opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2410 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: SOP to Check Illegal Mining
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Aparajita Sarangi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2410

ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## SOP TO CHECK ILLEGAL MINING

## 2410. SHRIMATI APARAJITA SARANGI:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any national Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been developed for the concerned States to check illegal mining in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  advised  the  State  Government  of  Odisha  on development of SOP to tackle illegal mining and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of draft SOP recommended by the Union Government to check illegal mining?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c):  Section  23C  of  Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  and  Regulation)  Act (MMDR Act) 1957, empowers the State Governments to frame rules to prevent illegal mining and the State Governments may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make such rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and for the purposes connected therewith. Hence, control of illegal mining comes under the legislative and administrative purview of the State Governments.

However, the Central Government has taken the following measures to prevent illegal mining in the country:

- (i)          Penalty  for  illegal  mining  was  made  more  stringent  by  amendment  of  the MMDR Act in 2015. Penalties for contravention of Section 4(1) and 4(1A) of the Act have been increased from Rs. 25 thousand per hectares to Rs. 5 Lakh per hectare and the term of imprisonment has been increased from 2 years to 5 years. Further, Section  30B  of  the  Act provides  for constitution of Special  courts by State Governments for speedy trial of Illegal mining/Transportation/Storage cases and 30C of the Act provides that such Special Courts shall be deemed to be a Court of Session.
- (ii)       The Ministry of Mines, through the Indian Bureau of Mines, has developed the Mining Surveillance System (MSS) to use space technology for reporting any illegal mining  activity  to  the  State  Government  who  will  take  necessary  action.  Mining Surveillance  System  (MSS)  is  a  satellite-based  monitoring  system  which  aims  to detect illegal mining activity beyond the lease area through use of satellite images.
- (iii)        In  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  Section  23(C)  of  the  Act,  22  State Governments including Odisha have framed rules to curb illegal mining.
- (iv)       22 State Governments have set up Task Forces to review the action taken by member  departments  for  checking  the  illegal  mining  activities  in  their  respective jurisdiction.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2409 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Non-availability of Ticket Facility
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Kumbakudi Sudhakaran

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2409 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## NON-AVAILABILITY OF TICKET FACILITY

2409. SHRI KUMBAKUDI SUDHAKARAN: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that there are no stoppages of trains at  Chirakkal  and  Dharmadom  railway  stations  in  Kannur  Lok  Sabha constituency  due  to  the  non-availability  of  ticketing  facilities  at  these stations; (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government to re-instate ticketing facility and the timeline required for the same; and (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## ANSWER (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (c)  Chirakkal  and  Dharmadam  Halt  stations  are  presently being served by 3 and 4 passenger special trains. Ticketing facility is also available at these stations.

- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2406 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Vacant Land of Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Keshari Devi Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2406 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## VACANT LAND OF RAILWAYS

†2406.   SHRIMATI KESHARI DEVI PATEL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to utilise the vacant land of Railways in  Prayagraj  Parliamentary  Constituency  including  other  districts  of  Uttar Pradesh for building museums, aquariums etc.; and (b)  if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) At present, there is no such proposal.
- (b) Does not arise.
- ******
Lok Sabha Question No. 2405 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Unmanned Railway Crossings in Jabalpur
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Rakesh Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2405

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## UNMANNED RAILWAY CROSSINGS IN JABALPUR

## †2405. SHRI RAKESH SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of level crossings (railway crossing) in operation in the country  particularly  in  Jabalpur  division  of  West  Central  Railway Zone Jabalpur;
- (b) the details of the unmanned railway crossings out of these;
- (c) whether in view of accidents that are likely to occur on these railway crossings, any measures have been taken in this regard;
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the  Government proposes to construct bridges in place of railway crossings in these places; and
- (f)
- if so, the details in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d):  As on 01.04.2022, total 19501 nos. of Level Crossings (LC) including  Jabalpur  Division  (180  Nos.  of  Manned  Level  Crossings

(MLCs)) are in operation in the country.  All Unmanned level crossings (UMLCs)  on  Broad  Gauge  (BG)  have  been  eliminated  by  31.01.2019. Only 751 UMLCs on Meter Gauge (MG) and Narrow Gauge (NG) sections exist  on  Indian  Railways,  which  are  planned  for  elimination  during Gauge conversion of those sections. There are no UMLC on Jabalpur Division.    The  number  of  consequential  train  accidents  at  unmanned level crossings during the last three years is 'Nil'.

The following steps have been taken by Indian Railways to reduce rail accidents at UMLCs in the country:

-  All  Unmanned  level  crossing  (UMLCs)  on  Broad  Gauge  (BG)  have been eliminated by 31.01.2019
-  Level  Crossings  having  high  Rail/Road  vehicular  traffic  are  either manned or interlocked with signals for enhancing safety.
-  Instructions and inspection drives are being launched from time to time to ensure availability of basic infrastructure at level crossings such as whistle boards, road, warning boards, speed breakers, etc.

Further, public awareness campaigns/safety slogans are undertaken  to  create  safety  consciousness  amongst  road  users  for safe passage at level crossings.

(e) & (f): 18 Nos. of Low Height Subway/Road Under Bridge (LHS/RUB) and  24  Nos.  of  Road  Over  Bridge  (ROB)  are  sanctioned  in  lieu  of manned level crossing in Jabalpur Division.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2403 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Steps to Improve BSNL, Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ratansinh Magansinh Rathod

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2403 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  DECEMBER, 2022

## STEPS TO IMPROVE BSNL SERVICES

## 2403.   SHRI RATANSINH MAGANSINH RATHOD:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is taking steps to improve the services of BSNL;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the number of towers that are installed in Gujarat in the last three years?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

(a) & (b)   Yes, on 23.10.2019, Government of India approved the revival plan for BSNL and MTNL.  It  inter-alia  approved  the  reduction  in  employee  costs  through  Voluntary  Retirement Scheme  (VRS),  debt  restructuring  by  raising  of  sovereign  guarantee  bonds,  administrative allotment of spectrum for 4G services through capital infusion, monetization of core and non-core assets  and  in-principle  approval  of  merger  of  BSNL  and  MTNL.    As  a  result  of  these,  BSNL became operationally profitable in Financial Year 2020-21 and has remained so since then.

Further,  to  transform  BSNL  into  a  viable  Public  Sector  Undertaking,  the  Government approved on 27.07.2022 a revival package for BSNL amounting to Rs 1.64 lakhs crores. The revival measures approved by the Cabinet focus on infusing fresh capital for upgrading BSNL services, allocating spectrum, de-stressing its balance sheet and augmenting its fibre network by merging Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with BSNL.

## (c) The details of the number of towers installed by Telecom Service Providers in Gujarat in the last three years are given below:

| Year    | Number of Towers installed   |
|---------|------------------------------|
| 2019-20 | 22,118                       |
| 2020-21 | 13,535                       |
| 2021-22 | 9,234                        |

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 2402 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: National Mission on Inter-disciplinary Cyber Physical System
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Vishnu Dutt Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2402

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## NATIONAL MISSION ON INTER-DISCIPLINARY CYBER PHYSICAL SYSTEM

## 2402.    SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA:

Will  the  Minister  of  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY ͪव£ान और Ĥौɮयोͬगकȧ मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether achievements have been made by 'National mission on interdisciplinary Cyber Physical System (CPS)' in terms of its stated mandate;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

ͪव£ान और Ĥौɮयोͬगकȧ तथा पृ Øवी ͪव£ान मंğालय क े राÏय मंğी ( èवतंğ Ĥभार) (डॉ . िजतɅġ ͧसंह)

- (a)   and (b) Yes Sir. National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NMICPS) has made some good achievements against its stated mandate of Technology Development, Human Resource & Skill Development, Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Start-Up  Ecosystem  and  International  Collaborations.  Details  of  key  achievements made by the Mission through 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) established under it till date are as given below:
- (c) Not Applicable.

| Mission outcomes                                    |   Overall Mission targets for 5 years | Achievements during past 2 years   |
|-----------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Technologies                                        |                                   500 | 151                                |
| Start-ups                                           |                                   800 | 226                                |
| Increase in CPS and related researchers base        |                                  2000 | 475                                |
| Technology products                                 |                                   500 | 367                                |
| High end skill development (HRD)                    |                                 12000 | 15614                              |
| Hubs & TTRPs                                        |                                    25 | 25 Hubs                            |
| Publications, IPR and other intellectual activities |                                  1500 | 573                                |

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2401 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Domestic Production of Telecom Equipments
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Anurag Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS

## DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2401 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  DECEMBER, 2022

## DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF TELECOM EQUIPMENTS

## 2401.   SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that the data regarding domestic production of telecom equipments in India by foreign brands is not maintained, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (b) the details of the imports and exports of the telecom equipments during the last seven years;
- (c) the  details  of  domestic  production  of  telecom  equipments  in  India  by  Indian  and  foreign companies;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  step  to  attract  investment  in  manufacturing  and  brand building India as a manufacturing destination and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the salient features and the progress of the Brand Building of India as Telecom Manufacturing and Services Destination initiative?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

- (a)  to  (c) The  data  regarding  domestic  production  of  telecom  equipment  by  foreign  brands  is  not maintained by Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.

Further, import and export data of telecom equipment for last Seven years is as follows:

| Year    | Import (in Rs. Crore)   | Export (in Rs. Crore)   |
|---------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| 2015-16 | 32,224                  | 3,508                   |
| 2016-17 | 42,980                  | 3,625                   |
| 2017-18 | 48,096                  | 5,196                   |
| 2018-19 | 55,696                  | 6,242                   |
| 2019-20 | 38,448                  | 5,434                   |
| 2020-21 | 47,751                  | 7,074                   |
| 2021-22 | 46,785                  | 14,186                  |

(d)  &  (e)      To  attract  investment  in  manufacturing  and  brand  building  India  as  a  manufacturing destination, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for telecom and networking products has been notified on 24.02.2021 within overall financial outlay of Rs. 12,195 Crore. For including designled manufacturing under PLI Scheme, the Scheme Guideline was amended on 20.06.2022, effective since 01.04.2022. 42 companies have been approved under PLI Scheme which includes 17 design-led manufacturing companies. Under PLI scheme, since 01.04.2021 till 31st October 2022, domestic and foreign companies have reported sales of Rs. 16,313 crores.

Further,  the  Government  is  supporting  Indian  Start-ups/  MSMEs/  Companies  to  showcase their capabilities at important National and International forums/ Events for brand building of India as Telecom Equipment Manufacturing and services destination.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 2400 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Periodic Labour Force Survey
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: Ramcharan Bohra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2400 ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY

## 2400. SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA:

Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:

PROGRAMME

- (a) whether  the  Union  Government  has  periodically  conducted the labour force survey on pilot basis;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details  of  the  data  collected  from  employment  and unemployment   on the basis of the said survey;
- (d) whether the Union Government is considering to conducting frequent surveys on all-India assessment  of  employment growth on a regular basis in the country;
- (e)
- (f)
- if so, the details thereof; and
- the time by which the above work is likely to be finalised?

## 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) to (c): The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation conducted a Pilot Survey on Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in the urban areas of three States namely Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and  Gujarat  during  July  2011-  June  2013  for  testing  the  survey methodology.  In the said Pilot Survey, information was collected on household characteristics, current weekly activity particulars, hours worked, activity status, industry of work, occupation, casual labour, self-employment activity etc. (d) to (f): This Ministry has been conducting Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) continuously since 2017 to estimate the key employment  and  unemployment  indicators  viz.  Worker  Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate.  As of now,  four  annual  reports  and  16  Quarterly  bulletins  of  PLFS  have been released and available in public domain.

************
Lok Sabha Question No. 2398 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: National Broadband Mission
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Margani Bharat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2398 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st  DECEMBER, 2022

## NATIONAL BROADBAND MISSION

## 2398.   SHRI MARGANI BHARAT:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  true  that  the  Government  has  set  target  under  National  Broadband  Mission  to provide broadband connectivity to all villages by 2022-23, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the target of achieving 60% coverage of broadband by 2021-22 has been achieved, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor and the efforts being made to achieve 2021-22 target; and
- (d) the details of plan of action for achieving the target for 2022-23?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

- (a) The targets under the National Broadband Mission are as below:
- (b) & (c ) 93.05% villages in the country are having coverage of Mobile Broadband (3G & 4G).
- (d) Activities and action plan under the National Broadband Mission is as below -

| Target                                 | 1-year (2020-21)   | 2-year (2021-22)   | 3-year (2022-23)   |
|----------------------------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| Broadband Connectivity to Villages (%) | 50%                | 60%                | 100%               |

Broadband  Connectivity  to  Villages  -  Broadband/Internet  services  are  provided  in  a  phased manner  by  the  Government  and  Telecom  Services  Provider  (TSPs)  in  the  uncovered  villages  of  the country. The Government, with funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), has schemes namely  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  for  North  Eastern  Region,  Left  Wing  Extremism (LWE) Affected Area schemes, Aspirational Districts Schemes, Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for Islands, etc. to extend Broadband/Internet services through setting up of towers in the uncovered villages of the country.

The  Union  Cabinet  on  27.07.2022  approved  a  project  for  saturation  of  4G  mobile  services  in uncovered villages across the country at a total cost of Rs. 26,316 Cr.  The project will provide 4G mobile services in remaining 24,680 uncovered villages in remote and difficult areas. In addition, 6,279 villages having only 2G/3G connectivity shall be upgraded to 4G.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 2396 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Paddy Procurement
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Anumula Revanth Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LoK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2396

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 21sT DECEMBER, 2022

## PADDY PROCUREMENT

## 2396. SHRI ANUMULA REVANTH REDDY:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Union Government is not procuring paddy from the farmers of Telangana inspite of the promise that every grain of paddy would be   fully procured, if the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (b) the amount of  paddy procured by the Union Government from
- Telangana during each of the last five years; and
- the amount of Minimum Support Price (MSP) per quintal given to farmers of Telangana by the Union Government for paddy during the said

## ANSWE R

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SADHVI NIRANJAN JyOTI)

- (a): Telangana is a Decentralized Procurement (DCP) State wherein procurement of paddy is undertaken by the State Government through its agencies and the surplus rice after meeting State's requirement, is delivered to Food Corporation of India (FCI) in central pool for movement to deficitlconsuming states: only

For Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2022-23, procurement estimate of 50 LMT of rice (equivalent to 74.62 LMT paddy) for Telangana State the State marketable has been fixed by Government of India in consultation with Government and FCI considering estimated production, surplus and agricultural crop pattern:

Up to 14.12.2022, 44.72 LMT of paddy with MSP value of Rs.9212.63 crore has been procured in Telangana against the estimate of 74.62 LMT.

- (c) period?

(b) and (c): The quantity of paddy procured at Minimum Support Price (MSP) from Telangana and MSP of paddy of the last five years is as under:

| KMS     | Paddy Procured (in LMT)   | MSP (in Rs: per quintal)   |      |
|---------|---------------------------|----------------------------|------|
|         |                           | Common                     |      |
| 2017-18 | 54.00                     | 1550                       | 1590 |
| 2018-19 | 77.46                     | 1750                       | 1770 |
| 2019-20 | 111.26                    | 1815                       | 1835 |
| 2020-21 | 141.09                    | 1868                       | 1888 |
| 2021-22 | 119.05                    | 1940                       | 1960 |

****