opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 3027 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Speed Limit on Highways
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Rajesh Verma

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to formulate strict rules for drivers driving above the maximum speed limit on the National Highways in the country; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)  and  (b)  In  terms  of  section  112  of  the  Motor  Vehicle  Act  1988,  the Ministry vide notification S.O. 1522 (E) dated 6th April 2018 has fixed the maximum speed limit in respect of different classes of motor vehicles plying on different roads in India. Section 183 of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 contains the following provisions of penalty for driving at excessive speed:

| Sub-section (1) of Section 183 of Motor Vehicle Act 1988   | Class Of Motor Vehicle   | Fine                                               |
|------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| Clause (i)                                                 | Light Motor Vehicle      | shall not be less than one thousand rupees but may |

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3027 ANSWERED ON 21 ST  DECEMBER 2023

## SPEED LIMIT ON HIGHWAYS

3027.  SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

| Sub-section (1) of Section 183 of Motor Vehicle Act 1988   | Class Of Motor Vehicle                                                                             | Fine                                                                                                           |
|------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                            |                                                                                                    | extend to two thousand rupees                                                                                  |
| Clause (ii)                                                | Medium Goods Vehicle Or Medium Passenger Vehicle Or Heavy Goods Vehicle Or Heavy Passenger Vehicle | shall not be less than two thousand rupees but may extend to four thousand rupees                              |
| Clause (iii)                                               | for the second or any subsequent offence under Sub- section (1) of Section 183.                    | Driving licence of such driver shall be impounded as per the provisions of the sub-section (4) of section 206. |

The implementation of the provisions contained in the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, and rules made thereunder comes under the purview of respective State Government and Union Territory administration.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3025 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: National Green Hydrogen Mission
Ministry: NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
Asked by: Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal, Dipsinh Shankarsinh Rathod, Shankar Lalwani, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3025

ANSWERED ON 21/12/2023

## NATIONAL GREEN HYDROGEN MISSION

3025. SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA SHRI DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD DR. BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI SHRI RAVI KISHAN SHRI JAMYANG TSERING NAMGYAL

Will the Minister of NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the aims and objectives of the National Green Hydrogen Mission;
- (b) whether the Mission is likely to have any impact on augmenting India's energy needs;
- (c) if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the details on the financial resources earmarked by the Government for the successful execution of the Mission?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND POWER (SHRI R.K. SINGH)

(a) to (d) The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet on 4th January 2023. The overarching objective of the Mission is to make India the Global Hub for production, usage and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.

The following components have been announced as part of the Mission:

- i. Facilitating demand creation through exports and domestic utilization;
- ii. Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme, which includes incentives for manufacturing of electrolysers and production of green hydrogen;
- iii. Pilot  Projects  for  steel,  mobility,  shipping,  decentralized  energy  applications,  hydrogen production from biomass, hydrogen storage, etc.;
- iv. Development of Green Hydrogen Hubs;
- v. Support for infrastructure development;
- vi. Establishing a robust framework of regulations and standards;
- vii. Research &  Development programme  including through a public-private partnership framework for R&D.
- viii. Skill development programme; and
- ix. Public awareness and outreach programme.

The expected impact of the Mission on augmenting India's energy needs, by 2030, are as follows:

- i. India's Green Hydrogen production capacity is likely to reach 5 MMT per annum, with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW, contributing to reduction in dependence on import of fossil fuels. Achievement of Mission targets is expected to reduce a cumulative ₹ 1 lakh crore worth of fossil fuel imports by 2030.
- ii. Nearly 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted through production and use of the targeted quantum of Green Hydrogen.

The Government has earmarked a financial outlay of ₹ 19,744 crore till Financial Year 2029 - 30 for successful execution of the Mission.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3024 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Utilisation of Biodiesel
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi, Nihal Chand Chauhan, Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya, Dipsinh Shankarsinh Rathod

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3024

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 st December, 2023

## UTILISATION OF BIODIESEL

3024. SHRI GHANSHYAM SINGH LODHI:

SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA:

SHRI DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD:

## पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी

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

- (a)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  during  the  last  five  years  and  the  current year  to  promote  utilisation  of  biodiesel  as  a  sustainable  fuel  source  in  the country;
- (b) whether the Government has launched any policy during the said period with respect to procurement of biodiesel; and
- (c)  if so, the manner in which the procurement volume and production of biodiesel has been changed after the said policy?

## ANSWER

पेोिलयम और ाकृ ितक गैस मंालय म राय मंी ( ी रामेर तेली )

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

- (a)  to  (c):  The  steps  taken  by  the  Government  during  the  last  five  years  and  the current year to promote utilisation of  biodiesel inter alia include:
- i. Vide  Gazette  notification  dated  30.04.2019,  the  Government  has  notified 'Guidelines  for  sale  of  Biodiesel  for  blending  with  high  speed  diesel  for transportation purposes-2019.' Subsequently, vide Amendment Order, 2019 the  Government  has  permitted  the  direct  sale  of  bio-diesel  (B-100)  for blending  with  high  speed  diesel  to  all  consumers,  in  accordance  with  the specified blending limits and the standards specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards subject to the fulfillment of these guidelines.
- ii. The Government has amended the National Policy on Biofuels-2018 in June 2022 wherein an indicative target of 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel /direct sale of biodiesel has been proposed by 2030.
- iii. GST rate  for  biodiesel  supplied  to  the  OMCs  for  blending  with  diesel  has been reduced from 12% to 5 % from October 2021.
- iv. Public  Sector  Oil  Marketing  Companies  (OMCs)  are  offering  remunerative prices for procurement of biodiesel.
- v. Celebration of World Biofuel Day on 10 th of  August every  year to promote biofuels.

The details of biodiesel procured by the OMCs since 2018-19 are as under:

| Year                   |   Quantity (Cr. Liters) |
|------------------------|-------------------------|
| 2018-19                |                   8.29  |
| 2019-20                |                  10.55  |
| 2020-21                |                   0.587 |
| 2021-22                |                   0.049 |
| 2022-23                |                   6.057 |
| 2023-24 (Up to Nov'23) |                  29.25  |

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3022 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Data Security in Aviation Sector
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: M V V Satyanarayana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3022

(To be answered on the 21 st  December 2023)

## DATA SECURITY IN AVIATION SECTOR

## 3022. SHRI M.V.V. SATYANARAYANA

## Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- a) whether the Government proposes to make use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (Al) to predict and avoid data breaches and cyber attacks;
- b)  If  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  time  by  which  it  is  likely  to  be implemented;
- c) If not, the reasons therefor; and
- d) the steps taken by the Government to uphold data security in the civil aviation industry?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))

- (a) to (c): Airports Authority of India (AAI) is implementing Big Data based security appliance systems for protection against cyber attacks using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to predict and analyze cyber threats.
- (d): Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), aviation security regulator in the country has prepared Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP) which deals with scenarios of cyber incidents and responses to be undertaken for countering  cyber  attacks  and  cyber  terrorism.  To  address  identified vulnerabilities and ensure mitigating measures, BCAS has issued guidelines on the subject "Guidelines for Protection of sensitive data in aviation sector of India" which covers the subject 'Protection from cyber-attack'.
- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3019 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Construction of Bypass Road
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: M. K. Raghavan

## be pleased to state:

- (a) whether frequent traffic congestion has been noticed at Thamarassery Ghats in Kozhikode Kollegal National Highway (NH-766) and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has any plan to construct a new bypass from Thalippuzha (Wayanad) to Chippilithode (Kozhikode) via Maruthilavu and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has received Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Beypore Port-Malaparamb NH connectivity and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  steps  taken  for  implementation  of  Beypore  Port-Malaparamb  NH connectivity project?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a) Yes  Sir,  Traffic  Congestion  has  been  observed  at  Ghat  section  of Thamarassery  Churam.  In  order  to  give  relief  from  congestion,  Land Acquisition estimate has been sanctioned for widening the stretch.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3019

ANSWERED ON 21 ST  DECEMBER, 2023

## CONSTRUCTION OF BYPASS ROAD

3019. SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

(b)     There is no proposal to construct a bypass from Thalippuzha (Wayanad) to  Chippilithode  (Kozhikode)  via  Maruthilavu.  However,  Ministry  keeps  on receiving proposals from various State Governments for upgradation of roads. Decisions are taken based on the fulfillment of the criteria, requirement of connectivity, inter-se priority and availability of funds. (c)  and  (d)   The  work  of  preparation  of  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR)  for development of port connectivity projects related to Beypore port including stretch from Beypore port to Malapparamba  has been awarded.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3014 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Fake Beneficiaries under Minority Scholarship
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: Pradeep Kumar Singh, Sunil Baburao Mendhe, Anurag Sharma, Pushpendra Singh Chandel, Prathap Simha, Janardan Mishra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3014

ANSWERED ON 21.12.2023

## FAKE BENEFICIARIES UNDER MINORITY SCHOLARSHIP

3014.   SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA:

SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

SHRI SUNIL BABURAO MENDHE:

SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of reports citing fake beneficiaries under the Minority Scholarships at the State level and if so, the details thereof; and

(b) the States with the highest percentage of minority scholarship misuse?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (b): The Government has implemented various schemes for the welfare and upliftment of every strata, including minorities, especially the economically weaker and lesser privileged sections of the society, through various schemes of different Ministries. Ministry of Minority Affairs has specifically implemented various schemes, including Pre-Matric, Post Matric and Merit-cum-Means Scholarship schemes, across the country for socio-economic and educational  empowerment  of  the  six  notified  minority  communities.  All  aspects  including revision of income criteria for the parents are looked into by the Government.

Ministry  has  examined  the  implementation  of  Scholarship  schemes  and  certain  gaps  were found, which were further analyzed and also corroborated by All India Performance Audit Report. Taking  cognizance  of  the  same,  the  Ministry  entrusted  a  third  party  to  carry  out Impact Evaluation study and Physical Verification of Institutes and applicants of Scholarship Scheme. On physical verification of 1572 institutions, about 830 institutes have been found to be fake/ partial fake or non-functional. The findings of the study indicated gross irregularities with  instances  where  benefit  of  Scholarship  Schemes  is  not  reaching  to  the  targeted beneficiaries. The Government has referred the matter to CBI for thorough investigation and FIR has been registered by CBI. The State of Uttar Pradesh has the highest percentage of fake applicants.
Lok Sabha Question No. 3012 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Transportation of Arecanut
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Nalin Kumar Kateel, D.K. Suresh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3012

(To be answered on the 21 st  December 2023)

## TRANSPORTATION OF ARECANUT

3012. SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL SHRI D.K. SURESH

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government is aware that arecanut is illegally transported into India through airports utilizing domestic supply routes and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is taking any appropriate measures to check the illegal transport of arecanut through airports and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if so, the details of measures being taken/to be taken to protect the interest of the arecanut growers of India?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))

- (a) to (c): A total of 16 cases of illegal transport of 29.48 tonnes of areca nut valued at Rs 1.08 Crores approximately were seized from airports and air cargo during 2021-22 to 2022-23 by Customs field formations of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). However, thers is no such seizure  of  illegal  areca  nut  during  current  financial  year  2023-24  till November 2023. CBIC, through its Customs field formations and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), keeps a strict vigil at all the possible areas prone to illegal transportation of arecanut and take appropriate action in accordance with the law to check such transports thereby protecting the interest of the arecanut growers in India from these incidents.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 3011 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Dahod Airport
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3011

(To be answered on the 21 st  December 2023)

## DAHOD AIRPORT

## 3011. SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government has proposed to construct an Airport at Dahod in Gujarat and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has received any proposal for the said purpose and if so, the details thereof; and

- (c) the action being taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))

(a) to (c): Government of India (GoI) has formulated a Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008 for development of new Greenfield airports in the country. As per the policy, if any developer including the State Government desires to develop an airport, they are required to identify a suitable site and get the Pre-feasibility Study conducted for construction of airport and submit a proposal to the Central Government for 'Site Clearance' followed by 'InPrinciple' approval.

Government of India (GoI) has not received any proposal for 'Site Clearance' under Greenfield Airports Policy from State Government of Gujarat (GoG) or any Airport Developer for construction of a Greenfield Airport at Dahod, Gujarat.

- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2998 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Quality of Road Construction
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Agatha K. Sangma

be pleased to state:

- (a)      the  steps  taken  to  ensure  the  quality  and  durability  of  road construction and maintenance in North-Eastern region;
- (b)     whether there are any plans to introduce modern technology and digital  solutions  in  road  management  and  toll  collection  to  improve efficiency and transparency and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of any public-private partnerships or collaborations aimed at  accelerating  road  infrastructure  development  in  North-Eastern region?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)          Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is primarily responsible for development, maintenance and management of National Highways (NHs) in the country including those in North Eastern States. NH works are carried out in accordance with the standards specified in the  Indian  Road  Congress  (IRC)  Codes,  Ministry's  specification  and other relevant international codes of practices. The NH development and  maintenance  works  are  regularly  supervised  thr ough  Authority's Engineer (AE)/ Independent Engineer (IE), supervision consultant, etc. Field  officers  and  senior  officers  of  various  executing  agencies  like

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2998

ANSWERED ON 21 st  December, 2023

QUALITY OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION

2998. KUMARI AGATHA K. SANGMA:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

State Public Works Departments (PWD), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation  Limited  (NHIDCL),  Border  Roads  Organisation  (BRO)  and senior officers of Ministry's headquarters (HQ) inspect and monitor the NH works to ensure their quality, durability and timely completion. (b)          Modern technologies like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based  FASTag  for  toll collection, Electronically controlled  Paver Finishers / intelligent compaction  equipment  for  construction of Highways, online data base management systems for project monitoring  are  used  for  construction  and  maintenance  of  National Highways to improve their efficiency and transparency. (c) NH  works  including those in North-eastern region are implemented on various modes like Item Rate Contract, Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) and other Public Private Partnership (PPP) like Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), Build Operate Transfer (BOT), etc. At present 3 numbers of works covering a length of 331 km at a cost of Rs.5,542 crore have been taken up on PPP mode in North-eastern region.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2997 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-21
Subject: Viability Gap Funding for BESS
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Manne Srinivas Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2997

## ANSWERED ON 21.12.2023

## VIABILITY GAP FUNDING FOR BESS

2997. SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  approved  Viability  Gap  Funding  (VGF)  for  the development  of  Battery  Energy  Storage  Systems  (BESS)  to  support  a  battery-energy storage capacity of 4,000 megawatt hours, to be developed by 2030-31 and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government would offer incentives worth up to 40 per cent of capital costs  to companies  setting  up  of  manufacturing  units  and  the  funding  for  the development of BESS scheme, with an initial outlay of Rupees 9,400 crore including a budgetary support of Rupees 3,760 crore with a minimum of 85 per cent of the BESS project  capacity  would  be  made  available  to  Discoms  and  the  selection  of  BESS developers for VGF grants would be carried out through a transparent and competitive bidding process to help the industry;
- (c) if so, the details and present status thereof; and
- (d) the  details  of  VGF  share  by  the  Government/private  companies  and  subsidies given to those who came forward till now, State/UT-wise?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF POWER AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY

(SHRI R.K. SINGH)

(a) to (c) : Yes,  Sir.  The  Government  has  approved  the  scheme  for  Viability  Gap Funding (VGF) for development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with capacity of 4,000 megawatts hours (MWh).

Under the scheme, VGF to the extent of upto 40% of capital cost for BESS shall be provided by the Central Government. Public and private sector entities shall be selected through the bidding process to be conducted by the Implementing Agency(ies) as  per  the  provisions  of  the  Scheme  and  Bidding  Guidelines  for  the  development  of BESS.

The projects under the scheme will be approved during a period of 3 years (2023-24 to 2025-26) and for passing on the scheme to consumers of the Discoms, at least 85% of the power from VGF-funded BESS projects shall be first offered to Discoms before making it available for others.

(d) : The  selection  of  developers  under  the  VGF  scheme  has  not  commenced yet.

**********