A Syria at our doorsteps ?

Pakistan's special Kashmir envoy , Mushahid Hussain Syed , yesterday told the members of Atlantic Council , a top American think tank ,

" Pakistan would move towards China and Russia if its views on Kashmir and India are not considered by the US .

US is no longer a world power. It is a declining power . Forget about it "

Dangerously reminiscent of President Basher  Assad of Syria inviting Russia , 2 years ago , to bomb his own countrymen !

That made the Coalition ( USA / European Countries / Turkey / Jordan / Syria / Saudi Arabia etc ) to get itself invited on their own , to bomb the Syrians !

All claiming to fight Al Quaida / ISIL / Taliban / Kurds and a dozen other " terrorists " groups , operating in Syria,

in the name of getting rid of dictator Assad ( USA led coalition ) and getting rid of ISIL ( Russia )

But , in the process killing thousands of innocent Syrians and making millions of them refugees in neighboring countries

Neither Assad , nor USA / Russia , nor those few surrounding Islamic Countries , have any love lost for the poor , suffering Syrians !

All have only their own " Strategic Interests " to safeguard !

It seems Mushahid Hussain Syed , has not learned his lesson from Syria , when he wants China / Russia to " intervene " in Kashmir  !

May be , he could not care less for, not only the people of Kashmir but even his own countrymen !

May be he forgets that after 2 years of bombing , neither USA has managed to get rid of Assad , nor has Russia managed to eliminate ISIL  !

May be he forgets that China / Russia / USA , all want India and Pakistan to keep fighting over Kashmir ( at low level , across LoC ) , and not become friends

May be he forgets that China / Russia / America want Pakistan to mortgage its economy to them !

May be it is time for citizens of both India and Pakistan to tell their politician to examine my 3 year old , following suggestion / blog :

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Sunday, 20 October 2013

A Contrarian View

Pakistani prime minister , Nawaz Sharif , yesterday suggested that America should get “ involved “ in solving the “ Kashmir Issue “

Expectedly , Indian politicians are all united ( at least on one issue ! ) in telling USA :

“ Keep your hands off Kashmir . We don’t need third party intervention to solve , what is essentially , our bilateral problem , as agreed in Shimla Agreement "

Except that no politician is willing to admit the harsh ground reality that , after 60 years of LoC skirmishes – and thousands of deaths , India and Pakistan have failed to resolve the issue “ bilaterally “ !

Late Vasant Sathe was the only politician who had the ( suicidal ? ) courage to say ,

“ Only practical solution is for both countries to accept LoC as the international border “

And such a “ practical solution “ can come about only through a third-party mediation , without making either Indian or Pakistani politicians losing face !

Let us admit :

Ø  Without a peaceful solution of Kashmir Issue , thousands of innocent Indians living close to LoC will continue to die

Ø  Unlike Israel , India cannot engage in “ Hot Pursuit “ of the terrorists into Pak-Occupied Kashmir , without risking an all-out Nuclear war

Ø  Western Nations ( especially USA ) need Pakistan to fight  Al Qaida. Despite endless Indian protestations , billions of dollars worth of American Aid money to improve Pakistan’s economy will continue to fund terrorists in POK

Ø  China is encircling India by establishing strong economic / military presence in Tibet / Nepal / Myanmar / Sri-Lanka / Maldive / Pakistan etc

Ø  Even Russian support to India is waning , as Russian economy gets more and more integrated with EU

Let us ask ourselves :

“ Is it right to continue spending billions of rupees in maintaining our military presence in Kashmir , when 400 million BPL Indians don’t get 2 meals a day ?


  How long must 1.6 million Indian children ( below the age of 5 ) continue to die , year after year , due to starvation ? “

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07  Oct  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

   

Wisdom of the Ancients

Hindustan Times ( 05 Oct 2016 ) carried two news reports with following titles :

*   Buy noise meters in 10 days or face contempt : HC

*   Traffic offenders will now receive e-challan via SMS

Apparently , way back in Jan 2016 , High Court had asked the Maharashtra Government to buy 1843 Decibel Meters , with which to catch the noise-makers ( public loud speakers raining music on peaceful neighbourhoods )

These noise meters were to become operational by 15 Oct 2016 , but nowhere in sight ! So , HC is annoyed !

