opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 540 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: New Station at Mattannor
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Kumbakudi Sudhakaran

- (a) No, Sir.
- (b) No, Sir
- (c) Does not arise.
- (d) No such proposal received as yet.

*****

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 540 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## NEW STATION AT MATTANNOR

## 540.   SHRI KUMBAKUDI SUDHAKARAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has received any request to sanction the construction of a railway station at Mattannor near Kannur International Airport  for  the  convenience  of  passengers  travelling  by means of public transport, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has plans to construct a railway station at the said location;
- (c)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  funds  allocated  and  timeline  for implementation of this project; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
Lok Sabha Question No. 539 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Freight Rates
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Nusrat Jahan Ruhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.539 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## FREIGHT RATES

539.  SHRIMATI NUSRAT JAHAN RUHI:
2. (a) thereof ;
3. (b) and
4. (c)

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: whether the Railways' freight rates are higher than other modes of  transport  for  several  commodities  and  if  so,  the  details whether the Railways freight  traffic  has  massively  declined  in last 50 years and if so, the details thereof and reasons therefor; the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 539 BY SHRIMATI NUSRAT JAHAN RUHI TO BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.11.2019  REGARDING  FREIGHT RATES (a) Indian Railways' freight rates are explicitly notified in the form of a firm  structure,  based  on  the  classification  of  commodities  transported, social  impact  of  essential  commodities  and  its  lead  etc.  However,  the tariff structure prevalent on other modes of transports such as roadways, are  not  in  public  domain.  Therefore  any  comparison  with  the  Railway freight tariff structure shall not be accurate. (b) No,  Sir.  Indian  Railways'  freight  business  has  increased  by  seven times approximately in the last fifty years i.e. from 167.39 million tonnes in 1970-71 to 1159.55 million tonnes in 2017-18. (c)    A number of steps have been taken by Indian Railways to increase its  freight  business.  Major  steps  include  adoption  of  rake  load  concept, containerization, designing new wagons with higher payload, Long Term Tariff Contract Policy, Own Your Wagon Scheme, Private Freight Terminal Policy and Freight Incentive Schemes.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 537 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: PIL for Medical Termination of Pregnancy
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Meenakashi Lekhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY Of LAW AND JUSTICE

## DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

## Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 537

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## PIL for Medical Termination of Pregnancy

537. SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI  LEKHI: Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE, be pleased to state: (a) the number of PILs filed in the Supreme Court for medical termination of pregnancy

- for the last ten years;
- (b)  the  number  of  PILs  filed  in  the  State  High  Courts  for  medical  termination  of pregnancy during the said period; and
- (c) the time taken to dispose such PILs?

## ANSWER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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

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

*********
Lok Sabha Question No. 536 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Visa Processing Offices
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Abdul Khaleque

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MNISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.536 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## VISA PROCESSING OFFICES

## 536.    SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Visa Processing Offices in Guwahati; and
- (b) Whether the Government will take necessary action to open such offices of neighboring countries; and
- (c) If so, the details in this regard?

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

- (a) Guwahati hosts the Assistant High Commission of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and Consulate General of the Kingdom of Bhutan, which process visas.
- (b) & (c) As per established diplomatic practice, proposal to set up a Consulate in any part of India has to be mooted by the concerned foreign government to the Government of India.

***
Lok Sabha Question No. 535 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Utilisation of Nuclear Energy
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Vishnu Dayal Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 535

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## UTILISATION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

535. SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any agency/institution is  being set  up to  ensure  better  utilization  of nuclear energy;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the targets set for generation / utilization of power from nuclear energy under the schemes;
- (c) whether the said  targets  have  been  achieved  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof; and
- (d) the details of the future action plan for nuclear energy?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  PERSONNEL,  PUBLIC  GRIEVANCES  & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR.JITENDRA SINGH):

- (a) No, Sir.  Two Public Sector Enterprises of the Department of Atomic Energy, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) are already in place for generation of power from nuclear energy.
- (b) The  generation  targets  are  set  on  an  annual  basis,  as  a  part  of  the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NPCIL and DAE. NPCIL's target achieved for the year 2018-19 is 37812.81 Million Units (MU).  NPCIL's target set for generation in the current year 2019-20 is 39600 (MU).
- (c) The  generation  in  the  current  year  2019-20  upto  October  2019  has  been 28339 Million Units.

