'42'

    In keeping with the policy of economic liberalisation and reforms, all other varieties of fertilizers except urea have already been freed from price, movement and distribution control. The Government intends moving towards a deregulated regime in all three types of fertilizers, that is, nitrogen, phosphatic and potassic, after taking into account its fiscal capacity on the one hand and making available fertilizers in adequate quantity to the farmers at a reasonable price on the other.

    It is proposed to translate the intention of the Government into a concrete action plan by formulating a long term policy for the fertilizer sector which would include, the Government’s decision on the recommendations made by the High Powered Fertilizers Pricing Policy Review Committee which are being processed.

    This was stated by Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Ramesh Bais in written reply in the Rajya Sabha, here today.

‘7’

    The Central Government (Department of Company Affairs) has approved amalgamation of the Andhra Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Corporation, a State Government company with the Andhra Pradesh State Housing Corporation Ltd. , another State Government company. The amalgamation has been made effective from March 6, 2000. A Notification to this effect has been issued in the Gazette of India.

    The amalgamation follows a resolution each by both the State Government owned companies in their respective extra ordinary general meeting on April 18, 1998.

    The amalgamation has been effected as both the companies are involved in the same activity and in order to have synergy of operations and to reduce the overhead costs and eliminate the duplication of work. With the orders of the Central Government, the assets and liabilities of the Andhra Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Corporation have been dissolved and merged with the Andhra Pradesh State Housing Corporation Ltd. which is known as a resulting company under the Companies Act.

    The Central Government’s orders have been issued under Sub-Sections (1) and (2) of Section 396 of the Companies Act, 1956. Hereafter, all assets and liabilities in terms of legal proceedings, contracts, transfer of property, taxation, officers and other employees dissolved company, provident, superannuation, welfare and other funds, membership of provident fund will be the responsibility of the resulting company. The memorandum and articles of association of the dissolved company shall become the memorandum and articles of association of the resulting company.

    The name of Public Sector Undertaking namely Madras Refineries Ltd., (MRL) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been changed to Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., (CPCL) with effect from April 6^th, 2000. Approval to the change in the name of PSU was accorded by the Government in view of the fact that Government of Tamil Nadu has changed the name of Madras to Chennai. The decision has also been taken keeping in view the diversification of the activities of the Company from refining of crude oil to manufacturing and marketing of petroleum and petro-chemical products.

    Replying to discussion on the working of the Ministry of Agriculture in Rajya Sabha Union Minister of Agriculture Shri Sunder Lal Patwa said that efficient use of bio-fertilizers, organic manures, green manuring to maintain soil health is essential. We can enrich our soil by use of old age traditional components which has withstood the strains for more than 5000 years.

    With the globalisation of Agriculture Indian Farmers are required to be globally competitive. Technologies will have to be tried and tested to obtain better results. Concerted efforts are required to increase production through effective transfer of crop production technology to every farm holding, backed by efficient and timely input supply. Extension workers are required to provide strong support in technology transfer work at Block and village level. Emphasis needs to be given for larger area coverage, conversion of 24 million hectare of barren land into productive land, use of specific high yielding varieties/hybrids and the balanced use of fertilisers alongwith bio-fertilisers/organic manures to achieve the target of 300 MT foodgrains production by the year 2020.

    Shri Patwa said that sustained development can be achieved by use of integrated technologies with integrated pest management. To save ecological region, alternative methods with holistic approach are required to be adopted. Initiative taken by the Ministry to increase production and in the welfare of farmers are Crop Insurance Scheme, Kisan Credit Card, Watershed Management, extension of cold storage facilities and launching of technology mission. Food Processing Industries are also required to be strengthened to suitably utilise increased production of fruits and vegetables, he added.

    Shr Patwa emphasised on the need of victory over hunger, to rectify imbalanced distribution and population control.

    Prasar Bharati (Doordarshan) has taken steps to improve its commercial viability, which include telecast of high quality programmes, rationalisation of rate card, digitalisation of satellite channels, increasing the duration of major channels to 24 hours and marketing of cricket events in the next five years. Prasar Bharati (All India Radio) plans to start some more commercial centres in the country and start commercial service for Gulf countries on Short Wave.

    Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati is taking steps on the recommendations of Shunu Sen Committee on the marketing of Doordarshan and All India Radio programmes. The Committee mainly recommended that Prasar Bharati should have full control on the contents and marketing of all programmes broadcast/telecast on its channels, should strengthen its marketing set up and should subscribe to the data of one of the Television Audience Measurement Systems.

