opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 148 (STARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Competitiveness in Telecom Market
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Faizal P.P. Mohammed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 148 FOR ANSWER ON 27 TH  JULY, 2022

## COMPETITIVENESS IN TELECOM MARKET

## *148.   SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.:

- (a) whether dominance of a private company in the telecom market has negative impact on the competitiveness of the telecom industry and on the profitability of PSUs like BSNL and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) whether  any  steps  are  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  the  monopoly  of such private company so as to ensure level playing field for PSUs, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (b) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS  (a)  TO  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  148  FOR  27 TH JULY, 2022 REGARDING 'COMPETITIVENESS IN TELECOM MARKET'

(a) & (b) Under  the  scheme  of  the  Competition  Act  2002,  dominance  per  se  has  not been  proscribed,  but  only  the  abuse  of  dominance  has  been  prohibited.    The  Competition Commission of India (CCI) is the statutory body that enforces the Competition Act 2002.  As on December 31 st 2021, three private Telecom Service Providers (viz. Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Bharti Airtel Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited) along with two PSUs (viz. BSNL & MTNL) have approximately 99.8% market share in terms of subscribers. Market share of the  largest  Telecom  Service  Provider  is  35.7%.  As  per  BSNL,  the  dominance  of  a  private company has not affected it very significantly.

The Government has issued the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018. The policy promotes fair competition across the telecommunication sector.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 144 (STARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Impact of War on Indian Industry and Commerce
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Shyam Yadav Singh, M.K. Vishnu Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 144 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27 th  JULY, 2022

## IMPACT OF WAR ON INDIAN INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE

## *144.  SHRI SHYAM SINGH YADAV:

DR. VISHNU PRASAD M.K.:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मं त्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made any estimation of the scale of impact of UkraineRussia war on Indian industry and commerce;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government intends to inject any financial stimulus in the economy in the wake of Ukraine-Russia war; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=h ( Jh ih;w'k xks;y )

## THE MINISTER OF  COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

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

*****

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a) to (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED    QUESTION    NO.  144      FOR    ANSWER    ON    27 th   JULY,  2022 REGARDING   ' IMPACT OF WAR ON INDIAN INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE'.

(a)&(b) : As per the feedback received from the industry, exports of some products from India  are  affected  such  as  pharmaceuticals,  telecom  instruments,  tea,  coffee,  marine products, etc.  The bilateral trade with Russia has, however, improved in comparison to corresponding period last year. The precise implication of the war scenario can be assessed only after the situation stabilizes.

In  spite  of  global  economic  adversities,  the  High  Frequency  Indicators  (HFIs)  in  the  first quarter of 2022-23 are reflecting sustained growth momentum in the economy as compared to the previous quarter.

(c)&(d) : The Government has provided for fiscal stimulus in the budget of FY 2022-23 with Gross Fiscal Deficit to GDP ratio budgeted at 6.4 per cent.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 142 (STARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Shortage of Coal
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Jagdambika Pal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*142 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## Shortage of Coal

## *142. SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken any new initiative to check the shortage of coal in the country for proper functioning of Thermal Power Stations;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to control the shortage of coal in the country?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the table of the House.

Statement  referred  to  in  reply  to  parts  (a)  to  (c)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred Question no. 142 for answer on 27.07.2022 asked by Shri Jagdambika Pal:

(a)  to  (c): There  is  no  shortage  of  coal  in  the  country.The  all  India  coal production in the year 2021-2022 was 778.19 Million Tonne (MT) in comparison  to  716.083  MT  in  the  year  2020-2021.  Further,  in  the  current financial year (upto June'22), the country has produced 204.876 MT of coal as compared to 156.11 MT during the same period of last year with a growth of about 31%. In 2022-2023 (April, 2022 to June, 2022), as per Ministry of Power, all India average gap between the Energy Requirement and Energy Supplied was only 1%.  Gap between energy demand and supply is generally on account of factors other than inadequacy of power availability in the country, e.g. constraints in distribution network, financial constraints, commercial reasons, forced outage of generating units, etc.

