opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 196 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Waiting Period for Passports
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Jasbir Singh Gill

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. *196 ANSWERED ON 15.12.2023

## Waiting Period for Passports

- *196. Shri Jasbir Singh Gill:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the number of days taken by Regional Passport Office to issue Passport after filing of application;

(b) whether there is huge pendency of issuance of Passports in Punjab; and

(c) whether the Government has taken any steps to cut down the issuance delay and pendency in Punjab and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (DR. SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR)

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

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Statement referred  to  in  reply  to parts (a) to (c) in respect of Lok Sabha Starred question no. *196 regarding 'Waiting period for passports' for answer on 15.12.2023 asked by Shri Jasbir Singh Gill.

(a) to (c): The average time taken for issuance of passport (excluding Police Verification time) is 7 - 10 days for Normal passport and 1 - 3 days for Tatkaal passport. Police Verification (PV) of applicants' particulars plays an important role in timely dispatch of passports. All India average for police verification is 14 days.  However, States / Union Territories where mPassport Police App has been launched, the average police verification time is within 5 days. This App has also been launched in the State of Punjab.

The demand for passport services across India, including Punjab, has increased significantly due to backlog caused by the Covid pandemic. This has created some challenges in the appointment cycle. Some of the measures taken by the Ministry to address this includes opening of Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs)/ Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) on Saturdays, creating additional passport processing counters (Camp PSKs) at Passport Offices, deploying mobile vans for attending to the passport applicants, and releasing additional appointments daily. Deployment of additional personnel and cross-granting practices have also been used to expedite passport issuance.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 195 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Mahila Police Volunteers Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Bhartruhari Mahtab

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 195*

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2023

## MAHILA POLICE VOLUNTEERS SCHEME

- *195.  SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of States within which the scheme of Mahila Police Volunteer is operational presently; (b) whether  the  Government  plans  to  increase  the  application  of  this  scheme across all States of the country; and (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a) to (c):   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
- ******

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  195*  FOR  ANSWER  ON  15.12.2023  ASKED  BY  SHRI  BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB REGARDING 'MAHILA POLICE VOLUNTEERS SCHEME'

(a) to (c): The Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs implemented the Mahila Police Volunteers (MPVs) scheme in the States/ UTs, who acted as a link between police and community and helped women in distress. Based on the proposals received from States / UTs, the scheme was initially approved for 13 States / UTs, out of which it was operationalized by 7 States / UTs, namely, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Mizoram and Tripura.

A third party Evaluation Study of Mahila Police Volunteers (MPV) Scheme was conducted by NITI Aayog. The said study found inadequacies in institutional structure and implementation of the scheme. Taking into account the findings of the third party evaluation, the past experiences and in consultation with States/ Stakeholders, Mahila Police  Volunteers  Scheme  has  been  discontinued  w.e.f  01.04.2022,  while  suitably incorporating appropriate provisions under other components of 'Mission Shakti', an umbrella scheme for safety and empowerment of women.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 190 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Efficacy of Nano Urea
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS

## DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 190* TO BE ANSWERED ON: 15.12.2023

## Efficacy of Nano Urea

## 190*   SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a)    whether  the  Government  has  carried  out  any  assessment  to  ascertain  the efficacy of nano urea in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  use  of  nano  urea  helps  in  bringing  down  India's  import  bill  of fertilizers and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has taken note of low content of nitrogen in nano urea which is required by plants to make protein and if so, the details thereof ;
- (d)       whether the use of nano urea helps in increasing the effectiveness of nitrogen uptake and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)    whether  the  low  content  of  nitrogen  in  nano  urea  technology  have  any  sizable, negative  impact  on  the  yielding  capacity  of  crops  which  could  potentially  hurt farmers in the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER FOR CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

(DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

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

***********

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  190*  FOR 15.12.2023  REGARDING  'EFFICACY  OF  NANO  UREA'  TABLED  BY  SHRI  LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU.

## ---------

(a) to (e): Based on the bio-efficacy trials at multiple locations by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutions and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and bio-safety  test  results,  Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  (DA&FW)  had provisionally notified Nano Urea as Nano Nitrogen Fertilizers in Fertilizer Control Order, 1985. These experimental trials were conducted of Nano urea on different crops such as paddy, Wheat, Mustard, Maize, Tomato, Cabbage, Cucumber, Capsicum and Onion in different agro-climatic zones. The study indicated that two spray of nano urea as topdressing alongwith recommended basal dose of nitrogen gave comparable yield to that obtained with full recommended dose of nitrogen with yield advantage of 3-8% and urea saving of 25-50% in various crops.

Nano Urea (liquid)  when  sprayed  on  the  leaves  easily  enters  through  stomata and other openings and fulfils nitrogen requirement of crops. Because of its unique size and  higher surface area to volume  ratio, it effectively addresses  crop  nutrient requirement which results in increased nitrogen use efficiency and subsequently leading to better growth and yield attributes of crops.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 188 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Artificial Intelligence and Block Chain Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sector
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Lallu Singh, Janardan Mishra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICALS

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION Q. 188 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 15 th  DECEMBER, 2023

Artificial Intelligence and Block Chain Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sector

## *188.   SHRI LALLU SINGH: SHRI JANARDAN MISHRA:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the importance of advanced technologies such as  Artificial  Intelligence,  Block  chain  etc.  which  can  play  a  major  role  in  boosting  the pharmaceutical sector in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to leverage such technological developments to the sector's advantage in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

(DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

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

Statement  referred  to  in  reply  to  the  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  Q.  No.  188  (8 TH POSITION) for answer on 15.12.2023 raised by Shri Lallu Singh and Shri Janardan Mishra regarding the Artificial Intelligence and Block Chain Technologies in Pharmaceutical Sector'

(a): Yes, Sir.

(b)  &  (c):  Department  of  Pharmaceuticals  has  taken  steps  to  promote  R&D  in  the  sector including in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning through the Promotion of Research and Innovation in the Pharma-Medtech Sector (PRIP) Scheme. Further, NIPERs under  the  aegis  of  Dept  of  Pharmaceuticals  have  introduced  topics  related  to  Artificial Intelligence and Block Chain Technology in their courses and they provide training to students in  AI-based  tools  to  build  human  resource  capacities  in  these  areas  for  the  pharmaceutical sector. In addition,  the  Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT)  also  supports  Artificial Intelligence-based research activities in the biotech sector, particularly in the healthcare and agriculture areas, in order to leverage emerging technologies for these sectors.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2298 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Maternity Benefit to Poor Working Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Bidyut Baran Mahato

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2298

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2023

## MATERNITY BENEFIT TO POOR WORKING WOMEN

## 2298. SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is considering to extend maternity benefits to poor working women in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  any  scheme/program  has  been  initiated  or  to  be  initiated  by  the Government to provide maternity benefits to poor working women; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d) The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  implementing Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) across the country through State Governments/Union Territory Administrations w.e.f. 01.01.2017 for Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers including poor working women. The PMMVY is a Centrally Sponsored  Maternity  Benefit  Scheme  under  which  cash  incentives  of  ₹5,000/-  is provided directly to the Bank/Post Office account of the beneficiary in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for first child. The eligible beneficiaries receive the remaining cash  incentive,  as  per  approved  norms  towards  maternity  benefit  under  Janani Suraksha Yojana after  institutional  delivery,  so  that  on  an  average  a  woman  gets ₹6,000/-.  Cash  incentive  of  ₹6,000/-  is  also  provided  under  PMMVY  to  eligible beneficiaries for second child subject to the second child being a girl.

Under PMMVY, more than 3.59 crores beneficiaries have been enrolled since inception of the Scheme in 2017-18 and till 02.12.2023.  Further, maternity benefits of more  than  ₹14,428.35  crores  (includes  both  Central  and  State  share)  have  been disbursed to more than 3.21 crores beneficiaries during the aforesaid period.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2297 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Medical Colleges in West Bengal
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Sukanta Majumdar

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 2297 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15/12/2023

## MEDICALCOLLEGES IN WEST BENGAL

## 2297. DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR:

Will the Minister of HEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state: -

(a) whether the Government has received any proposal from the Government of West Bengal for setting up of new medical colleges in the State including one such at South Dinajpur district under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether these such new autonomous medical colleges are recognized by the National Medical Council, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether admission process has been started in these medical colleges and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government has identified some districts in the State without any Government/private medical college and proposes to develop medical colleges on PPP model there, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the other steps being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (e) Under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) setting up of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Up-gradation of existing Government Medical Colleges/ Institutions (GMCIs) is taken up. Under the scheme, in West Bengal, an AIIMS has been established in Kalyani. Further, up-gradation of 4 Medical Colleges, viz (1) Kolkata Medical College (2) BS Medical College, Bankura (3) Govt. Medical College, Malda and (4) North Bengal Medical College, Siliguri, Darjeeling , has been taken up on cost sharing basis, in the ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State.

Further, under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of 'Establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals', with preference to underserved areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing Government or private medical college, setting up of 11 medical colleges has been approved in State of West Bengal at (1) Birbhum (Rampur Hat), (2) Cooch Behar, (3) Diamond Harbour, (4) Purulia, (5) North Dinajpur, (6) Barasat, (7) Uluberia, (8) Arambagh, (9) Jhargram, (10) Tamluk and (11) Jalpaiguri on cost sharing basis in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and State. All the 11 approved Medical Colleges are functional. As per the scheme guidelines, planning, execution and commissioning of the projects is to be done by the State Government.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2295 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Area of Defence Land in Chhattisgarh
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: Santosh Pandey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2295

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 th  December, 2023

## AREA OF DEFENCE LAND IN CHHATTISGARH

## 2295. SHRI SANTOSH PANDEY:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the total area of the defence lands of the Ministry in Chhattisgarh;
- (b) the details of the said lands, district/block/area-wise (rakba-wise);
- (c) the purpose of use of the said lands;
- (d) whether the defence lands have been transferred to some other institutions/organisations/ agencies; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## A  N  S  W  E  R

MINISTER OF STATE

(SHRI AJAY BHATT)

IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

- (a) & (b):  Total area of defence land in the State of Chhattisgarh is 2723.9286 acres. District wise details are as under: -
- (c):  The defence lands are meant for operational and functional requirements including future use of defence forces & organisations. However, 1012.48 acres of defence land at Chakarbhata in Bilaspur District is surplus to the requirement of Ministry of Defence and same has been offered to the State Government of Chhattisgarh on cost basis.
- (d) & (e):  Yes, Sir. Defence land has been given for public infrastructure projects in two cases during last 3 years in the state of Chhattisgarh w.e.f.  01.01.2021 as mentioned below: -
- (i) Working permission on 1.59 acres of defence land has been granted to State Government of Chhattisgarh on Equal Value Land (EVL) basis for expansion of Bilaspur (Chakarbhata) Airport.
- (ii) Working permission has been granted to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on 2560 Sq.M. of defence land on Cash Compensation basis.

| Sl. No.   | District   |   Area (in acres) |
|-----------|------------|-------------------|
| 1.        | Bilaspur   |          1485.12  |
| 2.        | Raipur     |           112.415 |
| 3.        | Bastar     |          1126.25  |
| 4.        | Jashpur    |             0.147 |
|           | Total      |          2723.93  |

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2293 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Action on Shortage of AYUSH Doctors
Ministry: AYURVEDA,YOGA & NATUROPATHY,UNANI,SIDDHA AND HOMEOPATHY (AYUSH)
Asked by: Bheemrao Baswanthrao Patil

## 2293. SHRI B.B. PATIL

Will the Minister of AYUSH be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether there is an acute shortage of AYUSH doctors in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of various posts including doctors/specialists lying vacant at present in AYUSH hospitals/dispensaries/wellness centres in the country particularly in metro cities, State/UT-wise;
- (c) the measures taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to fill up the said posts; and
- (d) the other measures taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to reduce the shortage of doctors and other staff to meet the requirements in the country?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF AYUSH (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

(a) No, Sir.

(b) to (d)  As  Public  Health  is a State subject, the  number  of  posts  including  that  of doctors/specialists  lying  vacant  at  present  in  AYUSH  hospitals/dispensaries/wellness  centres  in the country particularly in metro cities is maintained by the State/UT Governments. Further, the primary responsibility to fill up the posts of doctors/specialists also comes under the purview of respective  State/UT  Governments.  However,  under  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  National Ayush Mission (NAM), the components for setting up of upto 50/30/10 bedded integrated Ayush Hospitals, upgradation of exclusive standalone Ayush Hospitals inter-alia are having provision for contractual deployment of AYUSH Doctors. In this regard, State/UT Governments are required to submit  their  proposals  through  State  Annual  Action  Plan  (SAAP)  as  per  the  guidelines  of  the scheme.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYUSH

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2293 ANSWERED ON 15 th  December, 2023

## Action on Shortage of AYUSH Doctors
Lok Sabha Question No. 2291 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-15
Subject: Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT)
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS

## DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICALS AND PETROCHEMICALS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2291

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 15/12/23

## INSTITUTE OF PESTICIDE FORMULATION TECHNOLOGY (IPFT)

## 2291. Shrimati Poonamben Maadam:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken/  proposes  to  take  any  steps  for  Research  and Development in pesticide formulations in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the  Institute  of  Pesticide  Formulation  Technology  (IPFT)  has  accreditation from international/ national bodies;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details of the role of IPFT in pesticide formulations in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHEMICALS

## (SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA)

(a)  and  (b): Yes,  Sir.  The  Government  has  set  up  the  Institute  of  Pesticide  Formulation Technology  (IPFT)  as  an  autonomous  institute  under  the  administrative  control  of  the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, with the objective of developing new generation pesticide formulation technologies, promoting efficient application technologies, disseminating information  regarding  safe  manufacturing practices,  providing  analytical  and consultancy services, as well as imparting specialized training for pesticide personnel.

(c) and (d): Yes, Sir. The analytical facility at IPFT is accredited by the National Accreditation Board  for  Testing  and  Calibration  Laboratories  (NABL)  as  per  ISO/  IEC  17025:2017  for pesticides analysis. The Institute is recognized by the Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee (CIB&RC) for generating data on bio-efficacy, phyto-toxicity and residue studies for registration of pesticides. IPFT has also been certified by the National Good Laboratory Practice Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA) for analysis of pesticides.

(e): IPFT is actively engaged in the development of user and environment-friendly pesticide formulations including Suspension Concentrate, Water Dispersible Granules, Microencapsulations, Emulsions, Bio-botanical formulations and Nanotechnology-based formulations. Technologies  of  more  than  eighty formulations have  been successfully developed and transferred to various agrochemical industries while twenty patents have been filed  on  different  pesticide  formulations.  Research  papers  have  been  published  in  reputed national and international journals and several projects on pesticide residue data generation for registration  of  pesticides  have  been  executed.  IPFT  also  provides  training  to  technical personnel  from  pesticide  industries  on  pesticide  formulations,  analysis  and  application techniques,  in  addition  to  organizing  workshops  for  farmers  for  promoting  the  use  of environment-friendly formulations and practices for sustainable agriculture.

*****