Only Annonymised Data Analysed for Improving Quality of Services DoT Stands Committed to Respect the Sanctity and Privacy of Mobile Users Posted On: 18 MAR 2020 7:08PM by PIB Delhi

Attention of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been drawn to certain media reports stating that call data records for certain days and certain routes in February 2020 have been sought by DoT from Telecom Service Providers in deviation of standard operating procedures laid by the Government. Doubts have been expressed about the intent of DoT.

The matter has been looked into. Factual position is as follows: Numerous complaints are received regarding quality of service of Telecommunications Network, call drops, echo, cross connections, incomplete or poor caller experience. DoT in coordination with Telecom Service Providers has been endeavouring to identify the problem areas of dark spots or the areas without sufficient Telecom Tower coverage which result in Network issues and call drops. Various measures such as erection of additional mobile towers, placement of cell on wheels, drive tests etc. have been undertaken to address the mobile tower deficiency and coverage.

To identify in a more scientific and innovative manner, the specific problem areas and routes where call drops occur, Department of Telecommunications has in housedeveloped a software tool to analyze big data and accurately ascertain call drops in any area. For this purpose, data on calls made from mobiles in any tower coverage area is analyzed to ascertain calls terminated within 30 seconds of the call and made again as normally is the case for a typical call drop. The mobile callsso disconnected within this 30 seconds time period forces the subscriber to again call the same number. Big data analytics techniques can be used to identify such calls and the accurateinformation of call drops in specific areas. DoT will be better equipped to take up such cases and areas with the Telecom Service Providers based on actual data. For this purpose, total data of calls made during any particular time period from the identified cell phone tower locations from where the complaints are received is collected to enable analysis.

However, this data is anonymous and does not contain names of either the maker or receiver of calls. There is no infringement of privacy of any person. No personal details are collected. There is no tracking of any phone number.

Call drops details, for only those calls made by a subscriber who enters a given coverage area of the identified cell Tower or calls drop / details of calls received or made by such subscriber are collected. It is reiterated that neither the names nor the address of the subscribers or the persons to whom the calls are made or received are being collected. There is also no question whatsoever of ascertaining the content of the call. Only if any call is terminated within 30 seconds and the same number is again dialled immediately, such calls are added to arrive at the final figure of call drops.

The above is an innovative way of identifying call drops and addressing the call drop issues. It will be appreciated that in the above exercise, there is no violation of privacy of any subscriber. The identity of subscriber is not known. Only the calls made by subscribers who happen to pass through a particular cell tower area get covered for the purpose of analysis without knowing the names of who is the caller and to whom the call is made.

It is further clarified that DoT is empowered under Rule 419 of the Indian Telegraph Rules 1951 to access such anonymous data for improving network quality. Moreover, DoT has also put in place an in house standard operating procedure so that any authorization of such access to call drop data can be approved only by very senior officers. Further, it has been decided to seek such data only for short time period i.e. three tosix hours normally covering the peak load of traffic on the Network for any cell tower.

Hence, all mobile phone subscribers can be assured that the above exercise is only with the objective of improving network quality. The data collected is anonymised. There is no surveillance of any kind.

Presently, 498 ongoing Railway Projects including 188 New Lines, 55 Gauge Conversion and 255 Doubling Projects of total length 49,069 Km, costing Rs. 6.75 lakh crore are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution.

In addition, under the Umbrella Work of 2019-20, 05 New Line works of 432 Km length costing Rs. 6,419 crore and 32 Doubling works of 4,555 Km length costing Rs. 47,841 crore have been included in Budget booklet of Financial Year 2020-21.

The project-wise detail including cost, expenditure and outlay are available in public domain on Indian Railways’ website i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in >Ministry of Railways >Railway Board >About Indian Railways >Railway Board Directorates >Finance (Budget) >Pink Book (year) >Railway-wise Works Machinery & Rolling Stock Programme.

Though, every sanctioned project is very important for Nation, but to utilize the available resources in best possible manner to produce optimum social and financial gains to Nation, the projects are categorized as New Line National Projects, last mile connectivity projects, executable through put enhancement Gauge Conversion projects and Super Critical/Critical /Doubling/3rd Line/Quadrupling projects etc. However, in Railways there is no scheme named Pradhan Mantri Fast Track Project with the prescribed time-limit.

Thorough review of throughput enhancement projects has been carried out and with focused approach, the projects have been prioritized into Super

Critical Projects (58 nos), Critical Projects (68 nos.) and other throughput enhancement projects (130 nos.). As on 01.04.2019, the balance length of Super Critical Projects is 2,347 Km and that of Critical projects is 5,676 Km. All out sincere and focused approach is being adopted by Railway for quick execution of these projects.

