IN WONDERLAND OF START-UPS

NDA government will hold a one day meeting on 23 July , to review the progress made by various States on encouraging Start Ups and to exchange notes on best practices being followed

This comes on the heels of an interview given by Shri Kris Gopalkrishnan ( ex - Infosys ) , where he gave out following statistics on the Start Up scenario , world-wide :

*  Successful in achieving some kind of scale :    10 %

*  Likely to survive ( struggling to exist )       :    20 %

*  Likely to fail and wind up                          :    70 %

Read this in the background of the following news appearing in DNA ( 21 July , 2016 ) :

#  For availing 3 year tax benefits , no of Start Ups which applied to DIPP till July 18, 2016............  728

#  Out of these, applicants who furnished the required documents and got recognized as Start Up.... 180

#  Out of these, number which met the condition of being incorporated after 01 April 2016...............    16

#  Out of these 16 , no of applicants who furnished all the required documents for tax exemption........     3

#  Out of these three , NEW business found eligible for tax exemption...............................................     1

No surprise here , if you read the above in the background of my 6 month old following blog :

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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 !

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Incidentally , during April-June 2016, some 108 Start Ups got $ 401 million from VC funds( excluding 3 big deals )

( ave of $ 3.7 milion = Approx Rs 25 Crore  = Rs 2500 lakhs , each )

Consider this in light of the fact that none of the " Self Employed " I mentioned above , would need more than Rs 1 Lakh each , to get into " Self Employment " on a footpath near you ! ( Fixed Capital + Working Capital )

That means , money given by VC to just ONE start up could have created 2500 " Self Employed " jobs !

But here is the real eye-opener , as far as these Self Employed is concerned !

*  Successful in achieving some kind of scale          :     0  %

*  Likely to survive (and feeding a family of 4 )       :   100 %

*  Likely to fail and wind up                                   :      0 %

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22  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

           

Robbing Peter To Pay Paul ?

It has finally come to pass

NDA government is pumping in Rs 22,915 crore in 13 Public Sector Banks to help them " Re-Capitalize "

Meaning ?

#  Rob the tax-payers ( Peter ) of this amount and pay it to these 13 banks ( Paul )

So that , in turn , these bank can write-off this debt owed to them by 8167 " Wilful Defaulters " ( the Ultimate Robbers ? )

And this is just the BEGINNING !

This process of " Bailing Out " of the banks ( both Public Sector and the Private Sector ) , will continue for next 4/5 years till the entire NPA ( Non Performing Assets ) of approx Rs 7 lakh*crore gets written off

All the while when poor farmers , unable to repay Rs 20,000 loan ( when monsoon fails ) , continue to commit suicides ( 17,000 each year )

Apparently , not allowing banks to go under ( or , for bank officers to forgo their annual performance bonuses ) , is GOOD ECONOMICS

I only wish , those farmers had borrowed Rs 50 lakh each ( instead of Rs 20,000 ) and then refused to repay !

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20  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Cold Asphalt is THE ANSWER

Hindustan Times ( 19 July ) carries a news report titled :

"  BMC to test new materials to fix potholes "

Report goes on to say :

" The BMC has identified five private companies , each of which will need to fill 50 sq meters of potholes on various roads. They will be using their own technology on trial basis .

Sources said the five firms had given presentations in which a ready mix of  POWDERED BITUMEN stored at normal ROOM TEMPERATURE  in 25 kg bags, could be  DIRECTLY POURED  onto the potholes. Using this mix, potholes can be LEVELED QUICKLY and roads THROWN  OPEN TO TRAFFIC IN 20 MINUTES.... according to these companies , their materials will work on a WET SURFACE TOO   "

I am glad that someone in BMC managed to hack into my mail-box and downloaded my following email to Shri Nitin Gadakari-ji :

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Sunday, 21 February 2016

Keep Experimenting !

Shri Nitin Gadkari likes to experiment and take the accompanying risks

He is not afraid to stick out his neck for fear of it getting chopped off 

He is not paralyzed into inaction by  " fear of failure "

He like to tell his officers , " Forget the  history - what is your problem ? "

Then offers solutions such as :

*  Logistic parks around big cities to decongest roads and reduce pollution

*  RFID sensor embedded vehicles , paying toll amount electronically without stopping / needing humans

*  E-rickshaws to be treated on par with petrol driven rickshaws

*  By passing Bharat V emission standards to directly jump to Bharat VI standards for all vehicles

*  Introducing hybrid model of financing for attracting private participation in Highway construction

*  Use of slag cement in construction of highways ( use of waste by-products of Steel Industry )

Dear Shri Gadkariji  :

Allow me to suggest use of " COLD  ASPHALT " technology for building new roads / filling pot holes

Use of hot asphalt requires a very narrow temperature range within which it must be spread on roads before rolling

Any hotter and it will just stick to the roller . Any colder and it just won't set

It is difficult to maintain such narrow range ( of temperature ) after asphalt carrying truck travels hundreds of kilometers - even when that truck has a heating jacket ( consuming lots of fuel ! )

If solidified asphalt ( usually stored in steel drums ) is used at the construction site , then it needs to be heated / melted locally ( usually by creating a wood fire ) - causing pollution and consuming trees !

