opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 246 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Job Cuts in the Agricultural Sector
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: D.K. Suresh

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 246

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## JOB CUTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

## 246.    SHRI D.K. SURESH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  true  that  there  are  severe  job  cuts  in  the  agricultural  sector  due  to Covid -19 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has any estimate of the number of farmers and landless agricultural labourers who lost their jobs and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  provide  relief  to  farmers  in  the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the other measures taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (d): As per  the estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the First Quarter (April-June 2020-21) released by Central Statistics Office, the Agriculture & Allied sectors has recorded a growth of 3.4 percent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Moreover,  the  Government  of  India  (GoI)  is  implementing  Mahatma  Gandhi National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Act  ((MGNREGA),  2005,  through  States/UTs which provides 100 days of wage employment in financial year to every rural household, including  landless  agricultural  labourers  whose  adult  member  volunteers to  do  unskilled manual work.

In addition, GoI has launched Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) on 20 th June, 2020  to  boost  employment  and  livelihood  opportunities  for  migrant  workers  returning  to their native villages and similarly affected citizens in rural areas, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. The Abhiyaan covers 116 districts of six (6) states namely, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 243 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Promotion of Hindi language
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Pushpendra Singh Chandel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 243

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020/BHADRAPADA 24, 1942 (SAKA)

PROMOTION OF HINDI LANGUAGE

243.  SHRIMATIMALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH: SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  increasing  use  of Hinglish  -  a  hybrid  of  English  and  Hindi  in  common  parlance  and  for  official purpose;

(b) whether the Government is making any special efforts to further promote the proper and practical use of Hindi language;

(c) if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the details of the funds spent on training and promotion of Hindi language in Government Institutions during the last three years?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI NITYANAND RAI)

(a): No, Sir.

(b) & (c): Yes  Sir.  The  Official  Language  Policy  of  the  Union  is  based  on incentives,  persuasion  and  goodwill.  The  Department  of  Official  Language encourages usage of simple, lucid and comprehensible Hindi in the official work. In  compliance  with  the  Official  Language  Policy  of  the  Government  of  India, Central  Hindi  Training  Institute  imparts  training  of  Hindi  Language,  Hindi  word processing and Hindi stenography to the Central Government employees who do not possess  knowledge  of Hindi  language  keeping  in view  the correctness  of

## LS.US.Q.NO.243 FOR 15.09.2020

grammar, standard terminology and standard structure of Official Hindi in order to  provide  them  with  working  knowledge/proficiency  in  Hindi  to  execute  their official  work  in  Hindi.  As  far  as  possible,  standard  terminology  is  used  by  the Central Translation Bureau during translation work. Similarly, during translation training,  trainees  are  introduced  to  standard  terminology  also  and  it  is  made clear that they should use standard terminology while doing translation in official work. This ensures accuracy, simplicity and spontaneity of the language.

d. The details of the expenditure incurred by the Department of Official Language for the training and promotion of Hindi during the last three years are as follows:

|   Sr. No. | Year    |   Expenditure (in crore rupees) |
|-----------|---------|---------------------------------|
|         1 | 2017-18 |                           63.15 |
|         2 | 2018-19 |                           68.17 |
|         3 | 2019-20 |                           70.15 |

The expenditure incurred for training and promotion of Hindi in other government departments/institutions is done by the concerned institutions as per their own discretion.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 242 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Damage to Crops
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dharambir Singh

O.I.H.

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 242

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## DAMAGE TO CROPS

242.     SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made any assessment of the damage to cotton and moong crops in Haryana due to insect attacks and heavy rains;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the remedial measures taken to check such damages;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  made  any  plan  to  provide  compensation  for  the damage to crops due to insect attacks; and
- (e) if  so,  the  time  since  when  the  said  compensation  is  being  given  along  with  the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a)  to  (e):        State  Government  of  Haryana  has  reported  that,  the  Revenue  &  Disaster Management Department, Haryana has received report of damage of crops due to pest attack, from districts of  Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad and report of heavy rains/ stagnated water  has  also  been  received.  The  matter  for  conducting  special  girdawari  is  under consideration of the State Government. The yield losses will be assessed through Crop Cutting  Experiments  and  compensation  will  be  given  to  all  insured  farmers  as  per  the provisions of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 240 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Provision of MSP to Maize Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Mohammad Jawed

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

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 240

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## PROVISION OF MSP TO MAIZE FARMERS

240.     DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any scheme to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) to  the  maize  farmers  of  Bihar  particularly  in  Kishanganj  district  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (b) the  amount  of  funds  allocated  for  Purnea  and  Kishanganj  districts  of  Bihar  in particular;
- (c) the  details  of  the  annual  maize  production  in  Bihar  and  the  quantity  procured  by Government at the MSP rate during this year; and
- (d) the  steps  proposed  by  the  Government  to  procure  all  the  maize  produced  by farmers in Bihar so that they are not forced to sell at the lower price in the open market?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a): The  Government  announces  Minimum  Support  Price  (MSP)  for  22  mandated crops, including maize, on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs  &  Prices  (CACP)  after  considering  the  views  of  State  Governments  and  Central Ministries/Departments concerned and other relevant factors. MSP is determined for the country as a whole, though region specific parameters are kept in view while formulating price policy for agricultural commodities.
- (b) to (d): As  per  the  extant  guidelines  for  allocation,  distribution  and  disposal  of coarse  grains  procured  by  state  agencies/  Food  Corporation  of  India  (FCI),  the  State Governments are allowed to procure  coarse grains from the farmers at  MSP under the central pool with the prior approval of Government of India for procurement plan prepared by the State Governments in consultation with FCI. The whole quantity is distributed under Targeted Public Distribution  System  (TPDS)  and  Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) in the State/UT within three months from the end of procurement season.

