Why Question Hour Matters in Parliament

Question Hour is the first hour of each sitting of the Lok Sabha, held from 11 am to 12 noon. In Rajya Sabha it runs from 11 am to 12 noon since 2014. The Lok Sabha rules have provided for Question Hour every sitting day since Parliament first met in 1952; it was Rajya Sabha that initially held Question Hour only two days per week, later expanded to four days. Question Hour is the primary formal mechanism through which elected members hold the executive accountable on a daily, public, televised basis. 

The Lok Sabha Secretariat's official description captures its purpose precisely: "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."

Representational Image: Why Question Hour Matters in Parliament

The significance of Question Hour extends well beyond the visible exchanges on the floor. Ministries receive questions 15 days in advance and must prepare ministers to answer both the listed question and the sharp supplementary questions that experienced MPs use to expose gaps or contradictions in government positions. 

Government officials from relevant ministries sit in the public gallery during Question Hour, able to pass notes and documents to support the minister at the dispatch box. The preparation process — assembling facts, anticipating challenges, briefing the minister — functions as an internal audit of ministry activity. Even questions that are never called for oral answer produce written replies that enter the public record, creating a substantial and searchable archive of government positions on a vast range of issues.

Essential Context

• There are four types of parliamentary questions: starred questions (oral answers, marked with an asterisk, printed on green paper in Lok Sabha), unstarred questions (written answers), short notice questions (fewer than 10 days' notice for urgent matters), and questions to private members.
• From the ballot of starred questions submitted for any given day, 20 are selected for potential oral answer in Lok Sabha; in practice, the PRS Legislative Research notes that typically only four or five are actually reached during the hour given the time taken for supplementary questions and discussion.
• A record was set in the 17th Lok Sabha when, after a gap of 47 years, all 20 starred questions listed for a single day were answered in Lok Sabha — according to PRS Legislative Research, a notable exception to the typical pace.
• PRS data from the 14th Lok Sabha showed that 7.5% of Lok Sabha MPs accounted for 50% of all starred questions asked, and 13% of MPs accounted for 80% of all questions — reflecting concentrated use of the question mechanism by a small number of active members.
• Questions must be limited to 150 words; must be precise and not general; must relate to an area of responsibility of the Government of India; and must not seek information on matters under court adjudication or matters that are secret; the presiding officer has final authority on admissibility.

How It Works in Practice

1. Submission: MPs submit question notices either through the Member's Portal (online) or printed forms from the Parliamentary Notice Office. Notices must be submitted at least 15 days before the day assigned for answer, and each MP may submit up to five notices per sitting day. More questions are submitted than can be listed; selection is by ballot.

2. Ballot: A ballot is held separately for starred and unstarred questions. From all eligible notices submitted for a given day, 20 starred and 230 unstarred questions are selected by lottery for listing. An MP wanting a starred question selected wants it in the top five, as these are the most likely to actually receive oral answers given time constraints.

3. Starred question answer and supplementaries: When a starred question is reached, the minister reads or gives the prepared answer. The MP who asked the question may then ask a supplementary — a follow-up not given in advance. Other members may also ask supplementaries. This is the most adversarial part of Question Hour; experienced parliamentarians use supplementaries to pursue lines of questioning the minister did not anticipate.

4. Unstarred questions: These receive written replies, uploaded to the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha website after the session sitting. They create a substantial record of executive positions without requiring floor time.

5. Short notice questions: These can be asked with fewer than 10 days' notice when the matter involves urgent public importance. Admission requires the Speaker's or Chairman's discretion.

What People Often Misunderstand

• Question Hour is frequently shortened by disruptions: When the house is in disorder — opposition members in the well, slogans being shouted — the presiding officer may suspend proceedings; this time lost reduces the questions actually reached, limiting the accountability function.
• Written answers are not second-class accountability: Unstarred questions that receive written replies produce a far larger volume of official government position-taking than oral questions; these written answers are a primary tool for MPs seeking specific data and information from ministries.
• Starred questions are not guaranteed to be answered orally: The 20 listed questions must be reached in order; question five is far less likely to receive oral answer than question one; the ballot for listed position is therefore as important as ballot for listing.
• Question Hour was suspended during national emergencies: Historical records show Question Hour was suspended in 1962 during the Chinese aggression, in 1975–77 during the Emergency, and curtailed during the COVID-19 session of 2020 — illustrating its status as a convention with limits rather than a constitutional absolute.
• The preparation for Question Hour is itself governance-improving: The requirement to brief ministers on all listed questions 15 days in advance creates internal review processes within ministries that expose factual gaps and policy inconsistencies to ministerial attention.

What Changes Over Time

Question Hour has faced increasing pressure from disruptions in recent Lok Sabhas. PRS data shows that a significant share of Question Hour has been lost to adjournments in sessions where political tensions are high. The digitisation of questions through the Member's Portal and the public posting of unstarred written replies has increased accessibility. In September 2020, during the COVID-19 session, Question Hour was curtailed to 30 minutes with only unstarred questions accepted — a decision that drew significant criticism from constitutional scholars and opposition parties, who argued it weakened parliamentary accountability during a period when executive action was particularly intensive.

Sources and Further Reading

• Lok Sabha Secretariat — Question Hour official guidelines: https://sansad.in/ls/questions/questions
• PRS Legislative Research — What are Question Hour and Zero Hour and why they matter: https://prsindia.org/articles-by-prs-team/an-expert-explains-what-are-question-hour-and-zero-hour-and-why-they-matter
• Wikipedia — Question Hour: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_Hour
• JURIST — Curtailment of Question Hour in Indian Parliament: https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/09/punshi-yadav-curtailment-of-question-hour/

 (This series is part of a long-term editorial project to explain the structures, institutions, contradictions, and operating logic of India’s parliamentary democracy for a global audience. Designed as a 25-article briefing cluster on the Indian Parliament and Legislative Process, this vertical examines how Parliament functions in practice — from Question Hour, committees, and bill passage to disruptions, party discipline, whips, legislative scrutiny, and the everyday mechanics of lawmaking in the world’s largest democracy. Written in accessible format for diplomats, investors, researchers, NGOs, civil society actors, students, academics, policymakers, and international observers, the series seeks to explain both how India’s legislative system is designed to function on paper and how parliamentary power actually operates on the ground. This is Vertical 2 of a larger 20-vertical knowledge architecture being developed by IndianRepublic.in under the editorial direction of Saket Suman. All articles are protected under applicable copyright laws. All Rights Reserved.)