And hot asphalt would just not adhere to a wet surface , rendering it useless for use in monsoon - especially for repair of pot holes

"  COLD  ASPHALT  " technology overcomes ALL of these problems  !

*  It consists of mixing water ( 90 % ) with hot asphalt ( 9 % ) in presence of a specialty chemical ( 1 % ) , in a

    very simple Mixing Machine which can be transported anywhere on a trolley

*  This liquid mixture can remain stored in steel drums at ROOM  TEMPERATURE for over ONE YEAR !

*  Drums containing liquid can be transported and stored at road construction sites and COLD  ASPHALT mixed

    with sand / aggregates as and when required . No ripping / destroying of drums and breaking of solid asphalt

*  There is no need for ANY temperature control as mixture / aggregate can remain at  AMBIENT  temperature

*  Since Cold Asphalt is basically water ( 90 % ) , it is ideally suited for filling wet pot holes or laying on wet roads

*  After laying / spreading , as soon as a heavy roller is driven over Cold Asphalt mixed aggregate , chemical bond

   between water and asphalt is broken due to heavy pressure and  setting process starts , causing the layer to

   solidify . 

Within a matter of MINUTES , regular traffic can flow over the road  ! or over the filled pot holes  !

*  Use of Cold Asphalt technology results in a HUGE COST SAVING  ( remember , it is 90 % water ! )

*  Cold Asphalt roads are much easier to repair , with no pollution , and very little energy consumption


*  Using Cold Asphalt technology, 3 machines ( leveler / spreader / roller ) can lay 1 KM ROAD IN A DAY  !

I have personally seen NATIONAL HIGHWAYS being constructed with Cold Asphalt technology in France , way back in 1988  !

You may turn around and ask :

"  With these advantages , how come our PWD / Municipalities have not adopted this revolutionary technology ? "

My guess :

Because those responsible for drawing up tender documents , insist on use of Hot Asphalt !

And you know , why  !

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20  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Fak - e - Mon

In India , fake / counterfeit money , is a big problem , with hundreds of crores worth of fake currency notes ( mainly Rs 500 / 1000 ) , in circulation

In 2015 alone , 632,000 pieces of fake notes were seized ( may be 5 % of those in circulation )

Bank branches do have table-top machines to detect fake notes but for ordinary citizens , it is next to impossible to figure out whether a note is fake or genuine , despite introduction of some security features recently

Is it possible to enable ordinary citizens to detect a " forged / fake " note, in matter of seconds in a foolproof way ?

Yes . By taking cue from Shri Narendra Modiji's JAM ( Jan Dhan - Aadhar - Mobile )

Here is how :

#  A secret / hidden / unique Serial Number , to be embedded / printed, in the images of all Rs 500 / 1000

    currency notes, using Steganography ( art of " hiding in plain sight " ) . This could be IP V 6.0 URL number

#  Govt to develop a mobile app , to be aptly called , " Fak-e-Mon " and insist its pre-install on all smart phones

#  Fak-e-Mon can also be downloaded from Android / Apple Stores

#  Fak-e-Mon can be activated by the phone-owner , only after entering his ,

    *  Jan Dhan account number ( J ) /   Aadhar Number ( A ) /    Mobile Number ( M )

#  Whenever presented with a Rs 500 / 1000 note for payment , a citizen simply takes a photo of that note with

    his mobile . He has to do nothing more !

#  Fak-e-Mon transmits that photo to the Central Server of the Treasury which has the MASTER DATABASE of

    those unique Serial Numbers of Rs 500 / 1000 currency notes . Software compares the Serial Number sent ( as

    photo )  with the Database and determines whether that note is Genuine or Fake

#  This information is instantaneously relayed back to the sender and appears as a GREEN dot ( for genuine note )

    or RED dot ( for fake note ) , on his mobile , so that he can refuse to honour it !

    Fak-e-Mon also transmits the GPS location of the place of transaction , to figure out " where " are these fake

    notes entering the circulation

#  Central Server records / logs , full details of ALL the good and ALL the fake notes processed through each Fak-e-

    Mon / mobile phone , to develop CURRENCY VELOCITY and CURRENCY MAP of India

Why would ordinary citizens take the trouble of using Fak-e-Mon ?

Sure , so that he does not get stuck with " fake " notes which no one accepts

Good incentive , but not enough !

But tell him the following and see what happens !

