New Delhi, The newly formed NDA government's first budget next month will take "many historic steps", besides accelerating the pace of economic reforms and setting out a roadmap for "far-reaching policies" and a "futuristic vision " of the government. make India the world's third largest economy, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday.
In his first address to the joint session of Parliament since the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, he outlined the economic vision of the NDA government and highlighted the achievements of the last decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A stable government with a clear majority is "a mandate so that the work of making India a developed nation continues uninterrupted and India achieves its goals," he said. The new Modi government will present a full budget for the year next month. fiscal 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025), which will likely establish priorities on tax and policy issues, as well as a reform agenda for the near term.
"This budget will be an effective document of the government's far-reaching policies and futuristic vision," he said.
"Along with important economic and social decisions, this budget will also see many historic steps," he said without elaborating. "The pace of reforms will further accelerate in tune with the aspirations of the people of India for rapid development." ", he claimed.
With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retaining power for a third consecutive term, analysts expect broad policy continuity, with the government continuing to prioritize capital spending on infrastructure, improvements in the business environment and gradual fiscal consolidation. .
The President said that the determination to "reform, act and transform" has made India the fastest growing economy in the world and the nation has risen from being the 11th ranked economy to becoming the fifth largest economy. From 2021 to 2024, India has grown at an average rate of 8 percent annually.
"India has achieved this growth amid the global pandemic and despite the ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world. This has been possible due to important reforms and decisions taken in the national interest in the last 10 years," he said, adding that India alone is contributing 15 per cent to global growth.
Now, the government is striving to make India the third largest economy in the world, he said. "Achieving this objective will also strengthen the foundations of a developed India." "During the decades-long phase of unstable governments in the country, many governments, even if willing, were unable to introduce reforms or take critical decisions. The people of India has now changed this situation with its decisive mandate.
"Many of these reforms have been carried out in the last 10 years, which today is greatly benefiting the nation. Even when these reforms were being implemented, there was opposition and attempts were made to spread negativity. But all these reforms have withstood the test of time," he said.
Highlighting the reforms, he said that to save India's banking sector from collapse, the government implemented banking reforms and enacted laws like the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that have made the country's banking sector one of the strongest in the world." Our public sector banks are strong and profitable today. Profits of public sector banks have crossed Rs 1.4 lakh crore in 2023-24, up 35 per cent from last year. allows it to expand its credit base and "Doubtful loans of public sector banks are also declining continuously," he stated.
While SBI is making record profits and LIC is stronger than ever, GST collections crossed Rs 2 lakh crore for the first time in April.
Murmu said the government is giving equal importance to the three pillars of the economy - manufacturing, services and agriculture, giving a sneak peek at the government's priorities. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and ease of doing business They have contributed to increased investment and employment opportunities on a large scale.
"Along with traditional sectors, emerging sectors are also being promoted in mission mode. Be it semiconductors or solar energy, be it electric vehicles or electronics, be it green hydrogen or batteries, be it aircraft carriers or fighter jets, India is is expanding in all these sectors," he said.
The government is also making continuous efforts to reduce the cost of logistics. It is also strengthening the service sector. At the same time, investments in green industries are being increased, leading to an increase in "green jobs."
Stating that India is emerging as a leader in all sectors, from information technology to tourism and from health to wellness, he said this is creating a host of new employment and self-employment opportunities.
The President said that in the last 10 years, the government has placed great emphasis on all aspects of the rural economy. Agricultural, dairy and fishing industries are expanding in the villages. Priority has been given to cooperatives. "A major problem for small farmers is related to storage. That is why my government has started working on a plan to create the world's largest storage capacity in the cooperative sector," he said. .
Under Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi, more than Rs 320 billion has been disbursed to farmers.
The policies, he said, focused on making India more self-reliant and increasing farmers' income through increased exports. The president said the government believes there should be healthy competition between states to attract investors from around the world.
"This is the true spirit of competitive cooperative federalism," he said. "We will continue forward with the conviction that the development of the country lies in the development of the states."
Describing the political momentum in the last decade, Murmu said the focus on infrastructure development has seen the construction of over 3,80,000 kilometers of rural roads under the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana, while at the same time expanded the network of national roads and highways in the country. "The pace of construction of National Highways has more than doubled," he stated.
