opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 1878 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: ITIR Hyderabad
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Kotha Prabhakar  Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1878

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 03.07.2019

## ITIR HYDERABAD

## 1878.      SHRI  KOTHA PRABHAKAR REDDY:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  the  development  of  the  Information  Technology  Investment  Region  (ITIR)  in Hyderabad was sanctioned six years ago to attract investments in IT/ITES sector and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has received any request from the State Government with regard to release of funds for the said project  and if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereon; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  put  on  hold  the  aforesaid  project  and  if  so,  the  details thereof  including  the  revised  plan,  if  any,  proposed  by  the  Government  in  this  regard along with the reasons therefore?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONCIS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a):        Yes,  Sir.  Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (MeitY),  Government  of India vide notification dated 13.11.2013 had notified Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) in Hyderabad at a project cost of Rs. 3275 crore. The developmental activities were to be carried out with financial assistance from various concerned Ministries of Government of India.
- (b) and (c):   No, Sir. The progress and issues in implementation of the ITIR in Hyderabad was reviewed during the meeting held at MeitY on 11.01.2017 with representatives from concerned Ministries  viz;  Ministry  of  Railways,  Ministry  of  Road,  Transport  &  Highways  and  IT  (E&C) Department, Government of Telangana wherein Government of Telangana was asked to submit requisite information to the concerned Ministries with intimation to Ministry of Electronics and Information  Technology.  Response  from  Government  of  Telangana    has  not  been  received  till date.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1876 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Web Server for Local Languages
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Ramesh Chander Kaushik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1876

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 03.07.2019

## WEB SERVER FOR LOCAL LANGUAGES

## 1876 SHRI RAMESH  CHANDER KAUSHIK:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  &  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state: -

- (a) whether the Government is considering to develop  web server for local languages;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has prepared any action plan to provide  technical knowledge to human resources of rural  and backward  areas  in all States including Haryana; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) and (b):  There is no plan to develop web servers for local languages as the current web servers support all the 22 recognized languages.

- (c):  Yes, Sir.

(d):   Government of India has approved a scheme titled Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) to usher in digital literacy in rural India by covering 6 crore rural households (one  person  per  household)  by  31.03.2020.  To  ensure  equitable  geographical  reach,  each  of  the 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats across the country are registering an average of 200-300 candidates.

Special  focus  of  the  said  scheme  is  on  training  the  beneficiaries  on  use  of  Electronic  Payment System.  The  outcome  measurement  criteria  include  undertaking  at  least  5  electronic  payments transactions by each beneficiary using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) (including Bharat Interface for  Money  (BHIM)  app),  Unstructured  Supplementary  Service  Data  (USSD),  Point  of  Sale  (PoS), Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), Cards, Internet Banking.

The outlay of the above scheme is Rs. 2,351.38 crore. It is being implemented as a Central Sector Scheme by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology through the implementing agency namely  CSC  e-Governance  Services  India  Limited,  with  active  collaboration  of  all  the  State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.

90 State level workshops and 894 district level awareness workshops for the training centres have been conducted so far. As on 28 th June 2019, 2.30 crore candidates have been enrolled, out of which training  has  been  imparted  to  2.21  crore  candidates,  and  1.34  crore  candidates  have  been  certified under the PMGDISHA Scheme.
Lok Sabha Question No. 1872 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Centre for Research on Artificial Intelligence
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Nama Nageswara Rao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1872

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 03.07.2019

## CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGNECE

## 1872   : SHRI  NAMA NAGESWARA RAO:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: -

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  set  up  centre  of  excellence  for  research  on artificial intelligence in the country and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (b) whether the said agency will completely be funded by the Government and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) :  Under  the  National  Strategy  on  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI),  NITI  Aayog  has recommended  a two-tier integrated approach to incentivise basic and applied research, with setting up of  :

-  Centers  of  Research  Excellence  in  Artificial  Intelligence  (COREs)  to  specialise  in creating  new  knowledge  through  basic  research  and  source  fundamental  knowledge  / technologies  that  will  be  needed  to  keep  India  prepared  for  the  next  generation  of technologies. COREs will be housed in interested academic institutes of repute through 'Expression of Interest'.
-  International Centre for Transformational AI (ICTAIs), industry-led initiatives responsible  for  applied  research  to  deliver  commercial  applications  /  technologies  by working  with  Centres  of  Research  Excellence  in  AI,  government  bodies,  industry,  and academic  institutions.  ICTAIs  would  be  set  up  in  collaboration  with  industry  players (PPP) and will be be overseen by entity ('ICTAI Inc'), set up by Task Force.

