opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 1421 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Garment Traders under GST Scheme
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sunil Kumar Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE *****

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1421

## TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY THE 01 st  JULY, 2019 ASHADHA 10, 1941 (SAKA)

## GARMENT TRADERS UNDER GST SCHEME

## 1421.  SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken favourable steps for garment traders under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF FINANCE (Ms. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

(a), (b) and (c): The GST rate structure for the textile sector was discussed in detail in the GST Council meeting held on 3 rd June, 2017, wherein the Council recommended the detailed rate structure for the textile sector. The pre-GST tax incidence on readymade garments and made up articles was more than 13%. As against that the GST rates for garments and made up articles is 5% articles of  sale  value  not  exceeding  Rs.1000  per  piece  and  12%  for  articles  of  sale value exceeding Rs.1000 per piece. Therefore, the GST rates are lesser than the pre-GST incidence of taxes on these goods. To reduce the cost of garment industry,  GST  rate  on  manmade  fibre  yarns  has  been  reduced  from  18%  to 12%. Further, the refund of accumulated input tax credit on fabrics has also been allowed to reduce cost of fabrics which is the major input for garments.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1416 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Cess on GST
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: N.K. Premachandran

## (a) & (e):

Gerala Government has proposed to raise funds by imposing cess on sale of goods and services under GST by the state government to meet the flood situation in the State been discussed in 3Oth GST Council Accordingly, the matter has meeting held on 28th September, 2018.

As per recommendation of GST Council, a Group of Ministers (GoM) has been modalities for revenue constituted to examine mobilization for natural calamities and disasters. After discussion/deliberations, the GoM has submitted its report on 08.01.2019 with proposasthat in view the proposal of Kerala, GoM recommended that Council Keeping may consider allowing of a cess oeriotra-state supoly of goods and services within the state of Kerala at & rate not exceeding 1% foe period not exceeding two years. a levy

The GST Council has approved the GoM's recommendation allowing of a cess on intra-state supply of goods and services within the State of Kerala at a rate not exceeding 1% for exceeding two a period not years\_ levy

****

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.1416 TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY THE lst JULY, 2019 ASHADHA 10,1941 (SAKA)

## Cess on GST

## 1416. SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to give sanction to Kerala Government for levying cess on GST
- (b) whether the Kerala Government has obtained the permission of GST Council for GST on account of flood and if the action taken levying cess on thereon;
- on account of flood and if the details thereof;
- (c) whether the GST Council has discussed the request of Kerala Government for levying cess on GST
- (d) if the details of discussion held with the proposed rate of cess on account of flood; and along
- on account of flood;
- (e) whether the GST Council has given sanction to Kerala Government for levying cess on GST on account of flood and if the details of cess sanctioned? SO,

## ANSWER FINANCE MINISTER

(Smt: NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)
Lok Sabha Question No. 1413 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Alok Kumar Suman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1413

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01ST JULY, 2019

## PRADHAN MANTRI ROJGAR PROTSAHAN YOJANA

## 1413.  DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN:

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

- (a) whether any measures are taken to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households;
- (b)
- if so, the names of centrally sponsored schemes;
- whether the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana has created the employment
- (c) through the employers; and
- (d) if so, the details of the total beneficiaries?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  &  (b):  The  Ministry  of  Housing  and  Urban  Affairs  has  been  implementing  the 'Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana  -  National  Urban  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NULM)'  to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households  by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, improvement in their  livelihoods  on  a  sustainable  basis.  DAY-NULM  has  seven  components  viz  (i) Social  Mobilization  and  Institution  Development  (SM&ID),  (ii)  Capacity  Building  and Training (CB&T), (iii) Employment through Skills Training and Placement (EST&P), (iv) Self-Employment Programme (SEP), (v) Scheme for Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH), (vi) Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV) and (vii) Innovative and Special Projects (I&SP).
- (c) & (d): Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has been launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment  for incentivising employers  for promoting employment generation. Under this scheme, Government is paying entire employer's contribution  (12%  or  as  admissible)  towards  EPF  and  EPS  for  all  eligible  new employees for all sectors for 3 years. This scheme has a dual benefit, where, on the one hand, the employer is incentivised for increasing the employment base of workers in the establishment, and on the other hand, these workers will have access to social security  benefits  of  the  organized  sector.  Till  26th  June,  2019,  benefits  have  been given to 1.21 crore beneficiaries.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1411 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Survey conducted by NCAER
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sudheer Gupta, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar

FINANCE MINISTER (Ms. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

- (a)  &  (b):  April  2019  round  of  the  quarterly  Business  Expectations  Survey  (BES)  of  Indian  companies carried out by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) showed that Business Confidence Index (BCI) fell from 127.0 in January 2019 to 115.4 in April 2019, a decline of 9.1 per cent on a quarter-onquarter (q-on-q) basis. The overall BCI is composed of following four components, all of which have equal weights for computing the index:
- (i) Overall view of economic conditions over the next six months;
- (ii)  Financial position of the firm over the next six months;
- (iii) Current investment climate as compared to six months ago; and
- (iv) Current level of capacity utilisation of the firm relative to its optimal level.

As per BES, the decline in the overall BCI was driven by firms' lower expectations for the next six months with regard to production, sales and pre tax profits.

- (c) & (d): The BCI for consumer non-durables declined from 135.5 in January 2019 to 114.0 in April 2019, a decline of 15.9 per cent on a q-o-q basis. The fall in the BCI for the consumer non-durables sector was also driven by lower expectations on production, sales, and pre-tax profits. Government has taken a number of measures in crucial sectors to improve the trend such as Start-up India, Ease of doing Business, Make in India,  Foreign  Direct  Investment  Policy  reforms  etc.  India  has  considerably  improved  its  ranking  to  77 th position in 2018 among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank Doing Business Report, 2019 in which India has leapt 23 ranks over its rank of 100 in 2017.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1411

TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 1, 2019

## SURVEY CONDUCTED BY NCAER

1411. SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether as per a survey conducted by the economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) the business confidence among Indian companies fell by 9.1 per cent in the fourth quarter;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for such downfall;
- (c) whether as per the survey of NCAER, consumer non-durables sector also showed relatively worsening trend with regard to production, sales and pre tax profit; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to improve the trend?

## ANSWER
Lok Sabha Question No. 1408 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Scheme for Pension and Medical Aid to Artistes
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Srinivas Kesineni, Durga Prasad Rao Balli, H. Vasanthakumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1408

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.07.2019

## Scheme for Pension and Medical Aid to Artistes

## 1408. SHRI SRINIVAS KESINENI: SHRI BALLI DURGA PRASAD RAO: SHRI H. VASANTHAKUMAR:

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  salient  features  of  the  Scheme  for  Pension  and  Medical  Aid  to  Artistes (SPMAA).
- (b)  the quantum of amount given to each beneficiary under the SPMAA .
- (c)  the number of film/TV artistes who have benefited under this Scheme during the  last  four  years  in  the  country  including    Tamil  Nadu,  Telangana  and Andhara Pradesh; and
- (d)  whether the Government is contemplating to expand such scheme to Drama artistes also and  if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) FOR CULTURE AND TOURISM (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

- (a)  The  Government is implementing a Scheme namely 'Scheme for Pension and Medical Aid to Artistes'.  The objective of the Scheme is to improve financial and socio-economic status of the old  aged artistes and scholars  who  have contributed significantly in their specialized fields of arts, letters etc. but leading a miserable life or are in penury condition.
- (b)  An amount of maximum Rs.4,000/- per month is being given to each beneficiary.
- (c)  Art form-wise data is not maintained by the Ministry.
- (d)  The drama artists are already covered under the Scheme.
Lok Sabha Question No. 1400 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Steel Production
Ministry: STEEL
Asked by: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu

## STEEL PRODUCTION

1400.  SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

Will the Minister of STEEL be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  is  deliberating  on  synergising  refractory  and  Steel sector;

- (b) if so, whether such synergy can cut production costs and reduce imports and if so, the details thereof; and

(c) whether studies have been made to assess the impact of synergy between the two sectors in achieving 300 million tonnes of steel production by 2030 and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

## THE MINISTER OF STEEL

(a)to(c): No, Sir.  The refractory industry caters to many industries such as ferrous, non-ferrous, glass, cement, etc. In Iron & Steel industry three types of refractories viz. acidic, basic and neutral are used based on the specific process requirements in the different units of the iron & steel making. In the Integrated Steel Plants, refractories are  used  in  Blast  Furnace,  BOF  Converters,  EAF/  EOF,  Re-heating  Furnaces  of Rolling Mills, Heat Treatment Furnaces, Continuous Casting Machine Tundish, Steel Ladles, Coke Ovens, Sinter Plant etc.

The Iron & Steel and the refractory industry are deregulated sectors; and the commercial  decisions  are  taken  by  the  industries  themselves  based  on  market dynamics. Based on commercial decision, some of the steel companies have done backward integration and have setup in-house refractories manufacturing facilities.

The  National  Steel  Policy  2017  has  duly  envisaged  the  requirement  of refractories  to  match  a  steel  making  capacity  of  300  Million  Tonnes  by  2030-31. Synergies/ backward integration/ production/ import by the refractory or iron & steel industry shall be based on commercial considerations.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 1399 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Upgradation of Physiotherapy Diploma Courses
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Y. S. Avinash Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1399 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.07.2019

## Upgradation of Physiotherapy Diploma Courses 1399. SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY:

Will  the  Minister  of  HUMAN  RESOURCE  DEVELOPMENT  be  pleased  to state: (a)  the  rationale/objective  behind  upgrading  physiotherapy from Diploma course to Degree course; (b) whether the Government has conducted any study to know the impact; (c) if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the specialisation courses like Ortho, Cardio, Sports and Neurology etc. in physiotherapy have been started during the last four years; (e) if so, the details of objectives achieved in this regard; and (f)  the  details  of  employment  opportunities  in  Government  sector  for  Specialist

- Physiotherapists along with the pay scales and group of services they are likely to be inducted and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) to (c): The University Grants Commission (UGC) has not issued guidelines for upgrading physiotherapy from Diploma course to Degree course. However, UGC has  specified  Bachelor  of  Physiotherapy  (BPT)  and  Master  of  Physiotherapy (MPT) degrees in its list of 'specified nomenclature of degrees' published in the Gazette  of  India  on  5th  July,  2014.  The  Universities  are  free  to  offer  these courses, if they so desire, as per the specification of degrees for BPT and MPT.

(d)  &  (e):  Ministry  of  Health  &  Family  Welfare  has  informed  that  no  specialized courses like Ortho, Cardio, Sports and Neurology etc. in Physiotherapy have been started during the last four years. requirement  and  as  per  their  extant  rules  and  regulations.  7 th

(f): Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has informed that Physiotherapy positions are  advertised  by  Government/Autonomous institutions/hospitals,  based  on  their Central  Pay Commission has recommended replacement pay levels for physiotherapists.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1398 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Promotion of Classical Language
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Balashowry Vallabbhaneni

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1398 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.07.2019

## Promotion of Classical Language

## 1398.    SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state :

- a) Whether  the Government is considering to develop Indian languages as well as classical languages;
- b) if so, the details thereof;
- c) the efforts being made by the Government to develop/promote/expand each of the Classical Language, language-wise
4. including Telugu; and
- d) the funds allocated, sanctioned, released and utilized for promotion of
6. Telugu Classical Language so far?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

- (a) & (b): Yes Sir.  The policy of the Government is to promote all Indian
- Languages  including  Classical  Languages.    Central  Institute  of  Indian Languages  (CIIL)  works  for  the  promotion  of  all  Indian  languages including  classical  languages  and  there  are  separate  Institutions  for development and promotion of Hindi, Urdu, Sindhi and Sanskrit languages.
- (c)  &  (d):    CIIL  works  for  promotion  of  four  classical  languages  viz. Kannada,  Telugu,  Malayalam  and  Odia.    There  is  a  separate  institute namely  Central  Institute  of  Classical  Tamil  (CICT)  which  works  for  the development and promotion of Classical Tamil.  The Government of India is promoting the Sanskrit Language through   three   Deemed  Universities

viz.    Rashtriya  Sanskrit  Sansthan  (RSKS),  New  Delhi,    Shri  Lal  Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, New Delhi and  Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati.

The details  of  funds  provided  for  Classical  Telugu  through  CIIL  is  given below.

