New Delhi: The government has taken no decision to name the proposed 'housing for all' scheme after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naidu said a suggestion had come that the proposed housing scheme should be named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The government has not yet decided on the name, he said.
He said his ministry, in pursuance of government's goal of providing houses to all by 2022, was in the process of launching a comprehensive mission in "place of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)".
He, however added that the decision regarding the liabilities for approved projects under RAY in under consideration of his ministry.
"We must go in a big way," he said.
To a question on Smart Cities, the Minister said it is a new concept and smart cities cannot come up over night.
Naidu also said seven countries, including the US, Singapore, China, France and Germany have expressed interest to participate in the development of smart cities.
To a separate question, Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan said the Senate of ACSIR has directed Dean, Mathematical and Information Sciences (ACSIR) to explore the possibility of placement of the students undertaking PhD programme in the course of Database Management and Climate Change Information to CSIR-NISTADS.
"The Director, CSIR-NISTADS has shown interest to accept the transfer for students, as the laboratory has courses under the Mathematical and Information Sciences domain," he said while replying to questions.