- (d) Seven  (7)  reactor  units  with  5300  MW  capacity  including  Prototype  Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)  by  BHAVINI  are  under  construction.  Ground preparations are underway for four (4) more units having 3400 MW capacity. Additionally,  the  Government  has  accorded  administrative  approval  and financial sanction of ten (10) indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW each to be set up in fleet mode. On their progressive completion by 2031, the present installed nuclear power capacity of 6780 MW is  expected  to  reach  22480  MW.  More  reactors,  based  on  both  indigenous technologies and with foreign cooperation are planned in future.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 534 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Automatic Ticket Vending Machines
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Hemant Patil, Shrirang Appa Barne, Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, DNV Senthilkumar. S.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.534

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## AUTOMATIC TICKET VENDING MACHINES

## 534.  SHRI HEMANT SRIRAM PATIL:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI VINAYAK RAUT:

DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR S:

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

- (a) whether the Government has launched 'One-touch Automatic Ticket Vending  Machines'  in  Mumbai  Suburban  Network,  if  so,  the  details thereof along with the salient features and objectives;
- (b) if so, the total number of ATVMs that have been installed till now;
- (c)  whether  the  smart  cards  can  be  used  to  buy  unreserved  tickets  to anywhere across India and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of financial allocation made for the said purpose;
- (e) the  details  of  the  benefits  availed  to  the  passengers  from  the  said facility; and
- (f) the time by which this facility would be implemented all over India?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) & (b) : Yes, Sir. One-touch ticketing facility through Automatic Ticket Vending  Machines  (ATVMs)  has  been  launched  in  486  ATVMs  over Western  Railway  and  92  ATVMs  over  Central  Railway  in  Mumbai Suburban Railway Network.  The salient features and objectives of these ….2/-

'one-touch ATVMs' are as follows:

- i) Selection of destination station can be done with one touch.
2. ii) One can select station within the distance slab.
3. iii) Issue of tickets to top 20 destination stations can be done.
4. iv) Platform tickets can also be issued with single touch.
- v) One  screen  can  be  used  for  selecting  single  and  return  journey tickets.
6. vi) The  objective  is  to  reduce  waiting  time  and  transaction  time  of passengers and to avoid standing in long queues.

(c):  Yes,  Sir.  In  regular  ATVMs,  unreserved  tickets  for  all  stations  over Indian  Railways for  which  route  is  defined  in  UTS  can  be  bought  using the smart card. However, in one-touch ATVMs, unreserved tickets can be bought only for 20 select destination stations.

(d): An outlay of ₹ 26.5 Cr. has been provided during 2019-20 under the Project 'Extension of Automatic Ticket Vending Machines' over all Zonal Railways.

(e): The passenger can get the ticket within 6 seconds. This has reduced the transaction time and waiting time of passengers.

(f):  Application  is  already  developed for all zonal railways and software changes have to be enabled to make this facility functional.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 533 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Gauge Conversion between ShapurSaradiya Railway Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Rameshbhai Lavjibhai Dhaduk

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 533

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## GAUGE CONVERSION BETWEEN SHAPUR-SARADIYA RAILWAY LINE

## †533.     SHRI RAMESHBHAI LAVJIBHAI DHADUK:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that the metre gauge railway line between  Shapur-Saradiya  in  the  State  of  Gujarat  is  in  dilapidated condition for  years  and  whether  the  Government has taken action for gauge conversion of this railway line;
- (b)  if  so,  whether  no  concrete action is being taken in this regard, so far;
- (c)  if  so,  the  time  by  which  the  gauge  conversion  work  of  ShapurSaradiya railway line is likely to be completed;
- (d)  whether  a  railway  line  in  Upleta  located  in  Saurashtra  area  of Gujarat State was converted into a broad gauge in the year 2012 and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether  prior  to  gauge  conversion  three  passenger  trains  were running earlier while after gauge conversion only one passenger train is running on this line; and
- (f)  if  so,  the  time  by  which  the  passenger  train  between  PorbandarUpleta-Mumbai is likely to be introduced by the Government?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (f):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.533  BY  SHRI  RAMESHBHAI  LAVJIBHAI DHADUK TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 20.11.2019 REGARDING GAUGE CONVERSION BETWEEN SHAPUR-SARADIYA RAILWAY LINE

(a)  to  (c)  :  Gauge  conversion  of  Shahpur-Saradiya  (47.00  km)  was sanctioned  in  2011-12  as  a  material  modification  to  Rajkot-Veraval gauge conversion project, but could not be taken forward for execution based  on  negligible  traffic  on  this  section  and  huge  throwforward  of ongoing projects.

