opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2636 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Amendment in MMDR Act
Ministry: MINES
Asked by: Ravneet Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2636

ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021

## AMENDMENT IN MMDR ACT

2636. SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

- (a).whether there is any proposal of the Government to bring certain amendments in the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act;
- (b).if so, the details thereof including the consultation process followed, suggestions and objections received from the general public in this regard;
- (c).  whether these amendments are likely to change the definition of 'illegal mining' and if so, the details thereof;
- (d).whether  the  amendments  also  propose  auctioning  of  partially  explored  mining blocks; and
- (e).if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  safeguards  employed  for  possible  auction  of larger mineral deposits at lower prices?

## ANSWER

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

- (a): Yes,  Sir.  There  is  a  proposal  for  amendment  to  the  Mines  and  Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957 to bring structural reforms in the mining sector.
- (b): As  per  pre-  legislative  consultation  policy,  the  proposals  of  amendment to  Acts/Rules are placed for public consultation along with consultations with other stakeholders  including  State  Governments;  the  process  of  consultation  process was followed in the instant proposal also.
- (c):       No, Sir.
- (d) &  (e):  The  proposals  intend  to  bring  more  blocks  for  auction  by  redefining norms  for  exploration.  The  State  Governments  put  mineral  blocks  on  auction keeping all factors including revenue in mind.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2634 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Indian Fishermen
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Kani K. Navas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2634

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021

## INDIAN FISHERMEN

## 2634. SHRI K. NAVASKANI:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   the   Hon'ble   External   Affairs   Minister   visited   Sri   Lanka recently and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether discussions were held regarding Indian fishermen who are frequently arrested by Sri Lankan Navy during the said visit;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)

(a) EAM paid an official visit to Sri Lanka from 5-7 January 2021 at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Dinesh Gunawardena. Apart from bilateral talks held with his counterpart, he discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During his visit, EAM called upon Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments on addressing the issues related to protecting the interests of T amils in Sri Lanka. He reiterated that India's support for the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka is longstanding, as indeed for an inclusive political outlook that encourages ethnic harmony. It is in Sri Lanka's own interest that the expectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and dignity within   a   united   Sri   Lanka   are   fulfilled.   That   applies   equally   to   the commitments   made   by   the   Sri   Lankan   Government   on   meaningful devolution, including the 13 th  Amendment to the Constitution.

During   his   visit,   further   areas   of   cooperation   in   investments, including in port infrastructure, energy, connectivity, special zones for pharmaceutical manufacturing, vocational training as also in tourism to accelerate post-covid economic recovery were also discussed. In response to Sri Lankan President's request for Covid vaccine, he conveyed that India will prioritise Sri Lanka when supplying Made in India vaccine to other countries.

(b) & (c) During his visit, EAM met the Minister of Fisheries of Sri Lanka and discussed all issues related to fishermen and strongly conveyed to the Sri Lankan side India's concerns with respect to the issues related to our fishermen and their boats.

- (d) Does not arise.

* * *
Lok Sabha Question No. 2631 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Steel Import Monitoring System
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Poonam (Mahajan) Vajendla Rao

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2631 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 th MARCH, 2021

## STEEL IMPORT MONITORING SYSTEM

## 2631.   SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वािण�य एवं उ�ोग मं�ी ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Union Government has developed monitoring system which would provide advance information on steel imports to Government and other stakeholders and if so the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is also a fact that the steel importers would have to submit advance information in online system to get automatic Registration Number and if so the details thereof;
- (c) the details of validity of Registration Number and documents which have to be entered by importer in bill of entry to enable clearance from customs for consignment; and
- (d) whether this would bring transparency and help to resolve the issues of over invoicing and under invoicing and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h ¼Jh gjnhi flag iqjh½

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)

- (a) & (b): Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), an online platform for advance registration of  intended  imports  of  steel,  was  launched  by  the  Government  vide  Notification  dated 05.09.2019. The intended steel importers have to submit advance information in online system to obtain Registration Number through an online web-portal 15-60 days before the actual date of import.

(c): The validity of Registration Number is for a period of 75 days which is obtained through online  SIMS  Registration  web-portal.  No  other  document  apart  from  SIMS  Registration Number and its expiry date is required to be declared mandatorily in the Bill of Entry(with respect to SIMS), to enable clearance of consignments from customs.

(d): SIMS, besides bringing in transparency, has helped the Ministry of Steel and the industry in identifying the exact steel grades being imported into the country in a timely manner.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2628 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Technology Mission for Indian Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya, Dipsinh Shankarsinh Rathod

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2628 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021

## TECHNOLOGY MISSION FOR INDIAN RAILWAYS

†2628. SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA:

SHRI DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  steps  taken  to  enhance  the  Technology  Mission  for  Indian  Railways (TMIR);
- (b)  whether  TMIR  is  likely  to  provide  an  impetus  to  the  Make  in  India  Mission envisaged by the Prime Minister; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER

AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (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.2628 BY SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA AND SHRI DIPSINH  SHANKARSINH  RATHOD  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 10.03.2021 REGARDING TECHNOLOGY MISSION FOR INDIAN RAILWAYS

(a): Technology Mission for Indian Railways (TMIR) is a consortium of Ministry of  Railways,  Ministry  of  Education,  Ministry  of  Science  &  Technology  and Industries on an Investment Sharing Model. A number of projects have been identified  under  this  mission.  Ministry  of  Railways  is  making  efforts  to  use TMIR to develop new indigenous technologies for Railway applications. (b) & (c): Yes, Sir. With the objective to promote 'Make in India' 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', following four projects are taken up under TMIR:

1.    Pilot  Project  on  implementation  of  industry  4.0  at  Modern  Coach Factory, Raebareli
2. Development of Model and Design Methodology for Railway Formation and Validation using Full Scale Model Study
3.  Development  of  methodology  and  specification  for  utilization  of steel slag as ballast material in Railway Track
4.  Development  of  Instrumented  Measuring  Wheel  (IMW)  set  with complete Data Acquisition system (DAQ)

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2627 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Space Assets
Ministry: SPACE
Asked by: Basanta Kumar Panda

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF SPACE LOK SABHA

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2021

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2627 SPACE ASSETS

2627.  SHRI BASANTA KUMAR PANDA:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the number of space assets (satellites, earth stations, etc.);
- (b) whether there is any plan to increase the budget to be spent on Department of Space in the upcoming Budget as compared to the previous years; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) To  meet  the  growing  demands  of  the  usage  of  the  Space Technologies and their applications for National Development (Societal, Government, Commercial and Strategic) using Communication,  Earth  Observation,  Navigational  and  Space Sciences, ISRO has created Expert Committees consisting of

O.I.H.

members from ISRO, IMD, NCOAR, I &B, BSNL, DOT and user representatives  to  address  and  assess  the  demand  for  the satellites for the next generation. Based on the recommendations  of  the  expert  committee  future  satellite projects are conceived.

- (b) Yes, Sir.
- (c) It  is  proposed  to  enhance  the  Budget  Estimates  2021-22  of Department of Space to Rs. 13,949.09 Crore, as against the allocation  of  Rs.  9500  Crore  in  RE  2020-21.  The  budgetary allocations  for  Indian  Space  programme  shall  be  utilised towards meeting the future challenges and space preparedness.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2625 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Steps to reduce Border Infiltration
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: Talari Rangaiah

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2625

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 th  March, 2021

## STEPS TO REDUCE BORDER INFILTRATION

2625. SHRI TALARI RANGAIAH:

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

- (a) whether the Indian Army has taken any measures to reduce Border infiltrations;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Indian  Army  has  tested  Hybrid  Model  of  Smart  fence  integrated  with  several sensors along the LoC; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) & (b):  Yes, Sir.  The Indian Army has adopted a robust counter infiltration strategy which has  an  appropriate  mix  of  technology  and  human  resource  put  together  to  check  infiltration effectively.  Innovative troops deployment, proactive use of surveillance and monitoring devices and  the  Anti  Infiltration  Obstacle  System  (AIOS)  have  enhanced  the  ability  to  detect  and intercept terrorists  attempting to infiltrate/exfiltrate.    On  the  basis  of  regular analysis  of  threat assessment and past infiltration attempts, drill and procedures are modified to counter emerging threats.  Some of the measures employed by Indian Army are as under:-

- (i)  Appraisal and upgradation of intelligence gathering capabilities.
- (ii)    Reorientation  of  surveillance  architecture  to  enmesh  with  counter  infiltration deployment.

(iii) Augmentation of Anti Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) incorporating surveillance assets.

(iv)    Enhanced  incorporation  of  aerial  platforms,  night  vision  equipment,  radars, underground sensors etc. to strengthen the surveillance architecture.

- (v)  Maintenance of heightened alert in areas along the LC.

(c) & (d):  Yes, Sir.  The Indian Army, along with Research & Development agencies, regularly upgrade  the  design  of  Anti  Infiltration  Obstacle  System  (AIOS)  on  the  fence  to  incorporate 'Smart'  components  such  as  Border  Surveillance  System  (BOSS),  Laser  Fence,  Short  Range Surveillance Equipment etc.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2624 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Repealing Obsolete Law
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Meenakashi Lekhi, Arvind Dharmapuri

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2624

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE  10 th  MARCH, 2021

## Repealing Obsolete Law

## 2624. SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI:

## SHRI ARVIND DHARMAPURI:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  developed  a  mechanism  to  identify  and repeal obsolete legislations in the Country;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the importance of repealing obsolete legislations in the country; and
- (d) the total number of laws repealed since 2014 till date?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND

## ELECTRONIC & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to  (d): Yes, Sir. The present Government had constituted a TwoMember Committee to identify the obsolete and redundant laws for repeal in 2014.  The  said  Committee  had  examined  and  identified  1824  obsolete  Acts (including 229 State Acts) for repeal and submitted the report to the Government.  The  said  229  State  Acts  have  been  forwarded  to  the  respective State  Governments for repeal. Thereafter, the Legislative Department took up the  matter  with  the  concerned  Ministries/Departments  of  the  Government  to examine and review the Acts administered by them.

Repealing  of  obsolete  legislations  is  an  important  commitment  of  the government  for  achieving  the  larger  objective  of  'Minimum  Government, Maximum  Governance'.  This  has  improved  the  ease  of  doing  business environment  in  India  and  has  reduced  the  burden  of  compliances  for  general public  as  well  as  businesses.  This  has  also  helped  in  reducing  litigation  by bringing  greater  clarity  about  legal  provisions.  So  far  1486  obsolete  and redundant laws have been repealed by the Government of India since 2014.
Lok Sabha Question No. 2622 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Timely Replies to MPs
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: Abdul Majeed Ariff

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS

## (DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS & PUBLIC GRIEVANCES)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2622

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.03.2021)

## TIMELY REPLIES TO MPs

## 2622. ADV. A.M. ARIFF:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has issued any guidelines/circulars for ensuring timely replies to letters sent by the Members of Parliament (MPs) to Union Ministers and Ministries and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) whether the Government has taken any measures to ensure that replies are given to MPs in a time bound manner and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

(a) & (b):  The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in the Government of  India  has  laid  down  the  procedures  and  guidelines  as  contained  in  the  Central  Secretariat Manual  of  Office  Procedure  (CSMOP)  for  dealing  with  letters  received  from  Members  of Parliament  (MPs)  to  Union  Ministers  and  Ministries.  The  Department  has  reiterated  the instructions contained in the CSMOP from time to time stressing on the need of the following its provision  including  acknowledging  the  communication  received  from  MPs  within  15  days, followed by a reply within next 15 days of acknowledgement sent.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2618 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Prime Minister wi-fi Access Network Scheme
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: P. Velusamy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2618 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## PRIME MINISTER Wi-Fi ACCESS NETWORK SCHEME

## 2618. SHRI VELUSAMY P.:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has approved a framework for the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks through  PM Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme and if so, the details and the salient features thereof;
- (b) the  number  of  Public  Data  Offices  (PDO)  to  be  established  in  the  country  and  the  number  of manpower required to monitor the said scheme;
- (c) whether  free  access  of  Wi-Fi  will  be  given  to  all  citizens  of  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (d) the mechanism put in place in the scheme to prevent the misuse of free Wi-Fi facility?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

- (a) Yes,  Sir.  The  proposal  of  the  Department  for  Proliferation  of  Broadband  through  Public  Wi-Fi Networks named as Prime Minister Wireless Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) framework has been approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on 9/12/2020.As per the  WANI framework, it is envisaged that  last  mile  broadband  connectivity  will  be  through  a  network  of  public  Wi-Fi  access  points.  The backhaul  requirement  for  these  Wi-Fi  access  points  to  be  met  by  internet  bandwidth  from  the  telecom service  providers/internet  service  providers.    Under  the  distributed  architecture  and  unbundling  of functions,  the WANI eco-system consists of following players who will neither be required to take any license nor pay any license fee:
-  Public  Data  Office  (PDO): To  establish,  maintain,  and  operate  WANI  compliant  Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers.
-  Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA): An aggregator of PDOs and perform the functions relating to Authorization and Accounting.
-  App Provider :  To register users and discover WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in the nearby area and display the same within the App for accessing the internet service.
-  Central Registry : To maintain, in accordance with the WANI architecture and specifications, the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs.
- (b) Under the WANI framework, it is expected that a large number of  Public Data Offices (PDO) will be set up by small entrepreneurs depending on the market demand with an objective to earn return on their investment. The scheme will be monitored by the existing officials of Department of Telecommunications and would not require separate manpower for this purpose.
- (c) & (d) The scheme does not envisage free access of Wi-Fi.

************
Lok Sabha Question No. 2617 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Internet Facility in Bihar
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2617 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## INTERNET FACILITY IN BIHAR

## 2617. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  provided  internet  and  Wi-Fi  facilities  in  villages  of  the country particularly in Bihar for the benefit of farmers with a view to enhance their knowledge in agro-sector and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the  action  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  enhance  internet  facility  in  the  rural  and remote areas of the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a) & (b) Internet  is  being  provided  in  rural  areas  by  the  Government  and  the  Telecom Service  Providers  (TSPs)  through  3G/4G  wireless  mobile  and  fixed  wireline  broadband.  In addition  to  this,  Government  of  India  is  implementing  BharatNet  project  to  provide  broadband connectivity  to  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country.  As  a  part  of BharatNet  project,  the  Last  Mile  connectivity  is  being  provided  through  Wi-Fi  or  any  other suitable broadband technology.

The status of  Internet  facility  in  rural  &  remote  areas  of  the  country  including  Bihar,  as  on 26.02.2021, is as follows:

|   S.N | Parameter                                                                              | In the country                    | In Bihar                      |
|-------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------|
|     1 | No of inhabited villages (as per Census 2011) having 3G or 4G mobile wireless coverage | 5,58,537 out of 5,97,618 villages | 38,733 out of 39,073 villages |
|     2 | Service Ready GPs (including BHQs) with broadband infrastructure                       | 1,54,096                          | 8,821                         |
|     3 | Number of GPs where Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed                                 | 1,03,400                          | 5,345                         |

Further,  Government  has  created  mKisan  Portal  to  provide  free  advisory  services  to  the farmers and all others associated with the farming and allied activities. More than 5 crore farmers including farmers from Bihar are registered on the portal and getting benefitted from this service.

************