opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 3395 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Earth Science Activities for Students
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: PARESH RAWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3395

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

## EARTH SCIENCE ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

3395. SHRI PARESH RAVAL:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  any  plan  for  the  Earth Science  activities  in  the  country  for  the  students  in  the coming three years; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (SHRI Y. S. CHOWDARY)

(a-b) Yes Madam. The ministry is supporting the following academic programmes:

-  User Oriented M.Tech Programme in 'Ocean Technology'
- in IIT Madras.
-  M.Tech & Ph.D. Programme in Atmospheric-Oceanic Science and Technology in IIT Delhi.
-  M.Sc. course in Ocean and Atmospheric Science at Centre for Earth & Space Sciences, University of Hyderabad.

The Ministry will continue with the present activities for the students like celebrations of Earth Day on 22nd April & Ozone Day on 16th September every year and supporting organization of International Earth Science Olympiads annually. In addition to this, Ministry will continue to fund organizations across the country  for  seminars,  conferences  and  exhibitions/fair  by various  educational  institutes  and  universities  as  usual  as  a part of outreach activities.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 3394 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: High Speed Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD, CHANDRAKANT RAGHUNATH PATIL

(a): Yes, Madam.

- (b):    52  pairs  of  trains  have  been  speeded  up  and  converted  into Superfast  category.  However,  speeding  up  of  trains  is  a  continuous exercise  over  Indian  Railways  and  is  done  keeping  in  view  the operational  feasibility,  availability  of  sectional  speed  on  line,  high speed compatible coaches, high power locos etc.

'Mission Raftaar' has been announced in the Railway Budget 2016-17. The mission envisages, inter alia, increasing the average speed of

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3394

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## HIGH SPEED TRAINS

3394.    SHRI D.S. RATHOD:

SHRI C.R. PATIL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any plans to run the mail and express trains at high speed as compared with the present speed;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  details  of  the  trains  which  have been converted into super fast trains; and
- (c) the reasons to increase the passenger fare in super fast trains?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

all  non-suburban  passenger  trains  by  25  kmph    in  next  5  years.    A cross  functional  Mobility  Directorate  has  been  created  in  Railway Board for this purpose.

(c):      The  fare  of  Superfast trains has not been increased.   However, there is a levy of Supplementary charge for Superfast trains.

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 3393 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Loss to Railway Property
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: RAJ KUMAR SAINI

## 3393.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3393 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## LOSS TO RAILWAY PROPERTY

## SHRI RAJKUMAR  SAINI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Railways  has  assessed  the  quantum  of  loss  to  its properties  due  to  attacks  and  revenue  loss  due  to  Rail  Roko Abhiyans  during  the  violent  Jat  reservation  agitation  in  Haryana recently;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  number  of  cases  filed  by GRP/RPF/State police in this regard and the status report of action taken thereon, case-wise; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## ( SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN )

(a) & (b): In the recent past, only one incident of violent Jat reservation agitation in Haryana involving damage to railway property worth ` 50,000/has  been  reported  on  26.02.2017.  In  this  regard,  Government  Railway Police/Hisar has registered a case vide Cr. No. 23/2017 u/s 147, 149, 186, 353  of  Indian  Penal  Code    &  3  of  the  Prevention  of  Damage  to  Public Property Act on 26.02.2017. In this incident, Railway Protection Force/Hisar has also registered a case vide Cr. No. 50/2017 u/s 160 (b) and 174 of the Railways Act dated 26.02.2017.   No arrest has been made in the cases.

(c): Does not arise.

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 3392 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Encryption Standard
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: BAIJAYANT "JAY" PANDA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3392

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 22.03.2016

## ENCRYPTION STANDARD

## 3392     SHRI  BAIJAYANT  JAY  PANDA:

Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state: -

(a) whether the Government is aware that the existing encryption standard of 40-bit for ISPs as mandated by law is outdated;

(b) if so, whether the Government has taken any steps to update it;

(c) if so, the details thereof;

(d) if not, the reasons therefor; and

(e)  the  status  of  the  National  Encryption  Policy  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Government  is planning  to  address  potential  security  concerns  arising  out  of  the  same  for  the  purposes  of investigation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

(a),  (b),(c)  and  (d): With  the  availability  of  high  performance  and  powerful  computing technology systems, including communication devices and tools, 40-bit encryption is no longer used  in  the  encryption  systems.  The  current  trend  towards  stronger  encryption  standard  is  in response  to  the  demands  of  the  industry  and  users.  Presently  such  encryption  systems  use minimum  128-bit  or  higher  encryption  standard  for  protection  of  information.  Use  of  strong encryption  with  appropriate  modes  and  methods  of  encryption  has  been  recognized  by  the Government  as  means  to  securing  data  /transactions  in  electronic  media  and  promotion  of  eGovernance and e-commerce.  Information Technology Act 2000 enables the use of encryption for such purposes.

The Unified License Agreement dated 19.08.2013 under Internet Service Providers Guidelines has been modified in line with the technology trends in encryption technology and the use of encryption  technology  shall  be  governed  by  the  Government  Policy  /  Rules  made  under  the Information Technology Act 2000.

