opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2871 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: To Implement (PM-USHA)
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Rahul Ramesh Shewale

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2871 ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## TO IMPLEMENT (PM-USHA)

## 2871 SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any proposal to implement Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) shortly in various States particularly in Odisha;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is considering to modify the shortlisting criteria to fill the faculty positions in regular mode to strengthen Colleges (Accredited & Unaccredited Colleges) component of PM- USHA; (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government is also considering to provide grants to strengthen Universities (Accredited & Unaccredited Universities) component; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (Dr. SUBHAS SARKAR)

- (a) & (b): The government has approved the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PMUSHA) with an outlay of Rs. 12926.10 crore for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26. The detailed guidelines of  the  scheme  have  been  shared  with  all  States/UTs,  including  Odisha.  The  same  is  available  at https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/upload\_document/pm-usha\_guidelines.pdf.
- (c) & (d): Under PM-USHA, various criteria have been included for shortlisting the proposals submitted under all components including 'Grants to Strengthen Colleges (Accredited & Unaccredited Colleges)'. These criteria give different weightages depending upon the performance status of the institute, including percentage of faculty filled in regular mode in the institutions.
- (e)  &  (f):  One  of  the  components  of  PM-USHA  is  'Grants  to  Strengthen  Universities  (Accredited  & Unaccredited  Universities)'  wherein  support  of  Rs.  20  crore  per  University  will  be  provided  to  the approved Universities.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2870 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Removal of Kendriya Vidyalayas from Hard/ Very Hard Station Categories
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Jayanta Kumar Roy, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2870 ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## REMOVAL OF KENDRIYA VIDYALAYAS FROM HARD/ VERY HARD STATION CATEGORIES

## 2870. DR. JAYANTA KUMAR ROY: SHRIMATI SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) has categorised some of its schools as hard/very hard Stations, if so, the criteria thereof;
- (b) whether some schools in very difficult areas previously classified as hard/very hard Stations have been removed from the list of hard/very hard Stations issued recently by the KVS;
- (c) if so, the reasons therefor and criteria thereof;
- (d) whether many Kendriya Vidyalayas removed from the list of hard/very hard Stations are categorised as hard/very hard Stations by other Government organisations like Paramilitary forces (like ITBP), Banks etc;
- (e) if so, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) whether representations have been received from stakeholders to review anomaly in categorisation of hard/very hard Stations, if so, the steps being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (c) Kendriya Vidyalayas located in some areas have been designated as hard Stations. The categorization of hard stations are reviewed by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) from time to time taking into account the growth infrastructure facilities such as availability of Public Transport, Medical facilities, accommodation at the station and treatment of the station as a difficult station by other Government organizations in the country through an internal committee of KVS. Transfer guidelines / policies of the institution are in place to ensure achievement of the objective of KVS, with regard to all stakeholders. KVS vide notification dated

30/06/2023 has brought out KVS Transfer Policy 2023 also having reviewed categorization of hard / very hard stations to give better stability to the teaching process by prescribing a defined tenure for teaching and non-teaching staff. (d) & (e) As per information received from KVS, the categorization of the hard / very hard stations has been reviewed based on growth of infrastructure facilities such as availability of public transport, medical facilities, accommodation at the station and treatment of the station as a difficult station by other Government organizations in the country and 66 KVs have been removed from the list of hard stations. (f) Representations, as and when, received are disposed off as per approved norms of KVS.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2868 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Plantation of Saplings
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Rahul Kaswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTIO N NO. 2868 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## Plantation of Saplings

2868. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  a  new  project  to  improve  the  environment  by planting saplings in Government nurseries;
- (b) if so, the details thereof for Churu, Bikaner and Hanumangarh districts in Rajasthan;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to provide free saplings of Janti without thorns/Khejri to the farmers for planting in the local areas and panchayat headquarters to improve the forest and environment; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a)&(b)  The  Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has been making constant efforts  to  promote plantation  across the  country and has  taken  several  initiatives  to improve the environment by planting saplings through Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as National Mission for a Green India. Further, tree plantation, being a multidepartmental, multi-agency activity, are also taken up cross-sectorally under various programmes/funding sources of other ministries/ organizations and also through State Plan budgets. Though there is no specific scheme for the purpose of planting saplings in  Government  nurseries  by  the  Ministry,  various  States  including  Rajasthan  have undertaken several projects on plantation through their own resources.

The  Govt.  of  Rajasthan  has  informed  that  two  projects  for  Afforestation  and Biodiversity Conservation have been prepared in addition to the regular efforts from State and Central Funds. This includes one project covering 13 Eastern districts with co-funding by AFD, France and another project covering 19 districts of Southern and Western Rajasthan  in the same-lines with JICA, Japan. The State has informed that 19,15,000 seedlings in Churu, 17,45,000 seedlings in Bikaner and 14,90,000 seedlings  in  Hanumangarh  for  the  year  2023-24,  have  been  raised  by  the  Forest Department. In addition to this, the districts of Bikaner and Churu have been included in the project proposal submitted to JICA, Japan.

- (c)&(d)  The  Rajasthan  state  has  informed  that  no  such  proposal  is  under  consideration  to provide free saplings of Janti without thorns/Khejri to the farmers for planting in the local areas and panchayat headquarters at present.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2861 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Survey of Bonded Labourers
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Pushpendra Singh Chandel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2861 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## SURVEY OF BONDED LABOURERS

†2861. SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  survey  of  bonded
- labours in the country;
- (b)if so, the details thereof;
- (c)the steps taken/being taken by the Government to prevent bonded
- labourers;
- (d)whether  the  Government  proposes  to  fix  working  hours  for
- domestic labourers; and
- (e)if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a) & (b): Ministry of Labour and Employment has been implementing  a  Central  Sector  Scheme  viz.  Rehabilitation  of Bonded  Labour  for  identification  and  rehabilitation  of  bonded labourers. Under the Scheme, State Government/UT Administration may conduct Survey of bonded labourers once in every three years per sensitive districts and the amount of Survey is Rs. 4.50 lakhs. During last three years, 26 Surveys have been conducted by various State/UT Governments.
- (c): The Government has adopted a multi- pronged strategy to prevent bonded labourers which is as follows:
- (i) Central Government has enacted the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 which empowers Executive Magistrates to  exercise  powers  of  Judicial  Magistrate  of  first  or  second class for trial of offences; Vigilance Committees at District and Sub-divisional  levels  have  been  prescribed  to  identify  and rehabilitate bonded labourers.

## (ii) Implementation of Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers-2021:

- Under  the  Scheme,  the  Government  of  India  provides immediate financial assistance amounting to Rs.30,000/for each case of rehabilitation.
- Rehabilitation  assistance  to  the  tune  of  Rs.1.00  lakh, Rs.2.00  lakh  and  Rs.3.00  lakh  is  provided  to  rescued bonded labourers based on their category and level of exploitation upon proof of bondage.
- The Scheme also provides for financial assistance of Rs. 4.50 lakh per district to the States for conducting Survey once in every three years per sensitive district, Rs. 1.50 lakh for Evaluatory studies (maximum of five Evaluatory Studies per year) and Rs. 10 lakhs per State per annum for Awareness Generation.
- (d) & (e): The  Labour  Codes,  viz.  Code  on  Wages,  2019,  Code  on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2019 and Social Security Code, 2020 provide for, inter-alia, decent working conditions,  wages,  safety,  grievance  redressal  mechanisms  and other social security benefits to all categories of workers .

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2855 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Ration Card to Migrant Labourers
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Su Thirunavukkarasar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2855 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## RATION CARD TO MIGRANT LABOURERS

2855. SHRI THIRUNAVUKKARASAR SU.:

Will  the  Minister  of  LABOUR  AND  EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)the number of labourers registered on the e-Shram portal and those who do not have ration cards;
- (b)whether  the  Supreme  Court  has  directed  the  States  and  UTs  to provide ration cards to migrant labourers within three months;
- (c)if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  action  taken  by  the States/UTs on the apex court's directive;
- (d)if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e)the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  the compliance o f apex court's directive by the States and UTs?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) to (e): As on 31 st  July 2023, over 28.99 crore unorganised workers have registered on eShram portal.

Ministry  of  Labour  &  Employment  carried  out  matching  of  the eShram beneficiaries' data with the Ration Card data (National Food Security Act  (NFSA))  available  with  the  Department  of  Food  and  Public  Distribution (DFPD).  On matching of the two data sets, it was observed that as on 22 nd February 2023, out of total 28.59 crore eShram registrants, about 20.63 crore eShram registrants are registered in NFSA database of DFPD and about 7.96 crore eShram registrants are not registered under NFSA database.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated 20 th  April, 2023 gave three months' time to the concerned States/ UTs to undertake the exercise to issue ration cards to the left-out registrants on eShram portal.

Ministry of Labour & Employment is sharing eShram data with all States/  UTs'  Labour  departments  through  Data  Sharing  Portal  (DSP)  and/or Application Programming Interface (API). Further, Ministry has requested all States/UTs to provide benefits of various welfare schemes to the eligible leftout eShram registrants in a targeted manner including Ration Card. All the States/ UTs have on - boarded the Data Sharing portal and access to eShram database has been provided to them.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2852 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: GST on Health Insurance
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sanjeev Kumar Balyan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

****

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2852

## TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 2023/SRAVANA 16, 1945 (SAKA)

## GST ON HEALTH INSURANCE

## 2852.    DR. SANJEEV KUMAR SINGARI:

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

- (a) whether the Government is charging 18 per cent GST on health insurance;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for such high GST on health insurance;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  reduce  this  GST  to  make  health  insurance  more  affordable especially for lower and middle income classes; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b): At present, Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance services is levied at standard rate,  i.e.,  18  per  cent.  However,  certain insurance schemes catering to poor sections of the society and differently abled, such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Universal Health Insurance Scheme, Jan Argoya Bima Policy and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are exempt from GST. These rates have been prescribed on the recommendations of the GST Council which is a constitutional body.
- (c) & (d): GST rates and exemptions on all services (including GST on health insurance premium) are prescribed on the recommendations of GST Council which is a constitutional body comprising members from  Union  Government  and  State/UT  Governments.  Health  insurance,  like  majority  of  other  taxable supplies is standard rated at 18% as stated above. In pre-GST regime also, health insurance was standard rated. The GST Council in its 31st and 37th meetings examined similar requests but did not make any recommendation to reduce GST on insurance service from 18% and on health care insurance policies from 18% to 5%. The matter was examined again and placed before the GST Council in its 47th meeting held on 28th and 29th June, 2022, wherein the Council did not recommend any change.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2851 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Allocation of Funds and Setting up of IITs/ IIMs
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Mahesh Sharma, Jagdambika Pal

## Government of India Ministry of Education Department of Higher Education *-*-*-*-*

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2851 ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## Allocation of Funds and Setting up of IITs/IIMs

2851. Dr. MAHESH SHARMA: SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of proposals received by this Ministry from the Government of Uttar Pradesh for approval and fund allocation during the last three years;
- (b) the number of proposals approved along with the number of proposals lying pending, district wise;
- (c) the reasons for pendency of proposals;
- (d) the time by which the Government is likely to accord approval to the pending proposals;
- (e) the number of new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs);
- (f) whether the Government is planning to set up some more IIM/IIT like Higher Education Institutes in the country including Uttar Pradesh especially in Noida or Greater Noida;
- (g) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (h) the funds allocated for the development of all these IITs; and
- (i) the time by which the above IITs are likely to be operational?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (Dr. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) to (d): On the basis of consolidated proposals received from the State of Uttar Pradesh, an amount of Rs.23.517 crore has been released to the State during last three years under the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). Further, an amount of Rs.496.59 crore has been released to the State under RUSA since their inception. No proposal of the State is pending with the Ministry under RUSA Scheme.

(e) to (i): In pursuance to the Budget Announcement 2014-15 and 2015-16, six new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have been established in the States / UTs of Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu), Goa (IIT Goa) and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad). In pursuance of budget announcement of FY 2015-16, Indian School of Mines was accorded status of IIT and was accordingly included in the Institute of Technology Act, 1961 in 2016. One IIM, Lucknow and two IITs i.e. IIT, Kanpur and IIT, BHU (Varanasi) are already functioning in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A regional campus of IIM Lucknow is also functioning at Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Further, a NIT at Prayagraj, two IIIT at Prayagraj & Lucknow and six Central Universities are also functioning in the State of Uttar Pradesh. An amount of Rs.6737.04 crore has been allotted for the development of new IITs. Under the overall direction of NEP 2020 which proposes multidisciplinary approach in Higher Education, a 500 bed Super specialist hospital and medical college to offer research based programme at intersection of technology and medicine, is planned at IIT, Kanpur with an estimated amount of Rs.650.00 crore.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2849 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Setting up of New Model Degree Colleges in Aspirational Districts
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Achyutananda Samanta, Kripanath Mallah, Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Rahul Ramesh Shewale

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2849 ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## SETTING UP OF NEW MODEL DEGREE COLLEGES IN ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS

## 2849 SHRI ACHYUTANANDA SAMANTA:

SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH:

SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU:

SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the State Governments can propose or are eligible to set up New Model Degree Colleges in Aspirational Districts which have been funded under 'New Model Degree College component' of RUSA 2.0;
- (b)  if  so,  the  proposal  and  criteria  fixed  for  setting  up  an  additional  Model  Degree  Colleges  in  the Aspirational Districts and in other blocks of the same district having no colleges and the funds estimated and target set for these colleges;
- (c) whether the Government has identified the districts across the country, if so, the details of the number of districts identified in Assam;
- (d) the details of such colleges set up so for in various States particularly in Odisha;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  is  reconsidering  to  reduce  the  NAAC  Grade  and  Universities  (MERU) component; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (Dr. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) to (f): The government has approved the next phase of RUSA in the form of Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) with an outlay of Rs. 12926.10 crore for the FY 2023-24 to 2025-26. The States/UTs have been given the flexibility to identify their focus districts based on certain indicators such as low GER, Gender parity, Aspirational districts etc. As per the guidelines of the scheme, various  criteria  have  been  included  for  shortlisting  the  proposals  submitted  under  all  components including  New  Model  Degree  Colleges  and  Multi-Disciplinary  Education  and  Research  Universities (MERU). The detailed guidelines of the scheme, including the short-listing criteria and funding details are available at https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/upload\_document/pm-usha\_guidelines.pdf.

Under the 1 st and 2 nd  phases of the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), support for Model Degree Colleges in 130 districts was approved including 14 districts in Odisha namely, Balangir, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Debagarh, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sonapur and Boudh.

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Lok Sabha Question No. 2847 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Global Carbon Budget
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Dhal Singh Bisen

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2847

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.08.2023

## Global Carbon Budget

## 2847.   DR. DHAL SINGH BISEN:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the country has utilized very less amount of global carbon budget resulting in carbon emission;
- (b) if  so,  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  contribution  in  the global carbon budget; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  send  the  panel  of  specialist  in  IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) from India to represent in upcoming conference on global budget and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) & (b) The Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) of the Working Group III contribution to the Sixth  Assessment  Report  (AR6)  of  the  Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC) [2022]  has  noted  clearly  that  the  contribution  of  entire  Southern  Asia  including  India  is  only about 4% of historical cumulative net anthropogenic emissions between 1850 and 2019, even though  the  region  includes  almost  24%  of  the  global  population.  As  per  Working  Group  I contribution  to  the  AR6  report  of  the  IPCC,  the  term  carbon  budget  is  used  in  several  ways. Most  often  the  term  refers  to  the  total  net  amount  of  carbon  dioxide  (CO2)  that  can  still  be emitted by human activities while limiting global warming to a specified level. India's current annual  per  capita  emissions  will  increase  to  meet  its  developmental  needs  and  aspirations,  in accordance  with  the  principle  of  Common  but  Differentiated  Responsibilities  and  Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and National Circumstances.

- (c) Government of  India  nominates  delegation  for  several  IPCC  conferences  and  sessions from time to time. Government had sent Indian Delegation for the recently held 59 th Session of IPCC during 24-28 July, 2023 at Nairobi, Kenya.

*****