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 27 March 2020

Remotely measuring Body Temperature




Rise of body temperature is the first SYMPTOM of Corona virus


Only persons identified as having “ above normal “ body temperature, need to be administered Covid Test ( very few test kits available – and cost approx. Rs 4,500 / kit )


If, at any given time , say just 1.3 million Indians ( 1 in 1000,  out of a population of 1300 million ), are running high temperature, we need to check them for other symptoms associated with Corona , such as sore - dry throat / persistent coughing etc , before administering Covid Test to decide positive / negative


Currently , body temperature is being checked using a hand-held THERMAL IMAGING SCANNER


A few thousands of these are available with our hospitals / nursing homes / moholla clinics / peivate medical practitioners / airport staff etc


There is an acute shortage with online price ( despite uncertain delivery date ) having jumped from earlier Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000  !


Individuals cannot afford , even if these were available at Rs 1000 and across the counter



That is why, I suggested :


And later :

Mobiles for Tracking Corona Movements ?                 [  23 March 2020 ]

 

Now , Thermal Sensors ( for measuring body temperature ) embedded in Mobiles have surfaced from time to time, over the past 3 years, but nothing very reliable so far


But, now that Corona has thrown up this as a necessity ( and a huge business opportunity for manufacturers )  , I am sure , one day soon, this will happen . Let us hope Indian manufacturers of mobiles, take a lead in this


Of course , it may take YEARS for millions of people to discard their existing mobiles and replace the same with such improvised versions


But , here is one more innovation :

 

Continuous Temperature Sensor


The continuous temperature patch is designed for multi-day 24 hour continuous monitoring or retrospective analysis of axillary body temperature.

The temperature patch is available with a software development kit that enables easy integration with remote patient monitoring applications whether on location or in the cloud.

 

Accuracy:

+/- 0.1 C between 37 to 39 C

+/- 0.2C between 35 to 37 C and 39 to 42 C 


HOW IT WORKS
Working with VivaLNK solution partner Yijing Health, the temperature sensor is applied directly onto the patient and allows for continuous, real-time monitoring of changes in body temperature. The data is then sent electronically from the patient to a remote observation dashboard at the nursing station, which allows nurses/healthcare staff to monitor them easily and safely. Instead of physically checking the patient's temperature every few hours with a mercury thermometer, temperatures can be monitored remotely and automatically, thereby limiting patient-to-caregiver contact.

And another innovation :

Singapore-based Veredus Laboratories is working on the development of the VereCoV detection kit, a portable Lab-on-Chip application capable of detecting Wuhan Coronavirus in a single test, MobiHealthNews reported. The detection kit is slated to be commercially available by Feb. 1 this year

Source : 

https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/asia-pacific/combating-spread-coronavirus-china-through-continuous-temperature-monitoring


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

Dear Dr HarshVardhanji,

May be you are aware of the above-mentioned developments

If not , you may want to talk to the INNOVATORS and ask them to tie-up with suitable Indian Manufacturers for starting local production on a WAR FOOTING


With regards,

Hemen Parekh

===================================================================================
28  march  2020
hcp@RecruitGuru.com



Account Aggregator Framework




Context :



Extract :

Ø  Account aggregators are responsible for transferring, but not storing, client data. An AA ecosystem, as envisaged by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), would be a platform for financial services companies to reach out to the consumer to seek consent before using their personal data to optimise their product offerings.

Ø  “As we speak we are launching a pilot with our employees before we launch it for our customers. We see many use cases for seamlessly integrating personal finance journeys. We want to see how employees across entities are using it so we can fine-tune the experience,” Kotak Mahindra Bank chief digital officer Deepak Sharma said.

Ø  The company has designed a testing app for the pilot, where employees can generate an AA ID and view their portfolio across all its entities. It sees use cases in lending including to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), personal financial management and underwriting.

