opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 176 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Lack of Electricity in Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Bhartruhari Mahtab

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 176 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## Lack of Electricity in Schools

176. SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  According  to  UDISC  Report  (2019-20)  only  80%  of  schools  in  the  country  have electricity ;
- (b)  if  so,  please  furnish  the  details  of  schools  where  there  is  no  electricity  and  the action plan of the Government by when all the schools are likely to have electricity ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) and (b):  As per Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 there are 1507708 schools in the country out of which 1257897 schools have electricity.  Improving the infrastructure in the schools including providing electricity to the schools is a continuous process. The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched an Integrated Scheme for School Education - Samagra Shiksha which subsumes  three  erstwhile  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) from  1st  April,  2018.  Samagra  Shiksha  focuses  inter  alia  on  improvement  in  school infrastructure including electricity in all States and Union Territories. Further, education being  a  concurrent  subject,  States  and  Union  Territories  are  also  expected  to undertake this activity.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 175 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Revision of Pension in RBI
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Thirumaa Valavan Thol

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 175

TO BE ANS NERED ON 19th JULY, 2021(MONDAYY ASHADHA 1943(SAKA)

## Revision of Pension in RBI

## 175. SHRI THIRUMAAVALAVAN THOL:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the approval sought for the revision of Pension to the retired employees of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was rejected by the Government in the past;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether revision of pension for the retired employees of RBI rejected by the Government is irplemented by RBI; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not; the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d): Following a request made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for revision of pension of its retired employees, the Central Government; on 5.3.2019, has approved an increase of 10% in pension plus dearness allowance. RBI has informed that it has implemented the revision vide its circular dated 7.3.2019.
Lok Sabha Question No. 174 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Language Formula
Ministry: Education
Asked by: M. Selvaraj, P.R. Natarajan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 174 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## Language Formula

## 174. SHRI M. SELVARAJ: SHRI NATARAJAN P.R.:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  it  is  true  that  the  Government  is  in  the  process  of  implementing  National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 with three language formula in educational institutions across the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  manner/  system  to  be  adopted  for  three  language  formula  along  with  the  names  of languages selected under NEP; and
- (c)  whether the use of Hindi/ Sanskrit language is proposed to be made compulsory as the medium of instructions in Higher Educational Institutions and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) & (b) The National Education Policy, 2020  at  para  4.13  provides  that  'The  threelanguage formula will continue to be implemented while keeping in mind the Constitutional provisions,  aspirations  of  the  people,  regions  and  the  Union,  and  the  need  to  promote multilingualism as well as promote national unity. However, there will be a greater flexibility in  the  three-language  formula,  and  no  language  will  be  imposed  on  any  State.  The  three languages  learned  by  children  will  be  the  choices  of  States,  regions,  and  of  course  the students  themselves, so long as at least  two of the three languages are native to India.    In particular, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or 7, as long as they are able to demonstrate basic proficiency in three languages (including one language of India at the literature level) by the end of secondary school'. Further, para 4.12 , inter-alia , provides that 'There will be a major effort from both the  Central  and  State  governments  to  invest  in  large  numbers  of  language  teachers  in  all regional languages around the country, and, in particular, for all languages mentioned in the

Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. States, especially States from different regions of  India,  may  enter  into  bilateral  agreements  to  hire  teachers  in  large  numbers  from  each other, to satisfy the three-language formula in their respective States, and also to encourage the study of Indian languages across the country. Extensive use of technology will be made for teaching and learning of different languages and to popularize language learning'.

