opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 261 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Indians Saved from Punishment
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: MAHEISH GIRRI

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.261

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2018

## INDIANS SAVED FROM PUNISHMENT

261.    SHRI MAHEISH GIRRI:

Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:

- (a) the   number   of   Indian   people   who   have   been   saved   from   severe punishments in several countries since April 2014;
- (b) the country-wise data along with their punishment; and
- (c) the details of the total number of Indian people rescued from troubled areas since April 2014?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b)  As per information made available by our Missions and Posts abroad, 7,198 Indian nationals were saved from punishment as a result of efforts of Government of India from May 2014 - May 2018. The major countries   where   such   assistance   was   rendered   include   United   Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Maldives, Iran, Cote d'Ivoire, Saudi Arabia and Belarus.

- (c) As per information available, total number of indian nationals in distress repatriated by Missions/ Posts from May 2014 - May 2018 is 208186, including 16,821 rescued from the troubled areas in Ukraine, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 259 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Rollout of Wi-Fi Hotspots
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAM CHARITRA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 259 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## ROLLOUT OF WI-FI HOTSPOTS

259. SHRI RAM CHARITRA NISHAD:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that Indian telecom industry will rollout one million Wi-fi hotspots in the country by December, 2019;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether it is also true that Bharat Wi-fi would be a country wide common inter operable  platform  for  these  million  hotspots  which  would  be  owned  and  operated  by telecom service providers, internet service providers and virtual network operators; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d) Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) and Virtual Network Operators Association of India (VNOAI) have  submitted  a  joint  proposal  to  Department  of  Telecommunications  for  providing seamless  and  interoperable  Internet  and  Broadband  Services  through  Public  Wi-Fi Hotspots. These services are proposed to be provided through a common platform to be  owned  and  operated  by  them.  They  have  envisaged  roll  out  of  one  million  Wi-Fi Hotspots by September 2019 under this platform.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 257 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Black-Box Facility in Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: George Baker, ANIL SHIROLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 257 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2018

## BLACK - BOX FACILITY IN TRAINS

257.  SHRI GEORGE BAKER: SHRI ANIL SHIROLE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)    whether the Government is planning to have black box facility in all/some of the trains running across the country;
- (b)     if so, the details thereof and the time by which it is likely to be installed;
- (c) the details of the funds likely to be sanctioned for this along with the target likely to be set for this; and
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  also  planning  to  add  some  more facilities  including  smart  coaches  in  all  of  the  trains  running across the country and if so, the details thereof?

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

- (a) &  (b)  Yes,  Madam. Similar  to Black  Box,  Indian  Railway  has started installing Loco cab audio video recording system (LCAVR) / Crew Voice/Video Recording System (CVVRS) in Diesel and Electric locomotives. This  system  provides  invaluable data …..2/-

to  investigators  which  will  help  them  in  understanding  the sequence of events leading up to an accident and for identifying operational issues and human factors.

26  locomotives  (23  Diesel  and  3  Electric)  have  already  been installed with LCAVRs/CVVRSs.

- (c) 100.40  crore  has  been  sanctioned  in  Budget  2018-19  for acquisition of 3500 LCVRs/ CVVRS.
- (d)  One  smart  coach  has  been  turned  out  from  Modern  Coach Factory,    Raebareli  in  June,  2018.    Further,  such  coaches  for  5 rakes  are  being  planned  to  be  manufactured  at  Modern  Coach Factory, Raebareli.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 256 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: National Commission for Minorities
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: ASADUDDIN OWAISI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 256 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12-12-2018

## National Commission for Minorities

## 256.    SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether a review of implementation of central schemes by National Commission for Minorities  (NCM)  has  revealed  that  of  the  44  districts  with  significant  minority population in Uttar Pradesh, nearly 10 have not send any proposal till October this year under Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof along with names of such districts and reasons put forward by them;
- (c)  whether NCM is also reviewing the implementation of such schemes in other States also; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and steps taken or being taken by the Government to ensure that States follow the development schemes in minority concentrated districts in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  & (b) Under the scheme Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP), about 108 districts were covered.  The scheme was restructured this year as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram covering 308 districts including cluster of villages in 32 States/ UTs. In  light  of  restructuring  of  the  scheme,  the States/  UTs  have  been requested to send project proposals for consideration of the Empowered Committee of the Ministry headed by  Secretary,  Minority  Affairs.    As  far  as  state  of  Uttar  Pradesh  is  concerned,  the number of minority concentrated areas (MCAs) have been increased after restructuring of the scheme from 162 to 249.  National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has reported that project proposals from 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh were being formulated by the State as per the recently restructured scheme.

(c) & (d) The Ministry of Minority Affairs reviews its schemes and programmes from time to  time.  In  so  far  as  implementation  of  PMJVK  in  minority  concentration  districts  is concerned, there are sufficient provisions  under  the  scheme.  Projects  are  conceived, formulated,  considered  and  examined  by  the  Block  Level  Committee  (BLC),  District Level Committee (DLC) and State Level Committee (SLC).  The recommendations of SLC  are  sent  to  the  Empowered  Committee  in  the  Ministry  for  approval.    These committees monitor the implementation of the schemes in the states. Implementation of the scheme is also monitored by the National/ Regional/ State Level Conferences and meetings and also through visits by the officers of the Ministry.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 254 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Contractual Appointment of Judges
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †254

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 12 th  DECEMBER, 2018.