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

It is only a matter of time before this ACCOUNT  AGGREGATOR  framework, morphs into a Mobile Wallet  [ AutoInvestAlgo  ?  ], as described in my following blog :

 A Matter of Time    / 03 Jan 2017

Extract :

So, just wait to find out which Mobile Wallet comes up with following " innovations " first :

*  All bank accounts of a person ( in different banks ) become inter- operable / fungible ,
   through seamless interlinking , using Aadhar / UPI Interface in a Mobile Wallet
   No need to " select " a particular bank name

  
*  All transactions using a Mobile Wallet, automatically entered in BLOCK-CHAIN database
   commonly shared by ALL banks


Wallet based algorithm will  move funds across different bank accounts  for best yield ,
   constantly searching for best interest rates offered by banks on Fixed Deposits

   This will happen automatically , much like algorithm-based sharetrading , taking
   advantage of price differences in two bourses located 300 km apart ( in one thousandths
   of a second ! )

{ Above link added on 19 May 2020  }


   No rocket science here considering availability of " best price " apps for thousands of
   goods and services


  And since computing power of mobiles are doubling every 18 months ( Moore's Law ),
  nothing will stop algo-trading through a Mobile Wallet , as well ! ( Demat A/C on Wallet ? )

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

27  March  2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com


Wednesday 25 March 2020

India trumps USA ?




It seems so

Here are a few examples :


[ A ]……. In USA

US Congress has passed ( but Senate still debating ), a $ 2,000 billion Economy Stimulus package

[ source : Coronavirus: US Senate snag holds up $2tn disaster aid bill  ]



Highlights :

Ø  The plan includes direct payments of $1,200 to most American adults and aid to help small businesses pay workers.

Ø  Individuals who earn $75,000 or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each. Married couples with household income of up to $150,000 would receive $2,400 and an additional $500 per each child


Objections /  Reservations :

Ø  Republican senators Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Ben Sasse and Lindsey Graham said its major expansion of jobless benefits provided "a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work

Ø  They said they would oppose the bill unless it was fixed to ensure workers could not have a higher income while unemployed than in a job

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

[ B ]………… In India

[ source :  Modi govt’s largest ration subsidy scheme for 80 Cr Indians  ]

Highlights :

Ø   Narendra Modi-led government has approved the world’s largest food security scheme to benefit 80 crore people across the country

Ø  Every person will get 7 kg ration per month for the next three months, including wheat at a cost of Rs 2 per kg, instead of Rs 27 per kg; and rice at cost of Rs 3 per kg, instead of Rs 37 per kg

What would this cost the Government by way of SUBSIDY ?

Subsidy Rates :  

For RICE     >    Rs 34 / kg  [  Rs 37 – Rs 3 ]

For WHEAT  >    Rs 25 / kg  [  Rs 27 – Rs 2 ]

Monthly Ration ( Kg ) :

800 million ( 80 Cr ) persons x 7 kg / month = 5600 million Kg = 5.6 million tonnes

Total Subsidy Amount / month :

If entire ration was ,

Ø  RICE

          Rs 34 / kg x 5600 million kg = Rs 19040,0 million = Rs 19040  Cr

Ø  WHEAT

    Rs 25 / Kg x 5600 million kg = Rs 14000,0 million = Rs 14000  Cr

Therefore, taking average outlay to :

Ø  Rs 19040 + Rs 14000 =  Rs 33,040 cr / 2  =  Rs  16,520 Cr / month 

Ø  Total subsidy burden over 3 months  =  Rs  49, 560  Cr ( = $ 661 Billion )

Ø  If this program was extended for 12 months , burden  =  $ 2,644 Billion

If extended for a full year, our plan is even bigger than the USA plan of $ 2,000 billion !

And I believe, much better too ! With millions of daily workers having rendered jobless , this subsidized food will help them enormously

Question :

Do we have enough food-grains to sustain such program beyond 3 months ?

Answer :

We need 5600 million kg / month =   5.6 Million tonnes / month

For 3 months , we need              =   5.6 x 3 = 16.8 million tonnes

For 12 months , we need             =  5.6 x 12 = 67.2 million tonnes

By April , we expect FCI ( Food Corporation of India ) food-grain stock = 100 million tonnes

Expected production of food grain in 2019-20  =  292 million tonnes

Hence , no worry on this count !