As  the  State  Government  of  Bihar  has  not  sent  any  procurement  plan  for  the procurement  of  maize  in  Bihar  for  the  ongoing  year,  no  approval  has  been  given  for procurement for maize in Bihar by the Government of India.

As per 4 th advance estimates for year 2019-20, the production of maize is estimated at 2.01 million tonnes in Bihar.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 238 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Kuruva Gorantla Madhav, Pocha Brahmananda Reddy, M V V Satyanarayana, Adala Prabhakara Reddy

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 238

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## FARMERS' PRODUCE TRADE AND COMMERCE (PROMOTION AND FACILITATION) ORDINANCE, 2020

238.     SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY:

SHRI KURUVA GORANTLA MADHAV:

SHRI ADALA PRABHAKARA REDDY:

SHRI M.V.V. SATYANARAYANA:

SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has implemented the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  this  ordinance  seeks  to  provide  for  barrier-free  trade  of  farmers'  produce outside the markets notified under the various State agricultural produce market laws (State APMC Acts) and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether this Ordinance will prevail over the State APMC Acts;
- (e) whether the State Governments were consulted before passing this Ordinance; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (c): Yes Sir. In order to create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will have freedom of  choice  of  sale  and  purchase  of  agri-produce,  the  Government  has  notified  'The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020' on 5 th June, 2020. The objective of the Ordinance is to    provide for  the creation of  an  ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers' produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient transparent and barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce of farmers' produce outside the physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified  under  various  State  Agricultural  Produce  Market  legislations;  to  provide  a facilitative framework  for electronic trading and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
- (d):      The  Ordinance  will  not  replace  the  State  APMC  Acts.  APMC  markets  will  continue  to function.
- (e) & (f):      Yes Sir.  While formulating the Ordinance, State Governments were consulted through Video Conferencing (VC) on 21 st May, 2020.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 234 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Increase in PM Kisan Scheme Payment
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Malook Nagar

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a): No Sir.  There is no proposal to increase the amount paid to the beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana.
- (b): Does not arise.
- (c): The Scheme has no linkage with any factor affecting agriculture or crop damage. The scheme provides income support to the farmers.

******

O.I.H.

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 234

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## INCREASE IN PM KISAN SCHEME PAYMENT

234.     SHRI MALOOK NAGAR:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  increase  the  amount  of  Rs.  6000/-  being provided to the farmers every year under PM-Kisan Scheme in view of damage caused to the crops of the farmers due to Covid-19 and lockdown;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?
Lok Sabha Question No. 230 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Tax Reforms
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Faizal P.P. Mohammed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 230

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY 14 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020 BHADRAPADA 23, 1942 (SAKA)

## TAX REFORMS

## 230. SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has analysed theat the latest tax reforms initiatives is a watershed moment in India's sustained efforts to usher in a friendlier and more transparent direct tax regime;
- (b) if so the details thereof;
- (c) whether any new methods have been introduced to eliminate the risk of harassment of assessees by tax officials; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)

(a)  to  (d)  Over  the  last  few  years,  in  order  to  provide  a  non-intrusive  and  non-adversarial  tax ecosystem, the government has taken various measures to reform the direct tax regime. Some of these measures include rationalisation of tax rates, simplification of income tax return forms, faster processing of refunds, speedy resolution of grievances and introduction of faceless processes to ease the compliance burden on taxpayers and minimise the physical interface between the taxpayer and the  income  tax  authorities.    In  August  2020,  government  has  launched  'Transparent  TaxationHonouring the Honest, which is a platform to meet the requirements of the 21st century taxation system. The platform has major reforms like Faceless Assessment, Faceless Appeal and Taxpayers Charter. The Faceless Assessment Scheme, 2019 (earlier known as the E-assessment Scheme, 2019) was  introduced  in  2019  to  impart  efficiency,  transparency  and  accountability  to  the  assessment process by inter alia eliminating the interface between the Assessing Officer and the assessee and team-based assessment with dynamic jurisdiction. Similar scheme will be introduced for disposal of appeals by the Commissioner (Appeals) in a faceless manner.

