opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2192 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Suicides by Daily Wage Earners
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2192

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2019

## SUICIDES BY DAILY WAGE EARNERS

2192. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

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

- (a)whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  increase  in  suicides committed by daily wage earners, as specified in the National Crime Records Bureau's reports;
- (b)if  so,  the  details  whether  the  Government  has  identified  reasons
- contributing to the same;
- (c)whether the Government has any provisions in place to improve the situation and wages of daily wage earners; and
- (d)if so, details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b): As  reported  by  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB),  a total  of  15,735,  23,799  and  25,164 suicides were committed by daily wage  earners  during  2014,  2015  and  2016  respectively.  However, NCRB  has  no  information  or  identified  reasons  contributing  to  the same.
- (c) & (d): Under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, both Central  and  State  Governments  are  appropriate  Governments  to  fix, review  and  revise  the  minimum  wages  of  the  workers  employed  in scheduled employment under the respective jurisdictions.

Further,  as  per  the  Wage  Rate  data  maintained  by  Labour Bureau,  there  has  generally  been  a    continuous  positive    growth  in nominal average wage rate in Rural India at All India level over time.

In order to provide social security benefits to the workers in the  unorganized  sector  including  workers  in  agriculture  sector,  the Government  has  enacted  the  Unorganized  Workers'  Social  Security Act, 2008. This Act stipulates formulation of suitable welfare schemes for  unorganized  workers  on  matters  relating  to:  (i)  life  and  disability cover, (ii) health and maternity benefits, (iii) old age protection and (iv) any other benefit  as  may  be  determined  by  the  Central  Government. Life  and  disability  cover  is  provided  through  Pradhan  Mantri  Jeevan Jyoti BimaYojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana (PMSBY) to the unorganized workers depending upon their eligibility. The  health  and  maternity  benefits  are  addressed  through  Ayushman Bharat scheme. For old age protection in the form of minimum assured monthly pension, Government of India has recently launched Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM). Under the scheme, which is on contributory basis, minimum assured monthly pension of Rs. 3000/will be provided to the unorganized workers after attaining the age of 60 years.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2191 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: RuPay Card Holders
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2191,

~RuPay Card Holders'

## 2191. SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of RuPay card holders and the number of activated RuPay cards in the country as on date, State-wise, specially in Maharashtra State;
- (b) whether it is true that there is a gap between the number of such cards issued and activated, if so, the reasons therefor; large
- (c) whether the Government intends t0 direct banks and other financial institutions for 100 per cent distribution and activation of RuPay cards and seeding Aadhaar number with bank accounts; and (d) if so, the details thereof?

## Answer

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

- (a) & (b) As informed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), 57.3 crore RuPay Cards have been issued as on 30.10.2019, out of which 43.02 crore cards (75%) have been issued by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and their Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). The number of active RuPay cards is dynamic in nature and keeps on changing on real time basis. State-wise data on issue of RuPay cards and active RuPay cards is not centrally maintained.
- (c) & (d) Keeping in view the wider acceptability of RuPay card and the role it is playing in facilitating banking transactions by customers/merchants at an affordable cost, Public Sector Banks have been requested t0 issue RuPay card, in the event of customer not indicating any specific card preference.

Also, as on Know Your Customer (KYC) dated 25.02.2016 (updated as on 29, 2019), Banks carry out authentication of the customer Aadhaar number e-KYC authentication   facility   provided by the Unique Identification Authority of India upon receipt of the customer'$ declaration that he is desirous of receiving any benefit or subsidy under any scheme notified under section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies. Benefits and Services) 2016 (18 of 2016) in his account: also carry out Aadhaar authentication / off-line verification of an individual, who voluntarily uses his Aadhaar number for verification purpose. per May using Act, They

As informed by banks, as on 22.11.2019, approximately 86.9% of the Current Accounts & Savings Accounts (CASA) are Aadhaar  seeded (excluding the states of Assam, Meghalaya and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh).
Lok Sabha Question No. 2189 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Education Loans
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Manickam Tagore B

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2189

ANSWERED ON THE 2 nd  DECEMBER, 2019, AGRAHAYANA 11, 1941 (SAKA)