(b) :  For  COREs,  it  is  proposed  that  the  initial  funding  would  be  provided  by  the Government on a grant basis, with commitment to fund for the first 5 years, based on regular  review  of  progress  made  against  benchmarks  .For  ICTAIs,  it  is  proposed  the government would provide initial seed funding. However, guidelines for funding would be  finalized  by  the  Taskforce.  Detailed  guidelines  for  CORE  and  ICTAI  are  being formulated.

- ******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1871 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Regulation of e-Commerce
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Feroze Varun Gandhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1871

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 3 RD  JULY, 2019.

## REGULATION OF e-COMMERCE

## 1871.  SHRI FEROZE VARUN GANDHI:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether  any  measures  are  being    implemented  or  in  the  process  of  being implemented for the regulation of  e-commerce in the country and if  so,  the details thereof;
- (b) whether e-commerce giants require special regulations to prevent predatory pricing and monopolising of market share and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the time by which the draft e-commerce policy is likely to be put in place along with the details of the two rounds of stakeholder consultations done so far?

## ANSWER वाणिज् य एवं उद्योग मंत्री (श्री पीयूष गोयल) THE MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI  PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a): Yes Sir. Owing to the cross cutting nature of e-Commerce, different laws and regulations across sectors govern the present e-Commerce activities, some of which are; Income Tax Act, 1961, Consumer Protection Act, 1986, Information Technology Act, 2000, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2000, Payment And Settlement Systems Act 2007, Companies Act, 2013 and laws related to Goods and Services Tax.
- (b): Yes  Sir.  Competition  Act,  2002,  lays  down  the  framework  for  regulating predatory pricing and anti-competitive agreements, including vertical restraints. Conduct of e-Commerce players enjoying a position of dominance in the relevant market,  and proposed  merger  or amalgamation  of eCommerce  firms,  whether  in  India  or  off-shore,    having  an  impact  on competition in India is subject to the scrutiny under this Act.
- (c): A draft National e-Commerce policy has been prepared and placed in public domain. Comments from various stakeholders (companies, Industry associations, think tanks, foreign governments) have been received. Meetings have been held under the chairmanship of Minister for Commerce & Industry with  industry  stakeholders,  e-Commerce  companies,  associations  of  kirana stores, traders and retailers to discuss matters relating to e-commerce. They have  been  asked  for  their  inputs/  suggestions  on  the  draft  e-Commerce Policy.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1870 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Implementation of Bharat Net Project
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Anil Firojiya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1870 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  JULY, 2019

## IMPLEMENTATION OF BHARAT NET PROJECT

## †1870. SHRI ANIL FIROJIYA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  Madhya  Pradesh  State  Electronic  Development  Corporation  Limited  has  the internal capacity for implementation of Bharat Net Project;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the time by which the project report is likely to be approved; and
- (d) the time by which funds are likely to be provided in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (d) BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity  to  all  Gram  Panchayats  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country,  including  Madhya Pradesh.  The  Phase-I  of  the  project  in  Madhya  Pradesh  has  been  assigned  to  Bharat  Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for implementation.

For  expediting  the  implementation  of  the  BharatNet  project,  the  Union  Cabinet  on 19.07.2017  approved  a  modified  strategy  for  implementing  BharatNet.  According  to  the approved  modified  strategy,  the  remaining  1,50,000  (approx.)  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  in  the country are to be implemented in Phase-II through three models of implementation; viz. State-led model, Private Sector, Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) model.

