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

Tuesday 27 April 2021

Who will win ?

 


 

 

When current second wave of COVID has run its course, who would have won ?

Ø  Humans going out for work ( to earn a livelihood ) , even risking Covid infection ?

Ø  Humans having a strong personal belief in “ salvaging the next life “ ( by taking a dip in Holy Ganga ) , even at the risk of losing current life ?

Ø  Humans “ brain-washed “ into thinking that voting in election is a higher priority than saving  family members ?

None !

One cannot escape a sad feeling that the winners will be :

Ø  Those who committed  “ Sins of Omission “ ( failure to take positive action to prevent bad things from happening )

May be it was this “ Sin of Omission “ that made Madras High Court to say :

 Madras high court blames Election Commission for surge in Covid cases   /  HT  / 27 April

Extract :

Ø  The Madras high court on Monday observed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was responsible for the second wave in the country and that its officials should probably be tried on murder charges for allowing political parties to hold massive rallies without following Covid-19 norms

Ø  In its order copy released later in the day, the court had toned down its observations against the election body as the statement on murder charges wasn’t part of the written order

 

May be Madras HC realized that EC officials could not be tried for their “ Sins of Omission “, in the absence of :

Ø  Needed : a Service Liability Act…………………………. [ 12 June 2019 ]

 

Where I have prepared a brief list of such “ Acts of Omissions “ – and suggested a framework for such an Act

I invite readers to add to this list through their comments ( post on this blog or send to  hcp@RecruitGuru.com )

Question :

While understanding the reason for dropping out the mention to try the officials of Election Commission, from its written order, could HC have done something positive ?

For Example :

Without doubt the Hon Judges of HC realize the boundaries of their power being limited to “ interpret “ the existing laws ( Of course, there have been numerous judgements / court observations / directives / guidance , of JUDICIAL ACTIVISM ) 

I suppose Hon Judges realized that EC was constitutionally bound ( under  REPRESENTATION of PEOPLEs Act ) to announce / hold elections within 6 months of the expiry of the term of a State Legislative Assembly

But,

Ø  I presume, under a NATIONAL HEALTH EMERGENCY ( of the type prevailing in India for past 14 months ), the President of India has the power to suspend the Representation of People Act, for ( say ) 1 – 2 years

If there is no constitutional provision for this, I believe we should suitably amend our constitution

 

Ø  Election Commissioner reports to the President of India

Ø  High Court could have , in their formal written order, ‘ directed “ the Election Commissioner to send a formal request to the President to suspend the Act for 2 years

This would enabled EC to postpone the State Elections

In the meantime, I urge members of the Supreme Court Bar association to prepare a draft BILL for the SERVICE LIABILITY BILL and send it to our Law Minister, Shri Ravishankar Prasadji

 

Dear Shri Prasadji,

If there ever was a time for LEGISLATIVE  ACTIVISM , it is NOW

It is time to start treating “ Sins of Omission “ on par with “ Sins of Commission “

It is time to declare a National Health Emergency and suspend ALL occasions ( political or religious ) where millions gather to spread infections

Vaccinating our entire population twice ( 2 dozes ) could well take 2 years

It is still not too late to prevent acceleration of deaths due to Covid through all means

This is a WAR of the kind that mankind has not seen in the past

Far more frightening is to be told by eminent scientists from around the World that Covid-type pandemics must be expected to descend on the mankind ( and especially poor countries like India badly affected by ill-effects of CLIMATE CHANGE ), every few years

Our laws must keep pace with these changes

I am 88 years old and may not be around long enough to see the next pandemic strike

But it is time to think about the future of our children and grand-children

I am not out to spread any FEAR among our citizen – even if unintentional  

But should you think so, I offer my apologies in advance

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  27 April 2021

Sunday 25 April 2021

Delayed Data Protection : a blessing in disguise ?

 


 

Dear Shri Ravishankar Prasadji,


You are harried man in great hurry


But, for once you will be happy that the Data Protection Bill was not rushed through in a hurry ( ala FARM LAWS ? ), giving you an opportunity to revamp it in light of the following recent developments :

 

What development  ?

A committee headed by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has recommended creation of Universal National Social Profile

Context :

GoM bats for Universal National Social Profile  /  HT  /  09 Dec 2020

Extract :

Ø  India should create a Universal National Social Profile in order to have a more immediate and thorough record of people entitled to government benefits

Ø  The suggestions ..details ways in which delivery of services and benefits through digital means can be overhauled, identifying 12 specific strategies such as ,

          #    creating a unified data system for all government offices,

          #    ensuring personal records are digital from when a person is born and

          #    improving digital literacy as well as infrastructure,

Ø  Their report also suggested creation of a multidimensional, secure, real-time, geo-tagged, robust, and accessible unified data system for all interactions that a citizen makes with the different levels of governments.

Ø  This simplification can be done by creating a single sign-in facility, ensuring that any office can serve functions of any other government office location

Ø  The privacy issue should be appropriately addressed …Citizens should have control over their data. They should be able to decide what they would like to share voluntarily.

