opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2221 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: New Registered Companies in Assam
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Abdul Khaleque

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 2221

ANSWERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021/ SRAVANA 11, 1943 (SAKA)

## NEW REGISTERED COMPANIES IN ASSAM QUESTION

कारपोरेट कार्य मंत्री

2221. SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE: Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the details number of new companies registered in Assam since Financial Year 2011-12 in all categories;
- (b) out of the above companies how many companies are still in the business, category-wise; and
- (c)  whether  the  Government  conducts  audit  to  determine  the  closure  of companies?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS  AND  PROGRAMME  IMPLEMENTATION;  MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

[RAO INDERJIT SINGH]

- (a) and (b): A total of 5432 number of companies were registered in the State of Assam from financial year 2011-12 to financial year 2020-2021. Out of these, 4775 number of companies are having active status. Rest of the companies are either  dissolved,  amalgamated,  converted  to  Limited  Liability  Partnerships, struck off u/s 248 of the Companies Act, 2013, in the process of strike off or closed  due  to  such  other  reasons.  Category  wise  details  of  these  active Companies are as under:-

| Categories of Companies   |   Number of Companies |
|---------------------------|-----------------------|
| Public Limited Companies  |                   176 |
| Private Limited Companies |                  4278 |
| One Person Companies      |                   321 |
| Total                     |                  4775 |

(c): No audit to determine the closure of companies is required to be conducted by the Government as per the Companies Act.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2218 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Promotion of e-Payments
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2218

ANSWERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 02, 2021 / SRAVANA 11, 1943 (SAKA)

## Promotion of e-Payments

2218. Shri. Manoj Kotak: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed a committee to suggest the promotion of e-payments in India;

(b) if so, the details of committee's suggestions in this regard;

(c) whether the panel has also suggested the removal of import duty on Point of Sale devices for three years and reduce the GST on digital transactions; and

(d) if so, the reaction of the Government in this regard?

## Answer

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (DR BHAGWAT KARAD)

(a) & (b) As apprised by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with a view to encouraging digitization of payments and enhancing financial inclusion through digitization, the Reserve Bank of India had constituted a High-Level Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments in February, 2019 to, interalia,  review  the  existing  status  of  digitisation  of  payments,  identify  best  practices  that  can  be adopted, recommend measures to strengthen safety and security of digital payments, lay down a road map to increase customer confidence in digital financial services, and suggest a Medium-Term strategy for deepening of digital payments.

(c) & (d) As apprised by Department of Revenue (DoR), the Committee has recommended removal of import duty on Point of Sale (PoS) devices for three years and remove GST on digital transaction. In this regard, DoR has informed that presently, PoS machines attract zero Basic Customs Duty (BCD). They have further apprised that 18% GST is applicable for PoS, which is available to the users in the form of Input Tax Credit (ITC), since PoS machine is inputs to the business.

In addition, services by an acquiring bank to any person in relation to settlement of an amount up to two thousand rupees in a single transaction transacted through credit card, debit card, charge card or other payment card service have been exempted from GST.

The recommendation of the Committee for 'Waiver of GST on transaction charges of Immediate Payment  Service  (IMPS)  &  Aadhaar  enabled  Payment  System  (AePS)  for  transactions  up  to Rs.5000' was considered by the Council but no change in GST exemption has been recommended.
Lok Sabha Question No. 2212 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Loss of Jobs in State of Gujarat
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Dipsinh Shankarsinh Rathod

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2212 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02 ND  AUGUST, 2021

## LOSS OF JOBS IN STATE OF GUJARAT

2212. SHRI DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  official  and  authenticated  information regarding loss of jobs in various fields in the State of Gujarat during COVID19; and
- (b) whether the Government has figures of the badly affected areas due to heavy loss of jobs and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a)  &  (b):  The  data  on  employment/  unemployment  is  being  collected  through Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS)  conducted  by  National  Statistical  Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MOSPI) since 2017-18.

As per the results of annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted during  2017-18,  2018-19  and  2019-20,  the  estimated  Worker  Population  Ratio (WPR) and the estimated unemployment rate for persons of 15 years and above on usual status basis in the country and in the state of Gujarat is as under:

(in percentage )

| Year    | 2017-18   | 2017-18   | 2018-19   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   | 2019-20   |
|---------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|         | WPR       | UR        | WPR       | UR        | WPR       | UR        |
| All     | 46.8      | 6.0       | 47.3      | 5.8       | 50.9      | 4.8       |
| India   |           |           |           |           |           |           |
| Gujarat | 47.4      | 4.8       | 49.7      | 3.2       | 54.7      | 2.0       |

WPR-Worker Population Ratio UR- Unemployment Rate

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2210 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Closure of Educational Institutions
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2210

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.08.2021

## Closure of Educational Institutions

## 2210. PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has assessed the longstanding impact on the education sector due to the long closure of educational institutions due to Covid-19;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether the Government has started counselling programmes for students who are facing mental agony due to their forceful stay at home for a long time; and
- (d) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken to address this problem?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a)  &  (b):  During  the  challenging  circumstances  created  due  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  this Ministry  took  up  the  responsibility  to  continue  the  education  of  the  students  through  multiple alternative  ways  while  ensuring  safety  and  wellbeing  of  the  students.  Several  initiatives  like DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) platform for school education; one Class One TV Channel of Swayam Prabha; e-textbooks; PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education; SWAYAM MOOCs and E-PG Pathshala were taken up by the Ministry.

A  sample  survey  was  also  conducted  in  the  month  of  July,  2020  for  schools  of  Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) to understand the scenario of online learning of school students in COVID-19 pandemic situation. Subsequently, further surveys were conducted in early 2021 regarding availability of various forms of digital devices with children.

(c) & (d): The Ministry has undertaken an initiative, namely 'Manodarpan', covering a wide range of activities to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and families for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing during the COVID outbreak and beyond.

A Webpage on the website of this Ministry (https://manodarpan.education.gov.in ) has also been created. The webpage contains advisory, practical tips, posters, videos, do's and don'ts for psychosocial  support  and  FAQs.  A  national  toll-free  helpline  has  also  been  set  up  for  a countrywide  outreach  to  students  from  schools,  colleges  and  universities  as  well  as  to  their families to provide them tele-counselling services.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2209 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Online Classes for Primary Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Anurag Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2209

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 02 ND  AUGUST, 2021

## Online Classes for Primary Education

## †2209. SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  propose  to  provide  online  classes  for  alternative  study  in Government primary schools during COVID-19 pandemic;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds have been utilized for this scheme; and
- (d) if so, the details of CSR funds provided thereof State-wise?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) and (b) Online classes are being conducted at the schools by employing various digital  tools  in  the  form  of  DIKSHA  portal  (https://diksha.gov.in/),  SWAYAM  Portal (swayam.gov.in), e-Pathshala (https://epathshala.nic.in/), NROER (National Repository of Open Educational Resources) portal (https://nroer.gov.in/welcome).

Learning programmes have also been started in the form of offline learning tools in the form of SWAYAM Prabha, DD Channel, radio, community radio and CBSE podcasts,  toll free numbers, missed call, SMS based requests for audio content, localized radio content for edutainment etc.

To  reach  out  to  those  students  who  lack  access  to  technology  various  innovative activities are being done at national, state or district level such as Gali-Gali Sim-Sim, TiliMili  programme, Motor Eskool, Roving Teacher, Project SMILE (Social Media Interface for  Learning  Engagement),  e-Kaksha,  formation  of  Whatsap  and  other  social  media groups,  Work  Book  Distribution  at  home,  Teacher  calling  to  maintain  connects  with students.

Also Ministry of Education released PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital/Online Education, is stressed across the guidelines so that children do not get overly stretched or stressed, the  guidelines  is  useful  for  a  diverse  set  of  stakeholders  including  school  heads, teachers, parents, teacher educators and students. Physical health and mental wellness or get affected negatively owing to prolonged use of digital devices.

(c) and (d) Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools,  colleges  and  university  are  under  the  domain  of  respective  State  and  UT Governments. Central government does not maintain data  with respect to utilisation of CSR funds by states.

**********
Lok Sabha Question No. 2207 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Insurance Fraud
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Ranjeeta Koli

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2207

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 02, 2021/SRAVANA 11, 1943 (SAKA)

## INSURANCE FRAUD

## 2207. SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-

- (a) the  details  of  fraud  on  last  day  of  the  financial  year  2012-13  by  booking  fake insurance  premium  running  into  crores,  without  actual  receipt  of  premium  from insured in Delhi Regional Office-I of the New India Assurance Co. Ltd (NIACL) with ulterior  motive  and  malafide  intention,  which  has  also  been  reported  by  the Government/Audit agency;
- (b) whether the Audit agency/CVC have taken note of it and have asked NIACL to take necessary action and intimate the status/outcome of the case and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether, as disclosed by the Audit agency, the deliberate financial frauds committed by  respective  officers  of  NIACL  were  considered  as  wrongdoings  and  some administrative actions were taken by the Authorities; and
- (d) if so, the status thereof along with the steps taken by Authorities on the issue?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (DR. BHAGWAT KARAD)

(a): (a)  to  (d):  Audit  Department,  Comptroller  and  Auditor  General  of  India  (CAG)  has sought some information with regard to booking of the premium by New India Assurance Co. Ltd (NIACL), Delhi Regional Office-I.

CAG  conducts  audit  as  per  audit  mandate  derived  from  the  Constitution  of  India  and  the Comptroller  and  Auditor  General's  (Duties,  Powers  and  Conditions  of  Service)  Act,  1971.  After completion of the audit, CAG submits audit report to the President, who causes it to be laid before each House of Parliament as per Article 151 of the Constitution of India.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 2203 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Dispute Between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Over Birth Place of Hanuman
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Sanganna Amarappa Karadi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2203 ANSWERED ON 02.08.2021

## DISPUTE BETWEEN ANDHRA PRADESH AND KARNATAKA OVER BIRTH PLACE OF HANUMAN

## 2203. SHRI SANGANNA AMARAPPA:

Will the Minister of Culture be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  recently  there  was  a  clash  between  Andhra  based  TTD  Board  and Karnataka State about the Birthplace of Hanuman and was in discussion in all medias. TTD claims that Hanuman was born in one of the Seven Hills of Tirupati and is about to submit a report, whereas Karnataka had displayed documentary evidences to prove Hanuman was born in Anjanadri situated in Koppal District;
- (b) whether this matter has come to the notice of the Union Government;
- (c) if so, the measures which the Government has taken to investigate the fact;
- (d) if not, steps taken to direct the ASI to inspect and submit a detailed report about birthplace of Hanuman; and
- (e) the  action  taken  to  declare  the  actual  birthplace  of  Hanuman  at  the  earliest  to avoid further clashes between the neighbouring States?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION

(SHRI G.KISHAN REDDY)

- (a) &(b) Yes, Sir. Government is aware about the matter through reports in media.
- (c)to(e) No proposal is under consideration.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2200 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Foreign Exchange Reserves
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Gopal Chinayya Shetty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2200

TO BE ANSWERED ON AUGUST 02, 2021

## FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

2200. SHRI GOPAL CHINNAYA SHETTY:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of total foreign exchange reserves available with the country;
- (b) the names of international currencies available in the foreign exchange reserves of the country;
- (c) the amount of funds invested by the Reserve Bank of India out of the said reserves during the last three years; and
- (d) the effect on the prices of commodities due to the non-utilisation of the said reserves for production related works?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

- (a) As on 16 th July, 2021, India's foreign exchange reserves stood at US$ 612.7 billion. The details of forex reserves are tabulated as under:

Table 1: Foreign Exchange Reserve

|   S.No. | Item                         |   Forex Reserves as on 16 th July, 2021 (US$ billion) |
|---------|------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|     1   | Total Forex Reserves         |                                                 612.7 |
|     1.1 | Foreign Currency Assets      |                                                 568.7 |
|     1.2 | Gold                         |                                                  37.3 |
|     1.3 | Reserve Position in the IMF  |                                                   5.1 |
|     1.4 | Special Drawing Rights (SDR) |                                                   1.5 |

Source: RBI

- (b)  The  major  currencies  that  are  part  of  the  foreign  exchange  reserves  include  US  dollar,  Euro,  Pound  sterling, Japanese yen, etc.
- (c) The amount invested from foreign exchange reserves during last three years is given in Table 2 below:
- (d) The foreign exchange reserves are deployed in different foreign currency assets and gold as per the provisions of the  Reserve  Bank  of  India  Act,  1934.  Government  and  RBI  closely  monitor  the  emerging  external  position  and calibrate policies or regulations to support macroeconomic growth and stability.

