Thiruvananthapuram | Members of the Keralam Assembly no longer need to raise their hands to seek supplementary questions during Question Hour.

A simple tap on the touchscreen of the monitors provided to them is enough to signal their intent to speak, bringing a touch of technology to one of the legislature's most closely watched proceedings.

Announcing the new system, Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said that this was part of the assembly transition to a digital era through its e-Niyamasabha project which is aimed at making the house entirely paperless.

"So, please tap on the touchscreen when you want to ask a supplementary query," he told the legislators.

Under this system, each MLA is provided with a 21-inch touchscreen monitor at their dedicated seat and instead of the traditional method where legislators had to physically raise their hands to catch the Speaker's attention for a supplementary question, they can now simply tap the touchscreen to request the Chair's permission, assembly sources said.

The MLAs can also use their screens to chat directly with the Speaker regarding daily business, queries, or points of order, they said.