 

Ø  With regard to issues concerning personal records and personal data, it should align with the architecture as defined in various judicial pronouncements, particularly the SC judgement of Nov 2019, as also private data protection bill under consideration

 

Ø  Eminent expert Nilanjan Sircar said while e-governance improved services, it was important that the data is anonymised to prevent any misuse.

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

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS RECOMMENDATION ?

Ø  UNSP ( Unified National social Profile ), rests on the following CORNER  STONES :

 

#     PRIVACY issue should be addressed properly

#     Citizens should have control over their data

      #     They should be able to decide what they would like to share voluntarily and with who

#     Personal data should be anonymized to prevent any misuse

#    There should be a SINGLE sign-in facility

APART FROM GETTING GOVERNMENT SERVICES / BENEFITS DIGITALLY, HOW ELSE CAN UNSP HELP CITIZEN ?

Ø  Since a citizen has the right to,

      #  Own- Control “ her Personal Data , and

      #  Share “ the same with entities of her choice,

     It is obvious that she also has the right to SELL ( get compensated ) for her data ( monetize her data )

OK , BUT HOW CAN GOVERNMENT HELP CITIZEN TO “ MONETIZE “ HER DATA ?

By implementing :

Ø   Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D ]………… …………..[ 14 Feb 2019 ]

 

Ø   SARAL ( Single  Authentic  Registration for Anywhere  Login )….[ 10 Feb 2019 ]

 

BUT WOULD THAT NOT REQUIRE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURE OF WWW  ?

Ø  Yes, and fortunately Tim Berners Lee ( father of WWW 1.0 ) has just released an OPEN SOURCE software ARCHITECTURE , as reported here :

            Mission-critical security in Inrupt’s Version 1.1 release 

   Extract :

Ø  The Inrupt software suite includes the Enterprise Solid ServerDeveloper Tools, and PodBrowser.

Ø  Mission-critical use cases often require safely storing and controlling access to sensitive, regulated, or private data

Ø  Solid enables end users to share and grant access to data stored on Pods with other users, applications, and organizations. In order to do this securely, a Solid server requires the ability to authenticate and authorize these users, applications, and entities.

Ø  A Solid server must be able to verify the identities of agents in order to ensure they only access data they have been granted access to.

Ø  This enables Pod owners and service providers to not only control who has access to data, but also control the applications and services used to access that data.

Ø  A core tenet of Solid is that data, and the interfaces to access it, are interoperable across applications

Ø  It is an important step towards empowering users across the globe with control over how their data is used and allowing organizations to deliver new kinds of value never before thought possible.

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

Dear Shri Ravishankar Prasadji,

In a way, may be it was best that we have yet to pass the Data Protection Bill into a law

The latest release of OPEN SOURCE ARCHITECTURE  by Inrupt, now makes it possible re-focus the PERSONAL DATA issue,

Ø  from one of PRIVACY

Ø  to one of MONETIZING

Here is your “ once-in-a-lifetime “ opportunity to :

Ø  Resolve the differences between Govt and Industry ( data collectors / compilers / hoarders etc ) in respect of mandatorily sharing ( or not sharing ) of Personal Data vs Non-Personal Data

Ø  Come up with a solution which is much superior to EU’s GDPR

Ø  Enable Indian Users of Social Media / E Com sites – Apps etc to earn Rs 30,000/pm ( ave )

In case you have any doubts as to the FEASIBILITY of my suggestions, I urge you to get an opinion from NASSCOM

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  24 April 2021

 

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

Related Readings :

Ø  Understandable ? Yes ………………………………………………….[ 18 Feb 2021 ]

Ø  “ Pods ” ; Prescribed by ( Dr ) Tim Berners-Lee …………[ 23 Jan 2021 ]

Ø  Tim Berners-Lee Speaks …………………………………………….[ 30 Sept 2018 ]

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

Copied To :


timbl@w3.org

info@resilientsystems.com

ruben@verborgh.org

info@janeirodigital.com

justin@janeirodigital.com

kjetil@kjernsmo.net

melvincarvalho@gmail.com

mcgarry.samantha@gmail.com

darmetko.tiffany@gmail.com

adrian.lovett@webfoundation.org

contact@webfoundation.org

jonathan.milne@inrupt.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 21 April 2021

Dr Harshvardhanji, please listen to Shri Chandrasekharji

 


 

Shri N Chandrasekharji  [  nchandra@tata.com ] , recently said :


“ The best thing we can do immediately is to have PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS to know where the cases will rise next “


( source : Technology can solve country’s key problems :  Tata Sons Chairman  )

 

Shri Chandrasekharji is a much-respected leader of IT industry and a technocrat par excellence


He speaks rarely, but when he does, his are the “ Words of Wisdom “, coming from a deep domain knowledge


QUESTION :

How can we go about that business of PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS ?


