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, 1 April 2016

GOLD MONETIZATION SCHEME CAN WORK


Monday, 28 March 2016
WAY TO A WIFE's HEART ?


Hindustan Times ( 29 March 2016 ) reports :

: There was a recent meeting between Economic Affairs Secretary, Shaktikant Das and representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, temple trusts and other bodies to discuss ways to make the Gold Monetization Scheme , more attractive  :

#  What are the Advantages  of this Scheme to the Economy ?

*  Reduce demand for gold in physical form to reduce our Import Bill

   Imports of some 1000 tons of gold accounts for nearly 25 % of our Import Bill


*  Bringing out approx 20,000 tons of idle ( locked up ) gold lying with households , into
   the banking system ( approx Rs 57,00,00 Crores worth )

*  Banks will be allowed to sell , gold deposited with them , to jewelers , thereby reducing 
   imports


#  Advantages to gold depositors :

*  Benefit from price increase at the time of maturity

*  Earn interest on the value of deposited gold


#  Negative Point :

*  Gold depositors have to make full disclosures on the source of gold !


#  Public Reaction :

*  In the past ONE year, only 3 tons of gold ( jewellery ) got deposited


#  Why ?  :

*  One official reportedly said at the meeting :

" I am not even able to convince my wife to part with her jewellery, which she hardly uses

The main stumbling block was the emotional value attached to the jewellery , which had often been passed on by generations "


#  Is there a way out ?

YES - as follows :

*  Calculate current value of gold being deposited ( say , Rs 50 lakhs )

*  After 10 years , return to depositor , Rs 50 lakh + simple interest at 10 %

   ( to take care of price increase but no guess work ! )

*  Also credit Rs 50 lakhs to depositor's Income Tax account as " Advance Tax " paid

*  From depositor's Annual Tax Return , keep offsetting  this amount over 10 years,
    thereby reducing his tax liability ( Rs 5 lakh per year , in this case )

    Now, if the depositor is in 20 % tax rate slab, this would mean saving of Rs 1 lakh/year  !

*  Most Important : No need to disclose " Source of Gold " being deposited . No
    questions  !


Now , with this modification , the concerned official can convince his wife by telling her :

"  Go ahead and buy every year , new - and latest trend - jewellry equivalent to the tax amount that the Scheme has saved for me

And , buy dresses and purses to match that jewellery when we go on holidays abroad "

With this , I believe , at least 1,000 tons of gold can be garnered in next 12 months

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29  March  2016



hemen  parekh


Marol , Mumbai , India


( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08


Thanks , Shri Naidu !


Monday, 14 March 2016
Thanks , Shri Naidu !


A few days back , Parliament passed a bill to regulate the Real Estate Industry

On 04 Nov 2015 ,I sent to Shri Venkaiah Naidu ( mvnaidu@sansad.nic.in ) , an email containing following suggestions


Some of these have been incorporated in the new Act .

Thank you , Shri Naidu for listening !


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

E-Delivery of Services to Construction Industry


Here is how :

*  All builders / developers must register on Municipal Web sites and obtain
   unique BUILDER REGISTRATION NUMBER

*  Builders must fill in online, on web site of concerned Municipality, a form :

    BUILDING  PERMIT  APPLICATION

*  Building Permit Application Form will have a STANDARD FORMAT , into
    which applicant will need to submit exhaustive details re the project

    This will include detailed Floor Plans and Structural Drawings , along with
    names / contact details of Architects / Structural Engineers etc

    The FORM will require slab-casting dates for each slab and the final
    completion date when builder will apply for Occupation Certificate
   
*  The Form will have a section called

    SELF   CERTIFICATION   /  DECLARATION

    Builder would be required to tick YES / NO against each item as shown :

    Does your proposed Building / Structure / Project , satisfy the criteria /
    notifications / regulations , issued by the concerned Ministries in respect
    of :

    #   Built-up Area........... ( YES ) / ( NO )

    #   Height Restriction

    #   Fire Fighting

    #   Water Harvesting

    #   Roof-top Solar Power

    #   Effluent Treatment

    #   Garbage Disposal

    #   Earthquake Resistant Structural Design..............etc



Clicking on each item will reveal the relevant " Notification / Regulation " issued by the concerned Ministry

To make the process absolutely fool-proof , the form will insist on an " Electronic Signature " of the applicant


DECLARATION / UNDERTAKING :


" I declare that I have read each and every notification / regulation , listed   in respect of items mentioned above

I further declare that I explicitly agree to abide by these regulations

I am aware that Occupation Certificate will not be granted if my completed project is found to be in violation of any of these notifications / regulations

I will not allow any person / entity to occupy any part of this premises , until and unless , Municipality issues to me , the Occupation Certificate

If Municipality finds any violations , I agree to rectify the same before applying for a fresh Occupation Certificate

If Municipality is not in a position to issue Occupation Certificate due to any
violations which simply cannot be rectified , then I will demolish the said building / project / structure  on my own and before such demolition , refund with interest , payments collected from the buyers

The plot of land is free from any encumbrances / litigations

I am not in default of any loans taken from any bank / individuals

I will not accept any payment in cash , nor make cash payments

I absolve the Municipal Corporation of any liability arising out of non completion of my project 

I agree that my Building Permit Application and my Registration Application details , be made accessible to public on your web site , along with full details of my past / current projects and full details of my balance sheet / bank borrowings  " 


GRANT OF APPROVALS BY MINISTRIES :


As soon as the builder submits the online BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION , it automatically and instantly , appears on the web sites of ALL the concerned Ministries

The concerned officer of each Ministry , makes APPROVED / REJECTED entries in the application form , from the backend

If rejected , he will provide the reasons

Ministry officers are required to carry out this entry , within 24 hours

As soon as an officer of any Ministry makes entry and SUBMITS , the application forms on web sites of ALL Ministries and web site of the concerned Municipality , get updated simultaneously and instantly , making for MIRROR IMAGES at all times

As soon as any entry is made , a copy gets emailed to the applicant builder

Any " editing " of the application form by the builder , will start the entire process , all over

Applicant builder will be obliged to display the latest emailed form at the site

The database so created on web sites of ALL Ministries - and concerned Municipality - will be searchable State-wise / City-wise



CHANGES  IN  RELEVANT  LAWS :


To speed up any litigation between the parties concerned ( Builder / Buyers / Central & State Govts / Municipality / Bankers etc ) , existing laws may be changed


IMPORTANT :

Every application must be in the open domain and visible to anyone , online and transparently

There should be provision for any visitor of the web site to report any abuse / violation of regulations or any objection to the proposed construction


ADVANTAGES :


If such SELF CERTIFICATION process is implemented , it should be possible for India to beat Singapore , where getting 11 approval takes only 26 days !

It would be ZERO days in our case !

Now couple this with abolition of Corporate Income Tax for Construction Industry for the next 10 years and witness a MIRACLE

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


15  March  2016


hemen  parekh


Marol , Mumbai , India


( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08


CURE FOR NPAs


Wilful Defaulters { and Wilful Lenders ? }


There are groups of Indian Companies who have borrowed from dozens of banks, thousands of crores of rupees

Total NPA ( Public Sector Banks plus Private Sector Banks ), exceed Rs 7 lakh*crores

{  A loan gets an NPA tag if an installment remains unpaid for 90 days  }

But not all loans to Indian borrowers have turned NPA , nor all borrowers declared " Wilful Defaulters " by RBI


Who is a " Wilful Defaulter " ?

*  A borrower who defaults in loan payment despite having capacity to pay

*  Funds have not been utilized for the purpose for which they were raised and have been diverted

*  While defaulting, the borrower has also disposed off fixed assets , immovable property given as security , without the bank's knowledge


  

Just two days back, SEBI also decided :

*  To bar companies which have been declared wilful defaulter ( along with their promoters and directors ) from accessing stock or bond markets for raising funds

*  To prohibit such defaulters from taking board position in any listed company

*  Wilful defaulters will also be barred from taking over another listed company



No doubt , in the days to come , many more stringent conditions will get added to bring down NPA / Wilful Defaulters

That may lead to lenders ( bankers ) getting " Over Cautious " and simply refuse to take legitimate business risks !

So , is it not  the time for the Banking System to self-regulate through

*   Refining  " Lending Criteria " ,  and

*   Defining " Wilful ( too accommodating ? ) Lenders "



Let there be no doubt that when those hundreds of " Wilful Defaulter " cases get thoroughly probed , many a " Skeletons in the Cupboard " , will come tumbling out !

Sadly , a witch-hunt seems inescapable  !

In the process , let us not forget that " Honest Decisions " must not be made to suffer !

If that happens , in future , no bank officer will want to stick out his neck for fear of it getting chopped off !

Before drawing up a definition of " Wilful  Lenders " , I strongly suggest that RBI debate the following questions :

*    Is there here , some confusion between a " Wrong " decision   and a " Dishonest " decision ?

 Don't millions of honest people continue to take decisions , which in hindsight , appear wrong ?


*    Isn't a " Dishonest " decision one which got taken , solely for the benefit of the decision-taker ( or his family / friends etc )  ?


*    Are we trying to replace honest human " Judgment " by some rigid , hide-bound rules ? by some computer algorithms ?



