opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 540 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Tamils Stranded in Gulf
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Kani K. Navas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.540 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## TAMILS STRANDED IN GULF

## 540. SHRI K. NAVASKANI:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   many   Indians   including   a   large   number   of   T amils   are stranded in Gulf and East Asian countries due to inordinate delay in bringing them back home;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, country wise; and
- (c) the   steps   taken   by   the   Government   to   bring   them   back   home timely?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFAIRS [SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) to (c) Government launched Vande Bharat Mission on 07 May 2020, immediately after lockdown was eased, for repatriation of Indian citizens stranded in foreign countries on account of Covid-19.   To date, 13 lakh Indians have returned home by air, ship and land routes. This includes 85,348 Tamilians globally. Vande Bharat Mission is currently in Phase 6 including flights by Air India and other Indian airlines and is supplemented with charters and air bubble arrangements with nine countries.

The details   of   T amil   repatriation   from   Gulf   and   East   Asia   is   as follows:

| Countries         | No. of Tamils Registered   | Total No. of Tamils repatriated   |
|-------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| Bahrain           | 3700                       | 2100                              |
| Iraq              | 739                        | 739                               |
| Oman              | 9578                       | 7100                              |
| Qatar             | 13,366                     | 7300                              |
| Saudi Arabia      | 14,000                     | 6,500                             |
| UAE               | 66,267                     | 25,572                            |
| Malaysia          | 4679                       | 4679                              |
| Singapore         | 11,114                     | 4000                              |
| Philippines       | 10,830                     | 8011                              |
| Japan             | 558                        | 382                               |
| Republic of Korea | 46                         | 46                                |
| Thailand          | 436                        | 196                               |

## *13,200 Tamils registered for repatriation from Kuwait and currently there is no pendency.
Lok Sabha Question No. 539 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Releasing of Food Shipment
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 539 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 th SEPTEMBER, 2020

## RELEASING OF FOOD SHIPMENT

## 539. DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वािण�य एवं उ�ोग मं�ी ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  interest  in  releasing  of  millions  of  tonnes of  food grains, pulses, peas found stocked at various sea ports in the country pending any departmental action by the DGFT;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the status of food grains, pulses, peas stocked at various sea ports of the country, Port-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has taken any steps to notify and direct the concerned authorities at the respective sea ports to release the huge quantities of food grains, pulses, peas stocked there and to ensure that they reach the hands of the poor through public distribution system before they perish by rotting; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the decision taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=h ( Jh ih;w'k xks;y ) THE MINISTER OF  COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (d): Due to significant enhancement in the domestic production of pulses, the Government of India, in order to protect the interests of farmers, notified restrictions, with quota, on import of peas and pulses. These Notifications were challenged in various High Courts. Based on exparte stay orders against the operations of these Notifications, certain  importers brought in quantities of pulses in excess of the quota for the years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Government contested the cases before various High Courts and in order to obtain a common judgment, sought transfer of all cases filed before the various High Courts to the Supreme Court. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in its Judgment dated 26 th August, 2020 has upheld the notifications and the trade notices and has rejected the challenge made by the importers and

further directed that the imports, if any, made relying on interim order(s) would be held to be contrary to the notifications.

The Peas and Pulses stocked at various sea ports have been imported by private importers in violation of the Foreign Trade Policy and notifications issued thereunder.  Such imports by these private importers were not for supply to the Public Distribution System.

As regards food grains, Government has not imposed any restrictions on their import.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 538 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Ban on Apps
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Kuldeep Rai Sharma, DNV Senthilkumar. S., Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Manickam Tagore B, Supriya Sadanand Sule

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 538

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## BAN ON APPs

## 538. DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA:

DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR S.:

DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE:

SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B.:

SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  banned  a  number  of  popular  Chinese  mobile  applications, including top social media platforms such as TikTok, Helo and WeChat and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (b)  the reason for inability of the Government to develop indigenous popular apps to counter the aforementioned Chinese apps in the country;
- (c) whether the Government has invited Indian developers to come up with apps in a range of segments such as office productivity, social networking, e-learning, news, games, health and wellness, agri-tech, fin-tech, entertainment, and speech translation;
- (d)  if so, the details thereof and the response received by the Government so far; and
- (e) whether the Government has taken any steps under Digital India Aatmanirbhar Bharat Innovate Challenge, to develop indigenous apps that will be as popular as Chinese apps considering the fact that India has significant social media users and apps and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATES FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE )

- (a): The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has blocked 224 mobile applications,  including  TikTok,  Helo and  WeChat  under  the  provisions  of  section  69A  of  the Information Technology Act, 2000 in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India and security of State.
- (b),  (c),  (d)  and  (e):  From  time  to  time,  the  government  of  India  launches  apps  for  citizens  to promote its Digital India initiative. MeitY, in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission of Niti Aayog,  launched  Digital  India  Aatma  Nirbhar  Bharat  Innovate  Challenge  to  identify  the  best Indian Apps that are already being used by citizens and have the potential to scale and become world  class  Apps  in  their  respective  categories.  A  total  of  6,940  applications  under  various categories have been received.
- ********
Lok Sabha Question No. 537 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Zero Based Time Table
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Sunil Dattatray Tatkare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 537 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## ZERO BASED TIME TABLE

## 537.  SHRI SUNIL DATTATRAY TATKARE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  a  new  zero-based  timetable  will  be  implemented  by  the Indian Railways;
- (b) if so, the details of 500 discontinued regular trains and 10,000 stops removed from the timetable;
- (c) the manner in which this new zero-based timetable is beneficial to railways and commuters along with detailed analysis in this regard; and
- (d) whether all passenger trains will run on a 'hub and spoke model' if so, details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a)  to (d) Rationalisation of time table is an ongoing process on Indian Railways  (IR)  and  to  this  end,  IR  has  embarked  upon  the  zero  based time  tabling  initiative,  which,  inter-alia,  includes  scheduling  of  trains

based  on  scientific  principles,  ensuring  adequate  corridor  blocks  for maintenance,  increasing  throughput  by  providing  freight  corridors, improving punctuality, improving utilization of Rolling Stock and providing  convenient  and  efficient  services  to  the  passengers.  The initiative,  inter-alia,  includes  rationalization  of  stoppages  and  trains taking into account  the demand,  utility for  the  passengers  and commercial  viability.  One  of  the  aspects  of  the  initiative  will  be  the gradual  introduction  of  the  hub  and  spoke  concept  with  a  view  to facilitating easy transfers between 'hubs' and 'spoke' and inter-modal connectivity. The concept also entails provision of integrated ticketing, access for persons with disability, leisure facilities, check-in facilities, transfer/transit facilities, and amenities such as travelators, escalators, elevators etc., at identified stations designated as 'hubs'.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 536 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Network Issues
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Raksha Nikhil Khadse

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 536 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## NETWORK ISSUES

## 536. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  completely  remove  network  issues  in connectivity in every corner of the country including the areas with difficult terrain and remote areas and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a) Network  coverage  in  the  uncovered  villages  including  areas  with  difficult  terrain  and remote  areas  in  the  country  is  being  provided  by  the  Government  and  Telecom  Service  Providers (TSPs)  in  a  phased  manner.  A  number  of  schemes  have  been  taken  up  by  the  Government  with funding  from  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  for  providing/facilitating/  improving network connectivity in the country as given below:

- (i) BharatNet project to provide broadband connectivity in all the Gram  Panchayats (approximately 2.5 lakh) in the country.
- (ii) For provision of mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas, the Phase-I scheme has been completed by installing 2343 towers.
- (iii) Public Wi-Fi hotspots at the 25,000 rural telephone exchanges of BSNL are being provided.
- (iv) Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for mobile connectivity in the North Eastern Region.
- (v) Laying of submarine optical fibre cable between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands for providing high bandwidth connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- (vi) Providing mobile connectivity in 354 villages of uncovered areas of Bihar, J&K, Ladakh, Border areas and other priority areas.

- (vii) Provisioning of 4G based Mobile service in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts of four states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan.

Moreover, the Government has also taken several policy initiatives to facilitate infrastructure growth in the country which include permitting trading/sharing/liberalization of spectrum, permitting passive & active infrastructure sharing, notification of Right of Way Rules 2016, making available government  land/buildings  for  installations  of  towers,  carrying  out  Electro  Magnetic  Field  (EMF) awareness campaign to dispel the misgivings to the public regarding EMF radiations emission from mobile towers through print and electronic media etc.

************
Lok Sabha Question No. 535 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Defence Capital Procurement
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.535

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 th  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## DEFENCE CAPITAL PROCUREMENT

## 535. COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE:

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

- (a) the quantum of capital orders placed to Indian and Foreign vendors under Defence capital procurement in FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21;
- (b) the quantum of orders placed on DPSUs and Prívate Industry respectively, amongst the orders placed on Indian Companies;
- (c) the break-up of funds used for committed liabilities and placement of new contracts under Capital procurement budget in the last five years, and whether the defence capital budget is sufficient to meet the requirement;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  is  undertaking  initiatives  to  bring  parity  while  evaluating competitive bids for defence contracts between DPSUs and private sector entities, given that the government has historically invested in DPSUs and Ordinance Factories (OFs) as seen in the past decades and if so, the details thereof?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

- (a)  During last financial year (2019-20), 38 contracts have been signed with Indian vendors and  32  contracts  have  been  signed  with  Foreign  vendors.    During  current  Financial  Year 2020-21  (Upto  July,  2020),  10  contracts  have  been  signed  with  Indian  vendors  and  6 contracts  have  been  signed  with  Foreign  vendors  for  capital  procurement  of  defence equipment for Armed Forces.
- (b)    Out  of  the  total  of  48  capital  acquisition  contracts  signed  with  Indian  vendors  from April 2019 to July 2020, 18 contracts have been signed with DPSUs/PSUs/OFB/DRDO/ISRO  and  30  contracts  have  been  signed  with  Indian  Private vendors.

- (c)  &  (d):    All  efforts  are  made  to  optimally  use  budgeted  funds  for  meeting  committed liabilities  relating  to  already  concluded  capital  acquisition  contracts  and  for  new  schemes contracted during the year.

The  details  of  expenditure  incurred  under  Capital  Acquisition  (Modernisation)  of Armed Forces, under Defence Service Estimates (DSE), for the last five years is as under:-

| Year    | Actual Expenditure (Rs. in Crore)   |
|---------|-------------------------------------|
| 2015-16 | 62,235.54                           |
| 2016-17 | 69,280.16                           |
| 2017-18 | 72,732.20                           |
| 2018-19 | 75,892.85                           |
| 2019-20 | 91,128.74                           |

- (e)    While  evaluating  competitive  bids  for  Defence  contracts  between  DPSUs  and  Private Sector entities, no advantage is given to DPSUs.  The competitive bids are evaluated based on the RFP terms and conditions.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 531 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Aerospace University
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: Ravindra Kushawaha, Ravi Kishan Shukla

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE PRODUCTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.531

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 th  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## AEROSPACE UNIVERSITY

## 531. SHRI RAVINDRA KUSHWAHA: SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

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

- (a) whether Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)  proposes to establish Aerospace University in the country;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  places  identified  for  the  purpose  and  the  expenditure likely to be incurred on it; and
- (c) the names of International Organisations proposed/expected to be associated with the said university and faculties/departments of the university on which special emphasis is likely to be given?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

- (a) : No, Sir.

- (b) & (c):  Does not arise in view of (a) above.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 530 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Pending Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dharambir Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 530 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS

## †530.     SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  a  number  of  other  projects  including  Loharu  to Bhiwani and Delhi to Alwar via Nuh-Firozpur Jhirka rail lines in  Haryana  have  been  pending  for  a  long  time  due  to paucity of funds and other technical reasons;
- (b) if  so,  the  project-wise  details  thereof  for  the  last  three years;
- whether the Government has not allocated sufficient funds
- (c) for these pending railway projects; and
- if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the
- (d) Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to  (d)  :    No  Sir.  However,  these  two  Railway  Projects have not yet been sanctioned. Present status of these Projects is as under :-

## Loharu to Bhiwani Rail Line

The  Feasibility  Study  for  the  work  of  Loharu  to  Bhiwani  was done by Railway. Thereafter on the directions of Government of

-2-

Haryana,  the  Feasibility  Study  has  again  been  conducted  by Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (HRIDC) a Joint Venture between Ministry of Railways (49%) and Government of Haryana (51%). The Survey Report was submitted to Government of Haryana on 30.04.2019. Further action on the project will be taken after receiving the proposal from HRIDC.