## Education Loans

2189. SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B.:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the educational loans provided by the nationalized banks during the last five years;
- (b) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  numbers  of  educational  loans  have  reduced drastically;
- (c) if so, whether the Government is contemplating any plan of action to increase the provision of educational loans; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  to (b):  Details of educational loans disbursed by Public Sector Banks during the last five years are given below:

| During the Financial Year   |   No. of Accounts |   Education Loan Disbursed (Amt in Rs Crore) |
|-----------------------------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 2014-15                     |            681685 |                                      9190.45 |
| 2015-16                     |            684836 |                                     12595.4  |
| 2016-17                     |            599729 |                                     11175.9  |
| 2017-18                     |            786312 |                                     13470.5  |
| 2018-19                     |            696656 |                                     15030.1  |

Source: RBI

There has been an increase in amount disbursed under education loan for the past three years registering a growth of 20.53% Y-o-Y in 2017-18 and 11.57% Y-o-Y in 2018-19.

- (c)  to  (d):    To  facilitate  easy  processing  and  disbursal  of  loans,  Government  has launched  a  web-based  portal  namely,  Vidya  Lakshmi  Portal.  Students  can  view, apply and track the education loan applications online by accessing the portal.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2187 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: EPF Amount in Public Limited Companies
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2187 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2019 EPF AMOUNT IN PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANIES

2187. DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN:

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

- (a)whether the Government has invested EPF amount in various Public Limited Companies and in the form of shares and equities of various Private Limited companies, as well as blue chip shares of some private companies;
- (b)if so, the details thereof and the total amount invested in top ten companies, company-wise;
- (c)the steps taken by the Government  to protect the interests of EPF subscribers;
- (d)whether the Government has taken any efforts to bring in more employees in both organised and unorganised sectors under the ambit of EPF; and (e)if so, the details thereof and the Government's stand thereon?

## ANSWER

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

- (a): Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is investing in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) based on Nifty 50, Sensex, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and Bharat 22 Indices. EPFO does not invest in shares and equities of individual companies.
- (b): The  total  amount  invested  by  EPFO  in  ETFs  as  on  September,  2019  is Rs. 86,966 crore.
- (c): The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) in its  207 th   meeting  held  on  31.03.2015  decided  to  invest  only  in  ETFs  in  the category of equity and related investments.
- (d) & (e): The Employees' Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF & MP)  Act,  1952  is  applicable  to  every  establishment  employing  20  or  more persons which is either a factory engaged in any industry specified in Schedule-I of the Act or an establishment to which the Act has been made applicable by the Central  Government  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette.  In  order  to  extend social  security  benefits  to  all  the  eligible  workers  in  the  country,  continuous efforts are made to bring the coverable establishments under the EPF & MP Act, 1952 and also for bringing the eligible employees under the umbrella of Schemes under the  Act.  As  on  31.03.2019,  197  industries/classes  of  establishments  are notified for coverage which has brought 4.69 crores contributory members within ambit of EPF.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2186 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Gold Saving Schemes
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Pratima Bhoumik

## Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2186

TO BE ANSWERED ON: Monday 2 nd  December, 2019/Agrahayana 11, 1941(SAKA)

## GOLD SAVING SCHEMES

## QUESTION

## 2186   Ms. Pratima Bhoumik:

## Will the Minister of Finance be pleased to state:

- a)    whether  there  is  any  policy  for  Gold   Saving  Schemes  presently  run  by  the   private jewellers and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- b)    whether the Government has received any complaints with regard to running of illegal Gold Saving Schemes and if so, the details thereof,  State and UT-wise and the action taken by the Government against the culprits;
- c)    whether the Government  is working on revamping the Policy for Gold Saving Schemes and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- d)    whether the Government has prepared any action plan to safeguard the interests of the investors who are investing in Gold Saving Schemes and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (Shri Anurag Thakur)

(a)  to  (d):  The  Banning  of  Unregulated  Deposit  Schemes  Act,  2019  aiming  to  help  to tackle the menace of illicit deposit taking activities in the country, which at present are exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures to dupe poor and gullible people of their hard-earned savings received the assent of the President on 31 st July, 2019 and came into force with effect from 21 st February, 2019. The Act contains a substantive  banning  clause,  which  bans  deposit  takers  from  promoting,  operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any Unregulated Deposit Scheme.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2185 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: ONGC Projects in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Srinivas Kesineni, Balashowry Vallabbhaneni

