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 17 October 2017

#JanBhagidari

Jan  Bhagidari  :  a  LIQUID  democracy  ?



Our PM , Shri Modiji has been talking of  “ Subka  Saath -  Subka  Vikas  “ for a long time and exhorting citizens to send in their suggestions for improving governance



Half way around the world , in far off city of Boulder ( Colorado – USA  ) , Camilo Casas says , if elected to the city council , he will not make any decision by himself



Instead, he plans to put that power in the hands of the people via a liquid democracy app called Parti.Vote.


http://www.parti.vote/



The idea is that instead of simply hoping their elected representatives  support their stance on issues, citizens will be empowered to directly affect policy-making by voting through the app.



If Casas were to be elected, citizens of Boulder would sign up for the app online, with Casas’ team vetting each person to prevent fraud.



Casas would then vote according to how the people in the community did through the app. For example, if more than 50 per cent voted “yes” on an issue or policy, Casas would vote the same way, regardless of his personal stance on the issue.



Only when the citizen votes resulted in a tie would he be forced to decide based on his own beliefs.





For details of how Camilo plans to implement this , what he calls , “ Liquid Democracy “ , read :







If , Shri Modiji – who is also the architect of JAM trinity ( Jan Dhan Bank accounts / Aadhar ID card / Mobile Apps ) – wants to translate his “ Subka Saath , Subka Vikas “ into an instrument of Jan Bhagidari , then I urge him to ask NITI Aayog and the concerned Ministries to implement the following suggestions ( earlier sent as emails ) :




VotesApp  [ 15  Aug  2013  ]


I  SIN  >  <  U  SIN  [  18  Aug  2013  ]


ROMP   [  06  Aug  2015   ]


What  are the  chances  ?   [  18  May  2014   ]


Constructive  Criticism ?  [  28  May  2017   ]


Be  Aware  /  Beware !  [  30  Aug  2016   ]


TwitterSeva ( V 2.0 ) ?   [   26   May  2017  ]


HowTo Shame MPs / MLAs ?  [  24  March  2017  ]

 

How come  “  E Mail , E Mail – No  Reply “ ?  [  14  Oct  2017  ]

 

18  Oct  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 


  



Monday 16 October 2017

Sun Rises in West ?



Way back in 1986 , this was the title of a  small booklet  ( authored by me and published by BCCI - Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industries ]




In this , I wrote how the American and the European companies are trying to beat the competition by raising their productivity


It seems they are still at it ( raising their competitiveness ) , 31 years later  !


Following news appearing on the Guardian will explain what I mean :






'This is the future': solar-powered family car hailed by experts


A futuristic family car that not only uses the sun as power but supplies energy back to the grid has been hailed as “the future” as the annual World Solar Challenge wrapped up in Australia.


A Dutch car, Nuna 9, won the race for the third-straight time, crossing the finish line on Thursday after travelling at an average speed of 81.2kmh (55.5 mph).


It was competing in the challenger class, which featured slick, single seat aerodynamic vehicles built for sustained endurance and total energy efficiency.

But there was also a cruiser class, introduced to bridge the gap between high-end technology and everyday driving practicality.

German team HS Bochum was the first to arrive Friday with its stylish four-seater classic coupe, featuring sustainable materials such as vegan pineapple leather seats.

But another Dutch team, Eindhoven, was set to be crowned overall champion based on a system taking into account design, practicality, energy efficiency, and innovation, organisers said.

Their family car, Stella Vie, carried five people at an average speed of 69kmh, with event director Chris Selwood saying it was a practical demonstration of what the future might look like.


“ These incredible solar cars have been designed with the commercial market in mind and have all the features you’d expect in a family, luxury or sporting car, ” he said.


 “ Team Eindhoven are to be congratulated on their achievement to date – clearly the most energy efficient solar car in the field, capable of generating more power than they consume.


“ THIS IS THE FUTURE OF SOLAR ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

WHEN YOUR CAR IS PARKED AT HOME IT CAN BE CHARGING AND SUPPLYING ENERGY BACK TO THE GRID.”



Team Eindhoven said its vision had been to build a family car with a balance between aerodynamic, aesthetic and practical design.


“We think we succeeded very well with a car that is more efficient than its predecessors and includes some state-of-the-art technologies to not only generate energy but also supply it back to the grid,” they said.


“Through a smart charging and discharging system, she charges the battery when the demand of energy from the grid is high and vice versa. Any surplus energy generated can easily be supplied back to the grid.”