(e): While  Government  respects  the  need  for  protection  of  information,  critical  infrastructure, increasing  online  digital  transactions  and  citizen's  privacy  aspects,  it  also  acknowledges  the importance  of  addressing  national  security  threats  including  the  concerns  of  law  enforcement during  investigation.  Taking  into  account  national  security  concerns  and  technology  trends, Government  has  initiated  steps  to  revise  the  encryption  policy  in  consultation  with  all  the stakeholders, including industry, to arrive at a balanced and holistic   policy. In this regard, the government has setup a Committee of Experts with the objective to explore possible approaches to protect the integrity of encryption technology, promote strong encryption, while also enabling lawful access to the plain  text information corresponding to the encrypted information in order to ensure public safety and national security.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 3391 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: e-Migrate and MADAD Platform
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3391 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## e-MIGRATE AND MADAD PLATFORM

## 3391. SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has launched an online portal called e-Migrate and MADAD platforms to address the grievances of migrant workers;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  creating  a  national  repository which will have details of educational qualifications of migrant workers that can be used for officials to verify the credentials of the employees and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether no woman below the age of 30 will be issued work visa as a housemaid outside the country; and
- (e)
- if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) The Government has strengthened its online mechanism for  addressing  the  grievances  of  all  overseas  Indians.  While  the Emigration  Check  Required  (ECR)  category  emigrants or their relatives can log in their grievances relating to overseas employment on the e-Migrate portal  or  through  Overseas  Workers' Resource Centre (OWRC) Helpline, a portal named MADAD for online lodging  of  consular  grievances  is  also  available  to  all  overseas Indians.  Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) in Gurgaon and Indian  Workers  Resource  Centre  (IWRC)  in  Dubai  have  also  been authorized to assist the grievants to lodge their grievances on both e-Migrate and MADAD portals, depending on the nature of grievance.

The  MADAD  online  portal  represents  a  qualitative  mechanism  for handling of consular grievances, through online forwarding, tracking and  escalation  until  their eventual  resolution.  It  allows  direct registration  of  the  grievances  by  the  members  of  the  public  and effective tracking of the entire grievance handling process thereafter. (c) No. (d) & (e) Grant  of  Visa  is  the  prerogative  of  the  destination country.  With  a  view  to  safeguard  the  welfare  of  women  workers, Government  has  issued  several  guidelines  for  their  protection against exploitation overseas.  These guidelines, inter-alia, specify that  no  female  emigrant  below  30  years  of  age  and  holding  an Emigration  Check  Required  (ECR)  passport  is  permitted  to  travel overseas for employment.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3390 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Asian Development Bank Report
Ministry: URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: ANSHUL VERMA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3390

TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 22, 2017

## ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK REPORT

No. 3390 SHRI ANSHUL VERMA:

Will the Minister of URBAN DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Asian Development Bank has published any report in regard to sanitation, drinking water and infrastructure facilities in Indian cities;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reaction  of  the  Government  thereto;
- and
- (c) the corrective action taken or proposed to be taken by the Government to remove the deficiencies?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

(a) to (c): Yes, Madam. Asian Development Bank has published a report on

- sector  assessment  water  supply  and  other  municipal  infrastructure  and services, (2013-2017).

The  report  has  drawn  up  Sector  Results  Framework  (Water  supply  and Other  Municipal  Infrastructure  and  Services,  for  2013-2017)  indicating benchmark in water supply and other municipal services till 2017.

Urban Development is a State Subject. Government of India supports the efforts  of  State  Governments  by  implementing  various  schemes  and  by providing  technical  and  financial  assistance  to  States.  To  remove  the deficiencies the Government has launched programmes (i) The Smart City Mission  which  aims  to  cover  100  cities  in  the  country  for  improving infrastructure  and  services  including  smart  solutions  and  area  based development.

Contd…2/-

(ii)  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  and  Urban  Transformation  (AMRUT), covering 500 cities of the country having population more than1 lakh and other  identified  categories,  for  providing  financial  assistance  to  Mission cities for water supply, liquid waste management, development of city parks and non motorized transport. (iii) The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) which covers all urban local bodies of the country and provides financial assistance for construction of individual household toilets, community and public toilets and for scientific management of solid waste.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3388 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Open House to Address Grievances
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: ANTO  ANTONY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3388 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## OPEN HOUSE TO ADDRESS GRIEVANCES

## 3388.       SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)     whether the Government is planning to organise open houses to  redress  the  problems  related  to  the  issuance  of  visa, passport and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card under the jurisdiction of Indian Mission in the United States of America;
- (b)     if so, the details thereof;
- (c)     whether  the  Government  proposes  to  extend  such  open
- houses in all of our missions abroad;
- (d) if so, whether the Government has received any representation in this regard; and
- (e)     if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereto?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) Indian  Missions  and  Posts  in  the  United  States  of America are conducting an 'Open House' to listen to the grievances of  the  community  related  to  issuance  of  visa,  passport  and  OCI cards twice every month (on first and third Wednesdays) where the senior officers of the Mission/Post are attending to the problems/grievances  of  the  community  related  to  issue  of  visa, passport  and  OCI  cards  and  have  been  making  sincere  efforts  to redress  the  same.    For  all  such  meetings,  no  prior  appointment  is required,  anybody  can  walk  in  and  the  grievances/enquiries  are handled immediately.