- ****
Lok Sabha Question No. 141 (STARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Doubling/Electrification of Vijayawada-Nidadavolu Railway Line *
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Balashowry Vallabbhaneni

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.141

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## DOUBLING/ELECTRIFICATION OF VIJAYAWADA-NIDADAVOLU RAILWAY LINE

*141. SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :

- (a) whether an amount of Rs.1681 crores have been allocated in the Budget of 2022-23 for the Vijayawada-GudivadaMachilipatnam-Bhimavaram-Narasapuram-Nidadavolu Railway line doubling and electrification work;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the total amount required for completion of the above works;
- (c) the details of budget allocated, spent and work completed on the above project since the approval of this project in 201112; and
- (d) the time by which the above project is likely to be completed?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS &  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (d) OF STARRED QUESTION  NO.141    BY  SHRI  BALASHOWRY  VALLABHANENI  TO  BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  27.07.2022  REGARDING  DOUBLING  / ELECTRIFICATION OF VIJAYAWADA-NIDADAVOLU RAILWAY LINE (a) to (d) Yes, Sir. Vijayawada-Gudiwada-Bhimavaram-Narsapur, Gudivada-Machlipatnam,  &  Bhimavaram-Nidadavolu  doubling  project  of total length 221 km costing ₹ 4106 crore has been taken up. Project is on cost  sharing  basis  with  Govt.  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  in  which  Govt.  of Andhra Pradesh is sharing 50% cost of Project. Anticipated cost of the project  is ₹ 4106  crore  and  an  expenditure  of ₹ 3807  crore  has  been incurred upto March 2022. An outlay of ₹ 1681 crore (Capital ₹ 238 crore, Deposit ₹ 1381 crore and Extra Budgetary Resource (EBRIF) ₹ 62 crore) has been provided for the financial year 2022-23. So far Government of Andhra Pradesh deposited ₹ 289 crore out of their share. The entire 221 km doubling has been completed and electrification work of balance 40 km length has been taken up. Completion  of  a Railway  project depends  on  various  factors like expeditious  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by officials  of  forest  department,  timely  deposition  of  cost  share  by  cost sharing  authorities,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities,  statutory  clearances from  various  authorities,  geological  and  topographical  conditions  of area,  law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of  project(s)  site,  number  of working  months  in  a  year  for  particular  project  site  due  to  climatic conditions etc. and all these factors affect the completion time of the project.  With  above  constraints,  every  effort  is  being  made  to  execute the project expeditiously.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1838 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Food Inflation
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Sajda Ahmed

## Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

## Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1838

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## FOOD INFLATION

1838.   SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of unexpected food inflations;
- (b) if so, the proactive steps taken by the Government to control the food inflations;
- (c) whether the Government has announced any policy to lower the food price inflation; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h (श्री अश्विनी क ु मार चौबे)

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (d) : The Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the daily retail and wholesale prices of 22 essential  food  commodities  submitted  by  the  184  price  monitoring  centres  that  have  been  set  up  with Central assistance by State Governments and UT Administrations across the country. Taking into account price trends, the Government takes various measures from time to time to augment domestic availability and stabilize prices of essential food commodities and make them accessible to all the consumers across India  at  affordable  prices.  These  steps, inter  alia ,  include  releases  from  the  buffer  to  cool  down  prices, imposition of stock limits, monitoring of stocks declared by entities to prevent hoarding as also requisite changes in trade policy instruments like rationalization of import duty, changes in import quota, restrictions on exports of the commodity etc.

Buffer stocks of pulses and onion are maintained for price stabilization. Pulses from the buffer are released in the market for cooling down prices and also supplied on ongoing basis to the States/UTs for distribution under welfare and nutrition schemes. A buffer stock of onion are built in by procuring stock from rabi harvest. The stocks from the buffer are released in a targeted and calibrated manner during the lean season (Aug - Dec) to contain price rise.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1836 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Schemes Renamed by the Government
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Nakul K. Nath

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1836 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27 TH  JULY, 2022

## SCHEMES RENAMED BY THE GOVERNMENT

## 1836.   SHRI NAKUL KAMAL NATH :

Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state:

