opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 3485 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Study on Cyber Threat
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: P. KUMAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3485

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 08.08.2018

## STUDY ON CYBER THREAT

## 3485.       SHRI P. KUMAR:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any study has been conducted to identify the cyber threats in the country; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR   ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI S.S. AHLUWALIA)

(a) and  (b):  In  tune  with  the  dynamic  nature  of  Information  Technology  and  limited window time  available  for  an  effective  response,  continuous  efforts  are  required  to  be made to detect and prevent cyber attacks by way of continuous threat assessment and near real-time situational awareness. Such timely information enables coordinated actions by the stakeholders to take appropriate proactive and preventive action.

Concerted  efforts  are  made  to  harvest  the  requisite  information  from  multiple  sources. These  include  incidents  reported  to  and  tracked  by  Indian  Computer  Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), technical measures,  security cooperation arrangement with overseas Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and leading security product and  service  vendors  as  well  as  agencies  within  the  government.  In  addition,  the  study reports published by various agencies across the world are also studied to understand the historical data with respect to global threat landscape and threat predictions.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 3484 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Internet Filtering System
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAM CHARITRA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3484 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH   AUGUST, 2018

## INTERNET FILTERING SYSTEM

## 3484. SHRI RAM CHARITRA NISHAD:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Indian internet service providers have installed the highest number of internet filtering system and blocked the maximum number of web pages;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether an investigation has been conducted by overseas agencies in this regard; and
- (d) if so, the details and the outcomes thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b) Internet Service Providers implement blocking/filtering of Internet websites/Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)/webpages by using suitable technology as per technical requirements. As per Information Technology Act, 2000 [Section 69A] and Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public  Rules  2009 made  thereunder,  the  directions  for  blocking  for  public  access  of  any  information including websites/ URLs/webpages is issued by Group Coordinator, Cyber Law Division, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). As per the directions of MeitY, instructions for blocking of Uniform Resource Locators ( URLs)/ websites/ webpages are issued by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Further,  as  per  the  direction  of  various  Hon'ble  Courts,  instructions  are  also  issued  to Internet Service Providers for compliance of the court orders from time to time.

From 01 st  January 2016 to date, instructions have been issued by the Department of Telecommunications to ISPs for blocking of about 11045 websites/ URLs/webpages.

- (c) & (d) No such report has been received by the Department .

*****************
Lok Sabha Question No. 3483 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Train Captain Service
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: G. HARI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3483 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## TRAIN CAPTAIN SERVICE

3483. SHRI G. HARI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that the Railways is considering to deploy onboard Train  Captains  who  will  solely  handle  the  responsibility  to  redress  the problems of the passengers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  it  is  also  true  that  the  Railways  has  identified  trains  for introduction of Train Captains; and
- (d)     if so, the details thereof?

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## ANSWER (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a)  to  (d)    In  order  to  introduce  the  concept  of  a  single  person/leader responsible for coordinating the entire team and facilitating all services during the complete journey of the train, instructions have been issued introducing  the  concept  of  Train  Captain.  In  trains  like  Rajdhani/ Shatabdi/ Duronto and other trains where a Train Superintendent (TS) is on  end  to  end  basis,  TS  shall  be  nominated  as  'Train  Captain'  and made responsible for all the facilities on train. In all other trains, where TS  is  not  present,  Zonal  Railways  are  to  nominate  the  senior  most ticket checking staff as Train Captain.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3482 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Jan Aushadhi Kendras
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3482 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## JAN AUSHADHI KENDRAS

†3482. SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  name  of  railway  stations  of  Maharashtra  where  medical stores have been opened;
- (b)  whether licence to open a medical store at railway platforms for facilitating passengers can be given to the unemployed graduates and the stakeholder pharmaceutical firms; and
- (c)  if so, the prospective scheme in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a): Specific Jan Aushadhi Kendras have not been opened. However, Railway Board has decided that a policy provision will be made that existing Multi Purpose Stalls (MPS) at Railway stations may  be  authorized  to  stock  generic  low-cost  medicines  also  in accordance with the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana  (PMBJP)  scheme.  At  present  03  chemist  stalls  are operational one each at (i) Mumbai Churchgate, (ii) Mumbai Central and  (iii) Andheri  Railway stations.

