General Information

Generally, the first hour of a sitting of Lok Sabha is devoted to the Questions and this hour is called the Question Hour. It has a special significance in the proceedings of the Parliament. Asking of questions is an inherent and unfettered parliamentary right of members. It is during the Question Hour that the members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and Governmental activity. Government policies in national as well as international spheres come into sharp focus as the members try to elicit pertinent information during the Question Hour. The Government is, as it were, put on its trial during the Question Hour and every Minister whose turn it is to answer questions has to sta

1. A member has to give a minimum of 15 clear days’ notice of a question. Members can give notices of questions from the day following the day on which summons are issued. “However the Speaker can relax the required minimum notice period of 15 clear days to protect the interest of the Members”. 2. The notices of questions should be addressed to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, in prescribed forms available in the Parliamentary Notice Office. Besides the text of the question, the notice should state clearly the designation of the Minister to whom the question is addressed, as also the date on which the question is desired to be placed on the list of questions for answer. Where a member tables mo

The conditions governing admissibility of questions have been laid down under Rule 41 to 44 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. Apart from these provisions, admissibility of questions is also determined by Direction 10A of the Directions by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, past precedents, decisions and observations from the Chair, well-established parliamentary practices, usages and conventions. Questions relating to statutory corporations and limited companies in which Government have financial or controlling interest are examined on merits and their admissibility is regulated generally in the following manner: (i) where a question relates to a matter of policy or refers

Immediately on the fixation of the dates of sittings of a session of Lok Sabha, allotment is made of the days available for the answering of questions relating to the various Ministries of Government of India. For this purpose the various Ministries are divided into five Groups i.e. A, B, C, D and E and fixed days are allotted to the various groups of Ministries for answering questions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively. There is no Question Hour on Saturday, if a sitting is fixed for that day. Also, on the day when the President of India addresses sitting of the two Houses assembled together or during the period when the session is extended beyond the scheduled pro