- (a) The  names  of  the  Schemes  of  the  Ministry  which  have  been  renamed  by  the Government after 2014; and
- (b) The details of the allocation of the Budget to these Schemes after 2014?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Names of the Schemes of the Ministry which have been renamed by the Government after 2014 are:
- (b) Details of the allocation of the budget to these Schemes after 2014 are as follows:

|   S. No. | Department   | Schemes                                                                                         |
|----------|--------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Posts        | Financial Services (Savings Bank & Remittances) renamed as Post Office Savings Bank Operations. |
|        2 | Posts        | Premium Services Renamed as Business Promotion, Marketing Research and Product Development.     |
|        3 | Telecom      | National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project renamed as BharatNet.                             |

|   S. No. | Name of Scheme                                                 | Allocation of Funds (Rupees In Crore)                                                                                                                                      |
|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Post Office Savings Bank                                       | Rs. 58.10 Crores - Financial Year 2015-16 onwards                                                                                                                          |
|        2 | Business Promotion, Marketing Research and Product Development | Rs. 345.85 Crores - Financial Year 2015-16 onwards                                                                                                                         |
|        3 | BharatNet                                                      | During Financial Year 2014-15 till date, sum of Rs. 35101 Crores has been allocated / disbursed under the BharatNet Project from Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) |

*************
Lok Sabha Question No. 1835 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: e-Commerce
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Ramesh Bidhuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1835. TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 27 TH  JULY, 2022.

## e-COMMERCE

## 1835.  SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether the Government has taken any steps for streamlining and regulating e-commerce industry in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether any policy has been framed by the Government in this direction; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री ( श्री सोम प्रकाश ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI SOM PARKASH)

- (a) to (d) :  Government has implemented several legislative and policy measures for streamlining and regulating e-commerce industry in the country. Some of these measures are FDI Policy; Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999; Consumer Protection Act, 2019; Competition Act, 2002; Central Goods and Services  Tax  (CGST)  Act,  2017;  Information  Technology  Act,  2000; Payment  and  Settlement  Systems  Act,  2007;  Companies  Act,  2013; Copyright Act, 1957 etc.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1832 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Setting up of Mega Textile Park
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Venkatesh Netha Borlakunta, Dayakar Pasunoori, Gaddam Ranjith Reddy, Kavitha Malothu

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1832 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## SETTING UP OF MEGA TEXTILE PARK

1832.  SHRI VENKATESH NETHA BORLAKUNTA: SHRI PASUNOORI DAYAKAR: DR. G. RANJITH REDDY: SHRIMATI KAVITHA MALOTHU:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government has announced setting up of Mega Textile Park in Telangana recently;
- (b) if so, the details of the proposal formulated by the Government for setting up of Mega Textile Park in Warangal; and
- (c)  the  details  of  investment  required  and  expected  date  by  which  the  park  is  likely  to  become operational?

## उत्तर

ANSWER

## वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री ( श्रीमती दर्शना जरदोर् )

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SMT. DARSHANA JARDOSH)

- (a) to (c): Government has approved setting up of 7 (seven) PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park in Greenfield/Brownfield sites, to develop world class infrastructure including  plug  and  play  facility  with  an  outlay  of  Rs.  4,445  crore  in  a  period  of  seven  years  upto 2027-28.  18  proposals  from  13  State  Governments  have  been  received  including  one  proposal  from Telangana  for  setting  up  PM  MITRA  parks  at  Warangal.    PM  MITRA  parks  will  enable  the  textile industry of India to achieve higher size and scale along with creation of a modern & integrated textile value chain at one location.  It will make the Indian textile industry globally competitive, attract large investments and boost employment generation.
Lok Sabha Question No. 1830 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Rejection of Tea Consignments
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Imtiaz Jaleel Syed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1830 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27 th  JULY, 2022

## REJECTION OF TEA CONSIGNMENTS

## 1830.   SHRI SYED IMTIAZ JALEEL:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that both international and domestic buyers have rejected a series of Tea consignments due to the presence of pesticides and chemicals beyond permissible limits;
- (b) if so the details thereof; and
- (c) the measures taken by the Government to control such type of rejections?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h ¼Jherh vuqfiz;k iVsy½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

(a)& (b): Indian Tea Exporters' Association has confirmed to the Tea Board that return of any tea consignment by the international buyers has not been reported. The domestic tea buyers of auction system carry out quality checking independently in respect of the teas purchased by them from auction. Few instances have been reported where the buyers had claimed that the teas purchased by them do not adhere to FSSAI parameters. The sellers, however, did not agree to buyers' report and re-tested the teas in NABL accredited laboratories where the teas conformed to all FSSAI parameters. The Tea Board has sent those teas for re-testing. After retesting if the teas are found not conforming to FSSAI parameters, the same will be destroyed as per Clause 4(d) of the Tea Waste Control Order 1959.

(c): It has been a continuous endeavour of the Tea Board and tea industry to strategize ways and means to ensure quality of tea being exported from India. The following measures are being undertaken by the Tea Board on sustained basis:

- i. Enforcement of 'Plant Protection Code (PPC)' in the plantations for 'Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)' and the 'Factory Safety Management System (FSMS)' at the factory level for 'Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)'.
- ii. Mandatory testing of sampled teas (twice in a year) for checking conformance with the FSSAI parameters at the factory level.
- iii. Regular awareness camps/workshops for small tea growers at the grass root level for imparting training on GAP.
- iv. Mandatory closure of all the factories in early December every year also helps in arresting infusion of sub-standard teas into the system.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1827 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: BSNL5G/4G in Ladakh
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Jamyang Tsering Namgyal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1827 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27 TH  JULY, 2022

## BSNL 5G/4G IN LADAKH

## 1827.  SHRI JAMYANG TSERING NAMGYAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Union Territory of Ladakh is included in the processes of implementing BSNL 5G/4G in India; and if so,  the details thereof and if not, the reason therefor;
- (b) whether the Government is planning to install 4G network on all the existing BSNL Tower. if so, the detail thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  cover  all  the  uncovered  hamlets/villages/areas including border outpost of Army and ITBP under USOF Scheme and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) Under  Atma-nirbhar  initiative  of  the  government,  BSNL  floated  the  Expression  of Interest (EOI) on 1st Jan, 2021 for registration cum Proof of Concept (PoC) from Indian Companies interested in participating in 4G tender. PoC has been provisionally completed. BSNL will convert the existing  161  sites  into  4G  and  additional  142  4G  sites  are  also  planned  in  the  Union  Territory  of Ladakh. Further, the Cabinet in its meeting held on 14.06.2022 has, inter-alia, reserved spectrum for BSNL for providing 5G services.
- (c) The  uncovered  villages  of  the  country,  including  the  union  territory  of  Ladakh,  are  being covered by the Government, under USOF scheme, and Telecom Service Providers in a phased manner. Proposal  for  provision  of  4G  mobile  services  at  Border  Out  Posts  (BoPs)  of  Border  Guard  Forces (BGFs) including Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been received from MHA for processing and approval.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1826 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Thorium Production
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Pawan Rajenimbalkar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1826

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## Thorium Production

## 1826.  SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH alias PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR:

## Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) the quantum and details of Thorium produced during the year 2021-22;
- (b) the  name  and  details  of  furnaces  in  which  Thorium  has  been  utilised    in  the country during the year 2021-22;
- (c) the details of the Enriched Thorium produced;
- (d) whether Thorium has been utilised in Heavy Water Reactor and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether Thorium has been exported during the year 2021-22 and if so, the details thereof including the revenue generated from the said export?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) 1776.32 tons of Thorium, in the form of Thorium Oxalate and Thorium Nitrate, has been produced during the year 2021-22.
- (b) If  we  consider  furnace  equivalent  to  a  reactor  in  which  Thorium  is  burnt,  DAE would like to state that Thorium being a fissile element, is unsuitable for use in reactor. However, Thorium gets converted into Uranium 233 fissile isotope and a reactor KAMINI uses U233 produced from Th 232. In the year 2021-22, KAMINI has been operating with U-233 (obtained from Th-232) fuel.
- (c) DAE has not produced any enriched Thorium.
- (d) Thorium Oxide (Thoria) pellets contained in bundles have been used in the initial cores of operating Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and operating experience has been generated. Thoria based fuels have also been irradiated in the  research  reactors  of  BARC  and  IGCAR.  After  such  irradiation  these  fuel elements have been examined in the laboratories at BARC and IGCAR.
- (e) No, Sir.

* * * * *