As  approved  by  the  Telecom  Commission  (now  known  as  Digital  Communications Commission),  the  Phase-II  of  the  project  is  being  implemented  through  BSNL  in  Madhya Pradesh.

************
Lok Sabha Question No. 1866 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Coal Mining
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Jayadev Galla

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1866 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.07.2019

## Coal Mining

## 1866. SHRI JAYADEV GALLA:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  Andhra  Pradesh  Mineral  Development  Corporation  as  coal  mining  company  has been allocated designated coal areas of West Godavari and Krishna District;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether various stakeholders have been consulted in this regard and if so, the details and the outcome thereof;
- (d) the reaction of the Government on the views expressed by various stakeholders; and
- (e) whether the Ministry propose to reconsider the decision and if so, the details and the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

- (a) & (b): No, sir.
- (c) to (e): Ministry of Coal had received a proposal from Government of Andhra Pradesh regarding  deletion  of  area  of  West  Godavari  and  Krishna  District  which  have  coal resources from M/s Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and designate the same in favour of Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation as the Coal Mining Company. After  consulting  all  stake  holders,  the  Ministry  has  not  agreed  to  the  proposal  of Government of Andhra Pradesh. However the State Government was informed that it can get coal  linkages  from  Government  of  India  as  per  New  Coal  Distribution  Policy  and  Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation can apply for the coal blocks under the provisions of Coal  Mines  (Special  Provisions)  Act,  2015  and  the  rules  made  thereunder.  As  informed  by SCCL, the reserves in these blocks are indicated/ inferred category.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1864 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Digital Connectivity
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1864

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 03.07.2019

## DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY

## 1864:      SHRIMATI RANJAN BEN DHANANJAY BHATT:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  &  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state: -

- (a) whether the Government proposes to provide digital connectivity to every State and district under Digital India Programmes;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the step taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to provide digital connectivity to Vadodara district of Gujarat;
- (d) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard and the time by which the said district is likely to be digitally connected; and
- (e) In not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) and (b): To  accelerate  telecom  connectivity  in  rural  and  remote  areas  across  the country, following projects are being implemented by the Government:

- (i)    BharatNet is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to  all  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country.  Under  this  project, broadband infrastructure is being established which will be accessible on  nondiscriminatory  basis,  to  provide  affordable  broadband  services  in  rural  areas.  As  on 13.06.2019, a total of 1,28,870 GPs have been connected by laying 3,37,515 km OFC. A total of 1,20,341 GPs have been made service ready
- (ii)    Under  Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE)  affected  areas  Phase-II  project,  Government  has approved installation of 3465 mobile towers for providing mobile connectivity. Under Phase-I of LWE, mobile towers have been set up at 2343 locations
- (iii)    A  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  for  mobile  connectivity  in  the  North Eastern Region to provide mobile coverage in uncovered villages, along with National Highways and to strengthen transmission network
- (iv)      Laying  of  submarine  optical  fibre  cable  between  Chennai  and  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands for providing connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- (v)   Satellite Bandwidth Augmentation upto 4 Gbps for Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- (vi)   Mobile connectivity to cover uncovered villages and along National Highway (NH 223) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- (vii)  Augmentation  of  Satellite  bandwidth  from  318  Mbps  to  1.71  Gbps  for  Lakshadweep Islands

(c ) to (e ): In Vadodara district of Gujarat, as on 13 th June 2019, out of 524 Gram Panchayats covered under BharatNet project, 388 GPs have been connected by OFC and 304 GPs have been made service ready.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1862 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Bringing Down Litigation in Courts
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Gowdar Mallikarjunappa Siddeshwara

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY Of LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

## Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1862 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.07.2019

## Bringing Down Litigation in Courts

1862. SHRI G.M. SIDDESHWAR:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE, be pleased to state: (a)  whether  Government  proposes  to  enhance  the  financial  threshold  of  cases  to bring down litigations in courts;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c)  whether an analysis carried out by the Government last year had found that 46 per  cent  of  all  litigations  across  courts  were  cases  or  appeals  filed  by  Central  or  State Government; and

(d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to bring down the pending Government litigation including Central and State Governments?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (d) Information is being collected and will be laid on the Table of the House.