For the financial year 2020-21, Budget Outlay has been proposed to the projects which are in advance stage of completion, important new line National Projects, executable & Important Gauge Conversion projects and the projects which are important from the throughput enhancement considerations. Thus, the focused attention is given in fund allotment, rather than thinly spreading the resources without fruitful results.

In the overall interest of the Nation and to ensure that, projects are completed in time without cost overrun, lot of monitoring is being done in Railways at various levels (field level, divisional level, zonal level and Board level) and regular meetings are held with the officials of State Government and concerned Authorities to resolve the pending issues that are obstructing the progress of projects.

To ensure that projects are completed even before time, Railway has adopted the concept of incentives to the contractor in the form of bonus clause in contracts which will further enhance the pace of execution of projects.

For capacity enhancement projects, institutional financing has been arranged, which has increased Railways’ capacity for committed fund provision for capacity enhancement projects.

BUDGET ALLOCATION ON INDIAN RAILWAYS Average Annual Budget allotment for New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling Projects on Indian Railways, during 2014-19 has increased to Rs. 26,026 crore, from Rs. 11,527 crore (during 2009-14), which is 126% more as compared to average allotment during 2009-14.

Total Budget Estimate (BE) Outlay for New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling Projects in 2019-20 was Rs. 30,198, which has been increased to Rs. 38,803 in Revised Budget Outlay. This is 237% more as compared to average annual budget allotment during 2009-14. (Rs.11,527)

COMMISSIONING OF NEW LINE, GAUGE CONVERSION AND DOUBLING During 2009-14, 7599 km length (New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling) has been commissioned on Indian Railways. Further, during 2014-19, 13124 km length (New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling) has been commissioned on Indian Railways, which is 73% more than commissioning during 2009-14.

The completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities (both underground and over ground), statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions, encountering unforeseen conditions like earthquake, flooding, excessive rains, strikes of labour, orders of Hon’ble Courts, situation and conditions of working agencies/contractors etc. and all these factors vary from project to project and site to site. Hence, no confirmed time frame can be fixed for completion of projects at this stage.

This press release is based on information given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Till 22nd August, 2014, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Railway Sector was restricted only to “Mass Rapid Transport System”. However, FDI has now been opened up/permitted in the following activities/areas of Railway Infrastructure (100% on automatic route) under the extant FDI Policy of Government since 22 August, 2014 :-

“Construction, Operation and Maintenance of :- Suburban corridors projects through PPP; High Speed Train Projects; Dedicated Freight Lines; Rolling Stock including train sets and locomotives/coaches manufacturing and maintenance facilities;

Railway Electrification; Signaling systems; Freight terminals; Passenger terminals; Infrastructure in industrial park pertaining to railway line/ sidings including electrified railway lines and connectivities to main railway line; and

Mass Rapid Transport Systems” As per the figure compiled by Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) the total FDI received in Railway sector till December, 2019 is approx. 1071 million US dollars.

Additional capital investment including from FDI for augmentation modernisation of Railway’s infrastructure helps to achieve the goal of Railway safety. A few representations have been received from Railway Unions regarding FDI. It has been clarified that there are inbuilt safeguards to protect interest of the existing employees of Railways.

This press release is based on information given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Background: The judgment was based on a case filed by 17 women SSC officers who were denied PC and discharged despite completing 14 years of service as SSC officers.

They had challenged a February 26, 2008 policy letter of the government granting PCs to SSC officers in all the three branches of the Armed Forces. However, the offer was restricted to certain categories and was to operate prospectively for the benefit of future batches inducted on SSCs after January 2009.

The Supreme Court on 17 February upheld a 2010 Delhi high court ruling and had directed the Centre to ensure that women officers are given permanent commissions in the Indian Army on a par with male officers, including for command posting.

Observations made by the Supreme Court: Women officers have worked shoulder to shoulder with their men counterparts in every walk of service. Therefore, the “101 excuses” devised by the government, including motherhood and physiological limitations, reeked of a stereotypical mindset. And women naval officers cannot be denied the right to equal opportunity and dignity entitled to under the Constitution on specious grounds such as physiology, motherhood and physical attributes.

Implications of the judgment: Women naval officers will now be eligible to apply for permanent commission. All serving women short service commission (SSC) officers in at least seven wings, including the executive, engineering, electrical, education, law and logistics, will be eligible to apply. The grant of PCs will be subject to: (i) availability of vacancies in the stabilised cadre; (ii) Suitability of the candidate; and (iii) recommendation by the chief of Naval Staff.

What is a permanent commission? A Permanent Commission means a career in the army until one retires. If one gets selected through Permanent Commission, one has the option to serve the country up to the full age of retirement. A women naval SSC officer retires in 10 years, whereas one with a permanent commission is entitled to serve for four more years, making it a total of 14 years.

