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

Monday 5 November 2018

4th Anniversary

Dear Narendrabhai,


On this day , four years ago ( 06 Nov 2014 ) , I sent you a folder ( titled " Transforming India " ) 

It contained hard copies of my following suggestions

In last 4 years , some got implemented / some are under implementation / some remain , as per my perception ( Status in Nov 2018 )

But then , a backlog of past 65 years of " Indecision " , cannot get cleared in 4 years

 There is no time to look back , no way you can avoid your " tryst with destiny " 

Because , you have " promises to keep / and miles to go before you sleep "  !


I will return with a fresh evaluation on 06 Nov 2019

In the meantime, I urge our Countrymen ( - and, more importantly , women ) to give you a fresh mandate in 2019 election

with regards,


hemen parekh


06  Nov  2018
_________________________________________________________________________________

SUGGESTIONS

            

Sr. No.

Blog Title                                    Status in Nov 2018

Date

1.

VotesApp                                     

Remaining to be implemented


18   Dec   2012

2.
I SIN><U SIN                   
UMANG ( partially implemented )


  29   Dec   2012  

3.

Urban    Renewal    ?        

Smart Cities ( partially but key elements missing )


05  June 2014

4.


Vested interests will never allow implementation


04  June 2014

5.


Implemented > Demonetization / Self Employment

Remaining     >  Rest of the items


17  May 2014

6.


Will these find place in 2019 Election Manifesto ?



27  April 2014

7.


I hope “ Voting from Mobile “ will happen in 2024  !


25  April 2014

8.


“ Tender-Specs “ still continue to get “ tailored “ !


21  April  2014 

9.


Not only Congress – all opposition want us to remain in coma !


20  April  2014 

10.


“ Inverse Personal Income Tax “ regime ? - a far cry !


18  April 2014

11.


This suggestion for “ Innovative Financing “ ( $ 200 billion per year ) for Infra Projects , is still valid


08  April  2014 

12.


There is some progress but CENTRAL DATA BANK remains


04  April  2014

13.


Reduce Corpo Tax in direct ratio to no of employees ?

An idea which must await its time ?


27  Feb  2014 

14.


Déjà vu !  Expect ditto in 2019 Party Manifestos !


24  Feb  2014 

15.


This got settled but you know who reaped the benefit  !


17  Feb  2014 

16.


Still waiting for a clear policy on all NATURAL RESOURCES


12  Feb  2014

17.


This is what I wrote BEFORE 2014 elections :

“ And , if NDA comes to power but fails to defuse the
  ticking

  TIME BOMB of UNEMPLOYMENT

, it will meet with the same fate in 2019 !



09  Feb  2014

18.


When robustly implemented , Ayushman Bharat will help


30  Jan 2014

19.


It is a pity that people have short memories ; Advantage politicians  ! 

It is high time citizens submit their CHARTER of DEMANDS


23  Jan  2014

20.


Out of 23 items listed , there is partial or full implementation of 13 items 


15  Jan   2014

21.


This was a suggestion for AAP Govt in Delhi


30  Dec  2013

22.


Gujarat government has ( possibly ) implemented 80 %


16   Dec   2013

23.


How much prices have gone up in Lok Sabha Canteen in last 5 years ? – as compared to salary-rise of our MPs ?


24  Nov  2013

24.


5 years back , I wrote :

“ Except that their manifestos are silent on how they will find an investment of Rs 150,000 Crores required to create these 15 million jobs  !


21  Nov  2013 

25.


Some of these issues will get resolved thru Ayushman Bharat scheme


19   Nov   2013 

26.


This list of “ Processes to fulfill poll promises “ is still valid !


05  Nov  2013

27.



Like many other orders of Supreme Court , this 5 year old order , too , stays ignored !


01 Nov  2013 

28.


A lot of excellent work has been done to create Self Employment, in past 4 years


28  Oct  2013

29.


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



20  Oct  2013

30.


Every 5 years, political parties invite suggestions from citizens for their Election Manifesto

Unless , citizens get together and draw up a ,


Parties will just change the date and re-publish 2014 manifesto !

We will get , what we deserve  !

19  Oct  2013


Saturday 3 November 2018

Foundation of Economy






On 31 Oct , PM Shri Modi unveiled the Statue of Unity



For 2 days, media ( online and offline ) were full of reports / articles / analysis of its significance


Newspapers printed millions of words and TV channels devoted hundreds of view-hours


Statistics were regurgitated : height / weight / concrete / steel / copper / workers / years / cost etc




Then on 2 Nov , Shri Modi laid the foundation of a low cost economy,  by announcing a slew of measures to boost our MSME sector


TV channels mentioned this in a passing reference of a few minutes


Newspapers barely devoted a few column-centimeter of real estate


Hardly any expert-panel debated its significance !





What makes MSME sector, the foundation of our economy ?


Here is what :


·         Country-wide 65 million MSME provide jobs to 120 million persons ( as per Shri Giriraj Singh – Minister of State for MSME )


·         MSME sector contributes 38 % to our GDP and 45 % to our Exports / Manufacturing output





I am referring to the announcements made by Shri Modi with regard to boosting MSME sector

 

These announcements will help lower the COSTS of the following INPUTS :




COST  of  MONEY

·         Quick access to credit at attractive terms (  Rs 1 crore in 59 minutes  !  )

·         2 % subsidy on interest ( for MSME registered for GST )

·         MSME exporters to get 5 % interest subsidy ( up from current 3 % )

·         Credit based on trade receivables ( by analyzing GST / Income Tax Returns )





COST  of  TECHNOLOGY

·         Rs 6,000 Cr scheme for technology up-gradation ( 20 hubs / 100 spokes )




COST  of  COMPLIANCE

·         Returns under certain Labour Laws to be filed once a year ( instead of twice a year )

·         Computerized software to decide inspection of MSME factories

·         Inspectors to file their reports in 48 hours

·         Easier process for Environment Clearances and “ Consent to Establish “




COST  of  LAND

·         70 % cost of “ Pharma Clusters “ to be borne by the government




COST  of  SELLING

·         Minimum procurement by PSUs ( from MSME ) raised to 25 % ( from current 20 % )

·         3% procurement from MSME run by women




COST  of  MANPOWER

  • A mission will be launched to ensure that MSME employees  have Jan Dhan Accounts, provident fund, and insurance





These measures make for a GOOD  BEGINNING , and I hope that announcements which will further lower their INPUT COSTS , will be made soon



But, we have a long way to go to make ours’, a truly LOW  COST  ECONOMY



I urge the Policy Makers to look up my following blogs ( earlier sent as emails ) , for suggestions on how to lower the costs of the following left out INPUTS :


·         Land

·         Machineries

·         Materials

·         Manpower

·         Energy

·         IT / Communications

·         Transport / Logistics

·         Training / skilling

·         Systems / Procedures



Level Playing Field ?    …………………………………………………………………………………[  11 June  2016  ]


How to break the vicious circle ?   .........................................  …………….[  03 July 2016  ]


Teach them to fish   ……………………………………………………………………… …………… .[ 05 Nov 2016  ]


Automation is Inescapable   ……………………………………………………………………………[ 30 Nov 2016 ]

Gist :

Reduce " Cost of Inflation " by limiting  " Annual Wages-Salaries Increases " to 75 % of

the  preceding year's GDP number ( ie: if GDP for 2015,  is 8 % , maximum salary /

wage increase  that can be granted on 01 April 2016 , will be 6 % ) . 



How much capital needed to create ONE job ?   …………………………   ……………[ 22 June 2017  ]


Solar Power at Re 1 / kwh ?   ………………………………………………………….             [ 29 Jan 2017   ]


Unlimited Power and around the clock   ………………………………………….             [ 29 July 2016  ]


Universal  Basic  Income   ……………………………………………………………….. ……………[ 20 Jan 2017  ]


Can Indian IT re-invent itself  ?   …………………………………………………….. ……………[ 03 Feb 2017  ]


HOW CHINA MAKES CHEAP ?   ………………………………………………………………………[  08 Nov 2014  ]

" BACK FACTORY " OF THE WORLD ?   …………………………………………………………..[ 09 Sept 2015 ]


How to Boost Economy    ………………………………………………………………………………[ 20  Sept  2017 ]

In a State of Denial ?   ………………………………………………………………………………….[ 22  Sept  2017 ]

What would happen ?   ………………………………………………………………………………….[ 29  Sept  2017 ]

Discovering the Obvious ?    …………………………………………………………………………..[ 30 Nov 2017  ]

Not Good Enough !   ………………………………………………………………………………………..[ 02 Dec 2017  ]



Saving Jobs : Creating Jobs   ………………………………………………………………………… [ 19 Dec 2017  ]

Free Electricity ? Possible   ……………………………………………………………………… …. [ 28  Dec  2017  ]

Of Interns and Apprentices   ………………………………………………………………………….[ 07 Jan 2018  ]

Whose Interest ?    ………………………………………………………………………………………..[ 26  Jan  2018  ]

Car Grave-Yard of World ?    ………………………………………………………………………   [ 14  Feb  2018  ]

Modiji’s ( incomplete ) Message !   ……………………………………………………………….  [ 13 Mar 2018  ]

A  TradeWar  Epidemic  ?    ……………………………………………………………………………  [ 22 Mar 2018 ]

Thanks  for  Speaking  Up  !   ………………………………………………………………………… [ 27 Mar 2016 ]

A  Robotic  Invasion  ?     ……………………………………………………………………………   [ 19  Apr 2018  ]


An Important Challenge ?    ………………………………………………………………… .      [  01 July 2018   ]

The E Commerce Elephant    ……………………………………………………………………………[ 02 Aug 2018 ]




And a final observation :


Without waiting for formulation of any MSME  POLICY , Shri Modiji  just went ahead and made these announcements !



I urge Shri Modiji to encourage his cabinet colleagues to start making similar announcements without waiting for finalization of the following :



#    Electric Vehicles Policy

#    E Commerce Policy

#    Data Protection Policy

#    Old Vehicle Scrapping Policy

#    Export  Policy

#    Intelligent Transport Policy

#    $ 5 Trillion GDP Economy Policy

#    Solar Energy Storage Policy




Of course , in hindsight , some decisions may turn out “ poor “ and seen as “ mistakes “



But “ not taking any decision “ is not an option !



There is no shame in admitting such “ honest mistakes “ and make a “ course correction “



Thank You , Shri Modiji  !




04  Nov  2018




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

Added  on  04  Nov  2022  :

India has cheapest manufacturing cost globally, bags 31st position: Report 

Extract :

India has been ranked as the nation with the cheapest  cost ahead of China and Vietnam, according to a report.


According to the US News and World Report, out of 85 nations, India has bagged the 31st position in the overall Best Countries ranking.


India featured at the 37th spot in the 'Open for Business' category.


The report evaluates 85 countries across 73 attributes. Attributes are grouped into 10 sub-categories, including adventure, agility, entrepreneurship, open for business, social purpose and quality of life.


Under the open for business sub-category, India has scored 100 per cent when it comes to cheap  costs.


 But in 'favourable tax environment', it has scored 16.2 out of 100; 18.1 in the 'not corrupt' category and 3.5 in 'transparent government policies'.


Similarly, under the 'quality of life' segment, India has scored 1.9 in 'income equality'; 4.3 in 'safe'; 2.3 in 'well-developed public health system'; and 9.9 in 'economically stable' sub-parameter.


The government has taken steps such as rolling out production linked incentive schemes and reducing compliance burden with a view to make India a global  hub.


In the overall Best Countries ranking, Switzerland has topped the chart, followed by Germany, Canada, US and Sweden.