The second news pertains to the Mumbai Traffic Police having installed some 4717 CCTV cameras to catch the traffic violations by car drivers and send to them ( within 5 minutes ) , e-Challan via SMS on their mobiles , employing an innovative integration of technologies comprising , CCTV / Image Recognition / Database Search of Vehicle Number and Driver License Number / Geo-tagging / Time stamping / Smart phones / Web sites / Online payment thru Credit Cards etc

With this automated technology driven process of " Catching Traffic Violations " , Mumbai police expects to be able to issue 10,000 e-Challans SMS , DAILY  !

A very credit-worthy initiative worth Congratulations !

But how will Traffic Police ( or any other Agency ) , catch violations of :

#   Vehicles emitting polluting gases , in excess of BHARAT 4 , emission control limits ?

#   Vehicles honking ( noise pollution ) to nudge the car in front to get going ?

Of course , it is possible to cover EVERY km of EVERY road ( and inter-city highways ), in EVERY city , with devices to capture these violations and , like those CCTV cameras , to relay such violations to some CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM

Except that those MILLIONS of Emission Control Devices / Decibel Meters , fixed on the footpaths or on lighting poles along millions of kilometers of roads, cannot tell the Agency , WHICH vehicle had committed that violation ! Unlike those CCTV cameras which capture the license plate number !

This reminds me of an ancient tale

A Raja was very upset that every time he came out of his palace and walked barefoot on the streets of his kingdom , his feet got covered by dust and grime

In frustration, he ordered his Vazir , to line all the roads and streets and farms with leather, to cover up the dust

Now , the Vazir just could not find enough leather to cover up the entire kingdom - and was at a total loss

This is when a old wise man suggested :

" Instead of trying to cover up the entire earth with leather , why not just cover up your feet with leather , whenever you step out ? "

This is how shoes got invented !

So , I ask :

"  Why not our Scientists / Technocrats / Inventors , come up with a small , vehicle mounted device that will measure all types of traffic ( or rather , Vehicular ) violations , including going thru a red-light  / wrongly overtaking a car in front / wrong parking / belching smoke / honking etc - and relay these violations to the Central Control Room , with full details of the Vehicle and the Driver and the Place and the Time and the Type of violation ?

And relay all of this to a Single Agency

Surely , this would be better than installing - and maintaining - those millions of roadside devices !

And mandate vehicle manufacturers to install this device in all vehicles ?

At pre-determined accumulation of offenses , this device would automatically ,

*    Alert the nearest traffic police to cease the vehicle and pull it out of the traffic

*    Cancel the offending drivers driving license ( or suspend it )

*    Cancel the Car Registration

Simultaneously , sending out emails / SMS to RTOs / Police Control Centers , all over India

Considering that Driving Licenses and Car Registrations can , now be digitized and uploaded on your Smart phone , this is entirely possible !

In an age where Google has invented Eye Contact Lenses which can measure the sugar level in your blood and alert your doctor on his Smart phone, let no one say, my suggested device can be found only in Star Track !

I hope Shri Nitin Gadkariji , will take a notice !

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06  Oct  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

How About Virtual Call Centers ?

In my yesterday's blog ( Slow and Steady wins the Race )- and in earlier blog ( If Mohamed cannot Go to Mountain / 26 July 2015 ) , I had suggested allowing 1.3 million schools of India to lease out their premises at night ( 6 pm to 6 am ) , for private parties to set up Call Centers ( BPOs )

Also enabling them with 100 mbps  Internet broadband connections ( of course , FREE )

Idea was to reduce investment in setting up of BPOs by " round-the-clock " utilization of , otherwise idle assets

That logic could be extended to many similar under-utilized public assets such as :

#   2,25,000  Gram Panchayat offices ( all getting internet connection )

#   1,45,000  Post Offices ( also getting internet connection under Payment Bank scheme )

#   Lakhs of Government offices ( Central / State / Municipal / PSUs etc )

#   Lakhs of branches of Public Sector Banks

But any attempt to share a public place by different entities ( especially by Private Sector entities ) , at different times of day and night , is bound to raise many issues , including that of security / maintenance  etc

Again , these " idle / under-utilized " capacities will be available ONLY during the nights , whereas  a Call Centre  needs to work around the clock !

