opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 209 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Ethanol Production
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: V. Kalanidhi, Kripanath Mallah

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 209 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  February, 2023

## Ethanol Production

## 209. DR. KALANIDHI VEERASWAMY: SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH:

## पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी

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

- (a)  the details of the current ethanol production capacity in the country along with its sources;
- (b)  whether the Government has projected its demand within the country based on the adoption of vehicles and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  proposed  to  expand  its  production  within  the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  set  a  new  target  with  regard  to  its  production within the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंालय म राय मंी ) ी रामेर तेली (

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

(a): The current annual ethanol production capacity in the country is approximately 1037 crore litres which includes approximately 700 crore litres of molasses based and approximately 337 crore litres of grain based production capacity. Oil Central Public  Sector  Enterprises  (CPSEs)  are  also  setting  up  Second  Generation  (2G) ethanol  bio-refineries  at  Panipat  (Haryana),  at  Bathinda  (Punjab)  and  at  Bargarh (Odisha), each with a production capacity of 100 Kilo Litre Per Day (KLPD) and at Numaligarh (Assam) with a production capacity of 185 KLPD.

(b):  As per the Roadmap prepared by NITI Aayog which is based on the projected sale of Motor Spirit (MS), the estimated requirement of ethanol for blending with petrol is 542 crore litres for Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2022-23, 698 crore litres for ESY 2023-24, 988 crore litres for ESY 2024-25 and 1016 crore litres for ESY 2025-26.

(c) & (d):  Government has taken various steps to increase ethanol production in the  country.  Under  the  Ethanol  Interest  Subvention  Scheme  to  encourage  sugar mills  and  distilleries,  a  total  of  1141  projects  with  estimated  ethanol  production capacity  of  approximately  4012  crore  litres  have  been  approved.  Further,  Public Sector  Oil  Marketing  Companies  (OMCs)  had  floated  an  Expression  of  Interest (EoI) for  signing  Long  Term  Offtake  Agreement  (LTOA)  with  upcoming dedicated ethanol plants in ethanol deficit States for supply of anhydrous ethanol. Through  this  EoI,  Public  Sector  OMCs  have  signed  LTOA  with  131  Dedicated Ethanol Plant proponents in various states which will add an estimated production capacity of approx. 745 crore litres per annum of ethanol in next few years.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 208 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Non-payment of Scholarships
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: S. Gnanathiraviam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 208 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## NON-PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIPS

208. SHRI GNANATHIRAVIAM S.:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether the instances of non-payment of scholarships by various State Governments to minority  students  have  been  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Union  Government  in  the  recent past;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government is aware that the scholarship mafia are operating in the country; and

(d) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (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 the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship,  Ministry  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment,  Ministry  of  Textiles, Ministry  of  Culture,  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  and  Ministry  of  Rural Development.

Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  has  specifically  implemented  various  schemes  across  the country for socio-economic and educational empowerment  of the notified minority communities, including 3 Central Sector Scholarship Schemes viz. Pre-Matric, Post Matric and Merit-cum-Means, in which scholarship amount is disbursed by Central Government to the bank accounts of the selected beneficiaries under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. Few State Governments implement their own scholarship schemes which are not under the control of Central Government.

(c) & (d): The Government has ensured a lot of monitoring mechanisms for robust, efficient and  transparent  implementation  of  these  schemes,  including  validation  through  Aadhaar demographic authentication, verification of applications at various levels, mandatory physical verification of doubtful applications/institutes, etc.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 204 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Gram Ujala Scheme
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.204 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## GRAM UJALA SCHEME

†204. SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA:

Will the Minister of POWER

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has implemented the Gram Ujala Scheme;
- (b) whether the districts of Rajasthan have been identified to be covered under the first phase of the said scheme;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to create awareness among the beneficiaries of the said scheme;
- (e) the time by which the said scheme is likely to be started by the Government; and

(f) the details of the number of villages and Dhanis of district Tonk and district Sawai Madhopur of Rajasthan included therein?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF POWER AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY

(SHRI R.K. SINGH)

(a) to (c) : Gram  Ujala  Scheme  has  been  implemented  by  Convergence  Energy Services Limited (CESL). Under Gram UJALA Scheme, 1 crore LED bulbs have been distributed  in  rural  areas  of  Bihar,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Andhra  Pradesh,  Karnataka,  and Telangana as a Pilot Project. The distribution under the pilot of Gram Ujala has been completed and currently, no further distribution activity is underway.

- (d) : Various  awareness  activities  are  being  done  by  CESL/  authorised agencies for the usage of LED bulbs amongst beneficiaries such as - local/national media  outreach,  information  dissemination  through  radio/TV  and  other  modes  of media like banners, posters, leaflets etc.

(e) & (f) : The  scheme  has  been  implemented  in  rural  areas  of  Bihar,  Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana only as a pilot project. Further, implementation would depend upon assessment of pilot project.

***********
Lok Sabha Question No. 203 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Construction of Dams in Himachal Pradesh
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rattan Lal Kataria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †203

ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

†203. SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has decided to construct dams at Renuka and Kasau in Himachal Pradesh and Lakhwar in Uttarakhand to increase hydropower and availability of water in plain areas;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) the total estimated cost of these projects;

(d) whether any policy decision has been taken by the concerned States in connection with sharing of electricity and water; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a)  &  (b) In  2008,  Renukaji  dam  project,  Lakhwar  multipurpose  project  and  Kishau  multipurpose project were included by Government of India under the centrally sponsored National Projects scheme, for providing partial financial assistance to the State Governments concerned for implementation of the project. Thereafter, inter-State agreements have been formalized in 2018-19 between the upper Yamuna basin  States  in  respect  of  Renukaji  and  Lakhwar  project.  Accordingly,  Government  of  India  has,  in December,  2021,  approved  financial  assistance  for  the  two  projects  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi Sinchayee  Yojana.  Implementation  of  the  two  projects  has  been  taken  up  by  Himachal  Pradesh  and Uttarakhand, respectively.

However,  the  detailed  project  report,  as  well  as  inter-State  agreement  in  respect  of  Kishau multipurpose project has not been firmed up, due to which implementation of the project has not been taken up.

(c) Estimated cost of Renukaji dam project and  Lakhwar multipurpose project is Rs. 6,946.99 crore and Rs 5,747.17 crore, respectively at October, 2018 price level. The cost for Kishau multipurpose project has been estimated to be Rs. 11,550 crore at March, 2018 price level. However, the updated cost shall be available after updation of the detailed project report.

(d) & (e) Sharing of upper Yamuna water is governed by memorandum of understanding among cobasin  States  dated  12 th May  1994.  Further,  as  per  the  agreement  between  the  upper  Yamuna  States, power benefits of Renukaji dam project and Lakhwar multipurpose project are to be utilized solely by Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, respectively.
Lok Sabha Question No. 202 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: National Highways
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Kalyan Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 202

## ANSWERED ON 2 nd  FEBRUARY, 2023

## NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

## 202.      SHRI KALYAN BANERJEE:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  total  length  and  number  of  National  Highways  (NHs)  in  the country;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  postponed  the  target  of  2  lakh kilometres of NHs from 2022 to 2025;
- (c) if so, the reasons for not achieving the target by 2022; and
- (d) the remedial steps being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)     Total  length  of  National  Highways  (NHs)  in  the  country  has increased from about 91,287 km in March, 2014 to about 1,44,983 km at present comprising of 663 numbers (nos.) of NHs.
- (b) to (d)    The Ministry keeps on receiving proposals from various State Governments / Union Territories (UTs) for declaration / upgradation of State  roads,  including  SHs,  as  new  NHs.  The  Ministry  considers declaration of some State roads, including SHs, as NHs from time to time  based  on  the  requirement  of  connectivity,  inter-se  priority  and availability of funds.

During 2022-23, about 3,639 km length of State roads have been notified as NHs so far.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Facial Recognition Technology
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Feroze Varun Gandhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 199

(To be answered on the 2 nd  February 2023)

## FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY

## 199. SHRI FEROZE VARUN GANDHI

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  the  details  of  the  airports  in  the  country  where  Facial  Recognition Technology (FRT) has been introduced;
- (b) whether any timeline has been fixed by the Government to implement the system and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of private companies providing FRT services at the airports;
- (d) whether the selection of the companies was done through tendering and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether  passengers  have  been  given  the  option  to  opt  out  of  FRT processing  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof;
- (f)  the  safeguards  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  the  leakage  of passenger data; and
- (g) the details of facilities that would come up with the implementation of the system?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

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

(a) and (b):Digi Yatra has been introduced at Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi Airports for providing passengers, contactless, paperless check-in and boarding process based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). The implementation of Digi Yatra under phase I is planned at Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada and Hyderabad Airports by March 2023 and across various airports in the country in phased manner.

(c) and (d): M/s Dataevolve Solutions has built FRT based Digi Yatra Central Ecosystem. It has been selected through a national start-up challenge run by Niti Aayog under the Atal Innovation Mission. (e) to (g): Digi Yatra is a voluntary facility for providing passengers seamless and hassle-free experience at the Airports. In the Digi Yatra process, there is no central storage of passenger's Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data. All the passenger's data is encrypted and stored in the wallet of the passenger's smartphone and shared only for a limited time duration with the airport of travel origin where passenger's Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated. The data is purged from the system within 24 hours of flight. Facilities with implementation of the Digi Yatra provides Touchless Passenger Validation through FRT which results in saving time at various touchpoints like entry to airport,  Security  Hold  Area  (SHA)  and  Boarding  Area  with  no  CISF intervention.

- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 198 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Dealer Commission
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Rajmohan Unnithan

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 198

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 FEBRUARY, 2023

## Dealer Commission

## 198. SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN:

## पेोलयम और ाक ृतक गैस मंी

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

- (a) whether the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)/Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMCs) are implementing  the  periodical  increase  in  the  Petroleum  dealer  margin  recommended  by  the Apoorva Chandra Committee and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Dealer Commission for the OMCs Petroleum Dealers has been hiked in the past and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor along with the time by which it is likely to be hiked?

## ANSWER

## पेोलयम और ाक ृतक गैस मंालय म राय मंी ( ी रामे वर तेल )

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

- (a) to (c): Based on the recommendations of the Apurva Chandra Committee, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had advised OMCs about enhancement of dealers' margin on petrol & diesel.

Prices of petrol and diesel have been made market-determined by the Government with effect from  26.06.2010  and  19.10.2014  respectively.  Since  then,  the  Public  Sector  Oil  Marketing Companies (OMCs) 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.

OMCs have accordingly been authorised to increase dealers' margin themselves. Subsequently, the  dealers'  margin  for  petrol  and  diesel  has  been  increased  by  OMCs  from  time  to  time appropriately.
Lok Sabha Question No. 197 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: World Bank Funding for Schemes related to Minorities
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: Mimi Chakraborty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 197 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## WORLD BANK FUNDING FOR SCHEMES RELATED TO MINORITIES

197. MS. MIMI CHAKRABORTY:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the World Bank has funded a six-year project to improve the education and skills of young people of minority communities;

(b) if so, the details of projects and assistance provided to the States therein; and

(c) the details of the projects that have been introduced under Nai Manzil (new horizons) scheme to  impart  education  and  skills  through  training  agencies  and  to  provide  learning/employment opportunities for nearly 1,00,000 disadvantaged youth including women?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c):    Yes,  Sir.    Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  launched  a  Central  Sector  Scheme  (CSS) namely Nai Manzil on 8 th August 2015 with 50% of funding from the World Bank to benefit the minority youth who do not have formal school leaving certificate, i.e., those in the category of school-dropouts or educated in community education institutions like Madarasas. The scheme provided  a  combination  of  formal  education  (Class  VIII  or  X)  and  skills  and  enabled  the beneficiaries seek better employment and livelihoods.

Under the scheme grants are not released to State Governments but to the Project Implementing Agencies  (PIAS)  empanelled  for  implementation  of  the  scheme.  Under  the  scheme,  98,712 beneficiaries have been trained with more than 50% women beneficiaries.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 195 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Import of Natural Gas
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Kanakmal Katara

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 195 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd February, 2023

## Import of Natural Gas

## 195.  SHRI KANAKMAL KATARA

## पैोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी

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

- (a)      whether  any  study  has  been  conducted  by  the  Government  for  the  import  of Natural  gas  from  Middle-East  Countries  through  undersea  pipeline  during  the last three years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)    whether it is a fact that the natural gas imported through undersea pipeline would be much cheaper than the rate of gas imported by domestic sector companies at present and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)     whether the Government has so far received any proposal from any stakeholders for  laying  undersea  pipeline to  import natural  gas  from  Middle East  Countries and if so, the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (d)      the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  share  of  gas  in India's energy mix from the present six per cent to fifteen per cent by 2030?

## ANSWER

## पैोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंालय म राय मंी ( ी रामेवर तेल )

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

- (a) No Sir.
- (b) The  price  of  Natural  gas  and  Liquified  Natural  gas  (LNG)  are  functions  of many factors including, market supply and demand, production levels, level of natural gas in storage, variations in winter and summer weather and hurricanes, economic  growth,  availability  and  prices  of  other  fuels  and  geopolitical scenario (conflict, sanctions etc.) etc.
- (c) No Sir.
- (d) Various steps have been taken by the Government to raise the share of natural gas in energy mix to 15% in 2030 from about 6.7%  currently. These include expansion of National Gas Grid Pipeline, expansion of City Gas Distribution (CGD)  network,  setting  up  of  Liquefied  Natural  Gas  (LNG)  Terminals, allocation  of  domestic  gas  to  Compressed  Natural  Gas  (Transport)  /  Piped Natural Gas  (Domestic)  CNG(T)/PNG(D)  in  no  cut category, allowing marketing  and  pricing  freedom  to  gas  produced  from  high  pressure/high temperature  areas,  deep  water  &  ultra-deep  water  and  from  coal  seams, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiatives to promote Bio-CNG, etc.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 194 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Land Compensation for Airports
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: E. T. Mohammed Basheer

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 194 (To be answered on the 2 nd  February 2023)

## LAND COMPENSATION FOR AIRPORTS

## 194. SHRI E.T. MOHAMMED BASHEER

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that compensation given with regard to airports acquisition are comparatively less than the NHAI projects and if so,

the details thereof; and

- (b) whether the Government proposes to reconsider the compensation strategy with regard to takeover of land for development of airport and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

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

- (a) & (b):  As per the Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008, the responsibility of implementation of airport projects including land acquisition  rests with the concerned airport  developer  including  the  respective  State  Government  (in  case  the  State Government is the project proponent). Therefore, the strategy for compensation in exchange of land rests with the State Government.

In the case of expansion of existing airports of Airports Authority of India (AAI), AAI prepares a feasibility study report and identifies the land requirement and furnishes the details to the respective State Governments for providing the requisite land. Thereafter, the responsibility for acquisition of the land including compensation lies with the respective State Government.

- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 193 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Construction of Toilets under SBM-U 2.0
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Bholanath (B.P. Saroj)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND

## URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 193 TO BE ANSWERED ON FEBRUARY 02, 2023 CONSTRUCTION OF TOILETS UNDER SBM-U 2.0

NO. 193. SHRI BHOLANATH (B.P . SAROJ):

Will the Minister for HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether   public toilets are proposed to be constructed  lupgraded
- under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0);
- (b) if so, the steps takenllikely to be taken by the Government to set up
- Sulabh toilets in cities;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to adopt Sulabh toilets constructed for maintenance thereof; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE)

(a) to (d) Construction of Community and Public Toilets (CTIPT) is a component under SBM-U 2.0. A total of 6,36,826 CTIPT seats have been constructed in the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country till 31.12.2022, against the Mission target of 5,07,587 CTIPT seats:

Under SBM-U 2.0, the emphasis is on operation and maintenance CTIPTsFor this, various models like Use-and-Pay, adoption by NonGovernment Organisations (NGOs) Self Help Groups (SHGs) Associations etc-, Public Private Partnership (PPP) models etcare present in different cities- 'Sulabh' toilets are an NGO model of toilet construction and maintenanceThere is no proposal for Government to adopt such toilets for maintenance:

*****