Parliamentary questions' replies to be uploaded on website

The direction comes after Lok Sabha Secretariat pointed out delay in uploading replies to the questions by ministries.

The replies to all Parliamentary questions need to be uploaded online, the Cabinet Secretariat has said.

The direction comes after the Lok Sabha Secretariat pointed out delay in uploading replies to the questions by central government ministries.

"It has now been desired by the Speaker, Lok Sabha that soft copies of replies to starred questions be uploaded by 10 am on the day the questions are listed so as to facilitate the members to draft supplementaries to the starred questions.

"Further, it has been desired that replies to unstarred questions be uploaded immediately after the Question Hour i.e. at 12 noon," Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha said in a communique to secretaries of central government departments.

A starred question is one to which a member desires an oral answer from the minister in the House and is required to be distinguished by him or her with an asterisk. Answer to such a question may be followed by supplementary questions by members.

An unstarred question is one to which written answer is desired by the member and is deemed to be laid on the table of the House by Minister. Thus it is not called for oral answer in the House and no supplementary question can be asked thereon.

As per norms, hard copies of replies to starred and unstarred questions are required to be forwarded by ministries or departments to the Lok Sabha secretariat by 3 pm 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 on the website immediately after the question hour. However, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has drawn attention to the fact that ministries or departments are not adhering to these timelines, Sinha said.

He asked the secretaries to ensure "strict compliance" of the instructions from the forthcoming Winter Session.