## Contractual Appointment of Judges

## †254. SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

## Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  formulating  any  scheme  to  appoint  judges  on contract to speed up the process of providing justice in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to take the services of retired judges in order to settle the pending cases;
- (d) if so, the details of the schemes prepared by the Government in this regard; and
- (e) the time by which the said schemes are likely to be implemented in all States ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

- (a) : No, Madam.
- (b) : Does not arise.

(c) to (e) : The appointment of retired Judges as sitting Judges of the High Courts and their allowances is provided under Article 224-A of the Constitution.  Article 128 mentions the provision of  attendance  of  retired  Judges  at  sittings  of  Supreme  Court  and  their allowances.  The process of appointment of retired Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts are prescribed in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for Appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for Appointment of Judges of the  High  Courts,  respectively.    Time  line  of  appointment  is  also  prescribed  in  the  MoP. The subject matter relating to filling up of vacancies in the District and Subordinate Courts falls  with  the  domain  of  the  High  Courts  and  the  State  Governments  concerned.    The Central Government has no role in appointment of Subordinate Judiciary.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 253 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Integrated Legal Division
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY, VINOD KUMAR BOIANAPALLI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE

## DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.253

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 12 TH DECEMBER, 2018 Integrated Legal Division

## 253. SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR :

## Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government seeks to create an integrated legal division;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reason therefor;
- (c) the  details  of  the  clubbing  of  Ministries  in  the  proposed  plan  and  the  reasons  for clubbing Ministries in the said manner; and
- (d) the  challenges  that  might  arise  in  the  implementation  of  the  proposed  plan  and  the steps being taken to remedy the same?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P P CHAUDHARY)

## (a) & (b):

A proposal has been prepared to set up Integrated Legal Divisions (ILD).  As part of the  ILD  Scheme,  appropriate  Officers  will  work  in  Ministries/Departments  and clusters  thereof,  to  facilitate  the  Ministries/Departments  on  the  issues  which  are generally referred by them to the Ministry of Law & Justice for legal opinion, vetting etc.

- (c) The  ILD  scheme  envisages  clustering  of  Ministries/Departments  based  upon  their geographical location and work load for deployment of ILS officers and legal support staff. The deployment will be as per the size and requirements of the Ministries/Departments  concerned  which  have  been  clustered  intomajor  and  minor groups - major groups being headed by an officer of the level of Joint Secretary and minor groups by an officer of the level of Director.
- (d) No major challenges are foreseen in this regard except routine administrative issues that can be taken care of adequately in due course on their merits.
Lok Sabha Question No. 250 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: VVPAT
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: ADVOCATE NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 250

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 12 th  DECEMBER, 2018

## VVPAT

250. ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  rising  incidence  of  failure  of  Voter  Verifiable  Paper  Audit Trail  (VVPAT)  have  become  a  major  area  of  concern  for  Election Commission of India (ECI);
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  reasons  for  such  rising failures in VVPAT's and if so, the details of remedial action taken by the Government in this direction; and
- (d) whether the Government would extend all possible assistance to the Election Commission to substantially increase its reserve of the machines?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P.P.CHAUDHARY)

(a)  and  (b):  No  Madam.  The  Election  Commission  of  India  (ECI)  has informed  that  incidents  of  VVPAT  failure  during  polls  have  shown  a marked decline.

(c): The ECI has informed that there is a constant endeavor on the part of the Commission (and the Technical Experts Committee (TEC), which comprises  of  independent  eminent  domain  experts),  to  improve  the functioning  of  various  sensors  for  optimal  performance,  based  on  field experience. Root cause Analysis of non-functioning noticed in EVM/VVPAT  during various stages of their preparation/operation, including  during  actual  polls,  have  been  carried  out  and  necessary modifications and improvements have been done to make the machines more  efficient  and  robust  across  different  environmental  and  weather conditions. Intensive trainings are being given to the election officials to prevent  VVPAT  failures  due  to  human  errors.  ln  addition,  adequate replacement  reserves  are  being  provided  to  replace  any  EVMs  and VVPATs that would go out of operation on the polling day.

