opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 1726 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Smart Stations
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: NALIN KUMAR KATEEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1726 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## SMART STATIONS

1726.  SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to implement any scheme for railway  station  development  as  smart  stations  in  the  country including Ambala Cantt. in Haryana and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has identified the stations to develop as smart stations;
- (c)  if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  set  any  time-frame  for  the development of smart stations and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  the  estimated  expenditure  for  the  project  and  the  details  of provisions made for funding the projects?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

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

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARED QUESTION NO. 1726 BY SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  26.07.2017  REGARDING SMART STATIONS (a) to (c): A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been entered into  between  Ministry  of  Railways  (MoR)  and  Ministry  of  Urban Development (MoUD) for integrated planning of railway stations in the  cities  included  in  the  'SMART  Cities'  and  Atal  Mission  for Rejuvenation  and  Urban  Transformation  (AMRUT)  scheme.  This would lead to an integrated public transit hub around the railway stations and encourage Transit Oriented Development. An MoU between Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) and National  Buildings  Construction  Corporation  Limited  (NBCC)  has been  signed  on  30.06.2017.  In  the  first  phase,  Ten  stations  viz. Tirupati (Andhra  Pradesh),  Delhi  Sarai  Rohilla (Delhi), Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), Madgaon (Goa), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Gomtinagar (Uttar Pradesh), Kota (Rajasthan), Thane New (Maharashtra), Ernakulam Junction (Kerala) and Puducherry (U.T.) have been identified for redevelopment as a part of 'SMART Cities' scheme. Ambala Cantt Railway Station is not identified for redevelopment in the first phase. A study has been conducted by French Railway (SNCF) for Ambala station redevelopment and the final  reports  have  been  submitted  by  them.  The  findings  of  the report have been incorporated while preparing the bid documents for Ambala station redevelopment, for the 2 nd  phase. (d):  As station redevelopment projects are complex in nature and require detailed techno-economic feasibility studies, no time frame can be set for their completion. (e):   The cost of station redevelopment is to be met by leveraging commercial  development  of  vacant  land/air  space  in  and  around the  station.  Therefore,  railway  funds  are  not  required  for  station redevelopment  projects.  Such  projects  shall  generally  be  cost

- neutral to Railways.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1725 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Backward Region Grant Fund
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION   NO. 1725 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## BACKWARD REGION GRANT FUND

1725.   SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV:

Will the MINISTER OF PLANNING be pleased to state: (a)

whether any assistance has been provided to Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh under the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF); (b) if so, the details thereof; and (c) the details of funds allocated and utilized under BRGF during the last three years?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR   MINISTRY OF HOUSING & URBAN AFFAIRS

(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

(a) The Sagar District of Madhya Pradesh was not covered under the District Component of Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) which was being implemented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MOPR).

(b) &(c)     Does not arise.

- -------
Lok Sabha Question No. 1724 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Emerging Needs of Minority Communities
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: SONA RAM CHOUDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1724 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## Emerging Needs of Minority Communities

## 1724.  COL. SONARAM CHOUDHARY:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  any  conference  is  held  at  National/State  level  with  the  representative  groups  of minority  communities  with  a  view  to  elicit  their  view  point  on  the  emerging  needs  of  these communities and if so, the details thereof;

- (b) whether any such interaction is in place for holding discussion with them periodically;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## (SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

(a)  to  (c):Conference of  State Minorities Commissions are held annually by National Commission for  Minorities  (NCM),  besides  interaction  by  the  Members  of  the  NCM  with  representatives  of minority  communities  during  their  visits  to  the  States.    The  last  Annual  Conference  of  State Minorities Commissions was held on 17.01.2017 at New Delhi.

A meeting of National Monitoring Committee for Notified Minorities (NMCM) comprising of 72 members with representation from all the six notified minority communities, namely, Muslims, Christians,  Sikhs,  Buddhists,  Parsis  and  Jains,  constituted  to  advise,  review  and  monitor  the schemes/programmes implemented by Ministry of Minority Affairs,  was held on 26.02.2014.  The major outcome of the meeting was that Sub-Committees for different minority communities and also a Standing Committee of NMCM were constituted.

