Oil Regulator Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha

IN PARLIAMENT

Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Murli Deora on Thursday tabled the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is aimed at setting up a regulator for downstream petroleum and natural gas activities.

Deora said, "The main objectives of the Bill is to regulate the refining, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas so as to protect the interests of consumers and entities engaged in specified activities relating to petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas."

The legislation has incorporated 47 of the 49 recommendations made by a parliamentary standing committee.

Rly Budget hotels

The railways will soon have budget hotels at several important stations all over the country. Minister of State for Railways R Velu told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the department has already identified the stations where the hotels would come up.

He said sites for the hotels for three stations at Chandigarh, Madurai and Sealdah have been approved though no timeframe has been set.

Velu said the railways have also launched a special tourist train called the 'Bharat Darshan' which would take passengers to destinations of religious, cultural and historical importance at an affordable cost.

Indo-Russian pact

Indian and Russia are discussing the expansion of bilateral cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma informed the Rajya Sabha.

In a written reply, he said two reactors of 1,000 Mw each are being constructed at Kundakulam, Tamil Nadu in technical cooperation with the Russian Federation and the two countries have agreed to further expand their bilateral cooperation.

Sharma said India is in contact with a broad range of nuclear supplier group countries, including Russia, to enable full civilian energy cooperation with the country.

Indian maritime cadre

The government is examining setting up of Indian maritimes services cadre with a view to improving the country's mercantile marine administration.

"The creation of a pool of maritime experts in various fields related to maritime sector has been considered necessary in the interest of improving Indian mercantile marine administration. The matter regarding the setting up of Indian maritime service cadres out of this pool is under examination," Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T R Baalu informed Rajay Sabha in a written reply on Thursday.

Ramjet engines

As part of the advanced technology initiative in the area of air-breathing propulsion, a series of ground tests on supersonic combustion ramjet engines have been successfully completed, the Rajya Sabha was informed.

During these tests, a stable combustion has been achieved for nearly seven seconds at supersonic speeds corresponding to an inlet mach number of six (that is six times of speed of sound), Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply.

Stem cell policy

India is formulating a policy on stem cell research, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

In a reply to a written question, Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said, "At draft national guidelines are being finalised jointly by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the department of biotechnology, based on which the policy will evolve".