(d): All requests from the ECI for additional requirements of VVPAT units are acceded to after following the procedure laid down in this regard.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 249 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Digital Villages
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: RAM TAHAL CHOUDHARY, VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 249

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 12.12.2018

## DIGITAL  VILLAGE

## 249       SHRI RAM  TAHAL  CHOUDHARY; SHRI VIJAY KUAMR HANSDAK:

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

- (a) the number and details of villages in Jharkhand made digital at present, district-wise;
- (b) the funds allocated for Jharkhand so far to digitise the said villages along with yearwise details in this regard for the last three years;
- (c) the  details  of  various  facilities  being  provided  in  the  said  digital  villages  presently; and
- (d) the  reaction  of  the  Government  to  the  impact  on  the  development  of  villages  as  a result of the facilities provided?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR  ELECTRONICS AND   INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI S.S. AHLUWALIA)

- (a):   Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on 31 st October 2018 has launched the 'Digital Village Pilot Project' under which 700 Gram Panchayats (GPs) with atleast  1 Gram Panchayat per District per State/UT including 24 Gram Panchayats one each from each of the 24 districts in Jharkhand are being covered.
- (b):   Rs. 20 Crores has been released to the implementing agency during the year towards implementation of the project out of a budget allocation of Rs. 69.965 Cr from Ministry of Electronics  &  Information  Technology  with  a  total  project  outlay  Rs.  98.324  Crores  over duration of 3 years for implementation.
- (c)  and  (d):  The project covers the following services - Digital Health Services (Tele-Health & Tele-Veterinary consultation), Education Service, Financial Services, Skill Development, Solar panel powered street lights including Government to Citizens Services (G2C), Business to Citizen (B2C) Services. The implementation of the pilot project is being closely monitored for impacting the development of villages.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 247 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Mobile Train Radio Communication
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: ANURAG SINGH THAKUR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.247 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2018

## MOBILE TRAIN RADIO COMMUNICATION

247.  SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
2. (a)  the  number  of  trains  that  use  Mobile  Train  Radio  Communication (MTRC) system on its complete routes;
3. (b) the details of the number of trains and routes that are yet to avail the MTRC system completely and/or partially; and
4. (c)  the  time  by  which  all  major  train  routes  are  going  to  use  the  MTRC system?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a): 25 nos. of trains are using Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) on its complete routes.

- (b) & (c): Long Term Evolution (LTE) based Telecommunication System is being  planned  for  MTRC  System  over  Indian  Railways  to  cover  all  the trains. Accordingly, steps have been taken for Pan India allocation of 10 MHz frequency spectrum in 700 MHz frequency band to Indian Railways.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 239 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Meeting with Telecom Operators
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: PONNUSAMY VENUGOPAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 239 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## MEETING WITH TELECOM OPERATORS

## 239. DR. P. VENUGOPAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Government  held  discussions  with  telecom  operators  on worsening call drop situation in the month of November, 2018 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is also true that a similar meeting was held in the month of January, 2018 on the same issue and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether it is also true that the operators had informed the Government that they will be investing  more  than  Rs.  74,000  crore  in  financial  year  2019  on  networks  including  telecom towers and base transreceiver station; and
- (d) if so, the steps taken by the private operators in this regard ?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT)  has  been  interacting  with  Telecom  Service Providers (TSPs) and reviewing the progress of their action-plans for addressing call drops in their mobile networks on a continuous basis. DoT has recently interacted with concerned TSPs in October, 2018 to lay emphasis on developing technological solutions by TSPs to monitor & address call drops in their mobile networks.
- (b) Yes, DoT has earlier interacted with TSPs in January, 2018 for an interactive review on call-drop  issue  and  action-plans  thereof.  TSPs  were  asked  to  take  effective  steps  to  resolve problems of call-drops in a time-bound manner.
- (c) & (d) TSPs have informed DoT that they have planned to invest more than Rupees 74,000/- Crore for telecom networks during the financial year 2018-19. TSPs have been making substantial  investments  in  telecom  networks.  As  a  result  thereof,  about  9.74  lakh  additional Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) for 2G/3G/4G-LTE services have been added by TSPs since July, 2015 across the country. The number of BTS installed have been significantly increased from about 7.94 lakh in March 2014 to about 20.07 lakh in November 2018.

TSPs have also informed DoT that they have been continuously augmenting the mobile networks across the country to keep-up with increasing usage of mobile networks both for voice & data services. Further, they have started implementing latest technical solutions & tool-sets such as Geo-location Analysis, Self Organising Networks (S.O.N.), Remote Electrical Antenna Tilt (RET) etc. for monitoring and addressing the identified issues in near real-time.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 238 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Allotment of 4G Spectrum
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 238 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## ALLOTMENT OF 4G SPECTRUM

## 238. SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  true  that  the  Government  is  considering  to  allot  4G  spectrum  to BSNL and MTNL;
- (b) whether it is also true that BSNL has already submitted a detailed project report to the Government seeking 4G spectrum allocation, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether it is also true that survival of both BSNL and MTNL without 4G spectrum is tough;
- (d) whether  it  is  also  true  that  the  Government  is  working  on  a  strategy  to  settle issues that have emerged due to some decisions of the apex court; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) Proposals for allotment of spectrum for providing 4G services by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) with government support have been received in Department of Telecommunications (DoT). BSNL  has  already  started  4G  services  in  a  few  Licensed  Service  Areas  (LSAs). However, keeping in view of the data driven telecom scenario where around 85% of the data usage is through 4G services, BSNL and MTNL  have submitted proposal to allot spectrum for providing  4G services to remain competitive in the Telecom market.

- (d) & (e) DoT decides the issues keeping in view the relevant criteria in this regard, including the decision of the Apex Court.

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