## Delhi to Alwar via Nuh-Firozpur Jhirka Rail Line.

The Feasibility Study for this was  done by Railway. Thereafter on  the  directions  of  Government  of  Haryana,  the  Feasibility Study has again been conducted by Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (HRIDC) a Joint Venture between Ministry  of  Railways  (49%)  and  Government  of  Haryana  (51%). The Survey Report was submitted to Government of Haryana on 30.04.2019.  Further  action  on  the  project  will  be  taken  after receiving the proposal from HRIDC.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 529 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Losses Incurred by BSNL
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Gowdar Mallikarjunappa Siddeshwara

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 529 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## LOSSES INCURRED BY BSNL

## 529. SHRI G.M. SIDDESHWAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  BSNL  has  incurred  losses  consecutively  during  the  last  three  years  and  has  been declared as incipient sick as per the guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises (DPEs);
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government for the revival/ restructuring of BSNL;
- (c) whether BSNL is unable to make arrangement for payment of salary to its employees; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to protect the large number of employees of BSNL?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

- (a) Yes Sir. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has incurred losses consecutively during the last  three  years.  BSNL  was declared incipient sick in 2017 as per the guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises (DPEs).
- (b) Details of losses incurred by BSNL for the last three years are as under:

| Financial year                 | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   |
|--------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Profit/(Loss) incurred by BSNL | (7,993)   | (14,904)  | (15,500)  |

(in Rupees crore)

The Government approved a revival plan for BSNL on 23.10.2019.  The revival plan, interalia  includes  reduction  in  employee  costs  through  a  Voluntary  Retirement  Scheme  (VRS)  for  the employees  of  age  50  years  and  above,  administrative  allotment  of  spectrum  for  4G  services,  debt restructuring  by  raising  of  sovereign  guarantee  bonds  and  monetisation  of  assets  to  service  debt, CAPEX and other requirements.

- (c) BSNL has informed that it has made salary payment up to the month of July 2020.
- (d) Turnaround of BSNL will ensure the welfare and future prospects of its employees.

************
Lok Sabha Question No. 528 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Fare Collectetion through Shramik Special Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Prasun Banerjee, Mala Roy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 528

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## FARE COLLECTION THROUGH SHRAMIK SPECIAL TRAINS

## 528. SHRI PRASUN BANERJEE :

## SHRIMATI MALA ROY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the amount of fare collection received by railways through Shramik Special train;
- (b) the contribution of States, if any, in passenger fare and the amount of subsidy given by Railways;
- (c) whether the ticket charges were borne by the passengers themselves  and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the details of profit or loss to Indian Railways from these trains?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## ( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (d): Shramik Special trains were requisitioned by State Governments. In normal circumstances such special trains are booked by State Governments/any agency or by an individual on Full Tariff Rates which  include  normal  fare  for  both  directions,  service  charge,  empty haulage charge, detention charge etc.

Indian  Railways  allowed  booking  of  Shramik  Specials  on  normal fare for one direction only. Special arrangements like enhanced sanitisation,  special  security,  medical  arrangement,  rake  sanitisation, free  meals,  water  etc.  for  Shramik  operations,  further  added  to  the overall cost of running these trains.

Railways have collected fare for Shramik Special trains from State Governments  or  their  authorised  representatives.  Railways  did  not collect any fare directly from passengers.

Fare  of ` 433  crore  has  been  collected  from  State  Governments and  from  the  representatives  of  State  Governments  for  running  of Shramik Special trains for the period from 01.05.2020 to 31.08.2020.

Indian  Railways  could  recover  a  small  fraction  of  expenditure incurred on running of Shramik Special trains, thereby incurring a loss in the operation of these trains.

*****