opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 3236 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Yoga as Optional Subject in UPSC
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: SHER SINGH GHUBAYA, RAVINDRA KUMAR RAY, CHINTAMANI MALVIYA

## MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA (DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING)

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3236

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017)

## YOGA AS OPTIONAL SUBJECT IN UPSC

- † 3236. SHRI SHER SINGH GHUBAYA: DR. RAVINDRA KUMAR RAY: PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has proposals for introducing yoga in the list of optional subjects in UPSC exams;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the reaction of the Government thereto?

## 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)  to  (c):    There  is  no  such  proposal  under  the  consideration  of  the  Central Government  at  present.  Further  UPSC  has  constituted  an  Expert  Committee  under chairmanship  of  Shri  B.S.  Baswan  to  comprehensively  examine  the  various  issues,  raised from time to time regarding the Civil Services Examination, with respect to the eligibility, syllabus, scheme and pattern of the Examination vide notice dated 12.08.2015. The report of Baswan Committee is currently under the consideration of the UPSC and the recommendations of the UPSC on the report are yet to be received.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3235 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Print Media
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: PRATHAP SIMHA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3235 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## PRINT MEDIA

## 3235. SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

## Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the newspaper industry in India is predominantly dependent on advertising revenue and newspaper in India are the cheapest in the world and if $0, the details thereof;
- b) whether demonetisation has adversely   impacted the media and whether the Government has taken note of the concerns expressed by the newspaper industry and if the details thereof; print SO,
- whether the Government has examined the issues facing the media and if SO, the details thereof; print
- d) whether necessary consultations with all stakeholders Ministries will be initiated in this regard; and
- (e) whether the media is the only sector where a Government formed Board fixes the wages of private organisations and if s0, the details thereof? Wage print

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING [COL RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE (Retd:)]

- (a): The newspapers are at liberty to run their business to assess how much space want to allocate for advertisements vis-a-vis for news contents. they
- (b) to (d): No such matter has come to the notice of the Ministry.
- (e) Print Media is the only sector where the Ministry ofLabour and Employment formed statutory Wage Boards for fixing Or revising the rates of wages in respect of Working Journalist and Non-Journalist newspaper employee.

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 3232 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Broadband Services through Cable TV Infrastructure
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: A.T. (NANA) PATIL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3232 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22 ND   MARCH, 2017

## BROADBAND SERVICES THROUGH CABLE TV INFRASTRUCTURE

## 3232. SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any plan to use cable TV infrastructure for broadband delivery in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to boost broadband penetration in order to ensure success of 'Digital India' programme?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Telecom service providers are free to provide broadband services through any media such as Optical Fibre Cable, Copper Cable, Cable TV network and wireless depending on techno-commercial feasibility.14,75,228 subscribers are being provided broadband services on  cable  TV  network  as  on  31 st December,  2016.  However,  Government  is  examining various issues related to facilitating broadband service by using Cable TV infrastructure.
- (b) BharatNet is planned to create network infrastructure for  providing100  Mbps broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (approx. 2,50,000)  in  the  country in two phases. 1,00,000 GPs are targeted to be covered in Phase-I and the balance 1,50,000 will be covered in Phase-II.

Through various auctions conducted for sale of spectrum from the year 2012 to the year 2016, a total of 1893.75 MHz spectrum has been allotted to telecom service providers, which can also be used for provision of wireless broadband.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 3230 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Division Bench of High Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: ARJUNLAL MEENA, JAYSHREEBEN  PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3230 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 22.03.2017

## Division Bench of High Courts

- † 3230. SHRI ARJUN LAL MEENA: SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state: (a) the number of division benches working in various High Courts in the country; (b) the names of the States from which demand for division benches is lying pending, State-wise details thereof and the action taken by the Government thereon; (c) the name of High Courts where hearing is done in the regional language; and (d) whether the Government proposes to initiate hearing process in the courts in regional

- languages and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER Minister of State for  Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology.

## (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

- (a) & (b) : Setting up of division benches in the High Courts are within the administrative control of the Chief Justices of the High Courts. The Government has no control over the administrative functioning of the High Court. As such, no information is maintained by the Central Government in this regard.