But then , in today's totally interconnected World , why should it be necessary for housing 10 / 20 / 50 persons in ONE place , under ONE roof , for collaborating on execution of COMMON tasks ?

I am sure , in any given ONE square km of a small town , there are 50 unemployed - and quite possibly , GRADUATE - youngsters , who would be more than happy to " work from home "

They will be happy to set aside , in their homes , a 5 feet by 5 feet space , as a " Home Work Station "

Now , that subsidy of " Rs 1 lakh per seat " that the IT Ministry has promised , is quite sufficient to set up a :

VIRTUAL  CALL  CENTER ,

by connecting those 50 youngsters through a  , VPN ( VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK )

And since these youngsters are working from their homes , they can be asked to work in 3 shifts of 8 hours each , providing " Round the Clock " service to customers !

If Uber-Ola are adding 5,000 " Ride Sharing Taxies " EVERY MONTH , by providing lease finance to the drivers or even buying the cars themselves and giving to these drivers , then what is holding back the IT Ministry to follow their suit and enable 5,000 youngsters to become " Self Employed " , each month ? or even 50,000 ?

Dear Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad-ji :

Why give a subsidy to a prospective " OWNER " of a Call Centre ?

Why not give it directly ( DBT / Direct Benefit Transfer ) to those youngsters ?

Of course , this subsidy transfer should take place , only AFTER , the Call Centre Owner , certifies that it has entered into a " Contractual Retainer-ship " with a particular youngster

I would request you to consider the following aspects of my suggestion :

*  No new building premises needed

*  All technologies for a VPN, are existing / well proven  / reasonably priced / easy to implement quickly

*  MSPs / ISPs and your own Ministry are pushing internet connections to every corner of India

*  Moving from " Ownership of Assets " to " Assets as Service " scenario ( ala Uber-Ola-Airbnb etc )

*  Moving from " Employment " to " Self Employment " with direct transfer of subsidy to beneficiary

*  Has the potential to raise India's share in global BPO business from current 36 % to 50 % in one year

*  Can earn billions of dollars in foreign exchange

*  It would become a LIVING PROOF that DIGITAL INDIA can help our un-employed graduates to earn a living

*  Google  /  Microsoft  / Facebook , would be happy to help since " Next Billion " is their topmost agenda

In an age where the " Fast and Furious " are out to overtake the " Slow and Steady " , the meek are unlikely to inherit the earth !

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05  Oct  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

  

Slow and Steady wins the Race ?

India Today ( 03 Oct 2016 ) carries a news report titled :

"  IT Min approves 9,000 seats for call centres in small towns  "

Following are the details :

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" IT Ministry today said it has given its in-principal approval for around 9,000 seats in business process outsourcing (BPO) units across several small cities of the country

"I remember during my visit to Bengaluru, people from North-East, Bihar and other places asked me to do something so that they can work in their hometowns. I am happy that with BPOs in small towns, people will be able to work without any need to leave their native place," IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said while inaugurating a BPO workshop.

The Centre under its BPO promotion scheme will provide financial support for total of 48,300 seats to be set up across country with total outlay of Rs 493 crore.

The scheme has provision to provide 50 per cent of actual expenditure with cap of Rs 1 lakh per seat.

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Dear Shri Prasad :

While congratulating you on this initiative , I would request you to relook my following blog (sent as email to you ):

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Sunday, 26 July 2015

If Mohamed cannot go to Mountain

There is an old saying:

" If Mohamed cannot go to Mountain , let Mountain go to Mohamed "

In today's internet era , an equivalent would be :

" If people cannot go to where jobs are , let jobs go to where people live "

Remember , in 2015 , it is much easier / cheaper to import " digital service " based jobs into India , then to export people to foreign countries , where they will face a lot of resistance / animosity from local citizens

Examples :

Call Canters  /  BPO  /  RPO  / LPO  /  KPO ....any PO ( Process Outsourcing )

May be this is what was in the mind of Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad ( Minister for Communication and Information Technology ) , when he proposed setting up of 480 Call Centers ( @ 100 seats each )

As per Minister ,

*    These will be set up in smaller towns

*    These will be distributed State-Population wise

*    Union Government will give Rs 1 lakh subsidy per seat

*    Established Company will hand-hold a local entrepreneur for setting up

      the Call Center

*    Local entity can be an agency ,society ,individual ,partnership ,Company

*    State Governments will need to provide electricity / security

*    Center will soon issue call for expression of interest

But with 100 persons working in each shift , that would generate employment for only ,

480*100*3 = 1,44,000  youth 

And we have 12 million  people joining our work force every year  !

Can we find ways to generate in small towns , millions of jobs for 3.5 million students graduating from our colleges , each year ?

It is possible , with following  " OUT OF THE BOX " thinking :

#   SPACE

India boasts of over 1.3 million schools . These school buildings are occupied for only 8/10 hours per day

Let Government frame rules which encourage these school-buildings to turn into Call Centers after 5 pm

For a 100 seat Center , Government is planning to give a subsidy of Rs 100 lakhs

If 25 % of this subsidy is passed on to a school , it will be happy to lease out its premises to a Call Center

#   BROAD-BAND

Under " Digital India " program , let Union Government provide a 100 Mb broadband connection to each such " School-cum- Call Center " , free of cost

That will also help the students to freely access digital education content throughout the day

#   BLACK  MONEY

Launch an Amnesty Scheme under which black money is permitted to be invested into setting up such Call Centers

No questions asked as to the source . No penalty to be paid . No income tax on earnings for 10 years

There can be no better way to put these money to a mainstream and productive use !

All that debate of " Rewarding " the tax-evaders while " Penalizing " the honest tax payers , is merely academic

India's problems are unlikely to be solved by academicians !

These can be solved , only by pragmatists  !

Luck happens when " preparedness " meets " opportunity "

My suggestions will prepare us to make 21st Century , an Indian Century !

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04  Oct  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Where are we headed ?

In the past 2 weeks , Karnataka Government ( supported by Karnataka Legislative Assembly ) had stopped supply of Cauveri waters to Tamilnadu

Despite Supreme Court twice ordering it to release the waters

Then last evening they decided to release the waters - but only " for irrigation " !

May be they feared that the Supreme Court might hold them in " Contempt of Court " and advise the President to impose Governor's rule in Karnataka ! May be because their counsel , Fali Nariman refused to plead their case any more !

Rising above the theatricals of the present crisis , the larger questions that the country needs to answer , are  :

Does a State have sole / unhindered " rights " over waters of rivers flowing through it , just because it controls the sluice-gates in a dam ?

In this respect , are we employing " Double Standards " while talking about Indus Treaty with Pakistan or when threatened by China constructing a dam on a tributary of Brahma-Putra ?

Or Russia laying claims to oil wealth under Arctic ? Or, USA allowing its citizens to mine minerals on moon / mars ?

I believe , even in case of minerals found entirely within the boundaries of a given State , such rights carry federal obligations !

There was a time when farmers of one State could not sell some of its produce beyond the state boundary

Even this archaic barrier is getting dismantled

If one State refuses to " share " its natural resources across State boundaries , that could set a very dangerous precedent

Tomorrow , Tamilnadu can turn around and say :

" Sunlight falling on Tamilnadu land is our  " exclusive and private "  natural resource .

We will not allow any Solar Power Producer in Tamilnadu , to sell such power beyond Tamilnadu , whether we  ourselves are short of power or not ! "

Can we imagine a situation tomorrow , where each State frames its own rules in respect of utilization of the following Natural Resources , claiming " Exclusive Ownership " ?

       *    Oil / Coal / Shale Gas / Fossil Fuels ( including in sea-basins just 5 km from any State shore )

      *    Ores of Iron / Copper / Zinc / Aluminum etc

      *    Trees ( timber ) that grow in our jungles

      *    Any number of minor minerals / chemicals

      *     Wind that blows freely over our land 

       *    Hydro Power generated along rivers flowing through various states

     *    Tidal Power generated from tides (eg : in Bay of Cambay - Gujarat )

May be 30+ States of India constitute a Federation . But we are NOT 30 + different Sovereign countries !

Let not our GREED break up the unity that Sardar Patel managed to forge in 1947  from 200 + Princely States

Our British rulers tried their best to see that we do not unite

Our current rulers must go out of their way to ensure that we stay united !

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04  Oct  2016

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

     

     

     

#   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 ?