Answers to parliamentary questions to be put online on time

Answers to all starred and unstarred questions taken up in Parliament will henceforth be uploaded online to facilitate members to discharge their duties better.

All replies to starred questions will henceforth be uploaded on the website 'www.pqals.nic.in' by around 10 a.m. on the day questions related to a specific department or ministry are asked.

Answers to unstarred questions will be uploaded immediately after the Question Hour, that is 12 p.m.

Official sources said Union Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha had passed orders to this effect and directed all secretaries concerned to ensure "strict compliance" with the instructions from the coming Winter Session of Parliament, the sources said.

The directions were issued after the Lok Sabha Secretariat pointed out the "delay" in uploading of replies to questions by the ministries/departments.

The Cabinet Secretary's orders have since been passed onto the secretaries of central departments/ministries, they said.

As per the norms, hard copies of replies to starred and unstarred questions are required to be forwarded by the ministries/departments to the Lok Sabha Secretariat by 3 p.m. on the working day preceding the date on which the question is listed for answer.

The soft copies of the replies are to be uploaded by the ministries/departments on the website immediately after the Question Hour.

--IANS

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