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2185 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  December, 2019

## ONGC Projects in Andhra Pradesh

## 2185. SHRI KESINENI SRINIVAS: SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

## isVªksfy;e ,oa izkd`frd xSl ea=h

## Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the works carried out by ONGC in Andhra Pradesh;
- (b)  whether  there  are  any  plans  to  revitalise  exploration  and  production  activities  in shallow and deep waters by inducting best technology in the Krishna-Godavari Offshore;
- (c) whether the Government has identified need of any new projects in Andhra Pradesh, if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  it  is  true  that  the  villages  where  oil  and  gas  reserves  were  found  have extended their full cooperation and support for the project; and
- (e) the details of the plans of ONGC to adopt 10 or 15 villages under CSR and take up developmental works there?

## ANSWER

## isVªksfy;e ,oa izkd`frd xSl ea=ky; esa ea=h

## ¼Jh /kesZanz iz/kku½

## MINISTER IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a): ONGC has been producing oil & natural gas from onland areas of Krishna-Godavari Basin in Rajahmundry Asset in the State of Andhra Pradesh and from deep/shallow water offshore areas of Krishna-Godavari Basin. Till date, ONGC has acquired 39232 Ground Line  Kilometer  of  2D  and  10391.91  Square  Kilometer  of  3D  seismic  data,  drilled  484 exploratory wells leading to 81 discoveries.  ONGC has set up a 0.066 Million Metric Ton Per Annum capacity skid-mounted, mini-refinery at Tatipaka, Andhra-Pradesh.
- (b):  The  Operators  in  the  Krishna-Godavari  Offshore  are  actively  doing  exploration  and development  activities  by  using  state  of  art  technology  in  seismic  data  acquisition  and processing and for exploratory and development drilling.

(c): The new exploration blocks under Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) and Discovered  Small  Field  Bid  Rounds  are  awarded  depending  upon  participation  of Exploration and Production companies and availability of un-monetized fields in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

(d):  ONGC  works  in  cooperation  with  the  local  community  and  administration  for exploration and development activities.

(e):  ONGC has not adopted any village  in  Andhra  Pradesh,  post  implementation  of  the provisions  of  CSR  under  Companies  Act,  2013.  However,  a  number  of  developmental activities  under  CSR have been implemented by ONGC in the villages near operational areas.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2184 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Companies  Rules
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2184 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 2nd DECEMBER, 2019 AGRAHAYANA 11, 1941 (SAKA)

## COMPANIES RULES QUESTION

## 2184.  SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHANA RAJU:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

कारपोरेट कार्य मंत्री

- (a) whether the  Government has  recently  issued  a  notification  to  amend  the Companies (cost records and audit) Rules, 2014;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether companies who have already filed their Cost Audit Report in form CRA-4 for the financial year 2018-19 before the publication of this notification are required to file their Cost Audit Report for the said financial year; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
- ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE                 (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR) AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS

वित्त एवं कॉपोरेट कार्य मंत्रालर् में राज्र् मंत्री

(श्री अनुराग स ंह ठाक ु र)

(a) to (d):- The Ministry vide Notification No. G.S.R. 792 (E) dated 15.10.2019 has amended the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014 through Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Amendment Rules, 2019 due to implementation of GST, other procedural changes and consequent revision of connected forms i.e. CRA-1 (Particulars relating to the items of costs to be included in the Books of Accounts) and  CRA-3  (Form  of  Cost  Audit  Report).  The  said  notification  is  placed  on  the Ministry's website www.mca.gov.in and is in public domain.

The companies who have already filed their Cost Audit Report in form CRA4 for the financial year 2018-19 with the Central Government before the publication of Notification No. G.S.R. 792 (E) dated 15.10.2019 are not required to file their Cost Audit  Report  again  for  the  said  financial  year  as  provided  in  clause  1(3)  of  the aforesaid notification.  The text of the clause 1(3) is reproduced below:

'the companies who have already filed their Cost Audit Report in form CRA-4 for the financial year 2018-19 with the Central Government before the publication of this notification are not required to file their Cost Audit Report for the said financial year.'.

