The objective of this blog is to supplement the information provided on the PRS website, with more analysis, information, that might be useful for readers. We expect to discuss issues about legislation and policy on some occasions and about the functioning of Parliament at other times. Interesting Parliament trivia will also find their place on the blog from time to time. The Parliament itself puts up significant amount of information on its website, making it relatively easy for anyone tracking the institution to access data. But what we at PRS have tried to do is to add value to the information that we have accessed from Parliament, and make our products even more relevant to users. We hope readers of this blog will share their views with us on a range of issues. We know that a number of people both in India and abroad use our website as a resource on legislation and Parliament. Our somewhat tentative beginning on Twitter (www.twitter.com/prslegislative) is now being followed more widely. Recent updates from Twitter will also be displayed on the Blog. The only way in which our legislation will become better over time is when lots of people like us scrutinise issues in detail, engage with our law makers and ensure that the process takes into account the inputs of citizens from across the country. As we prepare ourselves for the upcoming Budget session of Parliament, we expect to post on our blog quite regularly. We hope you will find this useful in the weeks and months ahead! Please spread the word about this new blog, and thank you for all your continued support.
Unlike the Parliamentary system, the concept of 'question hour' or 'question time' doesn't really exist in the American legislature. Here's an interesting report done by the Congressional Research Service on the possibility of a question time in the US. From our point of view, the report is interesting because it reviews the existing provisions for a Parliamentary Question Time in different countries (India isn't mentioned), and considers the pros and cons of such a system. The report concludes: "Whether the question period would be successful in a system of separated powers depends in large part on the attitude of its participants and on the format the question period ultimately assumes. The question period has the potential of involving more rank-and-file Members in the policy-making process, and improving the means of communication between executive departments and the Congress. It also could harden relations between the Congress and the Executive, and might increase the level of partisan controversy in Congress." There's even an online petition among a few american bloggers to push for a question time in the US. Read about it here. In this country of course, parliamentary questions are an established feature of the work of Parliament. Parliamentary questions cover a huge range of topics and can be an mine of information and data about government policy. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sites put the complete text of all parliamentary questions (and the responses to them) online.
