opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 5306 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Fund For Welfare of Minority
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: RAVINDRA VISHWANATH GAIKWAD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5306

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2018

## Fund For Welfare of Minority

## †5306. PROF. RAVINDRA VISHWANATH GAIKWAD:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the scheme-wise number of proposals approved by Maharashtra Government during the last three years till date received by the Central Government for the approval of demand of funds for the welfare of minorities;
- (b) the number of proposals approved out of the proposals received along with the funds released and the number of proposals that are still pending;
- (c) the reasons for pendency of proposals; and
- (d) the time by which pending proposals are likely to be approved by the Government?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

- (a) to  (d)  Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  is  implementing  various  schemes  for  the  Welfare  of  Minority Communities. Amongst  these schemes, Multi-sectoral Development Programme(MsDP)  is implemented  in  identified  Minority  Concentration  Areas  which  are  relatively  backward,  as  a Centrally Sponsored Scheme(CSS) designed primarily for addressing development gaps/deficits by gap filling of various existing CSS of different Central Ministries and also for taking up innovative projects  which  are  not  covered  by  any  of  the  existing  CSS.    Under  this  programme,  the  projects considered are demand based and as per the felt need of the States/UTs.  Under MsDP, 8 blocks and 6  towns  of  Maharashtra  has  been  identified  as  Minority  Concentration  Blocks  and  Minority Concentration Towns respectively. The projects  considered  and  approved  under  the  MsDP  are  of different  types  such  as  School  Buildings,  Hostels,  Drinking  Water,  SadbhavMandaps,  Toilets, Additional  Class  Rooms,  AganwadiCentres,  Polytechnics,  Health  related  projects,  ITIs  etc.    The projects  so  far  submitted  by  Maharashtra  Government  and  foundin  order  under  the  scheme  have been approved and no proposal is pending for approval.   During the last three  years i.e.  from 1 st April, 2015 to till date the total funds released for projects of the State Government of Maharashtra for implementation under MsDPis Rs.4020.82 lakh.The details of the projects so far approved under MsDP is available at http://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/schemesperformance/multi-sectoraldevelopment-programme /empowered - committee-minute.

The Ministry has also released Rs 263.15 crore towards scholarships for 15, 80,018 nos. of beneficiaries from Maharashtra during the above period.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 5305 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: 5G Test Bed
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: ANTO  ANTONY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5305 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 TH      MARCH, 2018

## 5G TEST BED

5305. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  set  up  test  bed  facilities  for  a  Fifth Generation (5G) communication network in the country;
- (b) if so, the details and the salient features thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): The  Government  has  approved  financial  grant  for  the  project  to  set  up 'Indigenous 5G Test Bed' in India by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The eight collaborating institutes in the project are Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT), IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras,  IIT  Kanpur,  IISc  Bangalore  and  Society  for  Applied  Microwave  Electronics Engineering  &  Research  (SAMEER).  The  project  envisages  setting  up  of  end-to-end Open 5G Test Bed for Indian companies & academia in distributed architecture model. The proposed test bed is likely  to  enhance  national  capability  in  telecom  technology, develop indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) and give fillip to Indian telecom manufacturers. The duration of the project is 3 years and total budget involved is Rs 224.0166 Crore.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 5303 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Setting up of Weather Stations
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: KRISHN PRATAP SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5303 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018

## SETTING UP OF WEATHER STATIONS

## 5303. DR. KRISHAN PRATAP:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to set up more automatic weather stations in the country and if so, the details along with the locations thereof;
- (b) whether the personnel deployed at these stations are properly trained to monitor the data and to provide accurate information and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  regular  inspections  are  carried  out  to  ensure  the  quality control,  caliberation  and  utilisation  of  data  from  automatic  weather station in order to develop forecast and weather forecast model;
- (d)
- (e)
- if so, the details thereof; and
- if not, the action taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) Yes Madam. Augmentation of the observing system networks including  Automatic  Weather  Station  (AWS)  network  is  a  continuing process that shall be taken up as per the emerging needs from time to time.
- (b) Field  maintenance  staff  are  trained  to  address  the  functional  issues periodically as AWSs are operated without placing any manpower at their locations.