Table 2: Investment of Foreign Exchange Reserves

| No.   | Item                    |   As at end-March 2019 |   As at end-March 2020 |   end-March |
|-------|-------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|-------------|
| 1.    | Foreign Currency Assets |                  385.4 |                  442.2 |       536.7 |
| 2.    | Gold                    |                   23   |                   30.6 |        33.9 |
| 3.    | Special Drawing Rights  |                    1.5 |                    1.4 |         1.5 |
| 4.    | Reserve Position in IMF |                    3   |                    3.6 |         4.9 |
|       | Total                   |                  412.9 |                  477.8 |       577   |

Source: RBI

(US$ billion)
Lok Sabha Question No. 2199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Sinking of ONGC Vessels
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2199 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  August, 2021

Sinking of ONGC Vessels

2199. SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE:

## पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी

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

- ((a)  the  total  number  of  workers  died  due  to  sinking  of  ONGC  vessels  in  Cyclone Taukte in May 2021;
- (b)  the  reasons  for  which  a  large  number  of  workers  were  stranded  in  the  ONGC vessels despite advance warning about the cyclone; and
- (c) the remedial steps taken by the Government to avoid such incidents in future?

## ANSWER

पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंालय म राय मंी ( ी रामेर तेली )

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a) The total 86 personnel lost their lives due to the sinking of vessels deployed for ONGC projects during cyclone Tauktae.
- (b) ONGC had advised all the vessels including Barge P-305 to move out of the field to safe location. The Barge also confirmed it. Keeping in view safety of vessel and persons on board, Barge Master decided to position the vessel at nearby location. However,  the  anchors  of  vessel  gave  way  leading  to  stranding  and  subsequent submerging of the vessel.
- (c)  To  enquire  into  the  sequence of  the events leading to  the  stranding  of vessels and accidents, the Government has constituted a High Level Committee consisting of following members:
- (i)  Shri Amitabh Kumar, Director General of Shipping
- (ii)  Shri SCL Das, Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons
- (iii)  Smt. Nazli Jafri Shayin, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence

In  addition  to  above,    another    Two  Member  committee  consisting  of  Director General-Shipping  and  Additional  Secretary(Exploration)  Ministry  of  petroleum  and Natural  Gas  has  been  constituted  to  look  into  reforms  required  in  terms  and conditions for hiring vessels and amendments, if required.

ONGC has also taken following measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents:-

-  Arrangement with DG-Meteorology,  IMD  for providing weather forecasts specific to their fields in offshore.
-  Single  point  Authority,  Marine  Cell,  has  been  created  for  vessel  information, management and safety related to marine operations.
-  Revision of SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), ERP (Emergency Response Plan)  and  DMP  (Disaster  Management  Plan)  to  suitably  address    severe Cyclone Emergency Response.
-  Benchmarking of Health, Safety and Environment practices through a consultant of international repute.
Lok Sabha Question No. 2197 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Confederation of Indian Industry
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Sanjay Bhatia

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2197 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.08.2021

## CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRY

## †2197. SHRI SANJAY BHATIA:

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

- (a)whether the Union Government has approached the State Governments seeking more flexibility in operations and less compliance as they have taken steps to strengthen the rules under the four labour codes; and
- (b)the details of the outcome of several rounds of discussions between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Labour Secretaries  of  Maharashtra,  Haryana,  Gujarat,  Karnataka,  Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a): Under  the  four  Labour  Codes,  the  Central  Government  and  the State  Governments  are  required  to  formulate  Rules  as  appropriate Government.    To  implement  the  Labour  Codes,  State  Governments have been requested from time to time to take necessary steps and expedite rule making under the four Labour Codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions  Code,  2020,  the  Industrial  Relations  Code,  2020  and  the Code on Social Security, 2020.
- (b): Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has informed that they had interactions with the State Government of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam,  Telangana  and  Haryana  to  present  their  views  on  critical aspects of the Codes. The Ministry of Labour & Employment was not associated with any of such interactions.

*******