A conference of All India Chairpersons and CEOs, State Waqf Boards/UT Waqf Boards was arranged by NAWADCO and Central Waqf Council (CWC) on 07.01.2017 to discuss issues related to development of Waqf Properties and Strengthening of State Waqf Boards to increase income of State  Waqf  Boards  which  could  empower  them  for  educational  and  economical  upliftment  of minorities.

- (d): Does not arise.
Lok Sabha Question No. 1723 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Transit Oriented Development
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: R. VANAROJA

No. 1723

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1723 TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 26, 2017

## TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

SHRIMATI VANAROJA R. :

## Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is incentivizing the Transit Oriented Development under new Metro Policy and Green Urban Mobility
- Scheme and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is considering to create non-
- motorised transport   infrastructure in cities like footpaths and cycle tracks;
- (c) if so, whether the Government's initiative comes in the context of several  kms. of metro lines being operational, under construction or being planned; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) New Metro Policy and Green Urban Mobility scheme are not in
- vogue at present.
- (b)  to  (d)  Government  of  India  has  formulated  National  Transit Oriented   Development (TOD) policy, which aims to promote planned and sustainable urban centers with high density, mixed land-use development within an influence zone of 500-800

meters of mass transit stations. The   policy aims to enable transformation of cities from private vehicle dependent development to public transport oriented development. TOD increases the accessibility of the transit stations by creating pedestrian and Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) friendly infrastructure like footpaths  and  cycle  tracks  that  benefit  large number of people, thereby  increasing  the  ridership  of  the  transit facility and improving the economic and  financial  viability  of  the system. Many cities have strengthened their public transport by developing mass rapid transit system (MRTS) such as  metro rails and bus rapid transit systems (BRTS). The national TOD policy will help these cities to formulate city specific policies to efficiently use these systems.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1722 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Facilitation Centres
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: UDIT RAJ

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1722 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## FACILITATION CENTRES

## 1722. DR. UDIT RAJ:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  asked  Indian  missions  and consulates abroad to promote AYUSH and Ayurveda by setting up of facilitation centres; and
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  the  expected  costs  and benefits of such promotions and creation of facilitation centres?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) Ministry of Ayush has advised Indian Missions/ Consulates  abroad  to  set  up  AYUSH  Information  Cells  at  their premises/ Cultural Centres or any other suitable place identified by them. The objective of  AYUSH Information Cells is to disseminate authentic information about the AYUSH system of medicine.

The Ministry of AYUSH has set up 28 Information Cells in 25 countries as per details enclosed as Annexure.  Ministry of AYUSH provides one-time (non-recurring) financial assistance to the tune of Rs.15  Lakhs  for  the  setting-up  of  the  Centre  and  procurement  of hardware/software systems and Rs.5 Lakhs per annum as recurring grant  for  maintenance  purpose.    The  Missions/Consulates  having AYUSH  Information Cell are provided with publicity material consisting  of  AYUSH  literature  in  the  form  of  books  &  CDs;  and publicity  and  IEC  material  for  display  at  the  Information  Cells. Display  of  such  publicity  material  at  the  AYUSH  Information  Cells not only helps to increase the awareness about the AYUSH systems among  local  public  but  also  enables  AYUSH  experts  in  foreign countries to have access to authentic AYUSH literature.

*****

## ANNEXURE

## AYUSH Information Cells set up by the Ministry of AYUSH (28 Cells in 25 countries)

|   S.No. | Country             |
|---------|---------------------|
|       1 | Malaysia            |
|       2 | Trinidad &Tobago    |
|       3 | Mexico              |
|       4 | Cuba                |
|       5 | Hungary             |
|       6 | Russia (2 Cells)    |
|       7 | Indonesia (2 Cells) |
|       8 | Mauritius           |
|       9 | Slovenia            |
|      10 | Sweden              |
|      11 | China               |
|      12 | Dubai               |
|      13 | Croatia             |
|      14 | Kyrgyzstan          |
|      15 | Finland             |
|      16 | Argentina           |
|      17 | Serbia              |
|      18 | Israel              |
|      19 | Tajikistan          |
|      20 | Peru                |
|      21 | Tanzania            |
|      22 | Switzerland         |
|      23 | Venezuela           |
|      24 | London              |
|      25 | Italy (2 Cells)     |

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1721 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Tickets to Waitlist Passengers
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1721 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## TICKETS TO WAITLIST PASSENGERS

1721. SHRI KUNDARIYA MOHAN BHAI KALYANJI BHAI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  it  is  the  fact  that  Railways  is  phasing  out issuing waitlisted tickets to the  passengers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the manner in which it will be done?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a):  No, Madam.
- (b) & (c):  Do not arise.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1720 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Non-Functioning BSNL Landlines
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: NATUBHAI GOMANBHAI PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1720 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  JULY, 2017

## NON-FUNCTIONING BSNL LANDLINES

†1720. SHRI NATUBHAI GOMANBHAI PATEL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  landline  connections  of  Bharat  Sanchar  Nigam  Limited  are  not working in the rural areas of Dadra & Nagar Haveli;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the action taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) the time by which this work will be completed?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Bharat Sanchar Nigam  Limited (BSNL) landline connections are working satisfactorily in rural areas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.  However, some connections are faulty  due  to  damage  caused  to  BSNL  underground  cables  by  local  agencies  during road widening and drainage works and also due to heavy rains.
- (b) The details regarding faults pending in rural areas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli as on 19.07.2017 is as under:

| S.No.   | Name of Exchange   |   Pending faults |
|---------|--------------------|------------------|
| 1       | Dadara             |               11 |
| 2       | Dapada             |                1 |
| 3       | Khanvel            |                2 |
| 4       | Khilvani           |                1 |
| 5       | Naroli             |                3 |
| 6       | SSR College        |                0 |
| 7       | Wel Spun           |                1 |
|         | Total              |               19 |

In  order  to  minimize  the  occurrence  of  landline  fault,  proper  coordination  with local  digging  agencies  is  being  made  and  the  line  staff  is  being  provided  required material to resolve the cable faults at the earliest.

- (c) All the 19 pending faults will be rectified in next two weeks.

************
Lok Sabha Question No. 1718 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Medical Visa
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: SISIR KUMAR ADHIKARI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1718

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## MEDICAL VISA

## 1718. SHRI SISIR KUMAR ADHIKARI:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  restricted  medical  visas  to  foreign patients;
- (b) if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the  details  of  the  foreign  patients  who  visited  during  the  last  five years for treatment in India; and
- (d) the impact of this decision of the Government on the foreign patients and the reaction of the foreign countries in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) The Government has not put any restrictions on Medical visas for  foreign  patients.  The  numbers  are  constantly  increasing,  as  can  be seen in the table below. Indian Missions and Posts abroad process Medical visas  on  priority  basis.  Requests  for  Medical  visas  for  urgent  medical cases are expeditiously processed and such visas are issued on the same day. However, in case of Pakistan, we ask for recommendation letter from Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, to process genuine and urgent cases.
- (c) Details of the Medical visas issued to foreign patients during the last five years are as follows:
- (d) The Government's visa policy for medical visa has been appreciated by the applicants for medical visa and foreign governments.

|   S. No. | Year             |   Total number of Medical visas issued |
|----------|------------------|----------------------------------------|
|        1 | 2012             |                                  38071 |
|        2 | 2013             |                                  56008 |
|        3 | 2014             |                                  66254 |
|        4 | 2015             |                                 122121 |
|        5 | 2016             |                                 177972 |
|        6 | 2017 (till date) |                                 105163 |

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1717 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Soft Power Matrix
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: OM BIRLA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1717 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2017