(c) : Use of regional languages has, so far, not been allowed in the hearings of the High Courts. However, use of Hindi has been authorized in the proceedings in the High Courts of the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

(d):  Based  on  requests  from  the  State  Government  of  Tamil  Nadu,  Gujarat,  Karnataka  and Chhattisgarh the Government sought the advice of the Chief Justice of India as per a decision of Cabinet  taken  in  1965.  However,  Hon'ble  the  Chief  Justice  of  India  vide  his  d.o.  letter  dated 18.01.2016  has  conveyed  that  the  Full  Court,  after  extensive  deliberations  disapproved  the proposals and reiterated the Resolution which was adopted on 07.05.1997, on 15.10.1999 and on 11.10.2012.

* * *
Lok Sabha Question No. 3229 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Delay in Postal Operations
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAJESHBHAI NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3229 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22 ND   MARCH, 2017

## DELAY IN POSTAL OPERATIONS

## 3229. SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  postal  operations  are  delayed  due  to  lack  of  effective  internet  services, thereby causing difficulties to the citizens; and
- (b) if so, the remedial measures being taken by the Government to resolve the same?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) In some offices, unstable internet services do hamper postal operations occasionally. Multiple safeguards have been built into the system to ensure stable internet connectivity for the post offices.  Most of the Offices have been provided with two Network Service Providers, NSP-1 (BSNL) and NSP-2 (SIFY Technologies Ltd.) The NSP-2 is used as back- up in case of any problem arising in NSP-1.  Therefore,  adequate  redundancy  has  been  built  into  the  system.  Monitoring  of  bandwidth utilization  is  done  on  real  time  basis  to  identify  network  problem.  Service  Level  Agreements  with penalties are in place with the Service Providers. To address operational problems, Circle Heads are authorized to upgrade bandwidth as and when required. In case of any network problems that arise as part of regular operations, a well managed response system has been set up. The project has a Help Desk wherein individual problems are raised, which are managed and resolved immediately.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 3227 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Promotion to Reserved Category
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: KAUSHAL KISHORE

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3227

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017)

## PROMOTION TO RESERVED CATEGORY

## † 3227. SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the non-gazetted employees belonging to the SC/ST categories working with the Central Government and the autonomous institutions are not given promotion as per the reservation guidelines;
- (b) if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether a number of proposals for amendments in the rules for promotion are under consideration of the Government; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?

## 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) & (b): As per extant instructions, reservation to the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes is provided in the matter of promotion when promotion is made: (a) through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination in Group B, Group C and Group D posts; (b) by selection from Group B post to a Group A post or in Group B, Group C and Group D posts; and (c) by non-selection in Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D posts. Reservation in all the above cases is given at the rate of 15 per cent for the Scheduled Castes and 7.5 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes. However, reservation in promotion is not given in the grades in which the element of direct recruitment, if any, exceeds 75 per cent.

As  per  extant  instructions,  Autonomous  Bodies/Institutions  including  Municipal Corporations,  Cooperative  Institutions  etc.  under  the  administrative  control  of  the  Central Government  also  provide  reservation  for  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes  in  their services on the lines of the reservations in services under Central Government.

However,  as desired by the  Hon'ble Supreme  Court  in  Contempt  Petition No.314/2016, conveyed to the Law Officer and intimated by him, instructions in pursuance were issued by Department of Personnel and Training on 30.9.2016 not to rely upon Office Memorandum  of  10.08.2010  for    implementation  of  own  merit  concept  in  promotion  for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.  Due to this, there may be  administrative difficulties while  considering  cases  for  promotion  of  employees,  including  SCs  and  STs,    where selections in promotion  have already been made on own merit or are to be made by applying own merit by the concerned cadre controlling authority.

