opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 240 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Inoperative Accounts
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: PARASURAMAN K.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 240 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2017

## INOPERATIVE ACCOUNTS

240. SHRI K. PARASURAMAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  LABOUR  AND  EMPLOYMENT  be  pleased  to state:

- (a)the  details  about  the  total  number  of  EPF  unclaimed  accounts cleared  by  the  Government  during  the  last  three  years,  State/UTwise;
- (b)whether the Government  provides interest to the inoperative account and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)whether  the  Government  proposes  to  divert  the  corpus  of  EPF accounts which are inoperative for a long period; and
- (d)if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

- (a)  & (b):   Unclaimed amount is not defined in Employees' Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme, 1952. As such, no unclaimed account has been cleared by the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).

As per paragraph 60(6) of EPF Scheme, 1952, interest shall not be credited to the account of a member from the date on which it of  EPF

has become  Inoperative account  under paragraph 72(6) Scheme, 1952.

However,  the  Central  Government  vide  Notification  No. G.S.R.  1065  (E)  dated  11th  November,  2016  has  amended  paragraph 72(6)  of  the  EPF  Scheme,  1952  wherein  changes  have  been  made  in the  conditions  leading  to  a  Provident  Fund  account  becoming  an Inoperative Account. After implementation of the amended provision, an account becomes inoperative if no claim has been preferred by the member  after  36  months  from  the  date  of  attaining  the  age  of  55 years/actual date of retirement, whichever is later.

(c) & (d):   The Finance Act, 2015 has established the 'Senior Citizens Welfare Fund' to be funded from any credit balance remaining unclaimed for a period of seven years from the date of declaration as an inoperative account under the Small Savings, Public Provident Fund or  any  other  schemes  as  may  be  prescribed.  The  corpus  identified under this Act by EPFO and   transferred to Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund will  be  used  for  the  pensioners  of  Employees'  Pension  Scheme (EPS), 1995.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 239 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Regulatory Framework for Explosives
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: POONAM  MAHAJAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 239. TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 18 TH  DECEMBER,  2017.

## REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR EXPLOSIVES

## 239.   SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) the details regarding the existing regulatory framework that broadly governs the manufacture, possession, use, sale, transport, import and export of explosives in India; and
- (b) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  evolve  guidelines  with  respect  to encouraging model rocketry industry and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज् यएवंउद्योगमंत्रालयमेंराज् यमंत्री(श्री सी.आर.चौधरी) THE MINISTER OF STATE INTHE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHR I C.R. CHAUDHARY )

- (a): The  manufacture, possession, use, sale, transport, import and  export of explosives  in  India  are  regulated  by  the  Explosives  Act,  1884  and  the  rules framed thereunder. As per Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20, import of explosives is 'Restricted' and  hence  permission  to  import  is  granted  by  Directorate  General  of  Foreign Trade (DGFT) after consulting Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization(PESO). In so far as export of explosives is concerned, there is no specific  mention  of  explosives  in  Schedule  2  of  Export  Policy.  Hence  as  per General Note to export policy, export of explosives is free subject to any other law  for  time  being  in  force.  However,  as  per  Appendix  3-SCOMET  List  under Schedule-2 of Export Policy, various high explosives are regulated. These have been  categorized  under  Category  3,  4,  6  and  8.  All  Explosives  falling  under SCOMET List require export authorization from DGFT as provided under Para 2.09 of FTP -2015-20.
- (b): There  is  no  concrete  plan  as  yet  to  evolve  guidelines  to  encourage  model rocketry industry.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 237 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Teachers Training
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 237 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2017

## Teachers Training

## 237.  SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  approved  the  proposal  to  extend  the  deadline  for teachers training till 2019;
- (b) whether  many  State  Governments  have  demanded  for  the  extension  of  teachers training;
- (c) whether a large number of teachers at the elementary level are still untrained in the country; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