ANSWER :

By compiling / capturing following DATA about each and every Indian citizen ( affected or so far not affected , by COVID ) :

( source :   Vaccine : a Case of Missing Data     /    09 April 2021 )


Extract :

Ø  It ( analysis / publishing ) can be done by some SOFTWARE, without human intervention

Ø  Analyzing / Publishing can be DAILY and AUTOMATIC, from data flowing in from all VDC ( Vaccine Delivery Centres ) / Govt Agency releasing orders / schedules / Vaccine Suppliers – Transporters – Recipients etc) 

Ø  Based on EXTRAPOLATION ( Weighed Averages modified by TREND ANALYSIS ), that software can even PREDICT the number of dozes that will be needed by each and every VDC for the next 7 days and accordingly issue to the Vaccine Manufacturers, precise DELIVERY SCHEDULES ( no humans )

Ø  These DELIVERY SCHEDULES themselves must be clearly viewable on COWIN portal, for each and every VDC and totaled for each and every State

Ø  The analysis must also display the “ No of dozes wasted “ due to expiry and other reasons

Ø  Cowin website must also show, for each and every VDC ( Date / Month wise ), a tabulation as follows :

      #  Date

     #  Opening Stock

     #  Receipt during the day ( linked with Consignment Details )

     #  Consumed during the day

     #  Closing Stock 

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


(  Source :  “ Individual Health Records “ for Disease Prevention   /  06 Feb 2021 )

 

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

  ( source :   National Clinical Registry on Covid…………………/   29 Sept 2020  )

 

Ø  This data MUST be compiled BEFORE vaccinating because once a person gets vaccinated, he may not stick around to furnish the “ additional demographic data “ !  

        Health workers cannot be made to run after thousands of absconding

        citizen !

         

       HOW WILL SUCH COMPILATION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA HELP ?

Ø  Applying AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) to the ever-growing National Health Data Vault, will enable us to PREDICT, which SOCIO-ECONOMIC GROUPS are most VULNERABLE now ( for getting infected with Covid in the near future ) and which groups are most susceptible later on to some other unknown future pandemics )

    

Ø  Any compromise / shortcut on such MASSIVE DATA COMPILATION ( before vaccination ), will render the entire exercise infructuous ( costing Rs 50,000 crore, for the cost of vaccine + billions of MAN-HOURS spent by 1370 million citizen and health workers ) !

 

Ø  We would fail to “ Reap the Full Benefit “ of the ECONOMIC COST incurred of this ONE-TIME exercise, for PREVENTING future virus outbreaks !

 

Ø  I urge Dr Harshvardhan , to ensure that the steering committees of ALL the States follow ( without compromise ), ONLINE DATA COLLECTION FORMS , hosted on the Central Server , as described at :

      National Clinical Registry   

 

Ø  Everyone MUST use :

            Same FORM , hosted on same CENTRAL PORTAL , (using any device and

            from anywhere )

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

( source :   Rationing of Covid Vaccine ?   /   06 July 2020   )

 

Extract :

How to determine these priorities, scientifically / un-biasedly , for 700 million people ?


No human expert , no matter how intelligent , can process and co-relate ALL the data , quickly and continuously ( since data keeps changing all the time ) for the following :


       Ø    Data about   Persons already infected  ……….. ( cured / died / under

             treatment )

       Ø    Data about   Persons not infected so far “………. (  and needing

             vaccination )

 

But, if meticulously compiled and centrally processed ( with help of Artificial Intelligence ), following data, compiled uniformly at source, could determine those “ VACCINATION  PRIORITIES “ :

 

[ A ]   PERSONAL  DATA

                Ø   Name / Birthdate ( for Age ) / Gendre / Contact Details / Aadhar

                      number

 

[ B ]   LOCATION  DATA

                Ø   Permanent Address / Current Address ( State – Jilla – City – locality ) /

                     Red Zone / Containment

 

[ C ]   FAMILY  DATA

                Ø   Details of Parents / Siblings

 

[ D ]   HEALTH  HISTORY

                Ø    Details of recent illnesses - morbidity / Medicines given ( including for

                      Covid treatment ) / Hospitals where treated / Names & License

                      Number of Doctor who treated

                      

 [ E ]   ETHNIC  DATA

               Ø    Race / Religion  / Language ( Mother tongue )

 

[ F ]   EDUCATIONAL  DATA

               Ø    Graduate – Under Graduate – Illiterate etc

 

[ G ]    EMPLOYMENT  DATA

                Ø  Employed – Unemployed – Self employed

 

[ H ]    INCOME  DATA

               Ø  Monthly Income (to determine whether RICH–MIDDLE CLASS–POOR )

 

 

Why should we compile such data for all Indians ( suffering from Covid or not ) ?

 

Quote from : 

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/racial-data-transparency

 

As more data about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic becomes available, it is increasingly clear that the disease is hitting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in the U.S. the hardest.

Although racial and ethnic information is currently available for only about 35% of the total deaths in the U.S., even this limited sample shows that Black Americans and other historically disadvantaged groups are experiencing infection and death rates that are disproportionately high for their share of the total population.

For example, while Black Americans represent only about 13% of the population in the states reporting racial/ethnic information, they account for about 34% of total Covid-19 deaths in those states. Asian Americans and Latinx Americans also show elevated impacts in some regions.

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

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@recruitGuru.com  /  22 April 2021