No ‘Zero Hour’ & ‘Question Hour’ In Parliament On Jan 31, Feb 1

Mumbai: Parliament’s Budget session will not have ‘Zero Hour’ and ‘Question Hour’ on January 31 and February 1 due to the address of President Ram Nath Kovind and the presentation of Union Budget 2022.

Matters of Urgent Public Importance can be raised during ‘Zero Hour’ of the 8th session of the 17th Lok Sabha from February 2 onwards.

While President Ram Nath Kovind’s address is scheduled for January 31, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022 on February 1. The budget speech will start at 11 am and may last for 1.5 to 2 hours.

In the Lok Sabha, Question Hour begins at the beginning of the day’s business i.e. from 11 am to noon and is followed by Zero Hour. In Rajya Sabha, Zero Hour begins at 11 am and is followed by Question Hour in the afternoon.

This year the budget session 2022 will be in two parts. The first phase will be conducted from February 1 to 11 while the second phase will be conducted from March 14 to April 8. This has been done to ensure that the COVID-19 protocol is followed. Both the Houses – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – will work in shifts to ensure protection from COVID-19.

This is the second time that both the Houses will work strategically in shifts due to rising Covid-19 cases. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet for five hours a day but at different times.

The Rajya Sabha will meet in the first half while the Lok Sabha will meet in the second half during the budget session 2022. To enable safe seating for members owing to the Covid-19, the chambers and galleries of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will be used for seating of the members. Thus, no visitors will be allowed to Public Galleries to witness the proceedings of the houses during the session.

While the Lok Sabha will meet at 11 am on February 1 for the presentation of the Union Budget 2022, it will meet from 4 pm to 9 pm from February 2 onwards for the Budget Session 2022. The Rajya Sabha sitting will be held between 9 or 10 am to 2 pm.

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