to do so.

The officials said the passage of the resolution, which is a foregone conclusion, would be followed by the process to enact a law to declare river a living entity.

That would mean that the government will have to declare a custodian of the river, who can ensure its protection.

The Uttrakhand high court in its judgment in March declared Ganga and Yamuna rivers as living entities and gave them legal rights. The court made state chief secretary as the custodian of the river in the hill state.

The official said declaring a river a living entity had a flip side as anyone can sue the river for causing damage such as during floods.

The government, on behalf of the river, can also penalise someone for causing pollution or damaging the river’s aquatic life.

“For instance, if a person’s house is damaged in a flood or a life is lost due to it he could also move the court to seek compensation and file a criminal case against the river,” the official said.

That is why, he said , the government was considering what would be the rights of people and what would be the rights of Narmada river if it was declared a living entity.

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I just overheard river Narmada , think aloud :

What can I expect to happen to me if I cease to be a “ river “ and become a “ woman “ Narmada ?

Will I ,

· Get aborted from the darkness of my mother’s womb ?

· Get abused in childhood in broad daylight ?

· Suffer indignity of a “ girl child “ , all my life ?

· Be deprived of the freedom that my brother enjoys ?

· Be prevented from using a cell phone or wearing jeans ?

· Get harassed when not “ harnessed “ to household chores ?

· Get gang-raped for loving a boy from another caste ?

· Made to walk naked in my village for eloping with my lover ?

· Be forced to sit in a corner during menstrual periods ?

· Be told that it is OK for my drunk husband to beat me ?

· Be forced to leave my marriage when my husband says “ Talaq , Talaq, Talaq “ ?

· Be prevented to enter a Mandir / Masjid , to pray for my salvation ?

· Be expected to commit suicide when my parents cannot pay dowry ?

· Be required to worship my husband who treats me inhumanly ?

I could not hear the last few words uttered by river Narmada but I suspect these to be :

“ MLAs of MP ,

Please , leave me alone !

Even in my life as a river , you have heaped upon me enough suffering

Do not make my life worse by calling me , a living “ Mata Narmada “ !

04 May 2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

Same Wavelength ?

Hindustan Times ( 02 May 2017 ) carries following news report :

“ Recycle waste , save Rs 1,854 crore “

· When you don’t recycle waste, you cost the state Rs1,854 crore a year.

· The government spends Rs 905 crore a year just to collect waste from Mumbai homes and transport it to a dumping ground .

· At the Transform Maharashtra conclave on Monday, students from the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) showed just how costly the city’s waste issue is, and suggested giving citizens incentives to start recycling their waste at the source.

· The team of five students said incentives could include relaxation of property tax paid by households and restaurants, cheaper electricity bills and bio gas to households based on how much waste they segregate.

· Another solution they proposed was a machine that will eat up plastic and glass bottles and cans and dispense cash in return — an idea CM Devendra Fadnavis appreciated.

· These ‘Reverse Vending Machines’ will accept PET/glass/cans from users and return cash.

· To integrate waste pickers, the participants suggested a monetary award for workers who segregate the most waste . The team highlighted that they found policies were based on wrong perceptions: “As opposed to perception, urban areas generate more waste than slums.”

Congratulations , TISS students !

I am glad that , at age of 84 , I was able to “ sync “ with you , in my following blog :

Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Incentivize Housing Societies

· Disposal of garbage ( wet and dry ), is a big problem for all Municipalities

· In Mumbai , it is a daily 8,000 ton problem

· Despite a large fleet of garbage collection trucks and thousands of municipal employees ( including employees of contractors ), streets remain littered and garbage dumps keep overflowing ( when not burning ! )

· All kinds of solutions have been attempted in the past to solve this problem, without much success

· 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 :

· Methane gas generating plant or Compost Fertilizer plant

o ( to take care of wet / organic garbage )

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

o basin / kitchen sink for toilet flushing purpose )

· 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