opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 2002 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Government Employees in Elective Offices
Ministry: PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
Asked by: UDIT RAJ

## MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA (DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2002

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016)

## GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES IN ELECTIVE OFFICES

## 2002. DR. UDIT RAJ:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Central  Government  employees  while  in  service  can  hold  an  elective office  in  an  organisation  being  run  on  commercial  lines  as  per  conduct  rules governing them and if so, the details of rules in this regard;
- (b) whether the Central Government employees can avail tangible or intangible benefits;
- (c) if so, the extent to which such benefits can be received without obtaining permission from the competent authority;
- (d) the details of the competent authority to permit serving officers of the level of Section Officers and below to contest elections and hold an elective office; and
- (e) whether  any  serving  Section  Officer  of  the  Ministry  of  Urban  Development  is assuming an elective office in Kendriya Bhandar in violation of guidelines/rules and if so, the action proposed to be taken against the erring officer?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

(a) to (d):   Rule 15(1)(c) of the Central Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, 1964 provides that subject  to  the  provision  of  sub-rule  (2),  no  Government  servant  shall,  except  with  the previous sanction of the Government hold an elective office, or canvass for a candidate or candidates for an elective office, in any body, whether incorporated or not.

Rule  15(4)  of  the  Central  Civil  Service  (Conduct)  Rules,  1964  provides  that  no Government servant may accept any fee for any work done by him for any private or public body or any private person without sanction of the prescribed authority.

(e):   A Section Officer working as Assistant Director in Directorate of Estates in the Ministry of Urban Development is holding the elective office of Director in the Board of Directors in Kendriya Bhandar since July 2012. He had taken due permission from the Government.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 2001 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Staff at Shivnagar Railway Crossing
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: RAMA DEVI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2001 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## STAFF AT SHIVNAGAR RAILWAY CROSSING

† 2001.    SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :

- (a) whether the Government proposes to post any staff at Shivnagar railway crossing number 62 located at Sitamadi-Reega railway line;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government so far in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a)  to  (d):  Yes,  Madam.    Work  of  manning  of  Unmanned  Level Crossing No. 62 between Sitamarhi-Riga section has been sanctioned.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1999 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Expansion of Rail Network
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1999 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## EXPANSION OF RAIL NETWORK

†1999. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to expand rail network in Bihar;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  there  is  any  scheme/proposal  of  the  Government  to construct new railway line upto Chakia of Eastern Champaran district via Chhapra, Jalalpur, Baniyapur, Bhagwaanpur, Malmalia, Mohamadpur and Dumriaghat; and

(d) if so, the steps taken so far/proposed to be taken by the Government to construct above railway line?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b):  Yes,  Madam. For expanding railway network in the State of Bihar,  Railways  have  taken  up  44  major  projects  comprising  34  New Lines,  four  Doublings  and  six  Gauge  Conversions  falling  fully/partly  in Bihar at an anticipated cost of ` 42978 crore. An expenditure of ` 11531 crore has been incurred till March 2015 with an outlay of ` 2109 crore in 2015-16.  In  addition  to  this,  nine  doubling  projects  and  one  new  line project  falling  fully/partly  in  Bihar  have  been  included  in  Railway Budget 2015-16 & 2016-17 at an estimated cost of ` 10943 crore subject to requisite approval of Government. Railways have a huge throwforward  and  limited  resource  availability  for  completion  of  new line  projects.  Hence  a  focussed  approach  has  been  adopted  for completing these projects by prioritising. With the progressive commissioning  of  these  projects,  rail  network  in  Bihar  is  bound  to expand substantially. (c)  & (d):  At present no such survey has been taken up by Railways. However,  two    Reconnaissance  Engg-cum-Traffic  Surveys  (RETS)  for laying  New  Lines  originating  from  Chakia  namely  (i)  Chakia-Bairgania (50 Km) via Madhubani, Phenhara and (ii) Chakia -Kesariya (Kaithwalia) (25 Km)  have been taken up.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1998 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Master Plan for Delhi 2021
Ministry: URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: A.P. JITHENDER REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1998

TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 9, 2016

MASTER PLAN FOR DELHI-2021

No. 1998   SHRI A.P. JITHENDER REDDY:

Will the Minister of URBAN DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a):  whether  the  Government  has  notified  any  policy  and  guidelines  for redevelopment  of  areas  other  than  Transit  Oriented  Development  (TOD) along metro corridors since the release of the Master Plan for Delhi 2021;

(b):  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and if  not,  the  reasons there for along with estimated timeline for issuing notification in this regard;

(c): whether the Government has issued guidelines and regulation for the execution of the TOD policy since its notification;

(d): if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and

(e): whether the Government has any plan to approve private projects for redevelopment  of  cooperative  group  housing  societies  and  other  group housings on a pilot basis and if so, the details thereof?

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a)  &  (b):    Delhi  Development  Authority  (DDA)  has  informed  that  it  has notified  the  following  Guidelines/Regulations  for  redevelopment  of  areas other than 'Transit Oriented Development' along metro corridors since the release of Master Plan for Delhi-2021:

- (i) S.O. 683 (E) dated 01.04.2011: 'Regulations and Guidelines for Redevelopment of Existing Planned Industrial Area'.
- (ii) S.O. 654 (E) dated 01.05.2012: 'Regulations for Redevelopment of  Clusters  of  Industrial  Concentration  in  Non-Conforming Areas/Unplanned Industrial Areas'.

(c): No, Madam.

(d): DDA has placed draft 'Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Regulations'  in  public  domain  on  23.02.2016  for  inviting  views  of  the public.

(e):  No,  such  plan  is  under  consideration  in  the  Ministry  of  Urban Development.

- ………….
Lok Sabha Question No. 1997 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Reservation Counter at Pendurthy Station
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO (AVNTHI)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1997 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## RESERVATION COUNTER AT PENDURTHY STATION

†1997.  SHRI MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO (AVANTHI):

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  open  a railway reservation counter at Pendurthy Railway Station with wi-fi enabled systems; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b) Unreserved  Ticketing  System  -  cum  -  Passenger Reservation System (UTS-cum-PRS) counter has been sanctioned at Pendurthy Railway Station.

......
Lok Sabha Question No. 1995 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Space Technology for Public Welfare
Ministry: SPACE
Asked by: RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## DEPARTMENT OF SPACE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1995

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

## SPACE TECHNOLOGY FOR PUBLIC WELFARE

1995. SHRI RAHUL SHEWALE:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT:

SHRI NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has decided to use space technologies  for  a  variety  of  public  services  and  set  an ambition in this regard and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has prepared any roadmap in this regard and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the funding and other research and development initiatives taken by the Government to achieve the above said objectives?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PG & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

(DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

- (a) In India, space technology is being primarily used as a tool to  enable  variety  of  public  services  by  various  Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments, Public &

Private enterprises. A few of such public services include (i)  Television, Direct-To-Home (DTH) & Radio broadcasting,

- (ii) Telecommunication, (iii) Weather forecasting and Disaster early warning for Cyclone & Tsunami, (iv) Emergency Communication during disaster events, (v) Agriculture and fishing zone advisories, (vi) Tele-education and Tele-medicine services. Also, many governmental programmes / schemes utilising space technology as input offer  direct  /  indirect  benefits  to  public.  A  few  of  these include -Ground Water Prospect zones, watershed development,  urban  &  rural  infrastructure  planning  and development, rural connectivity etc.
- (b) The  roadmap  includes  providing  the  continuity  of  space technology tools for the existing public service with improved  technological  capabilities  and  development  of technology for enabling newer services viz. location based services, geospatial services for ease of doing business and synergy  of  satellite  communication,  navigation  &  earth observation in planning, monitoring and evaluation of developmental activities in various sectors.
- (c) To  enable  the  above  activities, ISRO  plans  to  realise communication  satellites  and  earth  observation  satellites, associated ground segments and development of application  tools/techniques.  The  funds  for  the  above  are the integral part of the annual plan of the department.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1987 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Increase in Visa Fee by UK
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: M. UDHAYAKUMAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.  1987

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 09.03.2016

## INCREASE IN VISA FEE BY UK

## 1987.   ADV. M. UDHAYAKUMAR:

Will the Minister of Communications & Information Technology be pleased to state: -

- (a) whether UK has proposed any change in visa rules which will adversely affect Indian IT professionals if so, the details thereof, and the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (b) whether UK is our second largest exporting market for IT services and if so, the likely impact it will have on our bilateral trade?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): As  per  the  Ministry  of  External  Affairs,    Government  of  India,  the  UK  Government commissioned  the  Migration  Advisory  Committee  (MAC)  last  year  to  advise  them  on significantly  reducing  the  level  of  skilled  economic  migration  from  outside  the  EU  entering through Tier 2 visa route.  The main recommendations of the MAC are :

- (i) Create a new category for third-party contractors (IT firms) and increase the minimum salary threshold to £41,500 in respect of Tier 2 ICT category (short term) from current £ 24,800/-,
- (ii) Levy Immigration Skill Charge (ISC) of £ 1000/- on all employers recruiting migrants under Long term and short term Tier 2 (ICT) categories,
- (iii) Levy  Immigration  Health  Surcharge  (IHS)  of  £  200/-  to  ICT  category  including  the dependents,
- (iv) Increase minimum work experience requirement for the ICT visa category from 12 to 24 months for both long term and short term categories,
- (v) Sponsors to enter a more detailed description of the role required on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) application form to ensure that the role is sufficiently specialist.

The  Report  prepared  by  MAC  was  released  on  19  January  2016  and  is  presently  under consideration  of  the  UK  Government.    Department  of  Commerce,  Ministry  of  Commerce  & Industry, Government of India has already taken up the matter with the UK in this regard.

- (b):       Yes, Sir. UK is the second largest export market for Indian IT-ITES companies.   If the MAC recommendations are accepted by the UK Government, it would have an adverse impact

on  the  competitiveness  of  Indian  IT  companies  in  the  UK.  As  per  industry  estimates,  the financial  impact  of  these  measures  would  be  in  excess  of  UK£  250  million  each  year  for  the Indian IT companies.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 1986 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Doubling of Railway Tracks
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: JITENDRA CHAUDHURY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1986 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## DOUBLING OF RAILWAY TRACKS

## † 1986.  SHRI JITENDRA CHAUDHURY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Railways  has  fixed  any  target  of  doubling  12,000  km  of existing corridors in the next five years and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the details of new railway tracks in kilometer that have been doubled during the last three years?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a):   Targets for doubling/ multiple lines are fixed on yearly basis subject to availability  of  funds  and  progress  made  in  individual  projects.  Targets  for projects are affected by impediments like (i) land acquisition, (ii) forestry & wild life clearances, (iii) shifting of services, (iv) construction of road over and road  under  bridges  by  road  maintaining  agencies  (v)  law  &  order  issues  in addition to  availability of funds, and many of these items are beyond control of Railways. Indian Railways has fixed target of 1200 kilometres of doubling/multiple line for the year 2015-16.
- (b):    During the last three years i.e. 2012-13, 2013-14 & 2014-15, 2118 Kms of tracks have been doubled.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 1985 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Clone Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: BOORA NARSAIAH GOUD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1985 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## CLONE TRAINS

1985.  DR. BOORA NARSAIAH GOUD:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the concept of clone trains;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to introduce clone trains; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a): At present, the concept of clone train has not been developed over Indian Railways.

(b) & (c): Do not arise.

- *****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1984 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Credit for Affordable Housing
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN  POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Asked by: SANJAY JAISWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1984

TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 09, 2016

## CREDIT FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING

No. 1984

DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the difficulties faced by
- the  people  belonging  to  Economical  Weaker  Section  (EWS)/ lower  income  groups  and  unorganised  sectors  in  accessing credit for housing;
- (b) if so, the measures taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether the Government plans to encourage micro mortgage financing schemes to ensure its goal of 'Housing for all';
- (d) whether the Government has created a Credit Risk Guarantee Fund (CRGF) for promoting low income housing in the country; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION

(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

- (a)&(b): Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Housing for All (Urban) mission on 25.06.2015. Under Credit Linked  Subsidy  Scheme  (CLSS),  one  of  the  components  of the  mission,  the  beneficiaries  of  Economic  Weaker  Section (EWS) having household annual income upto Rs. 3.00 lakh

and  Lower  Income  Group  (LIG)  having  household  annual income between Rs. 3.00 lakh and upto Rs. 6.00 lakh subject to their being otherwise eligible under the scheme, can avail of interest subsidy at the rate of 6.5% on the housing loans upto Rs. 6.00 lakh from Banks, Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) and other such institutions for a tenure of 15 years or actual  tenure  of  loan  whichever  is  earlier,  for  acquisition, construction and extension of house. The Net Present Value (NPV) of the interest subsidy will be calculated at a discount rate of 9%. Public Sector Banks have been urged to simplify the  application  forms  and  documentation  required  from eligible  beneficiaries  to  facilitate  the  housing  loans  under the CLSS.

- (c) :   National  Housing  Bank  (NHB)  under  the  Department  of Financial  Services  has  reported  that  HFCs  registered  with NHB are involved  in  providing  housing  microfinance  to  the needy segments based on their own appraisal system.
- (d)&(e):  A  Credit  Risk  Guarantee  Fund  (CRGF)  with  a  proposed corpus of Rs. 1,000 crore under Rajiv Awas Yojana has been created in the 12 th   Five  Year Plan to guarantee the lending agencies for loans to new EWS/ LIG borrowers in urban areas

seeking individual housing loans not exceeding a sum of Rs. 5.00 lakh for a housing unit of size upto 430 sq. ft (40 sq. m) carpet area without any third party guarantee or collateral security. The ceiling of housing loan limit eligible under the CRGF Scheme is Rs. 8.00 lakh w.e.f. 1st October, 2014. The guarantee  cover  would  be  available  upto  Rs.  5  lakh  to individual borrower. The fund is operated by NHB.

********
Lok Sabha Question No. 1983 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Nuclear Power Capacity
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: HARISHCHANDRA DEORAM CHAVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1983

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## NUCLEAR POWER CAPACITY

1983.  SHRI  HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to put on the back-burner a plan to install 20 Gigawatts of nuclear power capacity in the country by 2020 and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether the Government also proposes to focus on increasing wind and solar power capacity in lieu of nuclear power plants; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the progress made in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Based on the progress of pre-project activities at the green field sites for which  'In-principle'  approval  had  been  accorded  and  developments  in international co-operation in respect of the reactors to be set up in foreign technical collaboration, the Government had in July 2014, set a target of tripling the then capacity of 4780 MW in next ten years (by the year 2024).
- (b) & (c) No, Sir. All sources of power including nuclear are planned to be deployed optimally  to  meet  the  country's  growing  demand  of  electricity.    The Government has set the target of 175 GW for renewable energy capacity by the year 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1982 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Funds for Railway Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1982 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## FUNDS FOR RAILWAY LINE

## 1982. SHRI D.S. RATHOD:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made provision of funds for the Railway line on Shamlaiji-Modasa-Kapadvanj-Nadiad route, and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  start  a  train  from Delhi  to  Mumbai  on  Shamlaiji-  Modasa-  Kapadvanj-  Nadiad route; and
- (c) if so, the time by which the train is likely to be operated?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a)    On Shamlaji Road- Modasa- Kapadvanj- Nadiad route, Shamlaji Road-  Modasa  new  line  (23  Km)  has  been  taken  up  as  a  Material Modification to Ahmedabad-Himmatnagar-Udaipur gauge conversion project.    Alignment  for  Shamlaji  Road-  Modasa  new  line  has  been approved. An outlay of ` 675 crore has been proposed in the Budget 2016-17 for the entire project.

(b) & (c) No, Madam.  There is no proposal to start a new train from Delhi-Mumbai via Shamlaji Road- Modasa- Kapadvanj- Nadiad route. However, introduction of trains  is  an  ongoing  process  over  Indian Railways and is done keeping in view the traffic demand, operational  feasibility,  resources  availability,  competing  demands, etc.

****
Lok Sabha Question No. 1981 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Suvidha Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: S.SELVAKUMARA CHINNAYAN, K. ASHOK KUMAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1981 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2016

## SUVIDHA TRAINS

1981.  SHRI S. SELVAKUMARA CHINNAYAN: SHRI K. ASHOK KUMAR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  in  the  process  of  introducing  three types  of  suvidha  trains  such  as  fully  air-conditioned  train  with/without stoppages,  mixed  services  with  commercial  stoppages  and  mixed services with en-route stoppages on mail/express pattern;
- (b)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the special features of the proposed suvidha train services; and
- (d) the time by which these trains are likely to be functional?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a)  to  (d):  Unlike  regular  Mail/Express  trains,  Suvidha  Express  train services based on the principle of variable pricing mechanism are to be run during peak traffic surges from time to time, subject to availability of resources.    These  have  already  been  run  as  a  fully  air-conditioned  as well  as  mixed  composition  trains  with  stoppages  enroute  keeping  in view the operational feasibility, availability of resources, traffic justification etc.

*****