    This information was given Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Arun Jaitley in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

    Section 10(17A)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 exempts from income-tax any payment made, whether in cash or in kind, as a reward by the Central Government or any State Government for such purposes as may be approved by the Central Government in their behalf in the public interest.

    The Central Government has approved the "Swatantrata Sainik Pension Scheme, 1980" for the purpose of the said section vide order dated 2^nd February, 2000 in F.No.199/22/99-ITA-I.

    The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri N.T.Shanmugam has informed the Rajya Sabha today during Question hour in a written reply that the Government has approved the expansion of the on-going World Bank funded India Population Project-VIII under implementation in Bangalore, Calcutta, Delhi and Hyderabad to 94 additional cities/ towns in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. Besides, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been covered for improvement of logistic facilities.

    The project cost has also been revised from Rs.223.37 crore to 422 crore and the Project period extended from 6.8.1998 to 30.6.2001. In West Bengal this project has been extended to 10 more cities namely, Siliguri, Durgapur, Bardhaman, Kharagpur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Balurghat, Raiganj, English Bazar and Alipur Duar in addition to Calcutta at a total cost of Rs.133.80 crore.

    The Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture Shri Sundar Lal Patwa will visit the drought-affected areas of Gujarat on April 30, 2000. Senior officials of the two Ministries including Secretaries of Agriculture, Rural Development, Animal Husbandry, Drinking Water Supply and Chief Relief Commissioner will accompany him. During the visit Shri Patwa would also hold discussions with the Chief Minister of Gujarat and others on the situation in the State.

    Shri Patwa was to go to Ahmedabad on April 27, 2000. However, in view of the discussions on Agriculture in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, the Minister’s visit had to be rescheduled.

'16'

    In a major bid to strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties, India and Oman have agreed to step up cooperation in many sectors, particularly in Information Technology (IT) and the hydrocarbon sectors. Both sides have agreed to expedite implementation of hydro-carbon projects such as the joint venture fertiliser project at Sur in Oman and the refinery project at Bina in Madhya Pradesh. Oman has expressed willingness to go ahead with the joint venture fertiliser project at Sur, while the Bharat-Oman Refinery Limited -- a joint venture company between Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and the Oman Oil Company -- has finally obtained the necessary environmental clearances last month for the Bina refinery project. India and Oman will also intensify cooperation in the field of Information Technology, including imparting of training in IT in Oman. Oman has invited India to participate in the development of an Information Technology Park in Oman. This is indicated in the Agreed Minutes of the Third Session of the Indo-Oman Joint Commission Meeting, which was signed here today by Shri Omar Abdullah, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, Minister of Commerce & Industry, on behalf of the Government of Oman. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Abdullah and Mr. Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, who co-chaired the meeting of the Joint Commission meeting from their respective sides, expressed satisfaction at the successful conclusion of the two-day deliberations and said it would help both countries to exploit the existing trade and investment opportunities to their mutual benefit. Earlier, Mr. Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan called on Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry when both the Ministers underlined the potential for increasing bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Shri Bharat Bhushan, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Shri Swashpawan Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, were also present at the signing ceremony, along with other members of the two delegations.

'16'

    The Russian Federation has been urged to buy more tea and tobacco from India, as Russia continues to be the largest market for both Indian tea and tobacco. The issue of tea and tobacco exports to Russia was raised by Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry with Mr. M.E. Fradkov, Minister of Trade of the Russian Federation, when the latter along with his delegation met Shri Maran here today and discussed bilateral trade matters. India had proposed that a suitable mechanism be put in place for providing institutional credit to Russian importers of Indian tobacco. The Russian side has agreed to this proposal and details of the mechanism are being worked out. Shri Maran also highlighted the twin issues of: (a) duty differential on bulk tea and packaged tea in Russia which adversely affected the export of packaged, quality tea to Russia and (b) certification of Indian tea in the Russian market. Mr. Fradkov assured that the issue of duty differential was being looked into by the appropriate agency in Russia. On the issue of certification, it was indicated that the Tea Board of India along with its counterpart Russian body would undertake joint certification of Indian tea in Russia and the counterpart Russian body for this purpose would be designated soon. Shri P.P. Prabhu, Commerce Secretary and Shri U.S. Bhatia, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry were present at the meeting.

'24'

    The Minister of Communications, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan has appealed to all the Postal Federations and Unions as well as the employees and Extra-Departmental Agents of the Department of Posts (DoP) not to go on indefinite strike from 2^nd May 2000 in the larger public interest. The Minister said that at this present juncture the country is passing through a difficult phase with states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and some other parts of the country facing a severe drought situation. He said that in such a situation all the departments of the Government should work together for the well being of the nation.

    Shri Paswan said that the Department has always viewed the problems of the employees with sympathy and every effort has been made to mitigate them within the available constraints and resources. As the head of the postal family, the Minister assured the postal employees that their demands will continue to be considered sympathetically on the highest priority. He appealed to the employees to discuss their problems threadbare across the table and find mutually acceptable solutions rather than resorting to a strike. He exhorted all the unions to shun the confrontationist path and adopt a conciliatory process as it will help understand and appreciate their problems and find amicable solutions to them.

    The Minister said that the DoP has over the years built an enviable reputation of providing yeomen service to every section of the society throughout the length and breadth of the country. "This reputation largely rests upon the diligence and sense of social responsibility shown by our employees. In fact, the consistently outstanding performance of the employees of the DoP in the most difficult circumstances is a matter of immense pride for me," he added.

    Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has contributed one month's salary to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for Drought Prone Areas as well as for water harvest structure in drought hit Saurashtra Region.

    The regularisation of services of contract employees in various Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) is governed by the provisions of contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.

'44'

    In response to the appeal made by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee to contribute towards drought relief, some Central Trade Unions presented a cheque of Rs. One crore to Shri P.R. Kumaramangalam, Minister of Mines & Minerals, here today. The amount was paid out of the contribution made by the employees working in Coal India Limited and its subsidiary companies. The employees of CIL have always came forward and made generous contribution in providing relief to the affected people. In the past they have made substantial contribution towards Kargil Relief and also to the cyclone affected families in Orissa.

    Eminent Journalist Kuldip Nayar today took the print media to task for "suffering from a mad disease – the tabloid syndrome", where information was the casualty.

    The National Transport Policy Committee (NTPC) in 1980 had allocated an optimal inter-modal mix of land freight traffic for Rail Transport at 72% and that of Road at 28%.

    The Indian Railways freight traffic was 301.52 BTKMs (revised estimate for 1999-2000). While Railways maintain comprehensive records of the traffic carried by them similar data is not maintained by Roadways which is the other principal mode of land transport. Only some estimates prepared by committees/experts groups are available. These estimates are based on certain assumptions and may not be the actual quantum of traffic carried by Roadways. The latest estimates from the Planning Commission are available only for 1995. According to these estimates the share of railways in the land freight traffic is about 40%. It may, however, be more appropriate to compare only that portion of the land transport as moves over medium and long leads as rail transport is more suited for such leads. Adopting this approach, a recent study by RITES had estimated the rail share in land transportation with a lead of more than 300 Kms. as 65.6% in 1995-96.

    In the railway budget for 2000-2001, the railways have laid down an objective to raise the rail share of freight traffic to 50 per cent during the first decade of the new millennium. To achieve this, there will not only be a substantial and time-bound augmentation of the line and terminal capacity on the saturated ‘High-Density Network’, but a multi-pronged new Freight Policy.

    The Union Minister of State for Railways, Shri Digvijay Singh gave this information in the Rajya Sabha today in a written reply during Question Hour.

    The Labour Minister Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha today to further amend the Trade Unions Act, 1926.

'44'

    In the year 1998-99, 15.64 million tonnes of coal were imported into the country out of which 9.64 million tonne were coking coal and 6.00 million tonne were non-coking coal. Similarly, in 1999-2000, 8.65 million tonne (provisional) of coking coal and 6.50 million tonne (provisional) of non-coking coal were imported.

'44'

    On account of the challenge from imported coal and the critical financial position of the State Electricity Boards, Power corporations and steel industry and cement sector, it has been decided to continue with the existing royalty rates on coal so as to keep the domestic coal competitively priced. The coal companies receive only about 40-45% of the landed price of coal on an average. The larger proportion of this price is on account of cost of railway freight and the various levies such as royalty, excise duty, cess and sales tax. As a consequence, Indian coal is getting priced out in several locations and consequently there is a sharp increase in the import of coal. The State Electricity Boards and the State Government Power Companies/Corporations are also struggling hard to make both ends meet. The steel industry is yet to get out of the depression. Any increase in royalty on coal at this stage may well deepen the crisis for the power sector, steel sector and the domestic coal sector. Therefore, a decision has been taken not to enhance the existing royalty rates on coal at this stage.

'44'

    The target fixed for coal production during the current plan i.e. Annual Plan 1999-2000 and the achievement (provisional) thereof, till date, are given below: