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

Thursday 28 July 2016

START UP WISH LIST


To:

Shivanshu Gupta ( Paytm ) / Anand Subramanian ( Ola ) / Suraj Saharan ( Delhivery ) / Sachin Parakh ( Nykaa ) / Shashank ND ( Practo ) / Abhiraj Bhal ( Urbanclap ) / Anu Acharya ( Mapmygenome ) / Rivi Varghese ( Customerxps )

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Dear Friends :

Today's Hindustan Times reports that you have been invited by Commerce Minister , Madam Nirmala Sitharaman , for a discussion today

Report adds :

" The government wants to know whether the drift of the Start Up India is right or not and how the government can extend further support to Start Ups

The government does not want to be a big-daddy in policy making for start ups

This meeting will be a platform for the government to listen and understand the needs and requirements of start ups and how better facilitation from government can help in creating a more effective ecosystem "

In this regard , in the past few months , I have sent a few suggestions to DIPP / Commerce Ministry etc , as listed below

These may help you during your discussions

If you have any questions , feel free to phone or write

with regards,

( click to view my profile ) 
Marol , Mumbai , India
( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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VISITORS TO WWW.hemenparekh.in


Dear Team :

Just for your info ;

No of Visitors ( to www.hemenparekh.in ) in past one month............ 7,392

On July 25 .... 373

              26....  366

              27....  385

Credit goes to Sanjivani !

hcp


Wednesday 27 July 2016

GST : Light at the End of the Tunnel ?



Hindustan Times ( July 28 , 2016 ) reports :

On Wednesday , government agreed to drop the contentious 1 % manufacturing tax and fully compensate states for five years for potential revenue losses after GST system kicks in

Even at this stage , there can be " Many a slips between the Cup and the Lips "  !

But then , " Where there is a Will , there is a Way " , too !

Let us hope that when the bill comes up for discussion / voting in Rajya Sabha next week , political parties will find a compromise solution , based on my following suggestion ( sent to all Ministers / MPs as email , 8 months back ) :

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 Saturday, 28 November 2015


 

GST / GIVE AND TAKE



Dear Shri Modiji / Shrimati Soniaji :


It was statesperson like for you, to reach out to each other last evening , in order to arrive at an agreement on GST

All negotiations have two , initially opposing , parties

No agreement can be arrived at , on the " Terms " of only one of the parties

A customer sold against his will , ceases to be a customer  !

Agreements imposed through numerical strength of membership , are bound to get sabotaged

To arrive at a " Lasting Solution " , there must be give and take


Here is my suggestion :


NDA  GIVE  / OPPOSITION  TAKE  :


*    Accept a cap of 18 % for GST in the Constitutional Amendment Bill


OPPOSITION   GIVE /  NDA   TAKE  :


*    A provision in Bill to enable the Government of the day , to raise the GST % in
     subsequent years , through an enabling provision
     
     This provision ( not mandatory ) , will allow the Government to raise the GST %
    through the Annual Central Budget each year

      ( anyway , Union Budget has to be passed in Lok Sabha , each year )



*   The amount by which GST " may " get raised , to be calculated as follows :

     #    Starting GST %   =    18 %

    #     Assume that , in 2016-17 , CPI rises by 10 %

    #     Take  5 %  of that 10 % rise in CPI .   That works out to 0.5 %

    #     So , in 2017-18 , GST may be raised by 0.5 % , to become 18.5 %

    #     This is the UPPER LIMIT . Government may choose to revise GST to any
           figure less than 18.5 %


This is a perfect  FACE SAVING  FORMULA / a WIN-WIN situation for both  !

This is not a matter of , " WHO is right ? "

This is a question of ,   " WHAT is right ? "


Carpe  Diem !  Cease this moment to strike a deal by today evening  !


Good Luck  !
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28  July  2016
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs


DESI POKEMON


Dear Krishnan Milan Rao,

In yesterday's Business Line , read a news report about your Organization

( A desi Delta T takes on Pokemon Go )

In this context , you may like  to go through my following blog

There are some more ideas for Mobile Apps , listed in attachment ( VotesApp / I SIN > < U SIN / ROMP / BANMALI etc )

If there are any questions , feel free to write

with regards,


( click to view my profile )
 Marol , Mumbai , India
( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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Sunday, 17 July 2016
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




Tuesday 26 July 2016

THIS MAY INTEREST YOU


Shuklendu / Nitin,

Even as you are no doubt making significant progress with " Job Market Analytics " page launch on 17th Aug , you may want to look at the following :
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hcp

Monday 25 July 2016

Silver Lining Vs Missing Perspective


Hindustan Times ( 26 July 2016 ) carries a report with headline :

" In 6 years, cash will no longer be king for most Indians "

It goes on to say :


Silver Lining :

Non-cash transactions will grow from current 22 % to 40 % by 2020 and to 59 % by 2025


#  Cash in Circulation in India is 18 % of GDP ( For USA / UK , this is about 3.5 % to 8 % )


#  Currently there are 80-85 million active mobile wallets in India


#  In 2015-16, number of wallets / pre-paid card transactions stood at 747 million


#  Total value of transactions was Rs 46,200 crores with average transaction being Rs 618

    ( For this amount , these days , one cannot even buy enough grocery or vegetables ! )


Number of merchants on various mobile wallet platforms :

    *  Mobikwik........... 1 lakh

    *  Paytm..............  4 lakh



Missing  Perspective :

#  India's GDP ( 2015 )...........$  2 Trillion ( approx Rs 134 lakh*crore )

    That means Cash in Circulation ( @ 18 % of GDP ) , is approx Rs 24 lakh*crore ; so Rs 46,200 crore worth of Non-Cash transactions in 2015 , amounted to , barely 1.9 % of Cash in Circulation ( where am I going wrong ? )


#  Altogether , there are over 50 million MSME ( including retail shops ) ; I suspect that all the mobile wallet platforms , may have , by now , covered only 1 million of these - just 2 % ! So a long way to go there as well !


# As per different estimates , India's Black Money Economy equals 23 % of its GDP ie: Rs 30 lakh*crore

  Believe me , all of these CASH transactions are for purchase of land / flats / gold / expensive clothes / electronics  etc and use only Rs 500 / 1000 currency notes

These transactions are NEVER going to be through mobile wallets / banking channels and never in Rs 100 notes !


#  Latest available figures for currency notes in India :

   *  Total number of notes ( Rs 1 onwards )........ 76.5 Billion pieces ( = Rs 12468 Billion in Value )

   *  Of the above , share of Rs 1000 notes...........39 % ( ie : Rs 4862 Billion , by Value )

   *  And the share of Rs 500 notes....................  45 % ( ie : Rs 5610 Billion , by Value )

   * Share of Rs 1/2/5/10/20/50 / 100 notes........ 16 % ( ie : Rs 1995 Billion , by Value )


   Therefore , it stands to reason that the predicted increase in those NON-CASH transactions ( going up to 59 % by 2025 ) , will mostly eliminate just 16 % of the TOTAL currency-value in circulation !


There does not seem to be any likelihood of Mobile Wallets , encroaching on the balance 84 % of the currency !


#  Then there is the matter of Indians having siphoned out some Rs 34.5 lakh*crore ( $ 500 Billion ) of BLACK MONEY , abroad , during 2005-15
There is just NO WAY , Indian mobile wallets will get used for spending / using this money !


Whereas I am all for the efforts of mobile wallet platforms ( private or even NDA government's proposed UPI - Universal Payment Interface : a truly revolutionary idea ) , to usher India towards a Non-Cash economy , I feel these steps , by themselves , are woefully " Inadequate " !


For India to permanently get rid of BLACK MONEY and its root cause CORRUPTION , I urge NDA government once again , to implement my following suggestion ( repeatedly sent to the Policy Makers , over past 2 years ) :


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 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 of the

 proposed limit of Rs 15 lakh worth of currency which can be held by a person at any time


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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26  July  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

   


AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE SEIZED - NOW


Share - Your - Soul / Outsourcing Unlimited


Business Line ( 23  July , 2016 ) carried an interesting report re mushrooming of " Rent-a-Friend " services in Japan, where you can " rent " ( on hourly basis ) , a fake friend , a family member or a companion for various occasions


One Nashimoto even " rents " himself out for " conversation " to 30 / 40 clients a month ( 70 % women ), for $ 10 per hour . He has an online service .


All kinds of people ( young and old / rich and not-so-rich ), engage him for reasons ranging from,

*  lack of family support / keeping company ( physically or online )

*  social isolation / detachment from society

*  desire to speak out freely without inhibitions

*  advice on dealing with bosses..........etc


Now , online space is overflowing with some genuine ( and some , otherwise ) , " Escort Services " in many countries ( including , in India ) , which are very expensive


And for every rich person in need of such an escort service , there are a hundred , not-so-rich and needy persons , who just need someone online , from time to time , to pour out their hearts !


I believe , thousands of educated / unemployed Indians are well placed to render such " Listening " services to needy persons all around the World , remotely , using Skype / FaceTime


Here is an outline of my suggestion , re how young / educated / unemployed Indians can offer such service :


VEHICLE

    This strictly " Online " service will have a platform called ,  www...COUCH...com  ( supported by a Mobile App )


USERS

    There will be two kinds of users who will register on this site , viz:

    *  " Talkers " , who want to engage someone who will listen to them / sympathize with them

    *  " Listeners " , who will  listen patiently / ask occasional question / offer advice - sympathy - empathy



REGISTRATION FORM

For both type of users , the Registration Form will require to submit following details :

Personal Details ( Name / DOB / Gender / Nationality / Bank Account No /  Photo / Short Video etc )

Family Details  ( Who are members of immediate family ? )

Contact Details ( Address / Mobile No / Email ID / Skype - FaceTime ID / WatsApp..etc )

Social Media Footprint  ( Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter : No of Friends - Contacts - Connections - Followers )

Cultural Exposure ( Countries visited / lived-in , with stay-periods / Foreign friends )
 
Educational Details ( Degrees / Colleges ) . Listeners having degree in Psychology will get ranked higher !