Various measures  are being taken up to avoid and to rectify malfunctioning of AWSs. These are :

-  Zonal Instrument Maintenance Centres (ZIMC) and Field Maintenance Units (FMU) are established for routine inspection as well as maintenance of all unmanned field observing systems.
-  Periodic preventive calibration of the field sensors and the systems.
-  Periodic maintenance of the AWS sites.
- (c-d)  Quality  control  is  rigorously  carried  out  at  ground  station  after receiving  the  hourly  weather  data  prior  to  its  utilization  in  the assimilation and forecast system in real time.
- (e)
- Does not arise.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 5301 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Railway Projects in Kerala
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: PARAYAMPARANBIL KUTTAPPAN BIJU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5301 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2018

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN KERALA

5301. DR. P.K. BIJU:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  as  far  as  the  allocation  for  railway  projects  is concerned, the opposition ruled States have been ignored especially the State of Kerala;

- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the details of allocation for the last three years, State-wise?

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

(a) to (c):   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  5301  BY  DR.  P.K.  BIJU  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 28.03.2018 REGARDING RAILWAY

IN KERALA

(a) & (b):   No, Madam. The allocation of Budget is done on project wise and not Zone-wise or State-wise. Further, the outlay for each project  is  fixed  based  on  status  of  land  acquisition,  progress  of project and relative priority.  The priority is given to the projects of capacity enhancement, last mile connectivity projects in order to provide  facilities  to  the  rail  users  at  the  earliest.    To  make effective  utilization  of  the  investment,  Ministry  of  Railways  has decided to take up execution of project only after complete land acquisition.    However,  General  Managers  of  Zonal  Railways  have been  given  powers  to  invite  tenders  if  they  are  certain  of  the possibility of land acquisition in a reasonable time frame.  For this purpose,  a  written  assurance  from  State  Government  will  be required  by  General  Managers  of  Zonal  Railways.  Therefore  the question  of  ignoring  a  particular  State  for  allocation  of  Railway project does not arise.

(c):    In  Railways,  funds  are  allocated  project  wise  and  not  State wise.  However,  project  wise  information  is  available  in  public domain  in  Pink  Book  of  respective  years  on  Indian  Railway website.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 5300 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Indian Ocean Joint Monitoring Operation
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5300

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 28 TH  MARCH, 2018

## INDIAN OCEAN JOINT MONITORING OPERATION

## 5300.  SHRI  KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY:

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

- (a) whether  the  latest  joint  monitoring  of  the  Indian  Ocean  by  the  country  in cooperation with foreign nations is proving to be beneficial to the defence exchequer;
- (b) if so, the details thereof including the amount saved by the Government in the said joint monitoring operation; and
- (c) if not, the additional expense incurred by the Government in the said venture?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

र  ा रा य मं ी

(डा. सुभाष भामरे)

<!-- image -->

(a) to (c): Indian Navy does not undertake joint monitoring of the Indian Ocean in cooperation with other foreign nations.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 5298 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Email-Id for Government Employees
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: RAKESH SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5298

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 28.03.2018

## EMAIL-ID  FOR GOVERNMENT  EMPLOYEES

## 5298:    SHRI   RAKESH SINGH:

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

- (a)  whether there is any scheme to provide email ID's to all Government employees from the National Informatics Centre;
- (b)  if so, the state-wise details thereof;
- (c)  whether any other scheme is also under consideration by which Government employees would be able  to  see  their  service  records  and  place  various  requests  online  through  their email ID's; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the time by which it is likely to be completed ?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR   ELECTRONICS AND  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI K. J. ALPHONS)

- (a)  and (b): eMail Policy of Government of India  was released in February  2015, to provide email  ID's  to  all  Government  employees  both  at  the  centre  and  state  by  the  National Informatics Centre (NIC). The Policy is under implementation stage.
- (c):    Presently,  a  pilot  project  namely  eHRMS  is  under  implementation  in  respect  of employees of Department of Personnel and Training (DoP&T) with a view to provide various personnel related services and service records of the Government employees online.
- (d):   The project is envisaged to be completed by Financial Year (FY) 2019-20.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 5295 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: New Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: SHOBHA KARANDLAJE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5295