## SOFT POWER MATRIX

## 1717. SHRI OM BIRLA:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is working on any comprehensive and well-structured policy to delineate India's soft power resources and their articulation abroad;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is also planning to come out with a 'soft  power  matrix'  in  order  to  measure  the  effectiveness  of India's soft power; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) Yes.  The  Government  has  a  comprehensive  and  well structured policy to delineate India's soft power resources and their articulation abroad. This is done mainly through the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), with its 36 cultural centers that support and  promote  India's  rich  artistic  and  cultural  traditions  through  a range  of  activities,  including  Festivals  of  India  abroad.  Ministry  of External  Affairs  also  offers  educational  scholarships  and  promotes India's  cultural  heritage  through  a  variety  of  programmes.  We  also provide technical assistance and capacity building inputs to partner countries  through  the  Indian  Technical  and  Economic  Cooperation (ITEC) programme. We have further expanded the range of our soft power  policy  by  deploying  our  resources  to  extend  humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to help mitigate the adverse impact of natural disasters.
- (c) & (d) Yes.  The  Government  is  putting  in  place  a  soft  power matrix to measure the effectiveness of our policies and this process is presently at the research stage.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1715 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Earthquake Prediction
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: RAJENDRA AGRAWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1715

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017

## EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION

## 1715. SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any emergency response system is in place for earthquake prediction;
- (b)
- if so, the accuracy with which it could be predicted;
- (c) whether the Government has urged the Indian scientists/ISRO to undertake research for earthquake prediction system and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  reached  any  agreement  with  other  foreign countries for joint working on this issue; and
- (e)
- if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a-b)   No  Madam.  To  date,  there  is  no  proven  scientific  technique  available, anywhere  in  the  world,  to  predict  the  occurrence  of  earthquakes  with reasonable  degree  of  accuracy  with  regard  to  space,  time  and  magnitude. However,  an  Earthquake  Early  Warning  (EEW)  system  exists  for  issuing warning based on recording of P-waves and that too after the occurrence of an  earthquake.  It  has  limited  response  time  varying  from  a  few  seconds  to little  more  than  a  minute  depending  on  system  network  design  in  the Fully  organized  protocol  exists between  National  Centre  for  Seismology  (NCS)  and  the  various  designated for
- epicentral area  region and  target city. disaster management authorities at the centre and state levels dissemination of earthquake information.
- (c) No  Madam.  However,  as  part  of  R  &  D  initiatives,  ISRO  is  working  on identifying earthquake precursors using space based inputs. RADAR Interferometry  and  studies  on  surface  deformations  related  aspects  using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) are being explored.
- (d-e)   No  Madam.  As  there  is  no  scientific  technique  available  anywhere  in  the world  to  predict  the  occurrence  of  earthquakes  with  reasonable  degree  of accuracy with regard to space, time and magnitude. Nevertheless, efforts are being made  world-over including India, to monitor and study various earthquake precursory phenomena in critical seismotectonic regions, which would not only help understand the earthquake generation processes better but also lead to identifying possible earthquake precursors, which may serve as useful predictors in future.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1714 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-26
Subject: Desalination Plants
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: FAIZAL P.P. MOHAMMED, HARISH DWIVEDI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1714 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017

## DESALINATION PLANTS

## 1714. MOHAMMED FAIZAL:

SHRI HARISH CHANDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has prepared any scheme for making sea-water potable and if so, the salient features thereof;
- (b) whether  any  target  has  been  set  in  this  regard  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has any plans to start more Desalination plants in Lakshadweep and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)
- whether the Government has received any request for this purpose; and
- (e)
- if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) No, Madam. Ministry of Earth Sciences has not prepared any scheme for making  sea-water  potable.  However,  The  National  Institute  of  Ocean Technology (NIOT), an autonomous body of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has indigenously developed and demonstrated Low Temperature Thermal Desalination  (LTTD)  technology  for  conversion  of  sea  water  to  drinking water.  Three  desalination  plants  each  with  a  capacity  of  1  lakh  litre  of potable water per day, based on LTTD technology have been successfully commissioned by NIOT one each at Kavaratti, Minicoy, and Agatti islands of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
- (b)
- Does not arise.
- (c) Yes, Madam. Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has approved the proposal  of  Lakshadweep  Administration  for  establishment  of  6  LTTD plants each with capacity 1.5 lakh liters per day in the islands of Amini, Androth, Kadamat, Chetlat, Kalpeni and Kiltan of Lakshadweep.
- (d)
- Yes, Madam.
- (e) Lakshadweep  Administration  had  submitted  a  proposal  to  Ministry  of Drinking  Water  and  Sanitation  to  set  up  LTTD  plants  at  six  islands  of Lakshadweep, which has been approved now.

*****