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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Silicon Boomerang? Silicon Crescent?

How Startup India will transform the country
The US and Israel have successfully played the role of catalyst to do this and the Rs 10,000 crore fund-offunds will do the same. It would not invest in ventures itself but contribute to, say, a fifth of the corpus of India-focused and professionally-managed venture funds. They will have to raise five times that amount from non-government sources, making Rs 50,000 crore available for startups and early-stage companies. As these companies grow, they will typically raise at least 10 times that amount from later-stage global investors before going public. Hence the government’s Rs 10,000 crore may result in attracting almost

Rs 500,000 crore

for innovative Indian companies, helping create possibly the next Google or Facebook. ..... Our information technology industry, driven predominantly by startups and first generation entrepreneurs was backed by the STPI scheme and tax-breaks that helped reinvest earnings for growth. The industry has grown from $50 million to $150 billion in 25 years, becoming the largest employer in the organised private sector and accounting for over a fifth of our forex earning!!


Silicon Boomerang: Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore
Connected by Hyperloop 900 KM + 500 KM + 900 KM = 1400 miles. That is two hours on a hyperloop. That would make for just one big city. From Delhi to Bangalore. Call it the Silicon Boomerang, or the Silicon Crescent. ...... Crescent bol do Pakistan se dosti bhi ho jayegi.

Solar State: Rajasthan (10,000 GW of electricity, phase 1)



Waise main Bihari hoon. To bias to rahega hi. Jaise ki 2014 mein main Nitish ke liye rooting kar raha tha. Soncha, chalo koi Bihari bhai aa jayega to acchha hi rahega. To Modi ne Nitish ko Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bana ke rakh diya. Khair bit gayi so baat gayi.

Ek aur Crescent hai. Boomerang. Janakpur - Patna - Kolkata - Dhaka - Kunming. Industrial potential vast hai uska.


Janakpur Patna Kolkata Industrial Corridor
Patna Kolkata Industrial Corridor (PKIC)



The idea behind something like a Silicon Crescent is, this is where nanotechnology happens. The industries of tomorrow seem to want a geography.

Trumpocalypse Now

We are at the cusp of the most exciting time in world history. Poverty might be history by 2030 on the planet. But Donald Trump talks in terms of Apocalypse Now. We must not be on the same planet. Is the guy in real estate by any chance? Because maybe it does not take much imagination to be in real estate.

The recession might be over, but a lot of people feel like they have hit a lower plateau that is the new normal, and a lot of them are white males. Feeling their pain is one thing. But making blatant racist, sexist comments is quite another. As in, can't do, no matter what the circumstances.

A real leader would offer solutions. I understand you are in a not so happy spot. But I can take you to better days. What Trump is doing is not only not leadership. It is not therapy either. It's more like, misery loves company.

Zuck, Free Basics, India (2)

Free Basics And Facebook’s Waterloo In India
What is limiting the spread of the Internet in India isn’t the cost of mobile data. Cell phone plans and data access are really cheap there. The problem is that most people can’t afford smartphones or tablet computers. But this is changing because prices of computing devices are dropping......Lower-end smartphones can be already purchased for around $50 in India and data access costs as little as 50 cents for 100 MB. A farmer who can afford to buy such a device can certainly afford the data.
Zuck, Free Basics, India

How about this? Any entity, be it Reliance, Facebook, Google or Flipkart, may pay for and make available Free Basics to anyone. There would be a consortium of the leading 20 corporate players that would decide on the details. Any site/app/service may compete to be listed. But since there are only 100 slots available, it will have to meet the data requirements and will have to be sufficiently popular. Free Basics must come with some free data, the amount of which can increase over time. Users may use that free data to go to any site/app they want. The list of 100 itself should be competitive. Unless you stay in the top 50 by usage, you drop off. If you are not in the top 50 for 90 days in a row, you are no longer on the main list, making space for other sites/apps the user might choose. Also, the user should have the option to actively rearrange their list. They might add and delete as they please. A user will also have the option to get Free Basics from multiple providers on the same phone/device.

The upside is you end up with a billion users. I can't think of a better gift to the tech startups in India. So, don't oppose, instead negotiate.


Donald Trump: "I Could Shoot Somebody!"

Dick Cheney did not announce it before he did. Are they even members of the same party?







I think of Donald Trump as a political lightweight. 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

America Has A Choice

America has a choice. It can go down the path of a Barack Obama, cross-cultural upbringing (think Hawaii, Indonesia), inter-racial, and hence biologically superior birth, or the genetic stasis of a Donald Trump. Scottish in-breeding is what has prevented Scottish independence in the first place. Trump's idea of cross-cultural experiences is looking down from the Trump Tower, down at the crowds in Central Park. Trump is a germophobe who has not shaken a hand in a million years.



Is Trump Really The Republican Nominee?

I was not expecting this. I thought this guy was a joke. I will revisit this question in a month. Polls are polls.


Net Neutrality In India

Zuck, Free Basics, India

700 startups ask PM Narendra Modi to speak up on net neutrality
The founders of some of India's largest new-age technology companies have signed a petition urging PM Narendra Modi to ensure net neutrality in India, emphasising that failing to do so would hurt the very startups he champions. ...... Signatories include Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Zomato's Deepinder Goyal, GOQii's Vishal Gondal, Prime Venture Partners' Sanjay Swamy and Sharad Sharma of iSPIRT. ..... about 1,400 people had signed the petition, including 700 startup founders, about 200 startup employees and 164 aspiring entrepreneurs. ...... "We must not let the misdirection and private interests of large incumbent telecom or online service companies undermine the digital rise of Start Up India — and must push back against their efforts to frustrate the clear rules on net neutrality that we all need" ......

India should not be a target for digital colonisation or gate-keeping but a significant hub powering the global Internet

...... A day after a road map for startups was announced by PM Modi at the Start Up India event, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh issued a statement saying the prime minister's "silence on this vital issue (of net neutrality) is deafening". In meetings that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has held with startups, the most important policy requirement expressed was the need to maintain the neutrality of the Internet between big business and startups, Ramesh said. ......

"Digital colonisation is a real risk.

The only way to manage this risk and have free digital marketplace is to have right protective policies in place. This includes net neutrality, startup-friendly (intellectual property rights) and support for digital identity," said Sharad Sharma, cofounder of software product think tank iSPIRT, which spearheaded the petition along with Savetheinternet campaign volunteers.