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

Even as I await the press conference of Smt Nirmala Sitharamanji at 1pm this afternoon , I urge fellow citizen to appreciate that , when it comes to caring for the poor , Shri Modi does not waste time , in sloganeering [  Garibi Hatao  ]


He acts upon what Mahatmaji taught him :

“ In the hands of the poor , God appears in the form of a Roti “


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

26 March 2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

Tuesday 24 March 2020

A Rose by Any Other Name ?




In his nation-wide address last evening , PM Modiji did not declare ,

National Health Emergency  [  - as urged by me in my email yesterday ],


Instead he announced ,

Nation-wide 24 hour LOCKDOWN for 21 days { presumably under National Disaster Management Act }


For details of how Lockdown will affect our lives, read :




PM also announced a budgetary provision of Rs 15,000 crore to fight the pandemic – mostly to be spent on augmenting HEALTH SERVICES [ Hospitals - Ventilator supply etc  ]


There was only a passing reference to ECONOMY – that too , a warning that economy is bound to suffer and jobs may be lost , causing hardship to people – especially, to poor people


He spoke of the fact that developed countries , despite their substantial Healthcare Resources , have failed to control the pandemic . He stopped there without terming the efforts of these developed countries to “REVIVE the ECONOMY “ by spending $ 500 billion - $ 800 billion - $ 1,000 billion , as totally MIS-GUIDED !


How come “ misguided “ ?

Developed countries want to pump in those billions of dollars , to “ Keep economy running normally – as before “ – presumably to save job-losses


That means enabling / encouraging , factories and offices to stay open and keep working


In turn , that would require all transport ( whether Public or Private / whether Passenger or Freight ), to operate “ as usual


In short , no restriction on people congregating / mixing / bumping into one another , as before


Essentially allowing everyone to shout ,


 “ Welcome to Community Transmission ( Stage 4 ) “



If in doubt, look at this data as of yesterday :

================================================================================
Country
Deaths
Confirmed Cases
% age Death to Conf.
Italy
6,820
69,176
9.8
Spain
2,991
42,058
7.1
Iran
1,934
24,811
7.8
USA
   797
55,233
1.4
India
        9
      562
1.6


Now you will understand the wisdom of Shri Modiji , when he said :


Ø  Jaan hai to Jahaan hai

Ø  को  =  कोई 
Ø  रो   =   रोड पर 
Ø  ना   =   ना आवे 

He could have added :

Ø  सिर सलामत तो पग़डिया बहोत 


As of now , no country has :

Ø   a  Vaccine to Prevent Corona
Ø   a  Drug to Cure  Corona

It may take weeks / months to develop these , by which time , Corona would have infected MILLIONS of persons in those Developed Countries


By which time , thousands would have died in those countries


Let no one have any doubt that our only salvation lies in SOCIAL DISTANCING through LOCKDOWN


Of course , there will be disruption in supply of our daily necessities, but for a few days before things settle down . Government Agencies will get overwhelmed. We need to “ grin and bear it “ !


I have only one request to Shri Modiji , viz :


Even as jobs get lost as Economy slides ( possibly for next 1 year ) , and may take another 1 year to return to 5 % GDP, let some officers ( by name ) – and not departments / sections / Ministries , silently / quietly work to implement :

How to convert Temporary into Permanent ? 



The only thing that Task Forces / Committees / Empowered Groups etc manage to “ achieve “ is giving all the members, a “ Sense of Enlarged Participation “

  .
Diffused / Shared Responsibilities ( where you cannot hold a SINGLE person as “ Accountable / Answerable “ ) , cannot get things done


Hold a person by his collar and tell him :  Get this job done by XYZ date . Period


And , if you must have a Task Force / Committee , just pose the problem and tell each member :


  We don’t need suggestions from you as to who should do what


   Please , stand up and say :


  This is WHAT I will do by XYZ date 


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

25  March 2020 (  First Day of Lockdown )

hcp@RecruitGuru.com