Language Details ( Languages spoken / fluently - reasonably well )

Experience Details ( Where worked / for how long ) . Retired / Worldly Wise , Listeners get ranked higher !

Availability Details ( Available from - to / GMT- Local time )



Based on the completeness of the Registration Form Details , a software will rate and rank the Listeners , which will
 be visible to the Talkers

There will be facility to update / edit the data submitted


Upon registration , users will be assigned USER ID and PASSWORD

In addition , Listener will be assigned a unique COUCH / INTERVIEW-CABIN number



SEARCHING DATABASE OF LISTENERS

    Talkers will be able to search the database of the registered Listeners , except for their " Contact Details "
    Talkers can , then select / shortlist , a few listeners of their preference



SERVICE CHARGE

    Talkers will pay $ 2 per hour to the portal , which will credit this amount to the Bank Account of the concerned
    Listener , after deducting 10 % as its own commission



PAYMENT MECHANISM

    Using online payment gateway , Talkers will deposit a minimum of $ 20 , on the portal as PRE-PAID amount

    As Talker continues using the service , credit balance will get displayed ( in $ and in " Hours " terms )
    There will be facility for online ( or through Mobile ) re-charging of the account



PROCESS

    A Listener can login anytime and occupy his own virtual COUCH / CABIN ( " I am now available for listening " )

    As soon as he does , a GREEN light will shine on the CABIN , showing the online availability of the concerned
    Listener .

    This green light will tell the Talkers : " Welcome ! I am ready to listen "


    The light will turn RED , as soon as a Talker walks into Listener's CABIN ( " I am engaged right now " )

    Any time a Talker logs in , he will find if any Listeners ( that he had previously shortlisted ) are available online

    If he finds one , he simply CLICKS on the CABIN icon and enters that VIRTUAL cabin !



    Simultaneously , both the Talker and the Listener , turn on their Skype ( on Mobile or Tablet ) to start the talk

    Remember , Skype ID of neither the Talker , nor the Listener , is ever visible to each other !



    All conversation / transaction , can ONLY take place through www...COUCH...com ( no bypassing ! )


    The entire conversation will get recorded ( Video + Audio ) and can be downloaded by the Talker ( but not by
    the Listener ) , if he so desires


   Portal will be obliged to make this recording available to a Court of Law , in case of any litigation

   Portal will carry a WARNING that it reserves the right to remove any Talker or a Listener , if it finds that its
  service is being misused / abused ( will need defining , in detail )



REPUTATION SYSTEM

    At the end of each " talk / conversation " ,  Talker will be obliged to " Rate " the concerned Listener
    on a 5 point scale ( Excellent > Horrible ) .

    Cumulative / Average " Rating " will be prominently
   displayed for guidance of all Talkers . Of course , a Listener can see his own rating as soon as he logs in



   At some future date , it should be possible ( through appropriate software ) , to introduce following variations in
   pricing of the service ( ie ; Hourly Rates ) :

   *  Surge Pricing ( depending upon the DEMAND  of any given Listener ) ie: No of Talkers waiting for a given
       Listener at a given point of time

   *  Reputation Pricing , based on points accumulated by a given Listener from all past ratings



USAGE  HISTORY

    For each user ( Listener or Talker ) , there will be a Usage History page of all the past transactions / talks ; as
    also Credit Balance ( for the Talker ) and the Earnings ( for the Listener )



PRIVACY


    The portal will NOT reveal any info / data ( including Audio-Video recording ) of any user to anyone else.

    However , portal will reserve the rights to subject those Audio recordings ( but not Video recordings ) to
    an Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) software , which can , over a course of time , come up with a SOFTWARE ROBOT
    that can take over the role of the HUMAN listeners !  If you have any doubts , ask Ray Kurzweil  !



    When that happens , this portal may morph into a PPO ( Psychology Process Outsourcing ) !

    The portal will also reserve the rights to use the Audio recordings for offering Voice-to-Voice language
     translation mobile app for the benefit of world-travelers



 #  PROMOTING  THE  SERVICE

     To an extent , the portal may affect the jobs of local Psychologists / Psycho-Analysts who offer low level
     consulting in any country. They will be in danger of being " Bangalored " ! So , it is bound to face resistance
     from those vested / threatened interests !


     But foreign Hospitals / Educational Institutions / NGOs / Medical Colleges , etc could be targeted for promoting


BUSINESS  MODEL

    Business Model will be in the nature of " Sharing Economy " , where those owning / possessing " Idle / Spare /
    Under-utilized " assets / resources , will offer the same to those in need / when in need , for a price

    Eg:

    Millions of private car-owners use their cars for ( may be ) two hours per day . Uber aggregates this spare
    capacity and makes it available to travelers who do not own ( or wish to own ) their own cars

    Both parties benefit . Economy also benefits by fuller utilization of the spare/surplus capacities of millions of
    assets


All in all , I think this is a great opportunity for some Indian Start Up to seize


For an depth idea ( Page Write-ups for web site / User Interfaces ) , look up :




Carpe Diem !

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25  July  2016


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with regards, 



hemen  parekh
Marol , Mumbai , India
( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08