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


Dear  Shri  Gadkariji  :



I urge you ( - and will keep doing so ) to encourage ISRO to quickly come up with its own COMMERCIAL version of Solar Cars having “ Roof-top mounted solar panels “ , which it demonstrated , a few months back



This technology has following advantages :


·         No need to create an infrastructure of millions of Battery Charging Stations – thereby saving Lakhs of Crores of rupees ( whether private or public )


·         If Electric car owners , do not need to wait for 5 hours at a Battery Charging Station , and their cars continue to get charged even when driving or when parked on the road , their demand will go up dramatically




·         With sharp rise in demand for Electric Cars , production will rise and costs will drop



·         Solar Panel Roof cars will need , much smaller batteries , further reducing costs



·         Lower manufacturing costs and lower selling prices will do away with the need to subsidize , either the car manufacturers or the car buyers . If Electric cars become cheaper than petrol / diesel cars , who will want to buy these ?



·         There will be no need for dirty Fossil Fuel based electricity for those Charging Stations ( - since , no charging stations ! ) . Pollution due to coal-based power plants , will disappear !


·         If India seizes the “ FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE “ in the manufacture of Roof Top Solar Panel mounted ( - and CHEAP ) electric cars , we can supply these ( EXPORT ) to the entire world , by setting up global scale factories , thereby generating huge employment




For a fuller picture , please read :







 








 



17  Oct  2017











Saturday 14 October 2017

#TransformingIndia

How  come  “  E Mail , E Mail – No  Reply “ ?



Business Line ( 05 Oct ) carries following news report :




“ Social Media puts positive pressure on govt : Jayant Sinha “



Interaction with students through social media creates a tremendous positive pressure on the government



If a school lacks in providing basic facility, people tweet about it . So , now there is a platform through which the issues can be addressed , said Jayant Sinha , Minister of Civil Aviation , at the India Economic Summit 2017 , which began here on Wednesday



Talking about the education system at a seminar, Smriti Irani , the Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting , said :



“ for the first time we are discussing on how to make our education system better “, adding that ,



 “ now if a person has a view on policy decision that the government is working on , then their views can be taken into consideration . Interaction is something which the government is focussing on and it’s not restricted to education but to other segments also “





I am not doubting the good intentions of Shri Jayant Sinha or Smt Smriti Irani or any other NDA Minister



Nor have I any illusion that the Ministers would ever find time ( from their very busy schedules ) to read those hundreds of E Mails re “ Policy Reform Suggestions “ that they must be receiving daily



But if there is a genuine desire for encouraging ordinary citizens to come forward with their suggestions , then I urge the Ministers for implementing the following procedure :



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

·         A computer generated acknowledgement  must go out against each email received . This will assure the sender that his suggestion has been delivered



·         The response must allot a unique “ Your Suggestion Number “ to each email



·         All emailed suggestions must be uploaded on the web site of the concerned Ministry and be searchable by the public in different ways , such as :



#   Suggestion Number

#   Suggestion Category

#   Keywords / hash tags etc



·         After log-in ( using Aadhar Number ) , citizens be allowed to “ Rate “ any suggestion ( of course , only once ) , on the following scale :


#   1   =   Irrelevant  /  Do not waste time

#   2   =   Useful /  To be evaluated by Policy Makers

#   3   =   Excellent  /  Must be implemented ( with changes , if required )


Any citizen-rater , should be able to see the CUMULATIVE  OVERALL  AVERAGE  RATING SCORE , but only after he / she has rated that suggestion – never before , to eliminate getting biased by earlier scores



·         Within a specified period ( say , 12  weeks from the date received ? ) , one of the following remarks , must be mentioned against each suggestion :



“ Based on the public rating and internal evaluation by the Ministry ,


#   Regret , your suggestion is not possible to implement


#   A similar / identical suggestion was received / evaluated earlier and rejected


#   Your suggestion is kept pending for future consideration . Keep watching !


#   Your suggestion is under active consideration by the Ministry for incorporating
     in its  future policy-revision / regulation / parliamentary action



  
Once the Ministry has published its decision as mentioned above , the suggestion will be “ CLOSED  for  RATING  “


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



Dear  Policy  Makers  :



Like in the case of ancient Roman Forum or in case of some of our very own kings , it is not possible for the Ministers to hold public DURBARS to obtain suggestions from public



Since you are aware of the influence of the Social Media , I urge you to adopt the process outlined above


Such a process will be a genuine MANIFESTATION of a PARTICIPATIVE DEMOCRACY that goes beyond enabling its citizens to merely participate through ELECTIONS





15  Oct  2017