------
Lok Sabha Question No. 225 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Hefty Fees Charged By Private Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Ramesh Chander Kaushik, Saikia Dilip

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.225 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.09.2020

## Hefty Fees Charged By Private Schools

## †225.  SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK: SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the private school are charging full fees from the guardians in the name of online education during the corona pandemic times;
- (b) if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  issued  any  guidelines  in  this  regard  so  that  the guardians could get some relief;
- (c) whether the Government has held anybody accountable in this regard; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) to (d): Education  is  a  subject  in  the  Concurrent  List  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of schools are under the jurisdiction of the State Governments. Thus, the matter relating to fees and its  components  in  schools  are  regulated  in  terms  of  Rules  and  Instructions  of  the  State Government concerned. It is for the respective State Government concerned to take necessary action against such schools which violate the Rules and Instructions of the State Government in the matter.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 218 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Business Responsibility Reports
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Sunil Kumar Singh, P.P. Chaudhary, D. M. Kathir Anand

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 218 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 14 th  SEPTEMBER, 2020/ BHADRAPADA 23, 1942 (SAKA)

## BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY REPORTS

## QUESTION

218. SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY:

SHRI D.M. KATHIR ANAND:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS

be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  the  number  of  companies  that  were  mandated  to  file  Business Responsibility  Reports and the number of companies that did not comply with them during the last three years,  RoZ-wise, State-wise;
- (b) the measures taken by the Ministry to adopt a more comprehensive framework for sustainability and business responsibility to be complied with the companies in the interest of the  investors;
- (c) whether the Government has taken any steps towards developing sector specific Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting(BRSR); and
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government for its speedy implementation?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE

AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS                                           (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)

वित्त एिं कारपोरेट कार्य  मंत्रालर् में राज्र् मंत्री

(

श्री अनुराग स ंह ठाक ु र )

(a): Companies are not mandated to file Business Responsibility Reports (BRR) under the Companies Act, 2013. However, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (Listing Obligation And Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 required the top 500 companies by market capitalization to file BRR as part of their annual report (FY 2015-16 to FY 2018-19). The BRR filing has been extended to top 1000 listed companies by market capitalization for the financial year 2019-20 onwards. As per data provided by SEBI, the number of companies that have not filed BRR for the last three year is:-

|   S. No. | Financial Year   |   Number of Companies |
|----------|------------------|-----------------------|
|        1 | 2016-17          |                    12 |
|        2 | 2017-18          |                    18 |
|        3 | 2018-19          |                     6 |

Contd….2/-

कारपोरेट कार्य मंत्री

(b)  to  (d):  The  BRR  framework  mandated  by  SEBI  is  based  on  'National  Voluntary Guidelines  on  Social,  Environmental  and  Economic  Responsibilities  of  Business (NVGs)' which was released by MCA in 2011. Further, taking into account the national and global developments since then, the Ministry has revised the NVGs as National Guidelines for  Responsible  Business  Conduct  (NGRBC)  and  updated  the  BRR framework.

*********
Lok Sabha Question No. 216 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-14
Subject: Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Scheme
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 216 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.09.2020

## PRADHAN MANTRI SHRAM YOGI MANDHAN SCHEME

## 216. SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE:

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

- (a)the total number of unorganized workers enrolled so far under Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan (PM-SYM) scheme so far especially in Maharashtra;
- (b)the reasons for very low utilization of allocated funds under the scheme; and
- (c)the steps taken by the Government to enroll more and more unorganized workers under the scheme?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (c): In    order    to    provide    social    security    benefits    to    the workers    in    the    unorganised    sector,      as      per    their    eligibility, Government  enacted the  Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008.  For    old    age    protection    in    the    form  of    monthly  pension, Ministry    of    Labour  &  Employment    has    launched    Pradhan  Mantri Shram  Yogi  Maan-Dhan  Yojana  on  05 th   March,  2019  which    is  a voluntary and  contributory  pension  scheme for  providing  monthly minimum  assured pension of Rs.3,000/- on  attaining  the  age  of 60 years. Total number of enrolments under Pradhan  Mantri Shram  Yogi Mandhan  (PM-SYM) is 44,42,634, out of which the no. of enrolments in  Maharashtra is 5,85,2,90.

This is voluntary and  co-contributory old  age  pension scheme. During the Financial Year 2019-20, total budget allotted (BE) Rs.500  Crore    and    finally  allotted  (RE)  Rs.408  crore  out  of  which Rs.359.95 crore has been utilised.

Government  has  taken  various  measures  to  enroll  more unorganised  workers    through  State  Government  machinery  (Labour departments). Selfenrolment made possible under the portal: Mandhan.in.    TV/Radio  campaign  was  launched  to  create  awareness among the public. Pension Week was celebrated during 30th November  to  06th  December,  2019  across  all  3.5  lakhs  CSCs  to popularise the scheme. Public meetings were also organised at CSCs, district and State Head Quarters level. A number of review meetings were  taken  by  Secretary  (L&E)  with  all  Chief  Secretaries/Principal Secretaries  of  Labour  Depts.  of  the  States/UTs  to  channnelize  the State    resources  and  to  enrol    maximum  number  of  unorganised workers under the scheme.  States were also requested to form State Level  Monitoring  Committees  with  Chief  Secretary  as  Chairman  and District  Level  Implementation  Committee  with  DM/Collector  /  DC  as Chairman for effectively monitoring the scheme and for mobilization of the unorganised workers.

*****