Going cashless, a tall order beset with many challenges

My article on India's push for digital transactions appeared in the Deccan Herald on the 26th Dec 2016.  The article looks at the following:

1) We need a permanent ban on surcharge and convenience fees imposed on digital transactions.

2) India's rather poor ranking in the Global Digital Index

3) Considering India's semi-literate/Illiterate population, we need increased awareness, easy to use/intuitive methods for money transactions.

4) Secure transactions must be ensured.

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For all the wrong reasons Reliance Jio effect ensured other telcos get busy wooing subscribers!

This article I wrote, appeared in the Financial Express FE reflect on 13th Oct 2016.

 The article looks at 

1) Goverment must ask the Telcos to get back to basics and ensure call drop issue is fixed

2) Regulatory levies SUC, IUC etc must be relooked

3) Need a mechanism for getting direct feedback from the subscribers

4) Tariff war 2.0 on Data ( Tarif War 1.0 was on Data) is welcome, but the focus must be on improving quality

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Internet addiction’s a public health issue

This Article "Internet addiction’s a public health issue"  I wrote appeared in the Hindu Business Line on 16th July 2016 , editorial page. The article looks at the following:

1) IAD is a serious global issue and countries like the US have witnessed employability issues  linked to IAD. Countries like japan are worse off with over half a million kids impacted

2)How countries like Japan and Korea are providing intervention for IAD. Japan has started  "Internet Fasting centers" to help children get over severe screen addiction/ Internet addiction. 

3)India could soon see a huge problem with 12% of Indian internet users already considered to have the internet overuse problem.

4) Possible solutions for India 

a) Getting 4 ministries to work together (Telecom, Health, MHRD and AYUSH)

b) Embark on mission to increase awareness of the issue, schools

c) Put the onus on Internet service providers to educate users about IAD

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No penalty for call drops per SC ruling

G Krishna Kumar, Bengaluru-based telecom executive, believes some penalty would have been "desirable".

However, he feels, the public uproar over the past 6-8 months on the call drop issue has ensured that telcos will not ignore the issue.

"The compensation for call drop was only to be seen as a deterrent for ensuring the telcos provided the right quality of service," said Krishna Kumar.

He said Malaysia has effectively implemented call drop compensation and achieved 30% reduction in call drops over three months.

"It will be sad if the telcos don't continue to invest and improve the infrastructure and strive to meet the prescribed call drop norms. We need impartial and accurate information on call drops and other quality parameters to be published on a weekly basis," said the Bengaluru-based telecom analyst.

GDP growth calls for holistic traffic management

This article “GDP growth calls for holistic traffic management” I wrote has appeared in the Deccan Herald on 29th April. 

The article is written in the backdrop of the much debated odd-even 2.0 in Delhi. The article looks at  the correlation between GDP growth and car sales  and how India fares compared with the leading economies. Some interesting stats.

We need a holistic approach to traffic management with the government (improve infrastructure,  improve public transport, use technologies for smart parking solution, vehicle to Vehicle communication, differential insurance premium etc), Carmakers ( Help in sensitizing the public about responsible driving)  and we the public as well.

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Giving BSNL a new lease of life

The article titled “Giving BSNL a new lease of life”,  Dr Sridhar and I wrote has appeared in the Hindu Business Line as a lead editorial page Article

The article discusses the assets and the preferred status of BSNL/MTNL; 

provides a 5-pronged strategy for reviving these loss making units; 

and reasons out the need for divestment of BSNL to inculcate flexible decision making and agile practices in tune with the highly competitive telecom landscape in the country. 

There are few data points on how some of the state-owned telcos in other countries like Australia or the UK have re-invented to become competitive

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Imagining life in a Connected India by 2050

This article "With smart cars, robots, life to be uber connected in 2050" I wrote appeared in the DNA news paper on 5th Feb 2015

The article tries to look at some possible
use cases in a highly connected India( We should be much better in terms of connectivity!) Some of the evolving technologies like Autonomous cars, Vehicle to Vehicle Communication(V2V), machine learning, robotics etc should help in India becoming a much better place to live.

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Happy Mobile Subscribers Key to Digital India

This article I wrote, appeared in the New Indian Express on 13th Jan 2015 Editorial page.

 

1)  India has 100 crore subscribers, but the call drop issue has sabotaged any celebration. The TRAI, government and the telcos woke-up late, and the results are already seen

 

2) Spectrum is a challenge with so many operators. Government should auction more spectrum. Data and Internet usage is going to be a bigger challenge going forward.

 

3) Net-neutrality will be keenly watched, but Quality of experience will be the critical for 2016. else we will see another uproar like the call drop issue.

 

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