The  01  chemist  stall  earlier operated  at  Chhatrapati  Shivaji Maharaj Terminus has been converted to Multi Purpose Stall under the existing Multi Purpose Stall (MPS) policy.  The 01 chemist stall operational  at  Lokmanya  Tilak  Terminus  is  under  process  of conversion to Multi Purpose Stall. All these stations are within the territorial jurisdiction of Maharashtra State.

(b)  &  (c)  :  No  new  chemists  stall/medical  stores  will  be  opened. Under  the  existing  Multi  Purpose  Stall  (MPS)  policy,  in  order  to have  single outlet/stall at platforms for non  catering items required  during  travelling,  it  has  been  decided  to  set  up  Multi Purpose Stalls (MPS) at Railway stations wherein items permitted for  sale  are  miscellaneous  items,  books/magazines/news  paper, chemist  stall  items-OTC  (over  the  counter)  medicines  and  nonpharmacy items viz.dry/spray milk powder etc. Allotment of Multi Purpose Stalls will be done by E-Tendering/normal Tendering.

In  the  MPS  policy,  Retailers/Individuals/Self  Help  Groups (SHGs)/registered sole proprietorship firms or a partnership firm/company, incorporated under Partnership Act 1932/ Companies Act 1956 amended from time to time  are eligible to participate in the bidding process.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3481 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Southern Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: P.K.SREEMATHI TEACHER

- (a): No, Madam.
- (b): Does not arise.
- (c):    No, Madam.
- (d):    Does not arise.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3481 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## SOUTHERN RAILWAYS

3481. SHRIMATI P.K. SREEMATHI TEACHER:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any proposal of bringing Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction of Mangaluru railway region under the  Konkan  Railway  or  the  South  Western  Railway  from  the Palakkad Division of Southern Railway;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government also proposes to separate Thiruvananthapuram-Tirunelveli  and  Nagercoil-Kanyakumari  lines from  the  Thiruvananthapuram  Division  of  Southern  Railway  and bring them under the Madurai Division of Southern Railway; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

* * * * *
Lok Sabha Question No. 3480 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Infection of Cows at Sainik Dairy Farm
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: RAKESH SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3480

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 TH  AUGUST, 2018

## INFECTION OF COWS AT SAINIK DAIRY FARM

## 3480.  SHRI  RAKESH SINGH:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE j{kk ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the  cows  at defence  dairy  farm  situated in  Jabalpur have been infected with a communicable disease;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to sell those cows;
- (d) if  so,  whether  the  institutions  have  refused  to  buy  these  cows  because  of  this deadly disease; and
- (e) if so, whether treatment for the said disease is not available and if so, the reasons therefor?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

******

| MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE   | (DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)   |
|------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| र ा रा य मं ी                                  | (डा. सुभाष भामरे)      |

- (a) No, Madam.

(b) to (e): Does not arise.
Lok Sabha Question No. 3479 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Examination-based Cadre/Service Allocation
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: Adhikari Dibyendu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS (DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3479

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018)

## EXAMINATION-BASED CADRE/SERVICE ALLOCATION

## 3479. SHRI DIBYENDU ADHIKARI:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes for examination-based cadre and service allocation to UPSC qualified probationers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the present practice and the divergent plan therefor; and
- (c) the manner in which the new system is likely to pay weightage and thus respect position to the topmost posts of civil servants?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a):    No such proposal is under consideration of the Government at present.
- (b) & (c) :    Does not arise.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 3477 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Indian Workers in USA
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: VENKATESWARA RAO MAGANTTI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3477

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## INDIAN WORKERS IN USA

3477. SHRI MAGANTTI VENKATESWARA RAO (BABU):

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of skilled professionals from India working in the USA, State-wise; and
- (b) the steps taken by the Government in tackling the recent visa restrictions imposed by the American Government under the H1B and H4 categories?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

- (a) & (b) The   U.S.   Government   does   not   provide   state-wise   data regarding the number of skilled professionals from India working in the U.S.

