Questions asked by Maulana Mahmood A. Madani during Rajya Sabha session November – December 2009

No. of questions: 13

2963. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that Indian Air Force is facing shortage of fighter pilots;

(b) whether it is also a fact that increasingly the IAF pilots are resigning from the service despite improved service conditions and emoluments;

(c) if so, the yearly details of number of such applications during the three years; and

(d) the steps being taken to dissuade fighter pilots from resigning?
Answer

(SHRI A.K. ANTONY) MINISTER OF DEFENCE

(a) Sir, the present strength of pilots in Air Force is sufficient to meet its current operational requirements.

(b) to (d): The number of IAF pilots applying for resignation of Commission has reduced over the years. The details of applications during the last three years is as follows:
Year Applied for resignation 2007 09 2008 04 2009 (upto December, 2009) 01 The improvement in the job profile of the pilots is a continuous process keeping in view the job specific requirements and operational necessity. Besides, the Short Service Commission for Flying branch has been modified to also make Men eligible for induction in this branch. Further, the implementation of the recommendations of the VIth Central Pay Commission shall also go a long way in attracting youth.

346. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:-

(a) the target of additional power generation for the current Five Year Plan period, year-wise;

(b) the annual target of contribution from the Central State and private sector power generation facilities;

(c) the details of the actual addition made in power generation during the first two years of the Plan period;

(d) whether it is a fact that the annual capacity addition targets have been missed; and

(e) if so, which sector, out of the Central, State and private sectors, has shown slippages and the reasons therefor?
Answer
THE MINISTER OF POWER

( SHRI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE )

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

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 346 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE RAJYA SABHA ON 14.12.2009 REGARDING POWER GENERATION TARGETS.

(a) & (b) : The targets of electricity generation from conventional sources are fixed on year to year basis and not for the entire Five Year Plan. The sector- wise/category-wise targets fixed for electricity generation for the first three years of the 11th Plan are as below:-

Figures in Million Units (MU)

Category/Sector Years

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
Thermal

Central Sector 237449 260824 261148
State Sector 277604 304764 303192
Pvt. Sector 57141 65682 84139
Total 572194 631270 648479

Hydro

Central Sector 39790 42912 43239
State Sector 64299 70221 67123
Pvt. Sector 5361 5317 5106
Total 109450 118450 115468

Nuclear

Central Sector 22713 19000 19000

All India

Central Sector 299952 322736 323387
State Sector 341903 374985 370315
Pvt. Sector 62502 70999 89245
Bhutan Import 5643 5624 6564
Total 710000 774344 789511

(c) : Power generation in the country (including import from Bhutan) has
increased from 662523 MU in 2006-07 to 704469 MU in 2007-08 and further to
723794 MU in 2008-09. Details are as follows:
(Figures in MU)

Category Actual Generation

End of 10th Plan (2006-07) (2007-08) (2008-09)
Thermal 527547 558990 590101
Nuclear 18607 16777 14713
Hydro 113359 123424 113081
Bhutan Import 3010 5278 5899
Total 662523 704469 723794

(d) & (e) : Actual addition in capacity has fallen short of the targets in the first
two years of the 11th Plan. As against the target capacity addition of 12039 MW in
2007-08 and 7530 MW in 2008-09, actual addition in capacity has been 9263 MW
in 2007-08 and 3454 MW in 2008-09. Details of slippages in capacity addition are
as follows:

Slippages in capacity addition (2007-08)

Figures in MW
Sector Hydro Thermal Nuclear Total
Central 0 1500 440 1940
State 289 887 0 1176
Private 0 0 0 0
Total 289 2387 440 3116

includes 340 MW Teesta V which did not form part of the target.

Slippages in capacity addition (2008-09)

Figures in MW

Sector Hydro Thermal Nuclear Total
Central 0 1000 660 1660
State 128 410 0 538
Private 0 1878 0 1878
Total 128 3288 660 4076

Main reasons for delay in execution of the projects include delay in placement of orders for main plant and equipment and balance of plants; delayed and non-sequential supplies of equipments; constraints in movement of heavy equipment due to bottlenecks in road transportation; inadequate deployment of construction machinery; land acquisition problems; delay in environment and forest clearance; shortage of skilled manpower/commissioning teams; delay in resolution of contractual issues and fuel constraints.

2161. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Rubber Board considered the impact of recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on the domestic rubber producers;

(b) if so, when was the issue taken up by the Rubber Board and what were their recommendations; and

(c) whether the recommendations of the Rubber Board accommodated in the FTAs?
Answer
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

(SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA)

(a) to (c) : Yes, Sir. While negotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Government takes a number of steps to protect the interest of domestic as well as export oriented industry and farmers. These include keeping the items, to which the domestic industry and farmers are sensitive, in the negative or the sensitive list. On such items, limited or no tariff concessions are granted to the trading partner. Such lists are prepared after consulting all stake holders including Rubber Board. Natural Rubber has been kept in the Negative List of most FTAs.

2126. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI

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

(a) how many blocks have been auctioned in the eight rounds of auctions under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP);

(b) of them how many are deep sea blocks and how many are on-shore blocks;

(c) whether it is a fact that most of the blocks have been won by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or their joint venture; JVs; and

(d) if so, whether it defeats the purpose of NELP?
Answer
MINISTER OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS

(SHRI MURALI DEORA)

(a) to(c). Under the eighth bid round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-VIII), 70 blocks (24 deepwater blocks, 28 shallow water blocks, 18 onland blocks) were offered. Bids were opened on 12.10.2009. 76 bids have been received for 36 blocks. The evaluation of bids is underway.

(d). No, Sir. NELP rounds blocks are offered through international competitive bidding system on the basis of transparent and quantifiable Bid Evaluation Criteria (BEC) indicated in Notice Inviting Offers (NIO). There is a level playing field for award of blocks to public sector and private companies. The blocks are awarded to successful bidders based of BEC.

2014. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:-

(a) whether Government provides subsidized air travel by the national carrier to the Haj pilgrims sponsored by Haj Committee;

(b) whether it is a fact that the country carrier has entered into a bilateral agreement with Saudi national carrier to carry Haj pilgrims;

(c) if so, the details of the passengers travelled by national carrier and Saudi carrier during the last three years; and

(d) the details of revenue sharing agreement between Indian and Saudi national carriers considering that Government provides subsidy for air travel to Hajis?
Answer
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

( SHRI PRAFUL PATEL )

(a): Yes, Sir.

(b) to (d): No, Sir. Ministry of Civil Aviation enters into an MOU with Saudi Arabian Airlines to carry Haj pilgrims from different embarkation points. The number of pilgrims carried by Air India & Saudi Arabian Airlines during the last three years is as under:-

Year Air India Saudi Arabian Airlines
Haj 2008 64,247 57,448 Haj 2007 51,083 58,917 Haj 2006-II 49,327 59,191 (d): There is no such agreement.

1474. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that Government is considering to open 10,000 ITIs in the country;

(b) whether Government will consider setting up these ITIs in rural areas to train into agricultural and non-agricultural vocations; and

(c) whether Government also considers starting certain short term courses in these ITIs for the candidates eligible for rural employment schemes and NREGA?
Answer
MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

(SHRI HARISH RAWAT)

a) As per announcement made by the Prime Minister, 1500 new Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) are proposed to be set up in Public Private Partnership (PPP).

b) The Government proposes to set up these 1500 new ITIs, preferably, in unserviced blocks (blocks where no ITIs/ITCs exist) and are expected to impart training in demand driven trades including agricultural and non-agricultural vocations.

c) Since the proposed ITIs would be set up in PPP mode, the private partner would be free to provide all types of training as per demand including short term modular courses.

165. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-

(a) whether Government has issued any guidelines to the nationalized banks regarding the interest on the deposits from the Public Sector Units (PSUs);

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether nationalized banks have been accepting such deposits at benchmark rates or less;

(d) whether PSUs have claimed to be incurring loss on the deposits with nationalized banks; and

(e) if so, what steps Government proposes to discount the loss to PSUs?
Answer

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE (SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE)

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

STATEMENT FOR RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.165 FOR 1st DECEMBER, 2009 REGARDING INTEREST RATE ON THE PSU DEPOSITS WITH BANKS TABLED BY SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI AND SHRI SANTOSH BAGRODIA

(a) &(b) : In order to avoid undesirable competition amongst banks leading to arbitrary hikes in deposits rates, which have consequences for the economy, and considering the need to moderate the cost of credit, Government directed the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to discontinue the practice of inviting competitive bids for bulk deposits. Further, all the public sector banks (PSBs) were advised to publish their card rates for bulk deposits of Rs. 1 crore and above and, in order to bring about a level-playing field, to consider uniform card rates for bulk deposits for different maturities across PSBs.

(c) to (e) : In view of huge liquidity in the system, to contain overall cost of funds and shrinking net interest margin of PSBs, presently the PSBs are offering lower interest rates for bulk deposits vis-a-vis retail deposits. Though this may lead to decrease in interest earning of some CPSEs, the move is aimed at benefiting the economy at large including the borrowing CPSEs, due to overall reduction in cost of funds.

1083. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the number of Asiatic Lions in Gir Sanctuary has decreased over the years, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the reasons therefor;

(c) whether Government has taken steps to rehabilitate Asiatic Lions from Gir Sanctuary; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?
Answer
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS

(SHRI JAIRAM RAMESH)

(a) No, Sir. There are no such reports. On the contrary the number of Asiatic Lions in Gir Sanctuary has increased over the years.

(b) Does not arise.

(c)& (d) The Government of Gujarat has launched several steps including establishing and conserving appropriate habitats including Barda Wildlife Sanctuary located in Porbandar and Jamnagar Districts for supporting lion population.

997. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:-

(a) whether CBSE has notified the new evaluation criteria for Class X;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the CBSE plans to conduct workshops for the teachers according to the new evaluation criteria; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?
Answer
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

(SMT. D. PURANDESWARI)

(a) & (b):The Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) has been strengthened in all CBSE affiliated schools w.e.f. October, 2009 in Class IX.

(c): Yes, Sir.

(d): CBSE has adopted a cascade model of training. It has started training Principals and selected teachers of its affiliated schools in October, 2009. These trained Principals and selected teachers have the responsibility to train all the remaining teachers of the respective schools.

808. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI

Will the Minister of OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether Government is aware that even the H 1 B Visa quota given by India could not be filled up because of enough employment opportunity is not available in that country;

(b) whether it is a fact that many NRIs in USA already employed who have lost their jobs are facing financial difficulties; and

(c) whether Government has any plan to help such people in different countries including USA?
Answer
MINISTER OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS

(SHRI VAYALAR RAVI)

(a): As per information available a total number of 46,700 petitions for H1B visas have been filed against 65,000 H1B visa cap for 2010.

(b): Indians working in the US, like others have been affected by the recession which has resulted in unemployment rate of 10.2% in October 2009. However no representation from Indian workers in the US has been received by the Mission.

(c): The Mission in Washington has requested the US authorities that H1B visa holders who lost their jobs be allowed sufficient time for winding up his or her affairs or locating another job.

529. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:-

(a) the details of faculty members of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) resigned during last three years, discipline-wise;

(b) the sanctioned strength of the faculty in AIIMS, discipline-wise;

(c) whether it is a fact that faculty positions are lying vacant; and

(d) if so, the reasons for leaving faculty under-staffed?
Answer
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

(SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)

(a): As per Annexure-I.

(b): As per Annexure-II.

(c): At present, 190 faculty positions are lying vacant.

(d): In the years 2006 and 2007, a total of 131 vacant faculty positions were advertised. However, selection process against this advertisement could not take place due to administrative reasons and the same were treated as cancelled/withdrawn. The Governing Body/Institute Body of AIIMS in its meeting held on 13.08.2008 and 18.08.2008 respectively decided to implement 200 point post based roster and consequently, 92 faculty posts were advertised on 04.11.2008 under Special recruitment Drive for Scs/STs/OBCs. Selection against this advertisement could not take place because of objections from Faculty Association of AIIMS regarding improper implementation of Reservation Policy.

259. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA E.M. SUDARSANA NATCHIAPPAN
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that there have been significant time and cost overrun in certain Railway project.

(b) if so, the details of time and cost overrun of such projects;

(c) the major causes of delay and cost overrun;

(d) whether it is also a fact that land acquisition in various States has been a major cause of delay and cost overrun;

(e) if so, the details of such States; and

(f) the manner in which Government proposes to minimize the cost of overrun in these projects?
Answer

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

( SHRI E. AHAMED )

5. SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI
SANTOSH BAGRODIA
Will the Minister of WATER RESOURCES be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that the Central Water Commission had cautioned the concerned State Governments to avoid filling up of the reservoir during the rainy season by regulated release of water;

(b) if so, whether it is also a fact that despite such advice the concerned States kept the reservoir full;

(c) whether it is also a fact that such a situation could have caused major damages to dams and bunds;

(d) if so, whether Government have ascertained the reasons for not heeding the advice; and

(e) the steps that are being taken to persuade the States to comply with Central Water Commission advice?
Answer
THE MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS AND WATER RESOURCES

(SHRI PAWAN KUMAR BANSAL)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.5 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.11.2009 REGARDING ADVISORY TO STATE GOVERNMENTS BY CENTRAL WATER COMMISSION BY SHRI MAHMOOD A. MADANI AND SHRI SANTOSH BAGRODIA.

(a) No, Sir.

(b) & (c) Does not arise in view of reply to Part (a). However, faulty operations of reservoirs can at times, cause damages to the dams, bunds and also result in flooding.

(d) Since, the Central Water Commission has not given any such advice to the State Government in this regard, the question does not arise.

(e) Operation of the reservoir is carried out by the concerned State Government/ owner of the dam. Each project has its own reservoir operation manual which is to be followed.