opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2520 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Dam on Brahmaputra by China
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: MAULANA BADRUDDIN AJMAL

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2520

TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.12.2018

## DAM ON BRAHMAPUTRA BY CHINA

## 2520. SHRI BADRUDDIN AJMAL:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether China is constructing several dams on the Brahmaputra river which is affecting the river water and if so, the details thereof and steps taken/being taken to stop such activities;
- (b) whether any mechanism of exchange of information on the Brahmaputra river has been evolved between two countries and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has consulted with China for evolving any mechanism to take stock   of   the   situation   in   each   other's   territory   and   to   monitor   the   water   sharing arrangement etc.; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d) Government, in close cooperation with various state governments which are users of the waters of Brahmaputra River, continues to carefully monitor the water flow in the River for early detection of abnormality so that corrective and preventive measures are taken to safeguard livelihood of peoples of these states of Union of India.

As a lower riparian State with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border rivers, Government has consistently conveyed its views and concerns to the Chinese authorities, including at the highest levels, and has urged them to ensure that the interests of downstream States are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas.

The   Chinese   side   has   conveyed   that   they   are   only   undertaking   run-of-the-river hydropower projects which do not involve diversion of the waters of the Brahmaputra.

Various issues relating to trans-border rivers are discussed with China under the ambit of an institutionalized Expert Level Mechanism which was established in 2006, as well as through diplomatic channels. Further, under a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding, China provides to India hydrological information of Brahmaputra River during flood seasons. This Memorandum was recently renewed during the visit of the Prime Minister of India to China in June 2018.

Government intends to remain engaged with China on the issue of trans-border rivers to safeguard our interests.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2517 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Meeting with TSPs
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: PONNUSAMY VENUGOPAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2517 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## MEETING WITH TSPs

2517. DR. P. VENUGOPAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has held discussions with Telecom Services Providers (TSPs) recently;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the issues discussed therein; and
- (c) the details of the participants of the said meetings?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) frequently holds discussions with Telecom Service Providers on various issues.
- (b) Recently, TRAI has had consultations/discussions on following topics:
- (i) Review  of  Mobile  Number  Portability  (MNP)  process  -  Open  House discussion held on 11 th June 2018.
- (ii) Estimation  of  Access  Facilitation  Charges  and  Co-location  charges  at Cable Landing Stations - Open House discussion held on 5 th  November 2018.
- (iii)  Methodology  for  levy  of  Spectrum  Charges  for  provision  of  Satellite based  services  using  Gateway  installed  in  India  under  sui-generis category - Open House discussion held on 26 th November 2018.
- (iv)  An Interactive Meeting with the CEOs of the Telecom Service Providers was held on 28 th November  2018  to elicit ideas/suggestions for formulation of areas/topics on which public consultation may be carried out or the studies/surveys may be undertaken during the next calendar year.
- (c) Representatives  of  various  stakeholders  including  Telecom  Service  Providers, their associations, customers, public interest groups/consumer advocacy groups/citizen representatives, etc. participate in the open house discussions. However, in the meeting held  on  28 th November  2018  only  CEOs/Representatives  of  the  Telecom  Service Providers participated.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2516 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Train Wheel Sensors
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: UDIT RAJ

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2516 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.12.2018

## TRAIN WHEEL SENSORS

2516.    DR. UDIT RAJ:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to introduce train wheel sensors for the safety of trains in the country; and

(b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  trial  run,  if  any,  proposed  in  this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) Yes, Madam. Indian Railways intends to install rolling stock mounted sensor  for  'On  Board  Condition  Monitoring  System  (OBCMS)'.  This system will monitor health of the coaches, freight cars, locomotives and is  expected  to  result  in  improved  safety,  reliability,  increased  up-time besides reduction in sudden failures of these assets.

(b) OBCMS project  of  Indian  Railways  presently  is  at  a  very  nascent stage. An Expression of Interest (EOI) for development of 'OBCMS' has been called for. The specifications of the same are being firmed up.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2515 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Skill Development of Youth
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: NISHIKANT  DUBEY, RAJESH PANDEY, RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2515 ANSWERED ON 26.12.2018

## SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH

## 2515.  SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY: SHRI RAJESH PANDEY: SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY:

- Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has launched any special scheme for skill development of youth belonging to minority communities and if so, the details thereof; and (b) The number of youth belonging to the minority communities in Uttar Pradesh who  have  benefited  from  the  special  scheme  for  skill  development  launched  for
- them?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) and (b): Yes, Madam. Ministry of Minority Affairs has launched following schemes for skill development of minority youths: (i) 'Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn)': 'Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn)', is a placement linked skill development scheme launched on 23 rd  September, 2013 for minorities aiming to upgrade the skills of minority youth in various modern/traditional skills  depending  upon  their  qualification,  present  economic  trends  and  market potential, which can earn them suitable employment or make them suitably skilled to go for self-employment. Total 35,670 trainees have been trained under the scheme so far in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

(ii) Nai Manzil: Scheme was launched on 08 th  August, 2015 with an aims to benefit the minority youth who do not have a formal school leaving certificate i.e. those in the category of school dropouts or educated in the community education institutions like Madarsas, in order to provide them formal education and skills, and enable them to seek  better  employment  in  the  organized  sector  and  thus  to  equip  them  for  better lives. A total number of 10,290 trainees have been allotted to Uttar Pradesh under the scheme.

In  addition,  Ministry  also  runs  scheme  of  Upgrading  the  Skills  and  Training  in Traditional  Arts/  Crafts  for  Development  (USTTAD)  launched  on  14 th May,  2015  to preserve the rich heritage of traditional arts/crafts of minorities. The scheme aims at capacity  building  and  updating  the  traditional  skills  of  master  craftsmen/artisans; documentation  of  identified  traditional  arts/crafts  of  minorities;  set  standards  for traditional skills; training of minority youths in various identified traditional arts/crafts through  master  craftsmen;  and  develop  national  and  international  market  linkages. Total 6,900 trainees have been trained under the scheme so far in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Further, Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), an autonomous body under this  Ministry  has  launched  a  new  scheme  titled  Gharib  Nawaz  Skill  Development Training for minority youth for providing short term job oriented skill courses leading to sustained and gainful employment.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 2508 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Replacement of Planning Commission
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: ANANDRAO  ADSUL, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, DHARMENDRA YADAV

(a) & (c) No, Madam

(b), (d)& (e) The said Report states that it is difficult to assess the performance of NITI Aayog in a short  period  time.    The  report  is  published  by  Centre  for  Equity  Studies  which  is  a  registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

-----

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:- 2508 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 26.12.2018

## REPLACEMENT OF PLANNING COMMISSION

## 2508. SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO:

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT:

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  merger  of  planned  and  non-planned  budget  and  dismantling  of  the  Planning Commission has proved non-effective, if so, the reaction of the Union Government thereon;

(b) whether according to the Indian Exclusion Report 2017-18 released by the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), the Government's move to replace the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog has not been effective; and if so, the details thereof;

- (c) whether  the  NITI  Aayog's  agenda  so  far  has  been  to  advocate  privatisation  in  provisioning public goods and services;
- (d) if so, whether the Government has studied the aforesaid report; and
- (e) if so, the findings thereof and reaction of the Union Government thereon?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH )
Lok Sabha Question No. 2507 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Backlog of Track Renewal
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE, Shrirang Appa Barne, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, DHARMENDRA YADAV

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2507 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.12.2018

## BACKLOG OF TRACK RENEWAL

## 2507.  DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT:

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Railways require additional tracks to clear track renewal backlog;
- (b) if so, the details of annual requirement of the railways;
- (c) the number of railway tracks required by the Railways for 2018-19 and the  extent  to  which  the  SAIL  is  likely  to  be  capable  to  provide  railway tracks;
- (d)  whether the railways has placed an order on Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. to supply one lakh tonne railway track as a part of global tender;
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the extent to which the Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. is likely to fulfil this demand of the railways; and
- (f) the steps taken by the Government to meet the requirement of railways to clear the backlog of track renewal and doubling of track?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) & (b) Yes, Madam.  Based on  assessment  and  sanctioned  work as on

01.04.2018, Target and Annual requirement for renewal of existing Rails over Indian Railways in 2018-19 is 9.54 lakh Metric Ton of Rails.