(c) There is no such proposal under consideration.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 173 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Foreign Debt
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Kani K. Navas

173. SHRI K. NAVASKANI

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether foreign debt has increased in the last five years?
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reason therefor;
- (c) whether steps have been taken by the Government to tackle this; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reason therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d): India's external debt, both in absolute terms as well as a ratio to GDP, has been modest over  the  years.  The  increase  in  India's  external  debt  between  end-March  2017  and  end-March 2021 was primarily due to an increase in commercial borrowings, non-resident deposits, short-term debt, multilateral debt and bilateral debt. The stock of external debt and its growth rate for last five years is given below at Table 1:

Table 1: India's External Debt

| At end-March   |   External debt (US$ Billion) |   Growth Rate (Per cent) |   External Debt to GDP (Per cent) |
|----------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 2017           |                         471   |                     -2.8 |                              19.8 |
| 2018           |                         529.3 |                     12.4 |                              20.1 |
| 2019 R         |                         543.1 |                      2.6 |                              19.9 |
| 2020 PR        |                         558.4 |                      2.8 |                              20.6 |
| 2021 P         |                         570   |                      2.1 |                              21.1 |

Source: Reserve Bank of India and Department of Economic Affairs.

Note: R: Revised; PR: Partially Revised; P: Provisional.

The deft and prudent external debt management policy of the Government of India has helped in  containing rise in external debt and maintaining a comfortable external debt position. The policy focuses on monitoring long and short-term debt, raising sovereign loans on concessional  terms  with  longer  maturities,  regulating  external  commercial  borrowings  and rationalizing interest rates on Non-Resident Indian deposits.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 173

TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 19, 2021

## FOREIGN DEBT
Lok Sabha Question No. 171 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Development of Kumarakom as Iconic Tourist Destination
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Thomas Chazhikadan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.171 ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## DEVELOPMENT OF KUMARAKOM AS ICONIC TOURIST DESTINATION

## 171. SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether the Government has declared certain Tourism destinations including Kumarakom in Kerala as Iconic Tourist Destinations  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  with  copy  of  the notification of tourism department;
- (b)   Whether  the  Government  has  given  directions  to  prepare detailed project report for Kumarakom Iconic Tourist Destination and if so, the details thereof with the name of the agency who is assigned with the work;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  received  the  draft  report  of  the Kumarakom  Iconic  Tourism  Project  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (d)   whether the Government has received any proposal to include the development of the canals in the project and if so, the details
- Kottayam-Kumarakom-Cherthala Tourist Highway and thereof along with the expected total cost of the project; and
- (e)   whether the Government has set apart any fund for the iconic tourism destinations and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

(SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

MINISTER OF TOURISM

(a) to (e): The  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  framed  'Development  of Iconic  Tourist  Destinations  Scheme',  for  development  of  nineteen identified  iconic  destinations  including  Kumarakom  (Kerala)  in  the country following a holistic approach. The scheme  is under submission  for  approval of  competent  authority. No process has been    initiated    to  prepare    a  detailed    project    report    for

Kumarakom  as    Iconic    Tourist    Destination.    However    a    draft master plan  has  been  prepared  by the  Ministry of  Tourism for development of  Kumarakom through the  consortium  of  M/s INI Design Studio - Jones Lang Laselle Property Consultants India Pvt. Ltd and is under consultation with stakeholders.

As the scheme is not approved, no details regarding development projects and the funds sanctioned in this regard have been  finalized.  However,  in  the    Expenditure  Finance    Committee (EFC) meeting held on 15.10.2020  an  amount of  Rs.5109  Crore for the    period    of    Financial  Year  2020-21    to    2025-26    has    been recommended  for  development of  19 Iconic  Tourist  Destinations.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 169 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: India’s Debt-to-GDP Ratio
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Kalyan Banerjee

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.36

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 19 th  JULY, 2021 Ashadha 28, 1943 (Saka)

## COVID BONDS

36. SHRI  CHANDRA SEKHAR BELLANA: SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU: DR. BEESETTI VENKATA SATYAVATHI: SHRI KURUVA GORANTLA MADHAV: SHRIMATI  CHINTA ANURADHA: SHRI SRIDHAR KOTAGIRI: SHRI ADALA PRABHAKARA REDDY: SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY: SHRI POCHA BRAHMANADA REDDY:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a)
- (b)

whether the Government plans to raise fiscal resources through borrowings by issuing COVID Bonds; if so, the details thereof along with the impact of these borrowings on the fiscal deficit for the Financial Year 2021-22; and

- (c) Whether  these  borrowings  are  a  part  of  budgeted  borrowings  or    outside budget borrowings and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

- (a) The Government does not plan to raise fiscal resources through borrowings by issuing COVID Bonds;
- (b) & (c ) Does not arise.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 168 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Feroze Varun Gandhi

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 168 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

## 168. SHRI  FEROZE VARUN GANDHI:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  bring  strict  regulations  concerning  the  National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to avoid false certification and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  make  changes  to  the  schedule  of  NIOS  exams  and results in accordance with the other boards in the country to achieve fair admission process for higher education; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION ( SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN )

- (a): National  Institute  of  Open  Schooling  (NIOS),  an  autonomous  Organisation,  Ministry  of Education does certification as per Bye-Laws Governing examinations and certifications 2012. For certificate  verification,  the  old  records  are  already  uploaded  in  NIOS  website  since  1990.    So,  the verification can be done by entering the enrollment number of the concerned learner. The data is also aligned with DigiLocker and accordingly the verification of the result documents could also be done through DigiLocker. In case of any dispute, the authentication of the documents can also be verified by the Evaluation Department.  Usually, the employer (Govt./Private) gets the authentication of the documents from the NIOS Authority (Evaluation Department). NIOS certificates also contain water mark and QR code to avoid counterfeiting of the documents.

(b) and (c): NIOS conducts Public exams twice in a year in the month of March-April & OctoberNovember  every  year.  The  learner  gets  nine  (09)  chances  to  appear  in  the  exams  till  his/her certification.  Besides, the public exams, NIOS also provides opportunity to learners to appear in On Demand Exams (ODE) as and when the learner is ready for exams.  NIOS also provides opportunity to the learner to improve their performance in ODE till the learners' satisfaction. NIOS continually evolves its system as per requirement.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 167 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Prices of Petrol, Diesel and Cooking Gas
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Deepak Baij

## Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.167

## TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021/ASHADHA 28, 1943 (SAKA)

## BUDGETARY MEASURES FOR CONTROLING RISING PRICES OF PETROL, DIESEL AND COOKING GAS

## 167 . SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to fix the upper limit for the likely increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas while presenting Union-Budget keeping in view the rising prices of these items and if So, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to adjust the increased prices beyond the upper limit with different taxes collected from the common man so that
- (c) the scheme of the Government to the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas within the reach of the common man; and bring
- (d) whether the petrol-diesel are likely to be brought under GST regime so that the common man relief from the excessive burden of tax and if so, the details thereof? gets

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (FINANCE) (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d): Prices of petrol and diesel have been made market-determined by the Government with effect from 26.06.2010 and 19.10.2014 respectively. Public Sector Oil  Marketing take appropriate decision on pricing of   petrol and diesel in line with their international product prices, exchange rate , tax structure , inland freight and other cost elements Public Sector OMCs have implemented daily revision of retail selling price (RSP) of and diesel in the entire country with effect from 16th June, 2017 As per Section 9(2) of the CGST Act, inclusion of these products in GST requires recommendation of the GST Council; petrol
Lok Sabha Question No. 165 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: India’ s Per Capita Income
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Balubhau (Alias Suresh Narayan) Dhanorkar, Kani K. Navas

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 165

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## INDIA'S PER CAPITA INCOME

165. SHRI BALUBHAU ALIAS SURESH NARAYAN DHANORKAR: SHRI K. NAVASKANI:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the International Monetary Fund Global Economic Outlook report has projected that Bangladesh is set to surpass India's per capita income in 2021;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the report states that the Indian economy will be among the steepest declining economies in the world in 2021 and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether it is true that five years ago, India's per capita income was 40 per cent higher than that of Bangladesh and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a)  &  (b)  As  per  International  Monetary  Fund's  (IMF's)  World  Economic  Outlook  (WEO)  report, April  2021,  India's  per  capita  Gross  Domestic  Product  (GDP)  in  purchasing  power  parity  (PPP) terms in 2021 is estimated at US$ 7332.9 as compared to US$ 5811.6 for Bangladesh.

(c)  As per IMF's WEO, April 2021, the Indian economy is estimated to grow at 12.5 per cent in 2021, highest among major economies.

(d)  As  per  IMF's  WEO  report,  April  2021,  India's  per  capita  GDP  in  PPP  terms  in  2016  was US$ 5839.9, 41.8 percent higher than that of Bangladesh (US$ 4118.9).

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 164 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Jagdishpur-Haldia Gas Pipeline Project
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Locket Chatterjee

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 164 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## Jagdishpur-Haldia Gas Pipeline Project

## 164.     MS. LOCKET CHATTERJEE:

## पेोलयम और ाक ृतक गैस मंी

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

- (a) the status of Jagdishpur-Haldia Gas pipeline project;
- (b) the tentative timeline for supply of CNG for the city of Kolkata; and
- (c) the plans and timeline for supplying piped cooking gas in Kolkata?

## ANSWER पेोिलयमऔराकृितकगैसमंालयमरायमंी ( ीरामेवरतेल )

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

- (a)  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas  Regulatory  Board  (PNGRB)  has  authorized  2,655  Km  long Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) to GAIL (India) Limited to connect eastern parts of the country. About 1,986 Km of pipeline has been laid as on 31.03.2021.
- (b)  &  (c)  Bengal  Gas  Company  Limited (BGCL) has been authorized for the development of City  Gas  Distribution  (CGD)  network  in  the  Geographical  Area  (GA)  of  Kolkata  Municipal Corporation  and  parts  adjoining  districts  of  North  24  Parganas,  South  24  Parganas,  Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia.  Supply  of  Natural  Gas  to  the  GA  has  started.  Development  of  the  CNG stations /PNG connections in a GA is done as per the terms and conditions of the authorization.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 163 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Vacant posts in IITs and NITs
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Vijay Baghel, Sumedhanand Saraswati

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 163 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## Vacant posts in IITs and NITs

## † 163. SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of institutes where the post of chairman and other posts are lying  vacant  in  the  governing  board  of  the  IITs  and  NITs  across  the country;
- (b) whether any time limit has been fixed for filling up these vacant posts;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a): At  present,  8  posts  of  Chairman  at  IITs  and  21  posts  of  Chairman  at NITs are vacant. Further, 5 posts of Directors in IITs and 5 posts in NITs are vacant.
- (b)  to  (d):  The  nomination/selection  of  Chairman  and  other  posts  is  a continuous process.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 162 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-19
Subject: Board for Skill Development
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Sanjay Jaiswal

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 162 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2021

## BOARD FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

## 162. DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

## Will  the  Minister  of  SKILL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is planning to set targets for percentage of people skilled as it is there in the case of literacy;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government is planning to set up a board for skill development that is similar to the Central  Board  of  Secondary  Education  to  ensure  the assessment and standard of skill development and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether there are any incentive mechanisms to ensure employers take part in active recruitment and also in the process of skilling and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) & (b): Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana (PMKVY)  is  the  flagship  skill training scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Under PMKVY 2.0 (2016-2020), a target to train one crore individuals was set. The number of candidates trained is 1.09 crore. Under PMKVY 3.0 (2020-2022), which was launched on 15.01.2021, a target to train 8 lakh individuals has been set. The number of candidates trained so far is 1.2 lakh.

(c):  MSDE, vide notification dated 5 th December 2018, has set up National Council for  Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) as an overarching regulatory body for the skill eco-system. It is mandated to regulate the functioning of entities engaged in  vocational  education  and  training,  both  long  and  short-term,  and  establish minimum standards for the functioning of such entities.

(d): Under PMKVY scheme, various initiatives are taken to ensure better placement outcomes  for  the  trained/  certified  candidates. Rojgar  Melas are  conducted  for placement of youth by industry. MSDE  has  launched Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employees Employer Mapping (ASEEM) portal, which acts as a directory of skilled workforce.  The  objective  is  to  provide  a  platform  that  matches  supply  of  skilled workforce with the market demand, thereby facilitating better livelihood opportunities for youth and availability of ready skilled manpower to employers.

*******