Question Hour

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Question Hour is the first hour in India's Lok Sabha devoted to questions. During this hour members can raise questions about any aspect of administrative activity.

This sort of a process where elected representatives ask questions that are replied by the Prime Minister or other government ministers is part of parliamentary tradition in many other countries. The Question Hour in the Indian Parliament is similar to the Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, the First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales, the Question Period in the federal Parliament and provincial legislatures of Canada and the Question Time in Australia and New Zealand.

There are two main types of question:Starred and Unstarred.

Starred Questions are those for which an oral answer is expected. If the Member is satisfied with the reply, he may ask supplementary question as well.

Unstarred questions are those for which a written reply is expected. After the reply has been provided, no supplementary question can be asked.

Short Notice Questions:

A minimum 10 day notice is to be given to ask a question in Parliament. However, if a Member seeks to ask a question urgently and cannot wait for 10 days, in such cases it is allowed to ask the question before 10 days. Such questions are called short notice questions.