(d):  Yes,  Sir.  Upleta  Railway  station  is  on  Wansjalia-Jetalsar  section, which has already been converted into Broad gauge and commissioned in February, 2011.

(e)  and  (f):  introduction  of  trains  is  a  continuous  process  over  Indian Railways and is done keeping in view the traffic demand, operational feasibility, resources availability, competing demands, etc.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 531 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Proposed Rail Coach Factory at Kanjikode, Palakkad
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Behanan Benny, Ramya  Haridas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.531 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

PROPOSED RAIL COACH FACTORY AT KANJIKODE, PALAKKAD

531.  SHRI BENNY BEHANAN: MS. RAMYA HARIDAS:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Railways is going ahead/approved the proposed coach factory at Kanjikode, Palakkad in Kerala;
- (b) if  so,  the  reasons  therefor  and  the  time  by  which  it  is  likely  to  be completed;  and
- (c) the details of ongoing/new projects in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the next three years?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 531 BY SHRI BENNY BEHANAN AND MS. RAMYA HARIDAS TO BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.11.2019  REGARDING  PROPOSED  RAIL COACH FACTORY AT KANJIKODE, PALAKKAD

- (a) & (b) A pre-requisite to setting up Railway coach factory is a sustained demand  of  coaches  in  the  future.  The  requirement  of  coaches  vis-à-vis available manufacturing capacity has been reviewed recently and requirement of  main  line  coaches  in  near  future  does  not  justify  immediately  initiating construction of a new coach factory.
- (c) Details of projects in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are submitted as follow:
-  29  projects  related  to  Workshop  and  Production  Unit,  at  a  cost  of ` 2317 cr (falling in the State of Kerala & Tamil Nadu), are at different stages of execution.
-  11 projects of New line, covering a length of 1017 Kms at a cost of ` 14905 cr (falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala & Tamil Nadu), are at different stages of planning/sanction/execution.
-  05 projects of Gauge conversion, covering a length of 1056.68 Kms at a cost of ` 4293.75 cr (falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala & Tamil Nadu), are at different stages of planning/sanction/execution.
-  15  projects  of  Doubling,  covering  a  length  of  899  Kms  at  a  cost  of ` 10697 cr (falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala & Tamil Nadu), are at different stages of planning/sanction/execution.
-  13 projects of Railway Electrification, covering a length of 1690 Kms at a cost of ` 1824 cr (falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala & Tamil Nadu), are at different stages of execution.
-  09 projects of Signaling and Telecommunication, at a cost of ` 302 cr (falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Karela  &  Tamil  Nadu),  are  at different stages of execution.

Project - wise details of ongoing projects including expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in  >Minstry  of  Railways  >  Railway  Board  >  About Indian Railways >Railway Board Directors >Finance(Budget).

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 529 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Privatisation of Ordnance Factories
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: S. Jagathrakshakan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.529

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 th  November, 2019

## PRIVATISATION OF ORDNANCE FACTORIES

## 529. SHRI S. JAGATHRAKSHAKAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken decision to privatise Ordnance Factories in the country including OCM, HVF, Engine Factory at Avadi, Gun Factory, etc. at Tiruchi;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  thought  of  the  future  of  thousands  of  workers working in those factories, who are protesting for more than a month;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and whether the Government is reconsidering its policy of privatizing those sensitive factories in view of military strategy; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

रक्षा राज्य मंत्री

( श्री श्रीपाद नाईक )

(a) to (e):  At present, there is no proposal to privatize ordnance factories.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 528 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: BHIM Application
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Rajeshbhai Naranbhai Chudasama