(Rupees in lakh)

| Year    |   Funds allocated/ Sanctioned/ released |   Funds utilised |
|---------|-----------------------------------------|------------------|
| 2015-16 |                                     100 |            19.47 |
| 2016-17 |                                     100 |             4.7  |
| 2017-18 |                                     100 |             0    |
| 2018-19 |                                      99 |            28.91 |
| 2019-20 |                                     107 |            11.41 |

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 1395 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Universal Account Number
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Anto  Antony

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1395 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.07.2019

UNIVERSAL ACCOUNT NUMBER

1395.   SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

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

- (a)whether the Government is issuing Universal Account Number (UAN)
- to the Members of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO);
- (b)if  so,  the  details  including  the  number  of  UAN  already  issued  and number of applications pending for UAN, if any;
- (c)whether it is mandatory to link Aadhaar and UAN and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)whether  original  Scheme  Certificate  is  essential  to  get  pension  and other benefits and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)whether the Government has any record regarding number of applications for original Scheme Certificate pending in various offices of EPFO; and
- (f)if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons  for  the  delay  in  issuing  the same?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): As  on  25.06.2019,  15.49  crore  Universal  Account  Number (UAN) have been allotted and no application is pending.

Contd..2/-

(c): As per Government of India Notification No. S.O. 26 (E) dated 04.01.2017  issued  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  section  7  of  the Aadhaar  (Targetted  Delivery  of  Financial  and  Other  Subsidies,  Benefits and  Services)  Act,  2016,  members  and  pensioners  of  the  Employees' Pension  Scheme  (EPS)  desirous  of  continuing  to  avail  pension  and membership to the EPS by availing the Central Government's contribution and subsidy under the said Scheme, are required to furnish proof  of  the  possession  of  the  Aadhaar  number  or  undergo  Aadhaar authentication  as  per  the  procedure  laid  down  by  the  Employees' Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO) for better and hassle free identification through Aadhaar.

(d): A  Scheme  Certificate  indicates  the  pensionable  service,  the pensionable salary and the amount of pension due on the date of exit of a member  from  the  employment.  The  Scheme  Certificate  enables  the member to carry over the accrued pensionable benefit as and when he changes employment. Original Scheme Certificate is required to ascertain  whether  a  member  has  availed  withdrawal  benefit  before settlement of his pension claim.

(e) to (f): 19,117 claim applications for issuance of scheme certificates were pending in various offices of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as on 25.06.2019.

Receipt and settlement of claims regarding scheme certificate is  a  continuous  ongoing  work  in  various  offices  of  EPFO.    Some  of  the insufficient claims remain pending on account of submission of information/documents required for issuance of scheme certificates.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 1392 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Inclusion of Sub-Castes in ST List
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1392

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.07.2019

## INCLUSION OF SUB-CASTES IN ST LIST

1392.  SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has received a proposal from the Bihar Government along with ethnographic  reports  for  considering  the  inclusion  of  extremely  backward  caste  Mallah, Nishad and its nine sub-castes in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs);
- (b) if so, the details and present status thereof; and
- (c) the time by which the Government is likely to include the said castes in ST list?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SH. ARJUN MUNDA)

(a) to (c) Yes Sir. Govt of Bihar vide letter dated 09.06.2018 sent the proposal alongwith the ethnographic study report for inclusion of Mallah( मल्लाह ), Nishad( निषाद ) {Bhind( न िंद ), Beldar( ेलदार ), Chai( चााँय ), Tiyar( तीयर ), Khulwat( खुलवट ), Suraiya( सुरनहया ), Godi( गोढी ), Vanpar( विपर ),  Kevat( क े वट )}  and  Nonia( िोनिया ) communities  in  the  Scheduled  Tribes  list  of Bihar. The Government of India on 15.6.1999 (further amended on 25.6.2002) has laid down the modalities for deciding the claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modifications in  Orders  specifying  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes  lists.  As  per  the  modalities, only those proposals which have been recommended and justified by the concerned State Government / UT Administration and concurred with by Registrar General of India (RGI) and National  Commission  for  Scheduled  Tribes  (NCST)  are  to  be  considered  and  legislation amended.

All action on the proposal is taken as per these approved modalities.

*****