" Dear Citizen :

  Every time , your phone / Fak-e-Mon , transmits ( to the Central Server ) , an image of a FAKE currency note ,

  your Jan Dhan Bank Account will get credited as follows :

  *  Rs 5 / - for detecting / catching a Rs 500 fake note

  *  Rs 10 / for detecting / catching a Rs 1000 fake note

Still not good enough ? No problem

Just print those unique / hidden Serial Numbers on currency notes with INK containing RFID micro-sensors

( Yes , these are nano-scale , so no problem to flow with ink ! )

  

Then tell millions of unemployed young Indians :

"  Go out on the streets of your city with your GPS / NFC enabled and Fak-e-Mon installed smart phones

      As you keep walking , now and then , on your mobile's screen , you will see images of FAKE currency notes

   popping up , out of the pockets of total strangers ! Just touch those images and earn Rs 10 !

  ( of course, instantly deposited in your Jan Dhan Bank Account ! Only DBT - no cash ! " )

Pokemon is so passe ! Fak-e-mon is THE FUTURE !

Is anyone listening ?

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18  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

   

    

     

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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   

Well Begun is Half Done !

In respect of curbing the Black Money , following report appeared in Hindustan Times ( July 15, 2016 ) :

SIT on black money has recommended :

*  Banning of Cash transactions of over Rs 3 lakh

*  Individuals restricted from holding more than Rs 15 lakh in cash

*  Enactment of an Act to declare such transactions illegal / punishable under law

Revenue Secretary , Shri Hasmukh Adhia added :

*  Legislative changes required for both suggestions to be implemented

*  Limiting cash transactions would strengthen archaic laws and improve enforcement action

*  SIT recommendation is to limit cash movement

*  We are waiting for public comments before we take a view on implementing these suggestions

*  SIT had taken into account big cash recoveries made by law enforcement agencies from time to time and

    concluded that the cash transaction limit would succeed if there was a similar cap on Cash holdings

Congratulations on a good beginning  !

I am sure , citizens will have some questions about these proposals, such as :

*  Will the Cash-Holding limit also apply to Companies ( partnership / private ltd / public ltd ) ?

   Especially those Companies which pay out monthly salaries in cash to employees on 7th of each month ?

*  Will this limit also apply to NGOs / Political Parties / Charitable Trusts / Hospitals / Govt Agencies etc ?

    In such cases , who ( which person - CEO / CFO / MD / Trustee / Party President / Secretary ) is responsible ?

*  Will separate limits be applied to ( A ) Cash in bank lockers  , and ( B ) Cash in home lockers  ?

*  What powers will the Income Tax Authorities have to raid / inspect  , " suspected " lockers , especially the

    bank lockers ? Would they need to obtain a prior warrant ? from which Authority ? Can these lockers be opened

    even in the absence of the concerned owner ?

*  What amount of punishments are envisaged for those found guilty of paying and receiving ?

*  Will enforcement of these proposal require an army of 1 MILLION inspectors , considering that there are over 50

    million individual tax payers , apart from 40 million MSME establishments in the country ?

MY  SUGGESTION :

#   Whereas this is definitely a step in the right direction , it must be thought through very thoroughly so that

      ordinary / innocent citizens are not harassed on mere " Suspicion " of holding more than Rs 15 lakh in cash .

 #  The raiding / inspecting agency MUST have some IRREFUTABLE PROOF that a particular cabinet / locker / safe ,

      contains ( beyond an iota of doubt ) , an accumulation of currency notes exceeding Rs 15 lakh , continuously

      for a period of 7 days in a row ( - and further proof that this ILLEGAL amount consists of the SAME currency

      notes and not different combinations of currency notes , over that 7 day period )

 #  Any number of shops / establishments , which accept payments of under Rs 3 lakhs in cash from dozens of

     customers in the course of a working day , may have , even Rs 20 lakhs in cash at the end of the day !

     It is a normal practice for all shop owners to take the cash home at the end of the day and deposit it in their

     bank account , the next morning

     There must not be any harassment of such shop-owners by the concerned Authorities

#   The only way these proposals can be implemented SMOOTHLY and in a FOOLPROOF way , is to implement my

      following old suggestion ( sent to Policy Makers , many times in past one year ) :

     *  Discontinue paper-based currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000

 

     *  Introduce plastic currency notes of Rs 500 / 1,000 which are embedded with RFID sensors

    *  Assign to each such note, a IP V 6.0 address , linked to its unique note number

    *  Set up a IT-enabled Technology Platform which will constantly monitor any accumulation of Rs 500 / 1000

        RFID embedded notes in excess of Rs 15 Lakh within an area of ONE square meter

Not only this IT-enabled Technology Platform show up all cabinets / lockers having such accumulations ( on the

GPS maps of IT Department's mobile app - BLACK-MAIL ) but it will also provide irrefutable proof of violation

And , a frugal extension of this technology will even create a dynamic CURRENCY MAP of entire country by tracking

the movement of each and every currency note ( Rs 500 / 1000 ) , throughout its life !

And the CURRENCY DENSITY of any State / City / Street  !

No need for an army of inspectors , additional administrative machinery , search-warrants , " Panch-Nama "  !

No chance of frivolous litigations on part of the so-called " Aggrieved " !

I do hope , our policy makers will cease this opportunity of a life time ( especially in view of forthcoming elections )

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15  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs