Supply Of Gas At Regulated Prices

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

QUESTION NO  3071

ANSWERED ON  30.08.2011

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


(a) whether it is a fact that Government is considering to supply gas at regulated prices to some priority consumers only;

(b) if so, the details of the proposal; and

(c) by when it is likely to be implemented?
   
ANSWER
     
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI R.P.N SINGH)

(a) to (c): The price of Administered Price Mechanism (APM) gas is determined by Government. The following sectors are being supplied APM gas at APM rate:

1. Fertilizers

2. Power

3. Court Mandated Customers

4. Small Customers Having Requirement of gas less than 50,000 SCMD.
The gas produced from various other fields has no sector wise variations in price.
 
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Subsidies On Cooking Gas And Kerosene

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

QUESTION NO  3066

ANSWERED ON  30.08.2011

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


(a) whether it is a fact that Government is considering to stop subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene from next year;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether Government is also considering to give cash subsidy to the States every month to support the poor;

(d) the details of subsidies paid by Government during the last three years on cooking gas and kerosene; and

(e) the details of subsidized gas used by the industries during the last three years?
   
ANSWER
     

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS

(SHRI R.P.N. SINGH)

(a)&(b): A proposal is under consideration with the Government to restrict the number of cylinders to be supplied at subsidized rate to registered customers of Domestic LPG. The proposal is intended to put a cap on the number of subsidized Domestic LPG cylinders, so as to reduce the burgeoning subsidy burden on account of Domestic LPG.

(c): The Government is considering a proposal for direct transfer of subsidies on PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG on a pilot basis to the intended beneficiaries. The Government has constituted a Task Force in February, 2011 under the Chairmanship of Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to recommend an implementable solution for direct transfer of subsidies on PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG to the intended beneficiaries. The Task Force has submitted its Interim Report to the Government on 05.07.2011.

(d): The Government is providing subsidy of ` 0.82 per litre on PDS Kerosene and ` 22.58 per cylinder of Domestic LPG from the fiscal budget under the ‘PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG Subsidy Scheme, 2002’ to the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) namely, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). The details of subsidy paid on PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG from the fiscal budget during the last three years are given below:- (` crore) Year PDS Kerosene Domestic LPG
2008-09 974 1,714 2009-10 957 1,814 2010-11 930 1,974 In addition to the above fiscal subsidy, the OMCs have incurred under-recoveries on the sale of PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG during the last three years as given below: (` crore) Year Total Under-recoveries PDS Kerosene
Domestic LPG 2008-09 28,225 17,600 2009-10 17,364 14,257 2010-11 19,484 21,772 Gross under-recoveries without considering oil bonds/cash assistance.
Under the burden sharing mechanism being followed, these under-recoveries are shared by the Government and the Public Sector oil companies.

(e): The OMCs have informed that they do not supply subsidized LPG to the industrial units.

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Increasing Procurement Targets

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

QUESTION NO  2824

ANSWERED ON  29.08.2011

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


(a) whether it is a fact that Government is considering to increase procurement of grains from 10 million tonnes to 70 million tonnes;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether present storage capacity is adequate, considering the increase in procurement; and

(d) if not, the steps taken by Government to increase the storage capacity?
   
ANSWER
     
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(PROF. K.V. THOMAS)

(a)& (b): The procurement of foodgrains is open-ended and no targets are fixed for procurement. As per existing policy of Government of India, all quantities of wheat, rice and coarse grains conforming to the FAQ specifications brought by the farmers are purchased by FCI and state agencies at Minimum Support Price (MSP).

(c ) & (d): The Food Corporation of India has a total of 333.63 lakh MTs of storage capacity including Covered and Cover and Plinth (CAP) both owned and hired with a capacity utilization of 90% as on 15.7.2011. The state agencies also store foodgrains. Due to the increased procurement of foodgrains and to reduce the storage in Cover and Plinth (CAP), the Government formulated a Scheme for construction of storage godowns through private entrepreneurs, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs).
Based on this analysis and criteria laid down in the scheme, State wise capacity requirement and locations were identified. Under the scheme, the Food Corporation of India would now give a guarantee of ten years for assured hiring to the private entrepreneurs. A capacity of 152.97 lakh tonnes is to be created in 19 states under the scheme through private entrepreneurs and Central and State Warehousing Corporations. Out of this sanctioned capacity tenders have been finalized for creation of storage capacity of 52.32 lakh tonnes by the private entrepreneurs. CWC and SWCs are constructing 5.31 and 15.49 lakh tonnes respectively under the Scheme, out of which a capacity of about 3.5 lakh tonnes has already been completed by CWC/SWCs.


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Ban On Speculative Trading

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

QUESTION NO  2823

ANSWERED ON  29.08.2011

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


(a) whether it is a fact that 70 per cent rise in food prices is because of speculative trading;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether Government is considering to put a ban on such trading; and

(d) if so, by when such trading would be banned?
  
ANSWER
      
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(PROF. K. V. THOMAS)


(a) : No Sir.

(b) : In view of the reply to part (a) above, question does not arise.

(c) : No Sir.

(d) : In view of the reply to part (c) above, question does not arise.


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The Transplantation Of Human Organs

The Transplantation Of Human Organs (Amendment) Bill, 2011

Mr. Deputy Chairman, Sir, I am happy that the hon. Minister has covered almost all the critical points by bringing forward the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Bill, 2011. In addition to that, our hon. experienced Members have covered almost all the points. Hopefully, the hon. Minister will consider those points. We all are aware that this Bill has come into existence mainly because of our great scientists’ success about human organ transplantation, which is very critical and important to maintain certain quality assurance. I, personally, feel that instead of saying this as Authorisation Committee or Appropriate Authority, if we can make it as a quality assurance and regulatory body, that will be better. I suggest ---some of the Members have also mentioned -- that instead of going by merely certain bureaucrats, proper, credible and qualified people should also be made members. Though, in most of the States, there is a condition that hospitals have to be registered, registration is becoming a mere formality. Instead of that, before registration, hospitals should be vigorously checked about the quality and they should be approved by this Board. That will improve the mortality rate. I also suggest that whoever wants to go for an organ transplantation, they should apply to the Board, if not for permission, at least for the information, so that, subsequently, it could be made mandatory for them to file proper, periodical returns so that at the national level, we can always have proper information about the success rate of human organ transplantation.

Talking of penalties, instead of financial penalties, if the Bill can provide more rigorous punishments such as life imprisonment, it would be better. We are all aware that while we pass Bills, we are not able to execute them properly. For that purpose, proper propaganda must be done in order to create awareness about the rules and procedures involved. That would help the common man understand the procedures better.



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Child Labourers In The Country

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

QUESTION NO  2449

ANSWERED ON  24.08.2011

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to satate :-


(a) whether it is a fact that at present there are more than six crore child labourers in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether around Rs. 1,20,000 crore is pocketed as profit by employers of child labour annually in India, an amount that is rarely reported as income to Government in order to evade taxes; and

(d) the steps taken/being taken by Government to stop exploitation of child labour?
  
ANSWER
      
MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

(SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE)

(a) & (b): As per 2001 census, the total number of working children between the age group of 5-14 years in the country was 1.26 crore. However, in the Survey conducted by NSSO, in 2004-05 the number of working children were estimated at 90.75 lakhs.

(c): No such report has been received in the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India.

(d): The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in 18 Occupations and 65 Processes. Any person who employs a child in any occupation or process where employment of children is prohibited under the Act, is liable for punishment with imprisonment for term which shall not be less than 3 months but which may extend to one year or with fine ranging from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 20,000/-.


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Renegotiation Of Tax Treaty With Mauritius

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF  FINANCE

QUESTION NO  2233

ANSWERED ON  23.08.2011

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to satate :-


(a) whether Government is renegotiating tax treaty with Mauritius into avoid Double Taxation;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether by renegotiation of tax treaty with Mauritius, India will have access to bank details besides tax related information; and

(d) by when the Tax Treaty Agreement will be signed?
  

ANSWER

      
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

( SHRI S. S. PALANIMANICKAM)

(a) & (b) A Joint Working Group (JWG) cornprisinq members from the Government of India and the Government of Mauritius was constituted in 2006 to inter-alia, put in place adequate safeguards to prevent misuse of the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC). Six rounds of discussions have taken place so far. There was unwillingness on the part of Mauritius to co- operate in addressing this problem. We have now proposed next round of discussion to which Mauritius is yet to respond.

(c) Yes, if Mauritius side agrees to amend the relevant Article on Exchange of Information in the DTAC.

(d) Mauritius is yet to respond. Therefore, it is not possible to fix a time limit for signing the revised treaty.

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