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION Dy. 528

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## BHIM APPLICATION

## 528     SHRI  RAJESHBHAI  CHUDASAMA:

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

- (a) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  for    encouragement  of  the  use  of  State-run BHIM application for digital payment system;
- (b) whether  Government  is  planning  to  make  the  use  of  BHIM-UPI  mandatory  for  all  digital payment platforms;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a):   Government of India has taken several steps to promote the BHIM. The details are as below:
- a. DigiVaarta was launched in Delhi on 28 th September, 2018, with the express intention of spreading  awareness  on  Digital  Payments,  and  also  to  spread  popularity  of  BHIM's  QR code-based merchant payment mode with merchants and traders at large.
- b. A  campaign  was  undertaken  in  100  smart  cities  in  coordination  with  9  Ministries/ Departments for promotion of digital payment including BHIM.
- c. An awareness  campaign  was  organized  in  the  SMART  Cities  of  North  East  to  promote digital payments.
- d. Workshops to promote BHIM along with other digital payment instruments were arranged at the capital cities in North East by National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT).
- e. Advisories are issued to all the Government Ministries and Departments for the following:
- i. To enable online payment systems with BHIM/UPI, BHIM QR code and Rupay Card.
- ii. To enable BHIM QR in their concerned physical payment receipt counters.
- iii.  Utilities  (Electricity/Water/Gas/Telecom/DTH)  to  on-board  on  Bharat  Bill  Payment System (BBPS)   and printing of BHIM QR code   on all utility bills.
- f. Government  has  waived  off  Merchant  Discount Rate  (MDR)  applicable  on Debit Card/BHIM UPI/Aadhaar-Pay transactions less than or equal to Rs. 2000/- in value for a period of two years with effect from 1 st January, 2018.

(b)  and  (c):      No,  Sir.    The Government  is  encouraging  the  departments  to  promote  Digital Payments  to  make  it  more  convenient  for  the  citizens.  Departments  have  been  requested  to improve payment acceptance infrastructure and to enable the citizens to pay by a variety of digital modes such as  Internet  banking, mobile banking,  and mobile applications etc. including use of BHIM-UPI.

- (d):  Does not arise.
- ********
Lok Sabha Question No. 527 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Constellation of Remote Sensing Satellites
Ministry: SPACE
Asked by: P.P. Chaudhary, Pratima Bhoumik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## DEPARTMENT OF SPACE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.527

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019

CONSTELLATION OF REMOTE SENSING SATELLITES

527. SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY: MS. PRATIMA BHOUMIK:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any progress has been made in technical discussions to  realize  a  virtual  constellation  of  remote  sensing  satellites provided by space agencies as part of the BRICS Programme;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the purposes for which such a network can be utilized?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PG & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

- (a) Yes Sir.
- (b) The space agencies of BRICS nations have been negotiating a Framework Agreement to formalize the cooperation on building a  'virtual  constellation  of  remote  sensing  satellites',  made  up of  satellites  contributed  by  BRICS  space  agencies.  Technical aspects  with  respect  to  identifying  the  satellites  and  the ground stations for the initial virtual constellation were discussed by the Space Agencies.
- (c) The  purpose  of  the  proposed  virtual  constellation  is  to  get access to satellite remote sensing data, which could be used by the individual BRICS nations for various applications including natural resources management and disaster management.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 525 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Modernization of Railway Stations
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dibyendu Adhikari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 525 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.11.2019

## MODERNIZATION OF RAILWAY STATIONS

## 525.  SHRI DIBYENDU ADHIKARI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether an Empowered Group of Secretaries under the CEO of NITI Aayog will now decide how best to develop the country's railway  stations  through  Public-Private  Participation  (PPP)  and bring  in  private  players  to  run  more  than  150  trains  of  the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c)  the  details  of  the  train  operations  which  will  be  privatized thereof;
- (d)  whether  a  final  decision  has  been  taken  by  the  Empowered Group therein; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, by when a final decision would be taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (e)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  525  BY  SHRI  DIBYENDU  ADHIKARI TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.11.2019  REGARDING MODERNIZATION OF RAILWAY STATIONS

(a)&(b): Yes, Sir. Recently, Ministry of Railways have constituted a Group of Secretaries (GoS) for development of Railway Stations to  world  class  standards  and  permit  private  passenger  train operators  to  operate  trains  with  world  class  technology  over Indian Railway network.

The Group of Secretaries consists of the following:-

- 1) Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog - Chairman
- 2) Chairman, Railway Board - Member
- 3) Secretary, Depart of Economic Affairs  - Member Ministry of Finance
- 4) Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs - Member
- 5) Financial Commissioner (Railways) - Member

Member  (Engineering),  Railway  Board  and  Member  (Traffic), Railway  Board  are  the  co-opted  Members  for  their  respective projects.

The Terms of Reference of the GoS will be as under:-

- i) Approval of the bidding process along with Bid Documents including RFQ/RFP and Concession Agreements.
2. ii) Monitor the bidding process and to take decisions to ensure the awards of projects in a time bound manner.

(c):    The  details  of  privatized  trains  operations  have  not  been finalized.

- (d) & (e): Details not yet finalized.

*****