- (a) to (d): Yes, Madam.  Section 23(2) of the RTE Act, 2009 has been amended to extend the period for training of un-trained in-service elementary teachers to 31 st March, 2019.  The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has been entrusted the task of conducting D.El.Ed programme in ODL (Open Distance Learning) mode.  As per the data available with this Ministry as on 14.12.2017, the total number of untrained in-service teachers with confirmed admission at NIOS portal is 13, 64,553.
Lok Sabha Question No. 236 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Guidelines to Access Genuineness of Artefacts
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 236 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2017

## GUIDELINES TO ACCESS GENUINENESS OF ARTEFACTS

## 236. SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to State:

- (a) whether there is any method or guideline to assess genuineness of precious artefacts stored in museums across the country;
- (b) If so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor ;
- (c) The  steps  taken  by  Government  in  last  three  years  to  have  uniform  guidelines  to preserve and secure the artefacts in museums; and
- (d) The further steps taken by Government to check siphoning of valuable artefacts from central museums to the international markets?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) CULTURE AND

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) There are no specific guidelines for verifying the genuineness of precious artefacts stored  in  museums.  However,  for  assessing  genuineness,  there  are  2  types  of detection  methods  viz.  relative  and  absolute.  Generally,  Curators/Historians  use  a combination of the two.
- (b) In  relative  method,  identification  is  done  on  the  basis  of  styles,  textures,  pigments material,  period,  chiseling,  cutting,  legends  written  on  the  objects,  writings  on  the objects etc. In the absolute method, carbon dating, potassium argon dating, emission technique, N.M.R. techniques, X-ray technique, absorption spectroscopy, Ring Owen techniques  are  the  methods  employed  for  ensuring  the  identity/genuineness  of  the artifacts housed in the Museums.
- (c)  The  Govt.  has  issued  instructions  to  preserve  and  secure    the  artefacts  in  museums through control of temperature, humidity, dust etc. in galleries, modernization of lighting, setting up or upgradation of conservation laboratories and modeling workshops, periodic circulation  of  the  displayed  artefacts,  maintenance  of  accession  register,  physical verification,  photo-documentation and digitization of objects etc.  Government of India has also formulated a comprehensive Security Policy for all Museums under its control for ensuring safety and security of Museums and its artefacts.
- (d) Further steps taken by the Government to check siphoning of valuable artefacts from museums are periphery lighting, personal frisking & baggage screening, 24 hours close circuit TV monitoring, RFID tagging and Induction of CISF in the museum security area.
Lok Sabha Question No. 235 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Under-Employment
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: GEETHA KOTHAPALLI, J.C. DIVAKAR REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.235

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18 th  DECEMBER, 2017

## UNDER-EMPLOYMENT

## 235.   SHRIMATI KOTHAPALLI GEETHA: SHRI J.C. DIVAKAR REDDY:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether NITI Aayog has pointed towards severe under-employment situation in the country; (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the corrective steps taken/being taken by the Government so far in this regard and extent of success achieved therefrom?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a) & (b) : NITI Aayog has prepared a strategy paper titled 'Three Year Action Agenda 2017-18 to 2019-20'  which is part of a long-term Fifteen-year Vision and Seven-year Strategy. The Action Agenda inter-alia proposes a path to achieve all-round development of India and its people. The agenda states that the unemployment is the lesser of India's problems and under-employment needs to  be  focused  in.  As  per  the  strategy  paper  under-employment  and  therefore  low-wage employment rather than unemployment is the key challenge facing India today and more well paid and formal jobs are required. (c): Employment  generation  and skill upgradation are key priority of the  Government. Government  has  focused  on  making  employment  opportunities  accessible  to  unemployed persons.  In  order  to  improve  the  employability  of  youth,  around  22  Ministries/Department  run skill development schemes across various sectors. According to the data compiled by National Skill  Development  Agency  (NSDA),  M/o  Skill  Development  &  Entrepreneurship,  numbers  of persons skilled across various sectors were 1.04 crore during 2015-16. Government announced a booster package of Rs. 6000 crores for the textile sector which is an employment intensive sector. Government is implementing the National Career Service (NCS) Project which comprises a digital portal that provides a nation-wide online platform for jobseekers and employers for job matching in a dynamic, efficient and responsive manner and has a repository of career content.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 233 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Central Universities
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: ANUPAM HAZRA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 233 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2017

## Central Universities

## 233. DR. ANUPAM HAZRA:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry has authority to interfere with reported violations of laws and regulations by  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  Registrars  of  different  Central  Universities  like  Visva-Bharati University etc. in the country; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (DR. SATYA PAL SINGH)

- (a) & (b): Central Universities including Visva Bharati are autonomous bodies which are governed by their  own  Acts  and  Statutes  &  Ordinances  and  Regulations  framed  thereunder.  As  per  the provisions of the Acts of the Central Universities, the President of India, in the capacity as the Visitor of the Central Universities, is empowered to cause an inquiry to be made in respect of any matter connected with the administration of the Universities and he may, if required, annul any proceeding of the Universities which is not in conformity with Acts, Statutes or the Ordinances of the respective Universities or may take action as deemed appropriate.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), which is mandated to maintain standards of higher education in the country and to allocate and disburse grants to the Central Universities, also looks into  the  allegations/complaints  against  Central  Universities.  Wherever  complaints  of  serious nature  are  received,  the  Ministry  of  Human  Resource  Development  (MHRD)  also  gets  such matters enquired into. However, further action on the findings is taken with the approval of the competent authority  as  per the provisions of the Acts,  Statutes or Ordinances of the  concerned Central Universities.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 231 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Growth of Core Sectors
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: ARKA KESHARI DEO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 231. TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 18 TH  DECEMBER,  2017.

## GROWTH OF CORE SECTORS

## 231.   SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether the growth of core sectors have shown an increase during the last three quarters of the current fiscal year;
- (b) if so, the percentage of growth during the said period; and
- (c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to keep this growth rate in upward scale?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज् यएवंउद्योग मंत्रालयमेंराज् यमंत्री(श्री सी.आर.चौधरी) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHR I C.R. CHAUDHARY )

- (a) & (b):     The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) measures the performance of eight core  sectors  at  Base  Year,  2011-12.  Based  on  the  available  data,  ICI registered  growth  of  3.1  per  cent,  2.5  per  cent  and  4.0  per  cent  during January-March  2017,  April-June  2017  and  July-September  2017  quarters respectively.
- (c): The  Government  is  continuously  taking  steps  to  boost  growth  in  these industries which inter alia includes putting in place policy framework to create conducive  business  environment,  strengthening  infrastructure  network  and ensuring  availability  of  required  inputs.  The  Government  has  also  under taken  series  of  reforms  to  promote  investment,  facilitate  ease  of  doing business and to attract foreign direct investment.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 20 (STARRED), answered on 2017-12-15
Subject: GST on Shipping Industry
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: HARIOM SINGH RATHORE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

*****

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.*20

## TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY THE 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2017 AGRAHAYANA 24, 1939 (SAKA)

## GST ON SHIPPING INDUSTRY

## *20. SHRI HARIOM SINGH RATHORE:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, a levy of five per cent would be imposed on Indian shipping companies that ferry cargo from and to India and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether GST at this rate is also levied on Indian companies that engage in the business of buying and selling of vessels and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  foreign  shipping  companies  are  exempted  from  GST,  placing  the Indian companies at a disadvantage by raising the cost of their operations and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has taken cognizance that the lack of level-playing field would impel the Indian companies to move out of India; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF FINANCE SHRI ARUN JAITLEY

(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e): A statement is placed on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  THE  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION  NO.20  RAISED  BY  SHRI.  HARIOM  SINGH  RATHORE  FOR  15 TH DECEMBER, 2017 REGARDING GST ON SHIPPING INDUSTRY

Part (a): Service provided by Indian shipping lines to a person located outside India by way of transport of goods by a vessel from India to a place outside India is zero rated. Similar service provided to a person located in India is liable to GST @ 5%. However,  the  person  located  in  India  is  eligible  to  get  input  tax  credit  (ITC)  and subsequent refund of the same as the exports are zero rated and thus the same will not be a cost to him.

Service  provided by  an  Indian  shipping  line  and  a  foreign  shipping  line  by  way  of transport of goods from a place outside India up-to the Customs Station of clearance in India are liable to GST @ 5%.

Part (b):

GST at the rate of 5% is leviable on supply of specified vessels.

Part  (c): No,  Sir.  Foreign  shipping  companies  providing  transportation  services  to Indian exporters are not subjected to GST on account of place of supply of the said service  being  outside  India.  However,  the  same  service  provided  by  an  Indian shipping  line  to  an  Indian  exporter  is  subjected  to  GST,  which  is  zero  rated. Therefore, in effect, both Indian and foreign shipping lines are at par

Part (d) and (e): Do not arise in view of (c) above.
Lok Sabha Question No. 18 (STARRED), answered on 2017-12-15
Subject: Free Medical Treatment for Critical Illness
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV, VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 18 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH DECEMBER, 2017 FREE MEDICAL TREATME NT FOR CRITICAL ILLN ESS

## †*18. SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV: SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to provide free medical treatment for cr illness such as Cancer, Kidney failure and Brain Tumour to the BPL categor of people/persons owning two hectare or less land; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE ( SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA )

- (a)& ( b) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 18* FOR 15 TH DECEMBER, 2017

(a) &  (b) :  (i)  The  Government  has  already  set  up  a  Scheme  named  as Rashtriya  Arogya  Nidhi to  provide  financial  assistance  to  patients,  liv below  the  poverty  line  and  who  are  suffering  from  major  life  threate diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, brain tumour, etc, to receive treatment at any of the super speciality Hospitals /Institute or other Government hospitals. Financial assistance is provided to patients living poverty line (BPL) irrespective of whether they are holding land or not.

(ii) Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) within RAN has been establishe d  as  a    Corpus  Fund  with  an  amount  of  Rs.  100.00  crore  and  th earning  from  the  Corpus  Fund  as    interest  is  utilized  for  providing  fi assistance to BPL cancer patients through 27 Regional Cancer Centres loca all  over  India.  Financial  assistance  t owards  treatment  for  cancer  ailments  is provided  to  the  BPL  patients  having  treatment  in  various  Regional  Can Centres (RCC)  isalsoprovided  through Health  Minister's  Cancer  Patient Fund - CSR.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 17 (STARRED), answered on 2017-12-15
Subject: National Wildlife Action Plan
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: DUSHYANT CHAUTALA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *17

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2017

## National Wildlife Action Plan

## *17.    SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-31 was unveiled by the Government with the objective of developing wildlife conservation and if, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the major objective under this plan is to combat climate  change and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has decided to increase the role of private sector in wildlife conservation during the said period; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  budgetary  allocation  estimated  to  implement  the  said action plan?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

(a),(b),(c) and (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO  *17  REGARDING  'NATIONAL  WILDLIFE  ACTION PLAN' BY SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA DUE FOR REPLY ON 15.12.2017.

- (a) The  third  National  Wildlife  Action  Plan  (2017-2031)  of  the  Ministry  of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has been made with a view to have concerted  approach  for  protection,  conservation  and  management  of  wildlife through out the country. It is divided into 17 chapters that also includes new action themes, such as: Climate Change and wildlife; Wildlife Health; Inland aquatic &  Coastal and Marine conservation; Human  Wildlife Conflict mitigation.  The Plan also considers landscape based approach of management.
- (b) The National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-31) has, out of 17 chapters, a chapter titled  ' Integrating  Climate  Change  in  Wildlife  Planning' with  important priority  action  points  incorporated  in  the  Plan.  The  chapter  takes  note  of concerns  relating  to  climate  change  on  wildlife,  by  integrating  actions  to  be taken for their mitigation and adaption into wildlife management planning.
- (c) and (d) The Plan underscores the increasing need for peoples' support for conservation of wildlife. It also emphasize the need for integrating conservation-oriented  practices  in  the  corporate  projects  based  on  natural resources, including 'Corporate Environmental Responsibility' (CER) programme  on  the  lines  of  the  'Corporate  Social  Responsibility'  (CSR) programmes.  The Action Plan also provides scope of investment from extra budgetary  sources  like  CAMPA  fund,  MNREGS,  community  development programmes, etc. for wildlife conservation.

***