## *********
Lok Sabha Question No. 1861 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Survey of Abu Road and Ambaji Road Rail Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Devji Mansingram Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1861 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.07.2019

## SURVEY OF ABU ROAD AND AMBAJI ROAD RAIL LINE

†1861.  SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether approval has been given to connect Abu Road and Ambaji Road with a railway line in the Railway Budget of 2017 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the total length of this railway line and the estimated cost of this project;
- (c) whether any time limit has been fixed to start the work from survey to construction of the said railway line; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a)  to  (d):  Taranga  Hill-Abu  Road  via  Ambaji  new  line  project  has  been included  in  the  Budget  2017-18  subject  to  requisite  approvals.  Final Location  Survey  (FLS)  has  been  taken  up.  After  this,  further  decision shall be taken up.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1858 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Violation of Data by Social Media Websites
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Sumedhanand Saraswati

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1858

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 03.07.2019

## VIOLATION OF DATA BY SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES

## 1858:     SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARSWATI:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any case of misuse of data by private social media websites functioning in India has come to the notice of the Government;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government finds the existing cyber laws to ensure the privacy of data  in India adequate;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government has any plan to strengthen these laws; and
- (f) if so, the details of the action plan in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) and (b):  Yes, Sir. Few instances of data breaches by private social media websites were reported in the media. Government took notice of reports about leakage of data by Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, and in responses to notices sent to them, Facebook conveyed that there had been unauthorised data leakage by Cambridge Analyitica. However, since the reply given  by  Cambridge  Analyitica  was  not  adequately  convincing,  CBI  has  been  asked  to investigate this matter with regard to possible misuse by Cambridge Analytica.

In  addition,  one  incident  of  breach  of  personal  data  of  Indian  users  from  a  social  media company was reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). As per information available external actors exploited vulnerability in the form of software bugs impacting a feature provided for users on a social media platform. This allowed unauthorised access to users' account and information.  The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued advisories to users regarding best practices to be followed for protection of account information while using Social Media.

(c)  to  (f):    Information  Technology  Act,  2000  has  provisions  for  protection  of  sensitive personal data, section 43, section 43A and section 72A provides for privacy and security of data in digital form. Further, to strengthen the protection of personal data & Recognizing the importance  of  data  protection  and  keeping  personal  data  of  citizen  secure  and  protected, Government  is considering bringing data protection legislation in the country. The Government constituted a committee of expert on data protection, chaired by Justice (Retd) B.N. Srikrishna, Supreme Court of India to study various issues relating to data protection and come out with Data Protection Bill. The said committee has brought out a draft Personal

Data  Protection  Bill  (PDPB)  on  which  consultations  have  been  conducted  and  the  bill  is intended to be placed in parliament soon.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1857 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Transportation of Mortal Remains of Indians from Abroad
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Kunhalikutty P.K.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1857 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.07.2019

## TRANSPORTATION OF MORTAL REMAINS OF INDIANS FROM ABROAD

1857.     SHRI P .K. KUNHALIKUTTY:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken steps for bringing the mortal remains of Indians from abroad to their hometown in India; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## [SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) & (b) Yes, the Government through its Missions/ Posts abroad provides all assistance for  bringing the mortal remains of Indians from abroad to their hometowns in India.

Our Missions/Posts remain in constant touch with the next of kin of the deceased Indian nationals to facilitate   the  transportation   or   local burial/ cremation of the mortal remains in accordance with the wishes of the family of the deceased and local regulations. Our Missions/ Posts also liaise with the foreign officials concerned to expedite procedures for the repatriation of mortal remains to India and extend all possible assistance to the family of the deceased.

Financial   support   to   families   of   deceased   Indian   nationals   for airlifting of mortal remains is made available by Indian Missions/ Posts abroad in  deserving cases on a means tested basis under the Indian

Community Welfare Fund (ICWF).

As per information available with the Ministry, mortal remains of 14,312 Indian nationals  from  125  countries have been brought back to India since 2016 till May 31, 2019.

***