Government of India has closely consulted all stakeholders and has engaged with the U.S. Administration and Congress at all levels on all issues   relating   to   movement   of   Indian   professionals,   including   those pertaining to the H-1B visa programme. External Affairs Minister took up the matter with the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in New York (September 21, 2017) and New Delhi (October 25, 2017) as well as with the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley in New Delhi (June 28, 2018).

In our engagements, we have emphasized to the U.S. side that movement of Indian skilled professionals to the U.S. has been a mutuallybeneficial partnership which should be nurtured.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 3476 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Merger of Passport Office
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3476 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## MERGER OF PASSPORT OFFICE

## 3476. SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   the   passport   employees   have   demanded   that   the authorities should consider merger of the passport office with the Ministry of External Affairs.
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether many proposals approved by the cabinet are yet to be implemented in the passport offices; and
- (d) if   so,   the   details   thereof   and   the   reasons   for   not   implementing them?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

- (a) Yes, the All India Passport Employees Association, a recognized staff association of the Central Passport Organisation (CPO), has requested the Ministry to consider merger of the CPO with the Ministry of External Affairs.
- (b) The Central Passport Organisation (CPO) was established in 1959 as a Subordinate Office of the Ministry. A subordinate office functions as a field establishment which is responsible for the execution of the policies of the   Government.   Accordingly,   the   Ministry   set   up   the   CPO   as   a Subordinate Office for delivery of passport related services as per the policies framed by the Ministry.
- (c) & (d) No   proposal   approved   by   the   Cabinet   is   pending   for implementation by the Passport Offices under the CPO.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3475 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: National Transporter’s Revenues
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: J. JAYASINGH THIYAGARAJ NATTERJEE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3475 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## NATIONAL TRANSPORTER'S REVENUES

3475. SHRI J.J. T. NATTERJEE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  set  a  target  of  doubling  the  national transporter's revenues to Rs. 4 lakh crore by 2025 to make it profitable;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether over this period, the total investment by the Railways would be about Rs. 9 lakh crore and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether full electrification was planned by the Government to save around Rs. 15,000 crore in fuel bill; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) & (b) The Indian Railways aims to maximise its revenues by capacity enhancement  on  the  Railways  network.  The  capacity  enhancement measures include expansion in rail network through new lines, doubling, tripling,  etc.,  development  of  improved  signalling  system,  expansion  in electrified network and enhancing utilization of assets.

- (c) The total capital investment by the Railways is expected to be about approximately ` 8.56  lakh  crore  by  the  year  2020  under  the  following heads:

(i)  Network  Decongestion,  (ii)  Network  Expansion,  (iii)  National  Projects (Northeastern and Kashmir Connectivity Projects), (iv) Safety, (v) Information  Technology  and  Research,  (vi)  Rolling  Stock,  (vii)  Passenger Amenities,  (viii)  High  Speed  Rail  and  Elevated  Corridor,  (ix)  Station Redevelopment and Logistics Parks and (x) others.

(d)  &  (e)  Targeted  electrification  of  network  has  been planned by Indian Railways  and  is  expected  to  be  completed  by  the  year  2022.  With  this targeted  electrification,  Indian  Railways  is  likely  to  save  an  amount  of ` 13,000 crore on fuel bill by then.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3473 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Promoting Relations with China
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: RANJANBEN BHATT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3473

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## PROMOTING RELATIONS WITH CHINA

†3473. SHRIMATI RANJANBEN BHATT:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   the   Government   proposes   to   evolve   new   methods   to promote relations between people of India and China and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has taken any action in this regard till now;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a) to (d) During the meetings between Prime Minister and the Chinese President in Wuhan (27-28 April) and Qingdao (9 June) earlier this year, the two leaders agreed that people-to-people exchanges were a significant part   of   India-China   relations   and   that   in   order   to   achieve   sustained progress   in   bilateral   ties,   it   was   important   to   build   greater   mutual understanding   between   the people   of   the   two   countries   through cooperation and exchanges in diverse areas such as films, culture, yoga, sports, art, museums, traditional medicine etc. In this context, the two leaders agreed to establish a High-Level Mechanism for People-to-People Exchanges co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries. The first meeting of the High-Level Mechanism is proposed to be held later this year.

- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3471 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Artificial Intelligence
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: M. CHANDRAKASI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3471

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 TH  AUGUST, 2018

## ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE

3471.  SHRI  M. CHANDRAKASI:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE

j{kk ea=h

be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of thrust areas identified for employing Artificial Intelligence in Armed Forces; and
- (b) the extent of use of drones in Armed Forces and feed back obtained on the same?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

र  ा रा य मं ी

(डा. सुभाष भामरे)

(a) & (b): A statement is attached.

******

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3471 FOR ANSWER ON 8.8.2018

- (a) The  thrust  areas  identified  by  the  Task  Force  constituted  by  the Government to study the strategic implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the perspective of national security and other related aspects and also identified  by  the  Armed  Forces  for    employing  Artificial  Intelligence  to enhance future capabilities include:-
- (i) Object identifications and image classifications;
- (ii) Network centric operations;
- (iii) Predictive maintenance;
- (iv) Censor data and performance analysis;
- (v) Intelligence & autonomous unmanned systems;
- (vi) Data analysis, information processing, and intelligence analysis;
- (vii) War gaming, simulation and training;
- (viii)  Defence, offence and Command Information Warfare;
- (ix) Intelligence support to command decision making;
- (x) War fighting capabilities;
- (xi) Cyber Security Operations;
- (xii) Autonomous underwater vehicle;
- (xiii)  Medical diagnostics;
- (xiv)  Multi-platform, multi-censor data fusion etc.
- (b) Unarmed vehicles (UAVs) in the Armed Forces are being effectively used  for  surveillance,  fleet  support,  battle  damage  assessment,  coastal surveillance, search, rescue and disaster management etc. The performance of UAVs is satisfactory.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 3470 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Dedicated Freight Corridors
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: AJAY (TENI) MISRA, KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL, RAJESH RANJAN  (PAPPU  YADAV), PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE, Shrirang Appa Barne, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, ANANDRAO  ADSUL, DHARMENDRA YADAV, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3470

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2018

## DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDORS

†3470.   SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI:

SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN:

DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO:

SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)
- the present status of the Eastern and Western Freight Corridors;
- (b)   the time frame fixed for the completion of these projects initially;
- (c)   the expenditure incurred on the projects so far;
- (d)  the original cost of the project and the revised cost due to delay in its completion and the time by which it is likely to be completed; and
- (e)    the  names of the funding agencies of the two projects, projectwise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) Overall  progress  in  land  acquisition  on  both  the  corridors  is 98.7%.    All  Civil  contracts  for  Eastern  Dedicated  Freight  Corridor (Sonnagar  to  Ludhiana)  and  Western  Dedicated  Freight  Corridor (Jawaharlal  Nehru  Port  Terminal  to  Dadri)  have  been  awarded. Overall 97.2% of total contracts have been awarded.

- (b) At the time of conception of the project, the completion period of the project was expected to be 5 years after start of the construction.
- (c)  Total  expenditure  (including  land)  incurred  as  on  30.06.2018  is ₹ 39,139 Crore.
- (d) The original cost of the project was ` 28,181 Crore.  The cost of the project has increased on account of increase in cost of land, change of scope of the project and some other technical requirements.

The revised estimated cost is about ` 81,459 Crore, which includes price escalation and interest during construction. The project started in 2007, however, the pace of the project has accelerated during the last four years with the infusion of adquate funds and the completion of  the  Eastern  and  the  Western.  Dedicated  Freight  Corridors  are targeted in phases from 2018 to 2020.

- (e)  The  Eastern  Corridor  is  being  constructed  predominantly  with World  Bank  funding  except  for  538  Kms  section  between  Sonnagar and Dankuni which is to be constructed through PPP.  The Western Corridor is  being constructed with funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

*****