Key changes: It seeks to extend the upper limit for permitting abortions from 20 weeks to 24 under special circumstances. The “special categories of women” include rape survivors, victims of incest, the differently abled and minors.

The Bill proposes requirement of opinion of one registered medical practitioner (RMP) for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation. It also provides for the requirement of opinion of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy of 20 to 24 weeks.

Constitution of a Medical Board: Every state government is required to constitute a Medical Board. These Medical Boards will consist of the following members: (i) a gynaecologist, (ii) a paediatrician, (iii) a radiologist or sonologist, and (iv) any other number of members, as may be notified by the state government.

Under the Bill, if any pregnancy occurs as a result of failure of any device or method used by a woman or her partner to limit the number of children, such an unwanted pregnancy may constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.

Need for overhaul: The present abortion law, which is about five decades old, permits abortion up to a maximum foetal gestation period of 20 weeks. In recent years, there have been strong demands to raise the foetal gestation period for abortion beyond 20 weeks.

Significance: The move to amend the MTP Act, 1971 is a progressive step towards empowerment of women. It will provide greater reproductive rights to women as abortion is considered an important aspect of the reproductive health of women. Deaths and injuries from unsafe abortions are largely preventable provided services are performed legally by trained practitioners.

Abortion laws across the world: Abortion laws vary across the world. It is learnt that around 60 countries prescribe gestational limits. 52 % including France, the UK, Austria, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and even Nepal, allow for termination beyond 20 weeks on the diagnosis of foetal abnormalities. Some countries go beyond even these limits with laws in 23 countries-Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Denmark, Ghana, and Zambia-allowing for abortion at any time during the pregnancy on the request of the mother.

Key observations: Despite the fact that work on three protocols under the next phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban-2) — ODF+, ODF++ and Water Plus — is to be completed by 2024, the ground situation was not matching with the assigned timeline. The progress has been slow.

Less than 30 per cent of the cities have been certified as ODF+ so far. Out of 4,320 cities declared ODF, as low as 1,276 cities have been certified as ODF+. The number of ODF++ cities — 411 — means that less than 10 per cent cities are certified as ODF++ so far.

What is ODF+, ODF++? ODF+ and ODF++ were launched in August 2018 to further scale up and sustain the work undertaken by the cities after achieving the ODF status under Phase I of the Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban (SBM-Urban).

Eligibility: Cities that had been certified ODF at least once, on the basis of the ODF protocols, are eligible to declare themselves as SBM-ODF+ & SBM-ODF++.

What do they mean? ODF+ and ODF++ are aimed towards proper maintenance of toilet facilities and safe collection, conveyance, treatment/disposal of all faecal sludge and sewage.

While ODF+ focuses on toilets with water, maintenance and hygiene, ODF++ focuses on toilets with sludge and septage management.

What is water plus? Announced in August 2019, Water Plus aims to sustain toilets by treating and reuse of water. It contributes to the government’s focus on water conversation and reuse under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan and is in alignment with United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal No 6 on clean water and sanitation.

Background: Under Phase 1 of the Swachh Bharat Mission (U), 99 per cent of the cities became ODF, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had claimed in December 2019.

What next? States have an important role in ensuring progress under these programmes. MoHUA needed to move faster with regard to the coverage of the three protocols so as to adhere to the timeline of 2024. Additional funds will be required to sustain the ODF status and ensure complete faecal sludge management.

Why in News? Thousands of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders have been forced to cancel trips to India owing to the recent ban on their entry by the GOI and are apprehensive they will not be able to get back in the event of an emergency.

Who are OCI cardholders? Government of India launched the ‘Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme’ by making amendments to Citizenship Act, 1955 in 2005. On 09 January 2015, the Government of India discontinued the PIO card and merged it with OCI card.

Eligibility: Government of India allows the following categories of foreign nationals to apply for OCI Card.

Exceptions: Anyone who is applying for OCI card should hold a valid Passport of another country. Individuals who do not have citizenship of any other country are not eligible to gain an OCI status. Individuals whose parents or grandparents hold citizenship of Pakistan and Bangladesh are not eligible to apply.

Benefits for OCI cardholders: Lifelong Visa to visit India multiple times. (special permission needed for research work in India).

No need to register with Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) or Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) for any length of stay. Except for acquisition of agricultural and plantation properties, OCI card holders have similar facilities that are extended to NRIs in economic, financial and educational fields.

Same treatment as of NRIs in respect to Inter-country adoption of Indian children.

