opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2080 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Use of BHASHINI
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Smt. Kriti Devi Debbarman, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri Mahesh Kashyap, Shri Praveen Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION. NO. 2080

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 12.03.2025

## USE OF BHASHINI

## 2080 : SMT. KRITI DEVI DEBBARMAN:

SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

SHRI MAHESH KASHYAP:

SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the manner in which the Government plans to train on-ground personnel and volunteers to effectively use BHASHINI's tool and features;
- (b) the  steps  being  taken  to  ensure  accessibility  of  BHASHINI's  services  for  elderly  and differently-abled individuals during the event;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  expand  the  language  support  of  BHASHINI beyond 11 languages for future events like Maha Khumbh; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

- (a): BHASHINI  is  a  government  initiative  under  Digital  India,  led  by  the  Ministry  of Electronics & IT, aimed at making digital services accessible in multiple Indian languages. It provides  real-time  translation  and  speech  recognition  support  for  22  scheduled  Indian languages. By integrating Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Neural Machine Translation (NMT), Text-to-Speech (TTS), and Transliteration, BHASHINI ensures linguistic inclusivity across  digital  platforms,  benefiting  sectors  such  as  governance,  education,  healthcare,  and media.The initiative also supports startups, researchers, and developers in building innovative language-based  AI  applications.  BHASHINI  collaborates  with  user  organizations  and  line ministries  to  facilitate  hands-on  training,  workshops,  and  real-world  implementations  on  a case-to-case basis. This support primarily includes designing training materials and conducting  'train-the-trainer'  workshops.  BHASHINI  provides  structured  workshops  at different levels, conducted before, during, or after the integration of its solutions. Additionally,  BHASHINI  conducts  various  offline  and  online  sessions  covering  its  diverse range of services, including ASR, TTS, NMT, and Transliteration, among others.
- (b): BHASHINI has AI models for ASR, NMT, and TTS. These services are designed to provide  multilingual  access  to  all  citizens,  including  the  elderly  and  differently-abled individuals.
- (c) and (d): Yes,  under  the  Bhashini  Mission,  language  translation  support  is  available from     English to the 22 scheduled languages of India, as listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.  During Maha Kumbh 2025, BHASHINI services were successfully integrated into various key use cases including chat bot, digital lost and found and Police mobile app for Maha Kumbh enhancing multilingual communication and assistance.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2078 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Frauds related to Jeevan Pramaan/Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Asaduddin Owaisi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTORNICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED  QUESTION NO. 2078

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 12.03.2025

## FRAUDS RELATED TO JEEVAN  PRAMAAN/DIGITAL LIFE CERTIFICATE FOR PENSIONERS

## 2078.      SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  recent  reports  about  frauds  committed  in  the  name  of updating the Jeevan Pramaan/Digital Life Certificate for pensioners;
- (b) if so, the number of pensioners affected by these scams;
- (c)  whether the Government is taking any measures to prevent such frauds and protect pensioners; and
- (d)  if so, the details thereof and if not the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

- (a) to (d): I.  MeitY/NIC provide digital platform for submission of Jeevan Pramaan (Digital Life Certificate) by the pensioners. Detailed procedures are provided on the website (https://jeevanpramaan.gov.in). Mobile application is available in the Play Store (for Android) and App Store (for Apple mobile). As of March 2025, over 10.13 crore pensioners have been registered.
- II. Pension  Sanctioning  Authorities  and  Pension  Disbursing  Agencies  conduct  awareness among  pensioners  for  life  certificates  generation.  The  Department  of  Pension  and  Pensioners' Welfare  (DoPPW)  organizes  workshops  to  raise  awareness  about  the  digital  submission  of  life certificates. MeitY and NIC actively utilize social media platforms to disseminate information about the Jeevan Pramaan digital life certificate.
- III. Suitable  actions  are  taken  in  case  any  fraud  case  comes  to  notice.  Action  was  taken  in December 2022 against a fraudulent website that had copied a significant portion of content from the Jeevan Pramaan portal user manual. Details of immediate action taken for the same are follows.
- i. An official tweet warning citizens about the fraudulent website was issued by NIC Media Division creating public awareness.
- ii. The issue was reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, with Cyber Crime Incident Acknowledgment No: 20812220080892.
- iii. CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) was informed and requested necessary action to mitigate the threat.
- iv. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) was requested to review the case and take down the fraudulent site as deemed appropriate after due diligence.
- v. PIB (Press Information Bureau) was requested to issue a public alert regarding the fake website, which was published accordingly.
- IV. The  Central  Pension  Accounting  Office  (CPAO)  website  (https://cpao.nic.in/)  displays messages to alert users against such frauds.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 2076 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Establishment of Nuclear Plant in Kerala
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Adv. Adoor Prakash, Shri Hibi Eden

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 2076

ANSWERED ON 12/03/2025

## ESTABLISHMENT OF NUCLEAR PLANT IN KERALA

## 2076.  SHRI HIBI EDEN ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government has any proposal of setting up a nuclear power plant in the State of Kerala and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether any concrete plan, including identification of land site, has been formulated in this regard and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has analyzed concrete data if such a nuclear plant will help in addressing the power issues in Kerala and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has analyzed the safety issues if such a nuclear plant were to be established in Kerala;
- (e) whether any commencement and completion timelines for the project have been discussed by the Union Government with the Kerala Government and if so, the details thereof;
- (f) whether the Union Government has received any request from Kerala for setting up a thorium-based nuclear plant and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the details of proposals before the Union Government for setting up new nuclear power plants at the places proposed and the present status thereof?

## ANSWER

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  PERSONNEL,  PUBLIC  GRIEVANCES  &  PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) to (g) There is presently no proposal for setting up a nuclear power plant in the state of Kerala.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 2075 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Ethanol Production
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Manish Jaiswal

•

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRiBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.2075

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2025

## ETHANOL PRODUCTION

## f 2075. SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to  state:

- (a) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to promote the companies engaged in the production of Ethanol;
- (b ) the potential  areas of use of Ethanol  in future;
- (c) whether any steps have been taken to facilitate the Ethanol producing companies with the hassle free availability of raw material;  and
- (d) if  so, the details thereon

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY  OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

- (a): Government of India has been implementing Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme throughout the country wherein Oil  Marketing Companies (OMCs) sell petrol blended with ethanol. Under EBP Programme, Government has fixed the target of 20% blending of ethanol with petrol by Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26.

Under the programme, Central Government has taken various steps inter-alia to encourage ethanol production  under EBP  Programme which  includes production  of  ethanol from a variety of feedstock; implementation of various ethanol Interest Subvention Schemes during 2018-22; a  new scheme for  Cooperative Sugar Mills  notified  on  06.03.2025 for conversion of  their  existing  sugarcane based plants  into  multi-feed  based ethanol plants; fixation  of remunerative prices of  ethanol produced from  different  feed-stocks for supply to OMCs; reduction in Goods &  Service Tax (GST) on ethanol meant for EBP Programme from 18% to  5%; promotion  of maize as a major  feedstock for  ethanol production  under Ethanol Blended with Petrol (EBP) Programme; Long Term Offtake Agreements (LTOAs) by OMCs with Dedicated Ethanol Plants (DEPs) etc.

- (b): Apart from  blending of  ethanol with  petrol,  ethanol may be used for  production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
- (c) &  (d): Under the National Bio-fue]  Policy, 2018, Government allows various feedstock such as sugarcane, maize, damaged foodgrains, sweet sorghum, sugar beet etc. for production of ethanol for blending in petrol. Due to promotion of Maize by Government for production of ethanol, Maize  has been the major  contributor  of ethanol supplied to Oil  Marketing  Companies ( C)MCs). Further, it is expected that the share of ethanol production from grains may increase beyond 60% in current ESY 2024-25 .

In addition, Government allows sale ofFCI  rice for ethanol production when excess rice is available with Food Corporation of India (FCI).

88##
Lok Sabha Question No. 2073 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Atal Tinkering Labs
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Thiru Dr. S Jagathratchakan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2073

TO BE ANSWERED 12.03.2025

## ATAL TINKERING LABS

## 2073. SHRI S JAGATHRATCHAKAN:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) established across the country along with a breakdown of their distribution between Government and private schools;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed the availability of trained instructors and mentors in ATLs and if so, the findings of such assessments;
- (c) the measures taken to address the disparities in ATL distribution to ensure equitable access for students from all socio-economic backgrounds; and
- (d) whether any evaluations have been conducted regarding the utilization rates of equipment and  resources  in  ATLs  and  if  so,  the  details  of  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  to enhance their effective use?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) Atal  Innovation  Mission  (AIM),  NITI  Aayog  has  established  a  total  of  10,000  Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across the country, out of which 5,945 ATLs have been established in Government schools (60%), while 4,055 have been established in Private schools (40%).
- (b) No Sir.
- (c) AIM has taken measures to ensure equitable access to ATLs for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Out of 10,000 ATLs established by AIM, 5,692 (56.92%) ATLs have been established in rural areas. Further, 1022 (10.22%) ATLs have been established in Aspirational districts.

- (d) Yes Sir, AIM has conducted a third-party assessment study of ATLs. In order to enhance the effective use of equipment and resources, AIM publishes an annual ATL calendar of activities, ATL curriculum & ATL Equipment Manual.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 175 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-11
Subject: Sugar Mill in Narsinghpur
Ministry: COOPERATION
Asked by: Shri Darshan Singh Choudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  175 TO BE ANSWERED ON  11 th  MARCH, 2025

## SUGAR MILL IN NARSINGHPUR

## *175. SHRI DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY :

Will the Minister of Cooperation ( सहकारिता मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether  the  Government  proposes  to  establish  a  cooperative  sugar  mill  in  Narsinghpur district; and
- (b)
- (c) If so, the details thereof including the proposed schemes for it?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION सहकारिता मंत्री (SHRI AMIT SHAH)

- (a) to (b) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (b) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 175 'SUGAR MILL IN NARSINGHPUR' ASKED BY SHRI DARSHAN SINGH CHOUDHARY, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT DUE FOR REPLY ON 11 TH  MARCH, 2025.

(a) to (b): Sir, The issue raised pertains to State Government.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 169 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-11
Subject: World Economic Forum
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Prof. Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. 169.

TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 11 TH  MARCH, 2025.

## WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

## *169.  PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) the details of proposals and projects received from the recent World Economic Forum held at Davos in the country, State-wise;
- (b) the details of employment through such investments, State and project-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has relaxed any rules to attract such investments and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether some State Governments have not attracted investments, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER वाणिज्य  एवं उद्योग मंत्री )श्री पीयूष गोयल( THE MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI  PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House .

******

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 169 FOR ANSWER ON 11 TH  MARCH, 2025

- (a) to (c): The 55 th  edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting was held on 20-24 January, 2025 at Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The participation of States in the WEF is voluntary. In 2025, six States namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,  Maharashtra,  Kerala,  Tamil  Nadu,  and  Uttar  Pradesh,  have participated.

The  World  Economic  Forum,  as  per  its  stated  Mission,  is  the  International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. It provides a global, impartial, and not-for-profit  platform  for  meaningful  connections  between  stakeholders  to establish trust and build initiatives for cooperation and progress. It holds an Annual Meeting attended by CEOs and senior officials of companies, heads of state,  and  leaders  from  government,  international  multilateral  organizations, etc., from countries worldwide. The Annual Meeting 2025 was convened with the theme 'Collaboration for the Intelligent Age'.

WEF has proposed a Digital Health Actuator as part of its collaboration with the State  of  Telangana. Further,  it  has  been  reported  that  some  States  like Maharashtra  have  entered  into  MoUs  with  potential  investors  at  WEF  with significant  investment  &  job  opportunities.  However,  no  rules  have  been relaxed for the above. Engagements at WEF are bilateral between States and other stakeholders without the intervention of the Government of India.

- (d): Many States did not participate & hence, the question above does not arise.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 168 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-11
Subject: Decarbonization of Steel Sector
Ministry: STEEL
Asked by: Shri P C Mohan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF STEEL

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *168 FOR ANSWER ON 11.03.2025

## DECARBONIZATION OF STEEL SECTOR

*168. SHRI P C MOHAN:

Will the Minister of STEEL be pleased to state :

(a) whether the current roadmap and initiatives, such as the "Greening the Steel Sector in India" report and the Taxonomy for Green Steel are adequate to meet the 2070 netzero target, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether any interim carbon emission has been established to reduce targets for the steel sector to track progress towards the net-zero goal, if so, the details thereof including for plants in Karnataka and Bengaluru;

(c) the details of specific mechanisms in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of decarbonization pilot projects, such as the use of green hydrogen in steel production; and

- (d)  whether  the  Ministry  is  collaborating  with  international  stakeholders  to  adopt  and implement advanced decarbonization technologies in the Indian steel industry, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE          (SHRI BHUPATHIRAJU SRINIVASA VARMA) MINISTRY OF STEEL

(a)to(d): A statement is laid on the Table of the Lok Sabha.

*****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A)TO(D) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED (*) QUESTION NO. *168 FOR ANSWER ON 11.03.2025 TABLED BY SHRI P. C. MOHAN, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING 'DECARBONIZATION OF STEEL SECTOR'

(a)&(b): Yes,  Sir.  The  comprehensive  Report  titled  'Greening  the  Steel  Sector  in India: Roadmap and Action Plan' chalks out the strategies for reducing carbon emissions from steel sector towards net-zero target by 2070. The report is available on Ministry of Steel website. However, there is no interim target for reducing carbon emissions in the steel sector.

(c) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued scheme guidelines for the  implementation  of  pilot  projects  in  iron  &  steel  sector,  under  the  National  Green Hydrogen  Mission,  with  MECON  as  the  Scheme  Implementing  Agency  (SIA).  Project monitoring mechanism includes monthly tracking by MECON, quarterly reviews by the Project Appraisal Committee (PAC), and overall oversight by a Steering Committee (SC) co-chaired by the Secretaries of Steel and MNRE.

(d) CPSEs, under this Ministry, have signed Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with the various international technology providers in field of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), injection of coke oven gas in blast furnace, Green hydrogen injection etc. to accelerate decarbonization of steel manufacturing process.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 2070 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-11
Subject: Impact of Modernisation
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha

## IMPACT OF MODERNISATION

## 2070. SHRI BABU SINGH KUSHWAHA:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री be pleased to state :

(a) the manner in which the impact of modernisation improved the competitiveness of the Indian textile industry  at  the  global  level  alongwith  extent  to  which  its  contribution  to  the  Indian  economy  has increased;

(b) the data available with the Government about the number of persons who have undergone training in the textile industry and their employment opportunities under the Integrated Skill Development Scheme;

(c)  the  status  of  the  housing  scheme  for  textile  workers  and  the  number  of  beneficiaries  benefitted through this scheme; and

(d) the details of initiatives taken by the Government to provide educational facilities for weavers and the type of benefits the weavers are getting from these facilities?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्री गिररराज स ंह )

## MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH)

(a): The government's focus on increasing textile manufacturing, modernizing infrastructure, fostering innovation, and upgrading technology has strengthened India's position as a global textile hub. The role of the Government is to ensure conducive policy environment, facilitating in creating enabling conditions for the industry and private entrepreneurs to set up units through its various policy initiatives and  schemes.  Due  to  these  interventions  a  number  of  handloom,  powerloom,  readymade  garments, synthetic yarn and hosiery manufacturing units have been setup across the country.

(b): A total of 11.14 lakh beneficiaries have been trained and 8.43 lakh beneficiaries have been placed under Integrated Skill Development Scheme.

(c): Government of India had introduced a Scheme Viz. Textile Workers Rehabilitation Fund Scheme (TWRFS) with effect from 15.09.1986 to provide relief to the workers, who are rendered jobless due to permanent closure of Non-SSI Textile Mills in private sector, which are eligible as per the guidelines under the Scheme. TWRFS has been merged with the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana (RGSKY) of  Ministry  of  Labour  and  Employment  under  Notification  No.  S.O.1081(E)  dated  06.04.2017  and discontinued  TWRFS  w.e.f  01.04.2017.  Workers  rendered  jobless  can  avail  benefits  under  the  above scheme, subject to eligibility.

(d): Government of India, Ministry of Textiles has taken an initiative from October, 2021 onwards for providing Financial Support as Scholarship maximum upto Rs.2.00 lakh per annum per child including stipend of Rs.5,000/- per month to handloom weavers/workers' children (upto 2 children) for study in 3/4  years  Diploma/Under  Graduate/Post  Graduate  courses  of  Central/State  Govt.  recognized/funded 'Textiles Institution under Handloom Weavers' Welfare, one of the components of National Handloom Development Programme.