- (c) Requirement  of  rails for renewal  of existing running lines and construction of new lines/doubling/Gauge conversion over Indian Railways during 2018-19 is 16.66  lakh Metric Ton.

Steel  Authority  of  India  Limited  (SAIL)  has  committed  to  supply  10  lakh tons of rails to Indian Railways in 2018-19. From April, 2018 to November, 2018, SAIL has supplied 5.61 lakh tons of rails.

- (d)  &  (e)  Yes,  Madam.  A  developmental  order  has  been  placed  on  M/s Jindal  Steel  &  Power  Ltd  (M/s  JSPL)  for  97,400  Metric  Ton  rails  to  be supplied by August, 2019. M/s JSPL has supplied 43,000 Metric Ton rails till 30.11.2018.
- (f) Following steps have been taken to address the problem of shortage of rails:
- (i) Development Order for supply of rails have been given to M/s JSPL, as detailed above.
- (ii) Permission for import of rails has been sought from Ministry of Steel.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2502 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Satellite Phones
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: VIJAY KUMAR S.R., KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, SUDHEER GUPTA, S. RAJENDRAN, T. RADHAKRISHNAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2502 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## SATELLITE PHONES

2502.  SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR:

KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI S. RAJENDRAN:

SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has launched the BSNL satellite phone service;
- (b) if so, the details along with the aims and objectives thereof;
- (c) whether the targeted objectives of the said services have been achieved till date and if so the details thereof;
- (d) the organizations which have provided this facility; and
- (e) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  BSNL  to  launch  similar  satellite  phones  in future?

## 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)  has  launched  Global  Satellite  Phone Services (GSPS) with effect from 24.05.2017.
- (b) & (c) Department  of  Telecommunications  granted a license to  BSNL  on 25.08.2014  for  'Provision  and  Operation  of  Satellite  based  services  using  Gateway installed  in  India'  under sui-generis category.  Accordingly,  BSNL  has  commissioned Satellite  Gateway  at  Ghaziabad  for  Global  Satellite  Phone  Service  (GSPS)  on 24.05.2017.  Subsequently,  BSNL has also started providing Global Maritime Distress Safety  System  (GMDSS)  services  through  Inmarsat-C  Land  Earth  Station  (LES) installed at Ghaziabad with effect from 12.12.2018.

The Global Satellite Phone Service aims to provide communication even in the remote  and  unconnected  areas  and  to  help  in  providing  emergency  communication service when no other means of communication is available. The GSPS is particularly useful for  security  agencies,  defence  forces  and  for  disaster  relief  works.  The  aim  of GMDSS is to provide safety services to Maritime vehicles.

With  the  installation  of  Land  Earth  Station  (Gateway)  in  India,  the  objective  of lawful interception and monitoring of traffic passing through this Gateway is also fulfilled. As such, the targeted objectives have been achieved.

(d) The  Global  Satellite  Phone  Service  has  been  provided  by  BSNL  to  various Government organizations, public sector/ private organizations and individuals.

(e) BSNL is in the process of upgrading the existing satellite gateway for providing Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) and for providing in-flight connectivity.

****************
Lok Sabha Question No. 2501 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: IT Upgradation of Defence Wings
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: UDAY PRATAP SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2501

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 26 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## IT UPGRADATION OF DEFENCE WINGS

## 2501.  SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH:

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

- (a) whether the Government proposes to upgrade or make high-tech the information technology of all the three wings of Indian Defence and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the Government has formulated any mechanism or set up a committee for the development of the said technology and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the said upgradation of technology is to be done completely indigenously or with the help of some foreign countries and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the time by which the upgraded information technology is likely to be provided to the soldiers?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

र  ा रा य मं ी

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

(डा. सुभाष भामरे)

(a) to (d): Continuous steps are being taken by the Defence Services to remain  updated    on  Information  Technology  and  incorporate  the  latest technology in the ongoing projects. The Defence Services have promulgated ICT Roadmap  incorporating 21 Information Technology projects  during  the  period  2016-2020  in  October  2016.    The  Roadmap includes ongoing and  future tri-services  ICT  projects  leading  to  effective use  of  ICT  in  areas  such  as  Network  Centric  Operations,  Information Security, Planning, Stores Management, General Administration and Hospital Management. As part of the roadmap, the Defence Communication  Network  (DCN)  has  been  operationalized  in  July  2016. Further, under Network for Spectrum project, optical fiber is being laid to provide a dedicated backbone communication and IT network connecting stations of Army, Navy and Air Force.

:  2  :

Bi-annual meetings of the Defence Information Technology Consultative  Committee  (DITCC)  are  held  under  the  Chairmanship  of Raksha Rajya  Mantri  with  the  objective  of  monitoring  the  progress  of  IT implementation and e-governance in the three Services and Inter-Services organisations  in  a  coordinated  manner  and  resolving  inter-organization issues that may arise during implementation.  Regular interactions are also carried out with academia and industry to obtain contemporary solutions. Upgradation  of    technology  is  being  undertaken  primarily  through indigenous efforts.  Automation systems in the Army are being developed by  Defence  Public  Sector  Undertakings.    In  the  Indian  Navy,  the  network backbone  is  being  upgraded  through  M/s  Bharat  Sanchar  Nigam  Ltd. However, in case of IT domains where indigenous efforts have not matured sufficiently,  procurement  of  IT  hardware  /  software  is  being  undertaken from foreign OEMs  and  efforts are made  to progress Transfer of

Technology during such procurement.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 2500 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Promotion of Group A and Group B Posts
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: KOTHA PRABHAKAR REDDY

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2500

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.12.2018)

## PROMOTION OF GROUP A AND GROUP B POSTS

## 2500. SHRI PRABHAKAR REDDY KOTHA:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether promotion in different category officials of Group A and B is uniform and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether the percentage of Group A and Group B retired technical officer with only one promotion is almost same or not and if not, the reasons therefor and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (c) whether the percentage of Group A and Group B retired administrative officer with only one promotion is almost same or not and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether for technical officer the ad-hoc promotion phenomenon is adopted for Group B officers rather than Group A official and if so, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) if not, the average period of ad-hoc for regularization of Group A and B officials?

## 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):     A post in Group A or B or C is filled on promotion, if the Recruitment Rule (RR) for the post provides promotion as a method of recruitment.  An employee fulfilling eligibility criteria laid in the RR and included in the zone of consideration is considered for promotion by a duly constituted  Departmental  Promotion  Committee  (DPC),  which  assesses  the  suitability  of  the candidate  on  basis  of  service  records  particularly  the  Annual  Performance  Appraisal  Report. Promotions  are  made  on  the  basis  of  recommendations  of  DPC  and  approval  of  competent authority subject to availability of vacancies.
- (b) & (c):     No centralized data regarding the number of promotions earned by the employees of Group  A  or  Group  B  in  technical  or  administrative  cadre  is  maintained  by  Department  of Personnel and Training(DOPT).
- (d)  &  (e):  The  guidelines  issued  by  DOPT  regarding  adhoc  appointment/promotions  are uniformly  applicable  for  Group  A  as  well  as  Group  B  posts.      As  per  the  guidelines,  adhoc promotion/appointment  is  to  be  resorted  to  only  in  exceptional  circumstances,  where  a  post cannot be kept vacant in consideration of its functional/operational requirements.  The ad-hoc appointments are to be replaced by regularly selected candidates as per the provisions contained in the RRs and in accordance with the prescribed procedure at the earliest possible and in no case an officer promoted on adhoc basis should be regularized.

No  centralised  data  regarding  adhoc  promotion  of  technical  officers  is  maintained  in DOPT.

******