(c) to (e) In response to public sentiments, all Indian Missions and Posts have been requested to hold open houses to redress issues faced by the Indian community in respective countries.  The details are to be displayed on the website of the Mission/Post. Open houses are now regularly held at various levels, including at the level of the Head of Mission/Post.  Consular Officers in all Indian Missions and Posts abroad are available on every working day to meet and handle general queries and grievances of the members of the public during designated  hours  for  submission  of  the  applications  for  various services. There is also a designated nodal officer in each Mission/Post abroad  whose  contact  details/coordinates  are  displayed  on  the website  of  the  Mission/Post  and  within  the  chancery  premises  to enable  Indian  citizens  to  contact  them  during  emergencies  round the clock. In all Indian Missions/Posts abroad, a 24x7 Helpline has been established to deal with issues of urgent nature. All  the  Indian  Missions  and  Posts  abroad  have  a  Twitter handle to institutionalise their engagement on social media and to ensure that help reaches to all those who need it.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3385 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Skilling of Youth in Construction Sector
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: PANKAJ CHOWDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3385 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## SKILLING OF YOUTH IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

## † 3385. SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY:

## Will  the  Minister  of  SKILL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to formulate a scheme to make youth skilled in view of acute shortage of skilled workers in construction sector;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the scheme to train youth for different work at various levels who are engaged in construction work to complete several projects of construction in various sectors?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY)

- (a) to (c) Ministry  is  implementing  its  flagship  scheme  known  as  Pradhan  Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) on pan -India basis. PMKVY enables large number of prospective youths for taking short term fresh training and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) through accredited and affiliated training partner/training centers. The schemes runs  across  221  job  roles  related  to  35  Sector  Skill  Councils  including  7  job  roles  of Construction  sector  namely  Assistant  Electrician, Bar  Bender  and  Steel  Fixer,  Mason General, Construction Painter &  Decorator,  Mason  Tiling,  Mason  Concrete  and Shuttering Carpenter - System which is a diverse and exhaustive representation of the industry.  Also,  under  PMKVY  2015-16,  67,505  candidates  have  been  trained  (Fresh Training and Recognition of Prior Learning) at 561 Training Centres under Construction sector.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3384 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Growth of IT Industry
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: JAYADEV GALLA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS  AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3384

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 22.03.2016

## GROWTH OF IT INDUSTRY

## 3384. SHRI JAYADEV GALLA:

Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state: -

- (a) whether Indian software is depending on US and Europe for business opportunity and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether NASSCOM or the Government have ever explored the possibilities in other countries for our IT professionals;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether Mexico has  given an open invitation  for our  IT  professionals  and  China  is also one of the destinations where our IT sector can expand;
- (e) if so, whether the Government, in coordination with NASSCOM has done anything in this regard; and
- (f) if so, the details thereon and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

(a): Yes, Sir. According  to National Association of  Software  and  Services  Companies (NASSCOM), US and Europe accounts for about 90% out of the total IT-ITES exports for FY 2016-17.

(b)  to  (f):    Government  of  India  has  undertaken    a    consultative  approach  with  the  industry associations  including  NASSCOM  and  industry  members  to  discuss  measures  to  improve  the overall state of the IT industry and key challenges being faced. Besides, efforts are also being made to diversify global markets which include markets like Africa, South America, Australia, Israel, China and Japan.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 3381 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Institutes for Education of Minorities
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: KIRIT SOMAIYA, VINOD KUMAR BOIANAPALLI, PONGULETI SRINIVASA REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3381 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## INSTITUTES FOR EDUCATION OF MINORITIES

## 3381.  DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA: SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR: SHRI PONGULETI SRINIVASA REDDY:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the  Government plans to establish  five  world  class  educational  institutes  to provide  better  traditional  as  well  as  modern  education  to  students  belonging  to Minority communities and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  proposed  40  per  cent  reservation  for  girls  in  these institutions and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether a high level Committee has been constituted to chalk out a framework of these institutions; and
- (d) if so, whether the Committee has submitted it report and if so, the action taken by the Government on the report?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

- (a): Yes, Madam. The General Body of Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), in its  52 nd General  Body  meeting  held  on  29.12.2016,  has  decided  to  establish  five institutes  to  provide  better  modern  and  traditional  education  to  students  belonging  to minority communities namely Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains in different parts of the country. These institutes would serve as Centres of Excellence covering  not  only  various  modern  streams  like  Engineering,  Medical,  Management, Finance but also traditional subjects like Ayurveda, Unani, etc. It will aim to promote employment oriented education among the socially backward minorities
- (b) : Yes, Madam. It is proposed that 40% of the seats in such institutes would be reserved for girls.
- (c) & (d): Yes,  Madam.  High  Level  Committee  comprising  of  eleven  members,  has  been constituted by the General Body of MAEF. The Committee has not yet submitted its report.

*****