what is question hour in parliament

Question Hour is a period during which Members of Parliament (MPs) can ask questions to Ministers on matters related to their ministries. It is the first hour of every sitting of the Parliament. The purpose of Question Hour is to elicit information from the government on various issues and to provide an opportunity for MPs to scrutinize the actions of the government. Generally, the first hour of a sitting of the Lok Sabha is dedicated to questions, and this hour is called the Question Hour. During this hour, Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries. The questions that MPs ask are designed to elicit information and trigger suitable action by ministries. The concerned Minister is obliged to answer to the Parliament, either orally or in writing, depending on the type of question raised. There are four types of questions: Starred, non-starred, short notice question, and questions to private members. The presiding officers of the two Houses decide whether a question raised by an MP will be admitted for answering by the government. The broadcasting of Question Hour since 1991 has made it one of the most visible aspects of parliamentary functioning. The Question Hour in the Indian Parliament is similar to the Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the First Ministers Questions in the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, and the Question Period in the House of Commons of Canada.