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 5 February 2019

IGNORE THIS AT YOUR RISK


It was reported in yesterday's papers that BJP is planning to install , all over India , some 7,000 boxes and request 100 million voters to write down on pieces of papers , what they want included in BJP's Election Manifesto - and drop these papers in those boxes


I am sure , Congress must have planned something similar


I am not well enough to write , then to go find one of those boxes

So , as per my practice of past 6 / 7 years , I will just email this suggestion to the persons concerned and hope it gets included in their Manifestos


I must give credit to Congress ( - its Computer , at least ! ) that , for past 2 weeks , I do receive , at least an " acknowledgement " !



Influence  farmers  and  win  Votes  ?

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

Decades ago , author Dale Carnegie wrote a very popular book titled :

How to Influence People and Win Friends


During his budget speech , Shri Piyush Goyal said :

Ek  Kadam  Uthe ,  to  Sau  Rahe  Khul  Jaati  Hain



It could be paraphrased as :  How to influence farmers and win votes  !


One of those “ kadams ( steps ) “  was :

A Direct Income Support of Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmers

( Marginal = those holding less than 1 hectare / Small = those holding between 1 to 2 hectares )


As per available data ,

#    Total number of farmers qualifying = 125 Million

#    They constitute 86.21 % of all farmers 
     [  therefore , total numbers of farmers must be  145 million  ]

#    They hold 47.34 % of total area
     


But the main problems likely to be faced while implementing this scheme , are :


#   Unreliable and insufficient land records in most states

#   Dependence on humans to collect / compile / record such data ( takes weeks / months )

    ( The state agriculture department will write to district collectors, who will ask sub divisional magistrates, tehsildars and patwaris ( land record keepers ) to collect the required information. )
In addition to this just announced PM-KISAN yojana of Direct Income Support , farmers are currently being assisted in the following ways :


Input Subsidies :
Input Price Subsidies are given for SeedsFertilizersPower ( Diesel / Electricity )


Price Support :
This is given in the form of MSP ( 50 % more than the production cost of food item )


Crop Insurance :
A certain amount being given to compensate a farmer in case of loss due to ,

#   drought ( lack of enough water in the soil ),  or

#   floods destroying crop ( excess of water in the soil )


All of these existingSupport Mechanisms “ also require,

computation  of the amount of money to be handed out to a farmer, and

distribution  of the amounts so determined


Both of these are “ Human controlled Processes “ , which by their very nature , are slow and inefficient

What is worse , in many cases there is an element of “ human judgement “ , making them arbitrary !

No wonder these processes lead to leakages / corruption / frustration / distress !

Can we take help of TECHNOLOGY to solve these problems ?


Yes , of course !

All that is required is ,

#  a genuine desire on part of the political parties [ to really stop farmer suicides ]

#  a readiness to “ compromise “ on part of the farmers [ for speeding up the disbursal ]

#  a willingness on part of the “ bureaucrats “ [ to transfer the decisions to Technology ]



What Technology ?


We need technologies which will , dynamically / automatically , compute for each crop ,


#  the costs of all the INPUTS (water-fertilizer-seeds-power –labour ), based on NORMS

#  MSP based on these inputs

#  “ Output “ from the area of land owned by these farmers ( in Kg )

#  MSP ( since INPUTS will vary from crop-to-crop and area-to-area )

#  transfer the amount to Jan Dhan bank accounts of each beneficiary farmer ( DBT )


It is possible to get our constellation of 7 NaviC satellites to “ map / geotag “ , each and every farm ( with a resolution of 1 meter ) and calculate its area

This can be verified by using technology offered by…. what3words


For each type of crop , INPUT NORMS are already established , using historical data


OUTPUTS NORMS ( kg / acre ) for different crops , are statistically established figures


Agricultural Crop Assessment “  is being offered by Planet , BlackSky, Satellogic

Humidity Sensors “ developed by Dr Shalini Prasad


As far as CROP INSURANCE is concerned, Remote Sensing Satellites are already being deployed


I realize that experts ( agriculture and economy ) might laugh , if I urge Shri Modiji :


Give our Scientists and Software Engineers a chance to develop such a TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM , based on the following matrix , which will ensure DBT to our farmers , within 24 hours of pre-determined EVENTS or DATES or CABINET DECISION ANNOUNCEMENTS , without the delay and arbitrariness of “ human intervention “


But , I cannot escape a feeling that the party ( BJP or Congress ) which incorporates my suggestion in its ELECTION MANIFESTO , is bound to :


Influence 145 million farmers and win their votes

Who knows , I might have the last-but-one laugh [ last laugh being reserved for the farmers ] 
========================================================================
05  Feb  2019





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