- (c):   No, Madam.
- (d):   Does not arise in view of reply given to Part (c) above.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3225 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Heat Waves
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: C. MAHENDRAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3225 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017

## HEAT WAVES

## 3225. SHRI C. MAHENDRAN:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether scorching heat waves in the country has killed thousands of people in the past year;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c) whether any differences have been observed over the years in the intensity of such heat wave, State-wise;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  declared  a  heat  wave  as  'National Disaster'; and
- (f) 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) No Madam. The death toll in 2016 due to heat wave as reported has been 557.
- (b) The state wise information regarding deaths due to heat wave in the last four years is given in Table below.

## Casualties *  due to Heat Wave conditions

| STATE          | 2013   | 2014   | 2015   | 2016   |
|----------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| ANDHRA PRADESH | 1393   | 447    | 1422   | 100    |
| TELANGANA      |        |        | 584    | 300    |
| ODISHA         | 1      | 24     | 50     | 20     |
| WEST BENGAL    | 4      | 19     | 14     |        |
| ASSAM          | 12     |        |        |        |
| JHARAKHAND     | 6      |        |        |        |
| MAHARASHTRA    | 3      | 36     |        | 43     |
| M.P.           | 3      |        | 2      |        |
| RAJASTHAN      | 5      | 6      | 2      | 3      |
| GUJRAT         | 6      | 3      | 7      | 87     |
| CHHATTISGARH   |        | 14     |        |        |
| KERALA         |        |        |        | 4      |
| TAMIL NADU     |        |        |        |        |
| KARNATAKA      |        |        |        |        |
| TOTAL          | 1433   | 549    | 2081   | 557    |

- (c-d) No madam. Heat wave occurrences zones over the years are found to be over the same areas of such prevalence in the past. However the  frequency  of  severe  heat  waves  had  increased  sharply  in  the recent years.

Though the severity of heat waves in 2016 remained more severe than  that  in  2015,  the  death  toll  has  been  less  (557)  than  that  in 2015 (2081).

This  is  essentially  due  to  advance  warnings  issued  in  the  form  of summer temperature outlook and update of heat wave hotspots on weekly  basis  and  prompt  response  action  taken  by  various  state governments  to  minimize  the  public  exposure.  Location  specific heat index forecasts also were  introduced  from  last year to communicate the likely severity of heat waves occurrences.

- (e) No Madam.
- (f) Does not arise.
- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3223 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Agricultural Reforms Index
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: YERRAM VENKATA SUBBAREDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3223 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.3.2017

## AGRICULTURAL REFORMS INDEX

## 3223. SHRI Y.V. SUBBA REDDY:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether NITI Aayog has prepared Agricultural Reforms Index for the first time;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the methodology by which the index is going to rank States;
- (c ) whether nearly 2/3 rd States could not reach even half way mark of reform score of index and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)       the action taken by the Government for the improvement in agriculture sector across the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND MINISTRY OF HOUSING & URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION

(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

(a) & (b) Yes Madam, NITI Aayog has launched an Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI) on 31 st  October, 2016. The three criteria for ranking of the States used by NITI  Aayog  while  developing  the  AMFFRI  were  i)  Agricultural  market  reforms  ii)  Land  lease reforms  iii) Reforms related to forestry on private land-filling and transit of trees.

(c) &(d) On the basis of rankings of AMFFRI, 11 States reached halfway mark. These States are 1) Maharashtra 2) Gujarat 3) Rajasthan 4) Madhya Pradesh 5) Haryana 6) Himachal Pradesh 7) Andhra Pradesh 8) Karnataka 9) Telangana 10) Goa 11) Chhattisgarh. The AMFFRI has been developed to sensitize  the  States  about  the  potential  of  marketing  and  the  benefits  that  can  be  accrued  from reforming agricultural marketing. In some States there is wide difference between prices received by  farmers  and  prices  paid  by  the  consumers.  The  status  paper  on  agricultural  reforms  and  the AMFFRI prepared by NITI Aayog in consultation of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare have been shared with the States. The Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of all the States have been requested to expedite the pending agricultural reforms.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 3222 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Teachers in ITIs
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: KINJARAPU RAM MOHAN NAIDU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3222 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22/03/2017

## TEACHERS IN ITIs

## 3222 SHRI KUNDARIYA MOHAN BHAI KALYANJI BHAI:

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

- (a) whether there is an acute shortage of teachers in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country; and
- (b)   if so,  the corrective steps taken by the government in this regard ?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) The number of industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) have seen a remarkable growth in the recent past, which has led to an increased demand for trained instructors in ITIs.  To  meet  this  challenge,  Government  conducts  training  of  trainers  through  Crafts Instructors  Training  Schemes  (CITS)  in  its  Central  field  institutes  and  Institutes  of Training of Trainers (IToTs). The present seating capacity of training of trainers has also been significantly  increased  from  1600  in  the  year  2012  to  present  seating  capacity  of 8628 per annum. The number of institutions offering CITS increased from 17 in the year 2012 to 47 in 2017.

The  Following  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  combat  the shortage of instructors:

-  To run Instructors Training Courses, Four numbers Model Industrial Training Institutes  have  been  upgraded  to  Advance  Training  Institutes  and  five  new Regional Vocational Training Institutes (RVTIs) for Women have been set up.
-  Craft  Instructors'  Training  has  been  introduced  in  Two    Foremen  Training Institutes  (FTIs)  and  also  in  two  Advance  Training  Institutes  for  Electronics Process Instrumentation (ATI-EPIs)
-  Five State Governments have set up Institute of Training of Trainers (ITOTs)
-  Twelve Private ITOTs also have been established.
-  Permission has been given to start the second shift in central field institutes under Directorate General of Training (DGT).

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3221 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Retrenchment of IT Staff
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: HUKUM SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3221

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 22.03.2016

## RETRENCHMENT OF IT STAFF

## 3221. SHRI HUKUM SINGH:

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

- (a) whether 65 per cent of IT staff are not re-trainable with the domestic IT industry due to change in nature of work with the advent of new digital technologies;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether the staff may tend to lose their jobs at the middle and senior level and if so, the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  overcome  this problem?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): According to National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM),  India  has  a  diverse  talent  base  and  Information  Technology  (IT)  ServicesBusiness  Process  Management  (BPM)  firms  are  employing  this  talent  in  a  diverse  range  of engagements  with  the  advent  of  new  digital  technologies.    The  Indian  IT-ITES  industry continues to be a net hirer. Due to the changing technological landscape, the industry provides on the job training to bridge the skill gaps, if any. F3427

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Lok Sabha Question No. 269 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-21
Subject: Online Sale of Food
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: PARASURAMAN K.

## Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *269

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2017

## ONLINE SALE OF FOOD

*269. SHRI K. PARASURAMAN:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has formulated guidelines for the companies selling food essentials through online medium and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) whether the Government has also put in place any mechanism to ensure that the rights of such consumers are protected and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h ¼Jh jke foykl ikloku½

THE MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)

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

*****

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  &  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO.*269 FOR 21.03.2017 REGARDING ONLINE SALE OF FOOD.

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(a)    :  Food  Safety  and  Standards  Authority  of  India  has  formulated  guidelines  for  operations  of  ECommerce Food Business Operators, which have been made effective from 2 nd February, 2017.  The details of guidelines are annexed.

(b)    :  The  requirement  for  compliance  of  all  provisions  of  Food  Safety  and  Standards  Act,  2006  and Rules  and  Regulations  made  thereunder  throughout  supply  chain,  issues  of  handling  consumer complaints  and  the  responsibility  of  E-Commerce  FBOs  towards  recall  are  also  provided  in  the guidelines  for  operations  of  E-Commerce  Food  Business  Operators  which  will  protect  the  rights  of consumers.

In addition, consumer has a right to get the food analysed under Section 40 of the FSS Act, 2006.

Further,  apart  from  the  provisions  for  lodging  complaints  to  the  E-Commerce  FBO  Consumer Complaint Cell, consumers can also lodge complaints/grievances on online platform called 'Food Safety Connect' which has been launched by FSSAI recently. Besides, there are adequate provisions available to the consumers in Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to protect rights of the consumers.

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*269 FOR 21.03.2017 REGARDING ONLINE SALE OF FOOD.

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