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

Friday 5 May 2017

What Goes Out , Comes Back ?



What other conclusion can we draw from the following news report ( Times of India / 03 May 2017 ) ?





“ In 2014 , $  21  billion black cash exited India “



Over $21 billion worth of black money was illegally taken out of India in 2014, according to the latest report by the international watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI).


This illicit outflow was nearly 19% more than that recorded the previous year.


GFI has, for the first time, given information on the equally damaging inflow of illegal funds in this report, with India being the destination of a staggering $101 billion in 2014, up nearly 11% over the previous year.


About 87% of the global illicit financial flows are happening through trade mis-invoicing


Recommending a slew of measures, the report primarily suggests a much better trained and equipped customs staff and stricter scrutiny of trade deals.


It also indicates global cooperation in exchanging information on bank accounts, especially in tax havens.




I have no quarrel with GFI suggestion for “ better trained customs staff “ and “ stricter scrutiny of trade deals “


I am not sure that could have made a dent to that INFLOW into INDIA of $ 101 BILLION worth of BLACK MONEY , in 2014  !



Question is :



If we cannot STOP those  INFLOWS , can we do something to turn those inflows into WHITE MONEY



So that , these illegal inflows do not generate further BLACK MONEY  ?



And get utilized productively in the  MAIN  STREAM  ECONOMY  ( eg : $ 300 Billion that Shri Nitin Gadkariji and Shri Piyush Goyalji , need for transforming India ) ?



And generate  MILLIONS  of  NEW  JOBS  ?



Just as Indonesia did , by announcing an AMNESTY SCHEME last year, for bringing in BLACK MONEY by simply declaring overseas hidden assets and paying 4 % tax ( no penalty of any kind ! )



INDONESIANS  DECLARED  $  300  BILLION  !



I once again urge our Policy Makers to give a serious thought to my following suggestions ( earlier sent through emails ) :



·         MakeIndia , a Tax Haven  ?  ( 04  April  2016  )



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·         Short-Circuitingof Round-Tripping ?  (  07 April  2016  )




---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·         WhiteHoles of Black Money  ?  ( 03  June  2014  )




---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·         OneInfrastructure SPV  ?  More will follow  ( 20  March  2017  )




---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All this sterile / futile talk of , “ Punishing the honest tax-payers and Rewarding the Tax-Evaders “ ( through AMNESTY SCHEMES ) is not going to take us anywhere !



It is time to “ step back “ and view this problem from the perspective of the SAARC satellite , orbiting at 35,000 Km above the earth !






06  April  2017



Thursday 4 May 2017

Solar Panels charging Li-ion Batteries of Electric Cars ?



Without doubt , that is the  HOLY GRAIL for pollution / global warming / climate control


And my heart swells with pride to know that scientists of ISRO are about to achieve this PANACEA , not only for India but for the entire World !


Read following news report ( Times of India / 04 May 2017 ) :




“ ISRO unveils indigenous green-friendly hybrid car “



The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently demonstrated an environment-friendly solar hybrid electric car, designed and developed using in-house resources, at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvanathanapuram.


The announcement about the car was made this week.

VSSC is Isro's centre for making rockets like the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Reusable Launch Vehicle.

The demonstration included a successful uphill drive.

Isro is now researching ways to cut down the car's cost.

Explaining the project's significance, Isro said, vehicles using fossil fuels cause problems to environment and life.

“ An ideal transportation system should envisage zero emission,“ it said.

THE CAR IS RUN USING HIGH-ENERGY LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, WHICH CAN BE RECHARGED USING SUNLIGHT, SAID SOURCES.

The main challenges in developing the vehicle included designing a solar panel on top of the car and also control electronics for the battery and solar panel interface and, what is known as, “drive electronics“ to run the car smoothly .




To understand the IMPLICATION / SIGNIFICANCE of this breakthrough, consider following :

·         Li-ion Batteries constitute , nearly 50 % of the EV price . That means , Li-ion battery of a Mahindra e2o car ( selling for approx. Rs 10 lakh ), would be close to Rs 5 lakh
What if that car was priced at Rs 6 lakhs ? It seems possible , as shown below


·         Battery cost alone works out to approx. Rs 18 per km ( replacement cost )


·         Charging cost ( for 300 km ) works out to Rs 1 per km


·         So , total operating cost per km works out to Rs 19 ( Rs 18 + Rs 1 )


·         BUT IF SOLAR PANELS MOUNTED ON CAR ROOF-TOP , WERE TO CHARGE THAT LI-ION BATTERY , THEN THAT “ CHARGING COST “ ( RS 1 / KM ) , JUST DISAPPEARS !



Equally important is the fact that , with Solar Car Roof Top panels , we don’t need lakhs of battery charging stations , located every 3 km !


These Battery Charging Stations would have needed power which would have come from Coal – based power stations – a source of CO2 and particulate matter , causing 6 lakh premature deaths per year in India alone !


·         And with Roof top mounted Solar panels , continuously charging the battery , we would need a small battery ( 5 Kwh ? ) whose cost may come down from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 lakh , drastically bringing down the ex-showroom selling price


If battery price comes down from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 lakh , then Replacement cost would come down from Rs 18 / km to Rs 4 / km ( far less than petrol cost of Rs 7 / km ! ) . Who would want a petrol car ?


If Electric cars were to cost same ( or less than ) as the petrol driven cars , there would be no need to “ incentivize “ the car manufacturers or car owners with any kind of “ subsidy “ !


Government will manage to achieve its target to have 6 million electric cars by 2022 , without any problem !


·         India’s current Energy Import Bill is $ 150 Billion and expected to go up to $ 300 Billion by 2030


By aggressively implementing ISRO technology , we could cut down on our oil imports , very substantially , besides meeting the goals agreed upon at Paris





 ( - we are ready for some healthy competition )


{ https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/02/welcome-elon-musk.html  }




I hope Shri Nitin Gadkariji and Shri Piyush Goyalji , treats this opportunity as  :









05  May  2017




========================================

Added on 21 April 2022 :


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/causes/australian-scientists-power-tesla-with-printed-solar-panels/vi-AAWpJxy


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




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.
 --------------------------------------------------------

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