1. Question Hour:

The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for questions hour. During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers. The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice.

• A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow.
• An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
• A short notice question is one that is asked by giving orally.a notice of less than ten days. It is answered

2. Zero Hour:

The zero hour, unlike the question hour, is not specified in the Rules of Procedure. As a result, it is an informal method open to members of Parliament to raise issues without previous warning. The zero hour begins immediately following the question hour and continues until the day's agenda (i.e. regular House business) is completed. In other words, zero hour is the time between the question hour and the agenda. It is an Indian innovation in parliamentary proceedings that has been in use since 1962.

3. Motion:

No discussion on a matter of general public importance can take place except on a motion made with the consent of the presiding officer. The House expresses its decisions or opinionson various issues through the adoption or rejection of motions moved by either ministers or private members. A brief description of various types of motions has been given below:

(I) ClosureMotion:

It is a motion moved by a member to cut short the debate on a matter before the House. If the motion is approved by the House, debate is stopped forthwith and the matter is put to vote. There are four kinds of closure motions:

• Simple Closure: It is one when a member moves that the 'matter having been sufficiently discussed be now put to vote'.
• Closure by Compartments: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a lengthy resolution are grouped into parts before the commencement of the debate. The debate covers the part as a whole and the entire part is put to vote.
• Kangaroo Closure: Under this type, only important clauses are taken up for debate and voting and the intervening clauses are skipped over and taken as passed.
• Guillotine Closure: It is one when the undiscussed clauses of a bill or a resolution are also put to vote along with the discussed ones due to want of time (as the time allotted for the discussion is over).
• (II) No-Confidence Motion:

According to Article 75 of the Constitution, the council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It indicates that the ministry will remain in office as long as the majority of Lok Sabha members trust it. In other words, by passing a no-confidence resolution, the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office. To be admitted, the motion must receive the backing of 50 members.

(III) Privilege Motion:

It is concerned with a minister's violation of parliamentary privileges. It is initiated by a member who believes that a minister has violated the House's or one or more of its members' privilege by withholding facts from a case or by providing incorrect or distorted facts. Its goal is to chastise the minister in question.

(IV) Motion of Thanks:

The president addresses the first session following each general election, as well as the first session of each fiscal year. In this address, the president summarises the government's policies and programmes for the previous and next years. This president's message, which corresponds to the "speech from the Throne in Britain," is mentioned in both the motion and the vote. This motion has to be approved by the House. Otherwise, it equates to the government's defeat. The president's inaugural speech provides an opportunity for members of Parliament to hold discussions and debates in order to assess and criticise the government and administration for its flaws and faults.

(V) Calling Attention Motion:

It is introduced in Parliament by a member to bring a minister's attention to an issue of urgent public significance and to obtain an authoritative statement from him on that matter. It, like the zero hour, is an Indian invention in parliamentary procedure that has been in use since 1954. Unlike the zero hour, it is, however, specified in the Rules of Procedure.

(VI) No-Day-Yet-Named Motion:

The Speaker has accepted the proposal, but no date has been set for its consideration. After evaluating the status of business in the House and consulting with the House leader, or on the proposal of the Business Advisory Committee, the Speaker allots a day or days, or a portion of a day, for the discussion of such a motion.

(VII) Censure Motion:

It should state the reasons for its adoption in the Lok Sabha. It can be moved against an individual Minister for specific policies and actions. If it is passed in the Lok Sabha, the council of Ministers need not resign from the office.

(VIII) Adjournment Motion:

When there is an urgent matter of public importance then a member may purpose that the business of the house be adjourned for discussing that matter. This motion can be moved only with the consent of the Speaker. Generally such motions are discussed in the afternoon at 4.00 p.m.

4. Half-an-Hour Discussion:

It is intended for debating a question of substantial public importance that has been the subject of much dispute and the solution to which requires clarification on a factual basis. The Speaker may set aside three days per week for such discussions. The House does not have a formal motion to vote on.

5. Short Duration Discussion:

It is also referred to as a two-hour conversation because the time given for such a debate should not be more than two hours. Members of Parliament have the authority to initiate such debates on matters of critical public significance. The speaker may set aside two days per week for such conversations. There is no formal motion before the house, nor is there voting. This device has been around since 1953.

6. Point of Order:

When the House's proceedings do not follow the standard rules of procedure, a member may raise a point of order. A point of order should pertain to the interpretation or enforcement of the Rules of the House or such parts of the Constitution that govern the activity of the House, and it should raise a matter that is within the Speaker's jurisdiction. It is frequently raised by a member of the opposition in order to gain control of the government. It is an amazing device since it halts the proceedings in the House. A point of order may not be debated.

7. Special Mention:

A issue that is not a point order or that cannot be addressed during question hour, half-an-hour debate, short duration discussion, adjournment motion, calling attention notice, or any other regulation of the House may be raised in the Rajya Sabha by special mention. The Lok Sabha's analogous procedural technique is known as 'Notice (Mention) Under Rule 377.'

8. Lame-duck Session:

It refers to the final session of the current Lok Sabha after a new Lok Sabha is elected. Lame-ducks are members of the existing Lok Sabha who were unable to get re-elected to the next Lok Sabha.