Page 37 - Parliament of India

greeted with a fanfare. The President reads his Address first in Hindi and then
in English. At the conclusion the National Anthem plays, whereafter the
President leaves the Hall in a procession in the same way as he arrived. The
entire ceremony is marked by utmost decorum and dignity befitting the occasion.

QUESTIONS
The first hour of every sitting is normally devoted to Questions. Questions
are of three types. A Starred Question is one to which a Member desires an oral
answer in the House. Any member may ask a supplementary question germane
to the main one, while it is being answered. In the case of an Unstarred Question,
a written answer is laid on the Table by the concerned Minister. A Short Notice
Question is one which relates to a matter of urgent public importance and can be
asked with shorter notice than the normal period prescribed for a question. For
questions other than Short Notice Questions, the period of notice prescribed is
not less than ten clear days and not more than twenty-one days.
An extension of the Questions procedure is the provision for Half-an-Hour
Discussion, Under this procedure a Member may give notice for raising a
discussion on a matter of sufficient public importance which has been the subject
of a recent question, oral or written, and the answer to which needs elucidation
on a matter of fact. If admitted, the discussion is held for the last half-an-hour
of the day's sitting.
OTHER PROCEDURAL DEVICES FOR RAISING MATTERS BEFORE
QUESTIONS
Besides questions and the classic procedure of adjournment motions, there
are various other means by which Members may bring up matters of urgent
current importance before the Parliament.
Calling Attention Notices : Calling Attention Notices, essentially an Indian
procedural innovation, enables a Member to draw the attention of the Govern­
ment to a sudden development of public importance and to elicit the Government's
views or stand thereon. A Calling Attention Notice may be admitted straightaway
by the Speaker in his discretion and the Government have to come forward with
a statement. The matter is normally raised after the Questions and before the
List of Business is entered upon. Although there can be no debate at the time
the statement is made, there is no bar to a notice being given for a debate on a
subsequent date on a matter contained in the statement. This procedural device,
without the implied censure on the Treasury Benches normally associated with an
Adjournment Motion, is popular with Members from both sides of the House.
Short Duration Discussions : Under the Rules, a matter of urgent public
importance can be discussed for a short time, not exceeding two and a half hours

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