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2018

## NEW TRAINS

## 5295. KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  introduce  the  services  of new trains between Mangalore-Hubli via Madgaon, Mysore-Varanasi via Miraj, Jabalpur and Vasco-Chennai via Bangalore;

- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to  (c)  Owing  to  operational  and  resources  constraints,  there  is  no proposal  for  introduction  of  direct  train  services  on  Mangalore-Hubli, Mysore-Varanasi  and  Vasco  Da  Gama-Chennai  sectors.    However,  at present,  17311/17312  Vasco  da  Gama-Chennai  Express  (Weekly)  via Yesvantpur and 16229/16230 Mysore-Varanasi Express (Bi-Weekly) via Solapur,  Jabalpur  are  already  available  for  the  passengers  of  the respective sectors. Besides, introduction of trains is on-going process on Indian Railways.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 5294 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Railway Projects in West Bengal
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: ABHIJIT MUKHERJEE, MD. BADARIDDOZA KHAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5294 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2018

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN WEST BENGAL

5294.  SHRI ABHIJIT MUKHERJEE: SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS  be pleased to state :

- (a)  whether  the  Railways  has  made  a  plan  to  amend  few  or  all railway  projects  pertaining  to  gauge  conversion,  narrow  bridge, electrification of railway line and elevation of platforms to accommodate EMUs in the State of West Bengal;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  projects  including  funds  incurred  for  each project;
- (c) whether the Railways has fixed any target date for completion of gauge conversion work for the Ahmadpur to Katwa segment under the Eastern Railway;
- (d) if so, the details thereof including expenditure incurred thereon till date;
- (e) whether there is any plan for electrification of all non-electrical sections  of  railway  lines  in  the  State  of  West  Bengal  (Eastern Railway/Southern Railway/NFR); and
- (f) if so, the targeted date of conversion?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) and (b): No, Madam. Execution of all gauge conversion projects on all Indian Railways  including West Bengal are taken up as per standard  specifications  which  take  care  of  all  requirements  like narrow bridge, electrification, elevation of platforms, etc. for smooth running of all trains including EMUs.

(c)  and  (d):  The  Ahmadpur-Katwa  (51.92  km)  gauge  conversion section has since been completed and commissioned on 30.12.2017. An expenditure of ` 137 crore has been incurred on execution of this project. (e)  and  (f):  For  achieving  100%  electrification  of  all  non-electrical Railway sections on Indian Railways including in the State of West Bengal  falling  under  Eastern  Railway,  South  Eastern  Railway  and Northeast  Frontier  Railway,  Ministry  of  Railways  have  decided  to electrify balance unelectrified 38000 broad gauge Route Kilometre (RKM). In Budget 2018-19, 13675 RKM of electrification projects (including 802  RKM  of  State  of  West  Bengal)  have  been  included  subject  to necessary approvals. These electrification projects are proposed to be completed by 2021-22.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 5292 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Per Capita Income Differentials
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5292 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 28 TH  MARCH, 2018

## PER CAPITA INCOME DIFFERENTIALS

## 5292. SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of    per  capita  income  in  Economically  Backward  Areas including Bundelkhand in last five years;
- (b)   the economically backward areas and rest of India per capita income differentials in the country during each of the last five years and the current financial year; and
- (c)
- the steps taken or being taken by the Government to bridge the gap?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION  AND  MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI VIJAY GOEL)

- (a)  &  (b):  Information  on  per  capita  income  in  Economically  Backward Areas is not available in Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
- (c): The Government has been implementing several programmes for skill development, self-employment, wage employment and creation of assets that aim to promote inclusive growth and thereby bridge the income gaps. These  include  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana-National  Urban  Livelihood Mission  (DAY-NULM)  of  the  Ministry  of  Housing  and  Urban  Poverty Alleviation  (MHUPA)  and  various  rural  development  schemes  of  the Department of Rural Development (DRD), namely, Mahatma Gandhi National  Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme, Pradhan  Mantri  Awaas  Yojana  Gramin, Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak Yojana,  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana-National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 458 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-27
Subject: Crop Insurance Cover
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE

O.I.H.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 458

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 27 TH  MARCH, 2018

## CROP INSURANCE COVER

- *458. SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण ½ãâ¨ããè be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  matter  that  banks/ companies/employers  are  not  giving  receipts/insurance  policies  to  the  farmers  while providing crop insurance cover to them and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  probe  in  this  regard,  if  so,  the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the reasons for not giving receipts/ insurance policies to the farmers even after crop insurance;
- (d) the directions issued by the Government  to the said banks/companies/ employers in this regard; and
- (e) whether the Government has reviewed the matter and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण ½ãâ¨ããè

(SHRI RADHA MOHAN SINGH)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  458 DUE FOR REPLY ON 27 TH  MARCH, 2018.

(a) to (e):    In order to facilitate farmers availing crop insurance, Government decided that banks would provide loanee farmers with a pocket size folio alongwith acknowledgement receipt on their enrolment under  Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based  Crop Insurance  Scheme (RWBCIS) from Rabi 2016-17 season onwards.  Further, from Kharif 2017  provision was made for nonloanee  farmers  enrolling  directly  on  the  portal  or  through  Common  Service  Centers (CSC)  to  receive    the  acknowledgement  receipt  immediately  on  enrolment.  The acknowledgement  receipt  contains  all  the  information  relating  to  insurance  like  sum insured, premium  crop,  company's  details etc.  Non-loanee  farmers approaching insurance companies directly or through their intermediaries get the receipts immediately from them.

The Government has reviewed the matter from time to time and is consistently working on improving the system given the scenario of  ground level issues, especially related to banks.  It was therefore, decided to also issue SMSs from Kharif 2017 and almost  10  lakh  SMSs  were  issued  to  farmers  on  receipt  of  their  data  from  banks  on portal.    It  has  further  been  decided  to  develop  an  online  feature  on  National  Crop Insurance Portal to enable all farmers i.e. loanee  and non-loanee to obtain acknowledgement receipt anywhere any time from the portal itself by establishing their identity.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 449 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-27
Subject: Scrapping of Article 370
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: ASHWINI KUMAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *449

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 27 TH  MARCH, 2018 /CHAITRA 6, 1940 (SAKA)

SCRAPPING OF ARTICLE 370

*449. SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is committed to scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution  which  gives  special  status  to  the  State  of  Jammu  and Kashmir; and

(b)  if  so,  the  details  including  the  present  status  thereof  along  with  the procedure laid down for such scrapping?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI HANSRAJ GANGARAM AHIR)

(a) & (b): A statement is laid on the table of the House.

## STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *449 FOR ANSWER ON 27.03.2018

(a): There  is  currently  no  such  proposal  under  consideration  of  the Government.

(b): Does not arise in view of (a) above.

**********
Lok Sabha Question No. 443 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-27
Subject: Seeds Bill
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: RITI PATHAK

## *443.     SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण ½ãâ¨ããè be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the Seeds Bill;
- (b) whether the said Bill has  been kept deferred,  if  so, the details  thereof  and  the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  bring  a  new  Seeds  Bill  for  regulation  of seeds  and  plants, increasing private participation in production and  distribution, liberalizing  import,  protection  of  rights  of  farmers  and  provision  of  agricultural  growth, with the objective of ensuring quality; and
- (d) if so, the details along with the present status thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण

- (a) to (d):

½ãâ¨ããè (SHRI RADHA MOHAN SINGH) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

O.I.H.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 443

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 27 TH  MARCH, 2018

## SEEDS BILL

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  443  DUE FOR REPLY ON 27 TH  MARCH, 2018. (a): The salient features of the proposed Seeds Bill, include compulsory registration of varieties, enhancement of penalties, labelling of expected performance, seed health test, protection of the rights of the farmers, compensation to the farmers in case of seed crop  failures,  regulate  import  and  export  of  seeds,  ban  on  Genetic  Use  Restriction Technology (GURT), known as terminator technology. (b): No  Madam,  Government  had  introduced  Seeds  Bill,  2004  in  Rajya  Sabha  on 09.12.2004 and Seed Bill is pending in Rajya Sabha. (c)  &  (d):          The  introduced  bill  contain  regulation  of  seeds,  nurseries  of  agricultural, horticultural  crops  and  planting  material  etc.    Provision  has  been  made  for  protecting rights of farmers, liberalized import - export and private participation in production and distribution of seed to ensure the availability of quality seeds among the farmers.

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