The effective date of notification is 15.10.2019.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2183 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: SAIL
Ministry: STEEL
Asked by: Sushil Kumar Singh

## SAIL

2183.  SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH:

Will the Minister of STEEL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  there  is  a  mechanism  in  place  to  ensure  the  accountability  of  the finance department in each CPSE regarding the transferring/diverting the reserves, surplus,  cash  and  bank  funds  (which  are  also  part  of  the  balance  sheet  of  a company) from one bank to another;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  such  mechanism/guidelines/policies in each CPSE under the administrative control of the Government, separately;
- (c) the details of the transfer of such funds from one bank to another by SAIL and RINL separately since the year 2011 to till date, instance-wise;
- (d) the details of the instances in which the funds were transferred from a Public sector bank to Private sector bank by SAIL and RINL, instance-wise; and
- (e) the details of the mechanism used by the Government or the management of SAIL or RINL to check that some officials are not receiving quid pro quo from banks for diverting the money to their banks?

## ANSWER

## (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

## THE MINISTER OF STEEL

(a)&(b): Department  of Public Enterprises has issued detailed guidelines on investment  of  Surplus  Funds  by  Central  Public  Sector  Enterprises  (CPSEs)  vide Office Memorandum No. DPE/18(1)/2012-Fin dated 8.5.2017.  The guidelines, interalia,  provide  for  due  diligence  before  investment  decisions  including  in  matters  of deposits with scheduled commercial banks by the CPSEs. The guidelines, apart from laying down broad contours/principles of investment of surplus funds by CPSEs put certain obligations on the Board of the CPSEs on matters relating to investment of surplus  funds,  including  safety  of  fund,  risk  on  yield,  requirement  of  liquidity  and applicable laws.   Further, the DPE guidelines stipulate putting in place proper system of regular reporting in such matters to the Board.

(c)to(e):  Both  Steel  Authority  of  India  Limited  (SAIL)  and  Rashtriya  Ispat  Nigam Limited (RINL) have been dealing with Scheduled Commercial Banks listed in the 2 nd Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, for conducting financial transactions.   As informed by SAIL and RINL, investment of surplus funds, if any, is regulated within the framework of the DPE guidelines and policy/methodology approved by SAIL and RINL  Boards.    All  investment  decisions  are  audited  by  Internal  Audit,  Statutory Auditors as well as the Government Auditors.

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## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2183 FOR ANSWER ON 02/12/2019
Lok Sabha Question No. 2180 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Features of Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Andimuthu Raja, S. Ramalingam, V. Kalanidhi

- (a)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2180 ANSWERED ON 02.12.2019

## FEATURES OF SWADESH DARSHAN SCHEME

2180. SHRI A. RAJA:

SHRI RAMALINGAM S.:

DR. KALANIDHI VEERASWAMY:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- the salient features of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  sanctioned  funds  under  this scheme  to  develop  coastal  tourism  projects  in  Tamil  Nadu during the last three years and the current year and if so, the details thereof, district-wise;
- (c) the details of the target set and achievements made under this scheme in Tamil Nadu so far;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  received  some  more  proposals including coastal circuit, eco circuit, heritage circuit and rural circuit  from  Tamil  Nadu  Government  to  include  under  this scheme; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof, district-wise and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

- (a): The Ministry of Tourism under its scheme of Swadesh Darshan is  developing  thematic  circuits  in  the  country  in  a  planned  and prioritized manner with the following objectives:
-  Enhancing  the  tourist  attractiveness  in  a  sustainable manner  by  developing  world  class  infrastructure  in  the circuit /destinations;
-  Follow community based development and pro-poor tourism approach;
-  Position  tourism  as  a  major  engine  of  economic  growth and job creation;
-  Make full use of the potential and advantages in terms of available infrastructure, national culture and characteristic  strong  points  of  each  and  every  region throughout the country by development of theme based circuits.

(b) and (c): Ministry has sanctioned a project for Development of  Coastal  circuit:  Chennai-  Mamamallapuram  -  Rameshwaram  Manpadu  -  Kanyakumari  in  Tamil  Nadu  for  Rs.74.58  crore  during 2016-17.  The  project  is  under  implementation  and  is  expected  to provide better tourist facilities and experience to the visitors. (d) and (e): State Government of Tamil Nadu has not submitted any proposal under the coastal circuit, eco circuit, heritage circuit and rural circuit theme of the scheme.

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