RAJYA SABHA WEDNESDAY THE 5TH APRIL, 2017 (The Rajya Sabha met in the Parliament House at 11-00 a.m.) §11-01 a.m. 1. Papers Laid on the Table Shri Narendra Singh Tomar (Minister of Rural Development; Minister of Panchyati Raj; and Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation) on behalf of Shri Bandaru Dattatreya laid on the Table:- I. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Notification No. G.S.R. 471(E), dated the 10th June, 2015, publishing the Building and Other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2015, under sub-section (3) of Section 62 of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996. II. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following Notifications of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, under sub-section (2) of Section 7 of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952:- (1) S.O. 827 (E), dated the 15th March, 2017, fixing the administrative charges payable by the employer for the purposes of paragraph 30 and sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 38 of the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952 with effect from 1st April, 2017. (2) S.O. 828 (E), dated the 15th March, 2017, stating that no sum shall be payable for the time being by the employer in relation to his employees as the further sum payable by the employer every month to the Deposit-Linked Insurance Fund for meeting the expenses in connection with the administration of the Employees Deposit -Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976 other than the expenses towards the cost of any benefits provided by or under that scheme. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan (Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Pteroleum and Natural Gas) laid on the Table a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Notification No. F. No. PNGRB/M(C)/62/2016, dated the 19th December, 2016, publishing the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (Determination of Petroleum and Petroleum Products Pipeline Transportation Tariff) Amendment Regulations, 2016, under Section 62 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006. § From 11-00 a.m. to 11-01 a.m., some points were raised. 322 5TH APRIL, 2017 Shrimati Nirmala Sitharaman (Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (i) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project Implementation Trust Fund (DMIC PITF), New Delhi, for the year 2015-16, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (i) (a) above. (ii) (a) Annual Report of the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Registry (SICLDR), New Delhi, for the year 2015-16. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the paper mentioned at (ii) (a) above. Dr. Mahesh Sharma (Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Culture; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (a) Annual Report of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS), Leh, Ladakh, (J&K), for the year 2015-16. (b) Annual Accounts of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS), Leh, Ladakh, (J&K), for the year 2015-16, and the Audit Report thereon. (c) Review by Government on the working of the above Institute. (d) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) and (b) above. Shri Kiren Rijiju (Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs) laid on the Table a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Home Affairs Notification No. G.S.R. 246 (E), dated the 15th March, 2017, publishing the Border Security Force Deputy Inspector General (Veterinary) Recruitment Rules, 2017, under sub-section (3) of Section 141 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968. 323 RAJYA SABHA Shri Babul Supriyo (Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following Reports, under clause (2) of Section 19A of the Comptroller and Auditor General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971:— i. Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Union Government (Commercial), General Purpose Financial Report of Central Public Sector Enterprises, Report No.6 of 2017 (Compliance Audit) year ending 31st March, 2016; and ii. Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Union Government (Commercial), Report No.9 of 2017 (Compliance Audit Observations) year ending March, 2016. Shri Arun Jaitley (Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs; and Minister of Defence) laid on the Table a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), Notification No. 12/2017- Customs, dated the 5th April, 2017, seeking to further amend Notification No. 12/2012-Customs, dated the 17th March, 2012, so as to allow duty free import of raw sugar upto a quantity of 5 lakh Metric Tonnes under Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) upto and inclusive of 12th June, 2017, along with Explanatory Memorandum, under Section 159 of the Customs Act, 1962. 11-02 a.m. 2. Leave of Absence (i) Shri M.P. Veerendra Kumar (Kerala) was granted leave of absence from the sittings of the House, from 31st January to 12th April, 2017, during the current (242nd) Session of the Rajya Sabha. (ii) Shri Dilip Kumar Tirkey (Odisha) was granted leave of absence from the sittings of the House, from 31st January to 12th April, 2017, during the current (242nd) Session of the Rajya Sabha. At 2-01 p.m. 324 5TH APRIL, 2017 11-03 a.m. 3. Statement by Minister Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, laid on the Table, a statement (in English and Hindi) regarding Status of implementation of recommendations contained in the Two Hundred and Seventy-eighth Report of the Department- related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry pertaining to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 11-04 a.m. 4. Motion for Election to the Spices Board A motion for election of one member to the Spices Board was moved and adopted. 11-23 a.m. (The House adjourned at 11-23 a.m. and re-assembled at 11-30 a.m.) 11-36 a.m. 5. Matters raised with Permission 1. Dr. Subramanian Swamy raised a matter regarding need for restructuring of Goods and Service Tax Network. 11-38 a.m. 2. Shri Tiruchi Siva raised a matter regarding harassment of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Indian Coast Guard. 11-42 a.m. 3. Shri V. Vijayasai Reddy raised a matter regarding indefinite strike by truck owners. Shri K.K. Ragesh also spoke. From 11-05 a.m. to 11-23 a.m., some points were raised. From 11-30 a.m. to 11-36 a.m., some points were raised. 325 RAJYA SABHA 11-46 a.m. 4. !Shri Naresh Agrawal raised a matter regarding delay in release of funds under MPLADS. !Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, responded. 11-50 a.m. 5. Shri Ronald Sapa Tlau raised a matter regarding strike by CSS Hindi teachers in Mizoram. !Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs responded. 11-54 a.m. 6. Shri Majeed Memon raised matter regarding vacant posts of Judges in High Courts. 11-57 a.m. 7. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar raised a matter regarding destruction of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. 12-00 Noon 6. Starred Questions The following Starred Questions were orally answered:- Starred Question No. 346 regarding Historical monuments/temples in Uttar Pradesh. Starred Question No. 347 regarding Safety of Senior Citizens in Delhi. Starred Question No. 348 regarding IS Modules operating in the country. Starred Question No. 349 regarding BIS certification for steel products. Starred Question No. 350 regarding Fake new currency notes smuggled from across the border. From 11-59 a.m. to 12-00 Noon, some points were raised. ! Spoke in Hindi. 326 5TH APRIL, 2017 Answers to remaining Starred Question Nos. 351 to 360 were laid on the Table. Answers to Starred Question Nos. 331 to 345 put down in the List of April 3, 2017 were also laid on the Table. 7. Unstarred Questions Answers to Unstarred Question Nos. 3677 to 3836 were laid on the Table. Answers to Unstarred Question Nos. 3517 to 3676 put down in the List of April 3, 2017 were also laid on the Table. 1-00 p.m. (The House adjourned at 1-00 p.m. and re-assembled at 2-01 p.m.) 2-02 p.m. 8. Government Bills — Under Consideration * (1) The Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, as passed by Lok Sabha * (2) The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, as passed by Lok Sabha * (3) The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017, as passed by Lok Sabha * (4) The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, as passed by Lok Sabha Shri Arun Jaitley (Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs; and Minister of Defence) moved:- (1) “That the Bill to make a provision for levy and collection of tax on intra-State supply of goods or services or both by the Central Government and the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, as passed by Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration.” From 12-35 p.m.