Zero Hour is an Indian parliamentary innovation and has been in existence since 1962. It is not mandatory to have a Zero Hour every day during the session. The phrase does not find mention in the rules of procedure. The concept of Zero Hour started organically in the first decade of the Indian Parliament when MPs felt the need for raising important constituency and national issues. During the initial days, Parliament used to break for lunch at 1 pm. Therefore, the opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch. This led to the hour being popularly referred to as Zero Hour and the issues being raised during this time as Zero Hour submissions. Over the years, presiding officers of both Houses have given directions to streamline the working of Zero Hour to make it even more effective. Zero Hour is an informal device available to the Members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. The Zero Hour starts immediately after the Question Hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (i.e regular business of the House) is taken up. Hence, Zero Hour is an informal device available to the Members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice.