
Question Hour in Parliament
PMF IAS Impact: 40 Direct Hits in Prelims 2024 and 53 Direct Hits in Prelims 2025!
- Context (IE): The Delhi Assembly has not had a single Question Hour this year.
About Question Hour
- It is a one-hour time period provided to MPs to ask questions to the minister and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries.
- When in session, Lok Sabha generally starts with Question Hour.
- In Rajya Sabha it is held from 11 am to 12 noon (since 2014).
- Prior to Independence, the first question asked of government was in 1893.
- MPs can submit their question notices in two ways:
- Through online ‘Member’s Portal,’ using their ID and password.
- Fill out printed forms obtainable from the Parliamentary Notice Office.
- Presiding officers of the two houses are the final authority with respect to the conduct of Question Hour.
- There is no Question Hour on the day the President addresses MPs from both Houses in the Central Hall & on the day the Finance Minister presents the Budget.
Procedure for Raising Questions
- It is governed by:
- Rules 32 to 54 of the “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in LS”
- Directions 10 to 18 of the “Directions by the Speaker, LS“
- To ask a question, an MP has to give a notice to the Secretary-General of LS.
- Usually questions must usually be notified at least 15 days in advance.
- A Member can submit up to 5 question notices, including oral and written answers, for any given day.
- If there are more than 5 notices, the extras are considered for the following day(s) during the same session for that Minister.
- The Speaker examines the notices of the questions and determines whether a question is admissible.
Different Types of Questions
- There are four different types of questions:
- Starred
- Unstarred
- Short-notice questions
- Questions addressed to private Members.
Starred Questions
- A starred question is asked by an MP and answered orally by the Minister-in-charge.
- Each MP is allowed to ask one starred question per day.
- Starred questions must be submitted at least 15 days in advance, and only 20 questions can be listed for oral answers daily.
- When a question is answered orally, supplementary questions can be asked thereon.
Unstarred Question
- An unstarred question receives a written reply from the Ministry.
- These also need to be submitted at least 15 days in advance.
- Only 230 questions can be listed for written answers in a day.
- Unlike starred questions, unstarred questions don’t permit any follow-up questions.
Short Notice Questions
- Short notice questions are ones pertaining to a matter of urgent public importance.
- They can be asked with less than ten days’ notice, with reasons for the short notice.
- Like a starred question, they are answered orally, followed by supplementary questions.
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