Also treated at par with NRIs regarding – entry fees for national monuments, practice of professions like doctors, dentists, nurses, advocates, architects, Chartered Accountants & Pharmacists. At par with NRIs to participate in All India Pre-medical tests and such. Treated at par with Indian citizens in matters of traffic in airfares in Indian domestic sectors.

Same entry fee as for Indians for entry into India’s national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. OCI booklet can be used as identification to avail services. An affidavit can be attached with local address as residential proof.

There are certain restrictions placed on OCI card holders: Do not have right to vote. Do not have right to any public service/government jobs Cannot hold offices of – Prime Minister, President, Vice -President, Judge of Supreme Court and High Court, member of Parliament or Member of state legislative assembly or council. Cannot own agricultural property.

As per the new guidelines: Capital requirements for payment aggregators has been reduced to Rs 15 crore at the time of application for the licence.

This needs to be increased to Rs 25 crore within three years of operations. Existing non-bank entities offering payment aggregation (PA) services shall apply for authorisation on or before June 30, 2021.

Pure-play payment gateway companies would be separated as an entity and would be identified as technology service providers for banks and non-banks.

PAs have also been asked to adhere to strict security guidelines, adhere to all KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) rules. The guidelines have also mandated that PAs need to check their merchant customers are not involved in selling of prohibited or fake items. The central bank has also asked PAs to set up designated nodal offices to deal with customer grievance.

The RBI has prohibited PAs from allowing online transactions to be done with ATM pin as the second factor of authentication, which few payment gateway companies were offering as a service.

Who are payment aggregators? These are players who integrate with e-commerce companies and connect them with banks. They receive payments on behalf of these companies and transfer the money to their accounts.

Background: Entities like Billdesk, CCAvenue, Firstdata, Razorpay, Cashfree, Paytm Payment Gateway and others are offering payment services to ecommerce companies. Given the largescale adoption of digital payments and emergence of so many players, the RBI expressed interest in regulating the space.

How are these zones identified? This methodology utilizes data on chlorophyll concentration (Chl) obtained from ISRO’s Oceansat-2 satellite and the sea surface temperature from National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA / USA satellites).

About Oceansat-2: Launched in 2009, it is designed to provide service continuity for operational users of the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) instrument on Oceansat-1.

The main objectives of OceanSat-2 are to study surface winds and ocean surface strata, observation of chlorophyll concentrations, monitoring of phytoplankton blooms, study of atmospheric aerosols and suspended sediments in the water.

Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) device: For seamless and effective dissemination of emergency information and communication on disaster warnings, Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) and Ocean States Forecasts (OSF) to fishermen, the Government today launched the Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) device.

The GEMINI device receives and transfers the data received from GAGAN satellite/s to a mobile through Bluetooth communication. A mobile application developed by INCOIS decodes and displays the information in nine regional languages.

It is a campaign launched by the World Health Organization in the wake of 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.

The campaign urges everyone to wash their hands regularly for 40 seconds to keep themselves safe and prevent the transmission of disease.

Danube-Oder-Elbe Canal: It intends to connect the Danube, Oder and Elbe rivers and thus provide another navigable link from the Black Sea to the North and Baltic Seas.

Why in News? Environmental organisations from across central and eastern Europe are criticising this project. They say, the project, if constructed, would destroy the region’s river landscapes, in violation of EU environmental laws.

India, one of the major fish producing nations in the world stands 2nd in aquaculture production in the world.

Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, have developed a starch-based ‘hemostat’ material that concentrates the natural clotting factors in blood by physically absorbing excess fluid. Electricity is a concurrent subject, and the distribution of electricity is handled by the states and state distribution utilities.

Mission Parivar Vikas was launched in November 2016 for substantially increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services in146 high fertility districts with Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3 and above in seven high focus states.

Revised Mother and Child Protection Card is the joint initiative of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Ministry of Woman and Child Development.

Components of Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram: Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme and Peer Educator Programme.

Under the Umbrella Scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi, a component of rare diseases has been included w.e.f. 01.01.2019 for providing one-time financial assistance upto Rs.15 lakh to patients belonging to families living below threshold poverty line for treatment of specified Rare Diseases amenable to one-time treatment in Government hospitals. The Indian Pharmaceutical industry is 3rdlargest in the world in terms of volume and 14th largest in terms of value.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixes the ceiling price of scheduled formulations adopted from National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and new drugs as per the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013).

Government fixes MSPs of 22 mandated crops including wheat, pulses and oilseeds on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after considering the views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned & other relevant factors. In addition, MSP for Toria and De-Husked coconut is also fixed on the basis of MSPs of Rapeseed & Mustard and Copra respectively.

Nilavembu Kudineer, a Siddha medicine has proven effect in the prevention and management of Dengue and Chikungunya in epidemic out breaks.