Economic progress depends upon banks lending money to industries / businesses

It is no different anywhere else in the World


But both, Shri Raghuram Rajan and Shri Arun Jaitley are worried about the pendulum swinging to the other extreme !  And rightly so !

A built-in mechanism for " Pre-Auditing " all loans , could help in balancing the interests of the borrowers and the lenders
At least , introduce some sort of " Self Certification / Declaration " by the concerned officer

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


14  March  2016




hemen  parekh


Marol , Mumbai , India


( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08


PIYUSH PLAN ?


Sunday, 27 March 2016
PIYUSH PLAN ?



After second world war , European economy was in shambles / devastated

It was revived through America's generous help in the form of Marshal Plan

A couple of days back, Shri Piyush Goyal announced intention to replace India's current petrol / diesel vehicles with Electric vehicles , by 2030

Now , consider this :

*   India boasts of 200 million vehicles today

*   We add some 10 million new vehicles each year

*   Today , global electric vehicles number only 6.65 lakhs

*   World may reach 30 million electric vehicles by 2030


In light of this , is " PIYUSH  PLAN  " feasible  ?

Let us take up the associated issues , one by one , and explore possible solutions


#   TIME  FRAME  for  CHANGE-OVER


Replacing 13.3 million vehicles per year ( starting TO-DAY ! ) to fully change-over 200 million vehicles in 15 years , is NOT possible

Remember , some 10 million vehicles get added each year for replacement / new demand

Way Out :

*  Existing vehicle manufacturers to COMMENCE production of electric vehicles by 2020 , giving them 5 years lead time to tool up

*  Manufacturers to start TAPERING OFF production of petrol / diesel vehicles from 2020 at the rate of 10 % per year. In 10 years ( by 2030 ) , they must stop all old vehicle production

*  Simultaneously , manufacturers to step up electric vehicle production by 10 % per year , so as to achieve 100 % electric vehicle production by 2030

*  This time frame will also apply to auto components / ancillary manufacturers ( Batteries etc )

*  Complete elimination of petrol / diesel vehicles from the roads to be targeted by 2050



#   DISPOSAL  OF  EXISTING  VEHICLES ( 200 million + produced till 2030 )

*  Enable / encourage MSME units to carry out " Retro Fitting " of existing vehicles

*  Vehicles older than 15 years to be taken off the roads . Encourage MSME to salvage whatever they can from such vehicles ( eg : Steel )

*  Provide special incentives to export such " Pre-Used / Reconditioned " to less developed countries



#   CHARGING  STATIONS

*    Existing petrol / diesel filling stations will need to be converted to Electric Charging Stations

*   These Charging Stations , themselves , must NOT draw electric power from State / National Power Grids - power which comes from Power Stations using FOSSIL FUEL  !

That would only transfer the pollution creation from vehicle engines to fossil-fueled power stations !

My Suggestion :

Use bicycle powered electricity generating device , innovated by Manoj Bhargava ( BillionsinChange )

This pedal operated device generates / stores , with just ONE HOUR of pedaling, enough power to light up 12 lamps of 100 W each for 24 hours , and costs around Rs 10,000/-

Some 25 of such devices are right now under installation in north India

Its construction is so simple that any MSME in smallest town can fabricate it easily , making it possible to get 10 million of these devices manufactured within a year

I am sure , Manoj Bhargava would be more than happy to release its manufacturing drawings on his web site for anyone to register and then download for FREE !

Do we foresee 50 / 60 million unemployed youth to become self-employed by setting up their own mini Charging Stations , on every street corner of every town in India ?

No dependence on Fossil or Solar , yet pure GREEN power around the clock !

Who knows , some owners of electric cars may even install one in their garage to serve dual purpose ( improve health + charge the car ). No doubt , a higher capacity version !

And , may be all GYMS around the country will install one !

Some 32 years ago , India witnessed a Telecom Revolution , riding on the wheels of a million roadside PCOs and a million Cyber Cafes

Dear Piyushji :

Enabling launch of a million street-corner Charging Stations has got to be your

TRYST  WITH  DESTINY 




#   FINANCING

Shri Goyal said :

" We don't need one rupee support from the government

 We don't need one rupee investment from the people of India "


But Vehicle Manufacturers say :

"  We cannot give away electric cars for FREE ! We need money to run our operations and in advance . At the most , we can consider some sort of " Hire Purchase " scheme , if we can get funds at an interest rate of 5 % and are allowed to charge the buyers , 10 % "


And Banks say :

" We have already advanced car-loans totaling thousands of crores . If we are allowed to transfer the unpaid balances along with the fresh loan amounts , to a " Restructured Loan " bearing a higher interest rate ( and EMI ) , then we can consider "


Government says :

" We don't have funds to build more roads . So, where is the question of financing private purchase / usage of cars ? We would rather build more / better ( concrete ) roads "


Individual says :

"  I can hardly make ends meet ! If I must borrow from anyone , I would rather buy a roof over my head . I am already paying huge EMIs for my current car "


I say :

*  No questions asked for any CASH deposited into a person's Jan Dhan Bank account
  
*  Create a SPV called , EVFF ( Electric Vehicle Finance Fund )

*  Public can invest in this fund but only from their Jan Dhan Bank Accounts deposits

*  Interest earned from EVFF to be totally free from personal Income Tax for 10 years

*  EVFF will finance Car Loan companies or " Hire Purchase Schemes " of car manufacturers

*  Car finance companies will be asked to stop financing of petrol / diesel cars and finance
    only electric vehicles


If this is implemented , within 6 months , EVFF will be able to create a Corpus of Rs 10 lakh*crores !

Can you think of a better way of harnessing  BLACK  money to finance a  GREEN  future ?



#  INCENTIVE  FOR  CAR  MANUFACTURERS  AND  CAR  OWNERS

Shri Goyal says :

" We are trying to make this program self financing by monetizing the savings people have from using cheaper electricity to run cars

We are trying to work out whether we can give the cars for free initially and people can pay back out of the savings from not using petroleum products "


Figuring out which electric car owner saved how much money by not using petrol / diesel vehicle is a very messy issue , to say the least !

People use , from a 5 HP scooter to a 200 HP gas-guzzler car

Some use it for 500 KM per month , whereas others use for 10,000 KM per month

They may use it for self / family or for commercial purpose ( Rickshaw / Taxi / Bus / Truck )

They may use diesel or petrol ( even mixed with kerosene in case of rickshaws )

For 200 million existing vehicles , there could well be , 200 million different / unique ,

*  Current amounts ( liters ) monthly fuel usage

*  Purchased at differing prices per litter ( depending upon city )

*  Amounts paid to Charging Stations ( bound to vary , even within a city )

*  All of these leading to different amount of monthly savings

*  All the while neglecting the monthly EMI costs incurred !


I am afraid any attempt to compute " Individual Savings " is bound to raise controversies and litigation of unimaginable scale !

And let us not forget that , when vehicle manufacturers switch-over to production of electric vehicles , it won't be just ONE / STANDARD model of same horsepower

There will be hundreds of models of electric  vehicles of different designs / capacities / specifications and consuming different amounts of electric power  !

My suggestion :

Forget about ,

*   Computing of " Individual Savings "

*   Giving electric cars " free initially "

*   Owners " paying back from savings "


Based on car specifications / assumed average monthly usage  etc , figure out and fix

*  " Carbon Credits " for each model of electric car manufactured

*   Based on Carbon Credits earned , calculate Direct Transfer of Benefit ( DTB ) to electric
     car manufacturers based on monthly dispatches of each model

and then transfer these amounts from EVFF , as incentives to manufacturers 

As far as incentives to electric car owners is concerned , make tax-exempt , all interest paid by owners for car loans taken , without any ceiling



#   GENERAL / GLOBAL  INCENTIVES

This game-changing initiative has at its root ,

"  SAVE  THE  WORLD  FROM  POLLUTION  "


This would require " Pulling out all stops " , in the form of unprecedented " Incentives " to :

*   Individual Electric Vehicle Owners

*   Electric Vehicle Manufacturers ( and " Disincentives " to petrol/diesel manufacturers )

*   Manufacturers of Charging Station Equipment ( Bicycle based Devices , for sure )

*   Charging Station Operators

*   Old Vehicle Retrofitting  Units ( MSME )

*   Old Vehicle recycling Units ( MSME )

*   Old Vehicle Exporting Units

*   Roadside Vehicle Repairers

*   Vehicle Purchase Finance Companies ( Car loans / Hire Purchase )

*   Electric Vehicle Leasing Companies

*   Auto Ancillaries of Electric Vehicles

*   Distributors / Dealers / Stockists of Electric Vehicles

*   Transport Companies using Electric Vehicles ( transporting people or goods )....etc



ALL of these ( and those that I missed out ), must be EXEMPTED from :

*   Indirect Taxes ( Excise / Octroi / Import Duty / Sales Tax / GST / Road Taxes etc )

*   Direct Taxes ( Personal and Corporate Income Tax / LTCG )


They must also be freed from rigid licensing / registration / incorporation requirements

Dear Piyushji :

Newspaper reports quoted you :

" We are thinking of leading the World rather than following the World

  India will be the first country to think of that scale "


There is no doubt you can lead the World , if you do not allow yourself to get paralyzed with the fear of failure !

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28  March  2016

  


hemen  parekh


Marol , Mumbai , India


( M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08