While work on the high-speed rail ecosystem between Ahmedabad and Mumbai (popularly known as Bullet Train) is also progressing at a rapid pace, the government has decided to conduct feasibility studies for bullet train corridors in the north, south and east of the country. country. , he said, adding that works on inland waterways have begun on a large scale.
In his first address to the joint session of Parliament since the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, he outlined the economic vision of the NDA government and highlighted the achievements of the last decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A stable government with a clear majority is "a mandate so that the work of making India a developed nation continues uninterrupted and India achieves its goals," he said. The new Modi government will present a full budget for the year next month. fiscal 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025), which will likely establish priorities on tax and policy issues, as well as a reform agenda for the near term.
"This budget will be an effective document of the government's far-reaching policies and futuristic vision," he said.
"Along with important economic and social decisions, this budget will also see many historic steps," he said without elaborating. "The pace of reforms will further accelerate in tune with the aspirations of the people of India for rapid development." ", he claimed.
With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retaining power for a third consecutive term, analysts expect broad policy continuity, with the government continuing to prioritize capital spending on infrastructure, improvements in the business environment and gradual fiscal consolidation. .
The President said that the determination to "reform, act and transform" has made India the fastest growing economy in the world and the nation has risen from being the 11th ranked economy to becoming the fifth largest economy. From 2021 to 2024, India has grown at an average rate of 8 percent annually.
"India has achieved this growth amid the global pandemic and despite the ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world. This has been possible due to important reforms and decisions taken in the national interest in the last 10 years," he said, adding that India alone is contributing 15 per cent to global growth.
Now, the government is striving to make India the third largest economy in the world, he said. "Achieving this objective will also strengthen the foundations of a developed India." "During the decades-long phase of unstable governments in the country, many governments, even if willing, were unable to introduce reforms or take critical decisions. The people of India has now changed this situation with its decisive mandate.
"Many of these reforms have been carried out in the last 10 years, which today is greatly benefiting the nation. Even when these reforms were being implemented, there was opposition and attempts were made to spread negativity. But all these reforms have withstood the test of time," he said.
Highlighting the reforms, he said that to save India's banking sector from collapse, the government implemented banking reforms and enacted laws like the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that have made the country's banking sector one of the strongest in the world." Our public sector banks are strong and profitable today. Profits of public sector banks have crossed Rs 1.4 lakh crore in 2023-24, up 35 per cent from last year. allows it to expand its credit base and "Doubtful loans of public sector banks are also declining continuously," he stated.
While SBI is making record profits and LIC is stronger than ever, GST collections crossed Rs 2 lakh crore for the first time in April.
Murmu said the government is giving equal importance to the three pillars of the economy - manufacturing, services and agriculture, giving a sneak peek at the government's priorities. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and ease of doing business They have contributed to increased investment and employment opportunities on a large scale.
"Along with traditional sectors, emerging sectors are also being promoted in mission mode. Be it semiconductors or solar energy, be it electric vehicles or electronics, be it green hydrogen or batteries, be it aircraft carriers or fighter jets, India is is expanding in all these sectors," he said.
The government is also making continuous efforts to reduce the cost of logistics. It is also strengthening the service sector. At the same time, investments in green industries are being increased, leading to an increase in "green jobs."
Stating that India is emerging as a leader in all sectors, from information technology to tourism and from health to wellness, he said this is creating a host of new employment and self-employment opportunities.
The President said that in the last 10 years, the government has placed great emphasis on all aspects of the rural economy. Agricultural, dairy and fishing industries are expanding in the villages. Priority has been given to cooperatives. "A major problem for small farmers is related to storage. That is why my government has started working on a plan to create the world's largest storage capacity in the cooperative sector," he said. .
Under Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi, more than Rs 320 billion has been disbursed to farmers.
The policies, he said, focused on making India more self-reliant and increasing farmers' income through increased exports. The president said the government believes there should be healthy competition between states to attract investors from around the world.
"This is the true spirit of competitive cooperative federalism," he said. "We will continue forward with the conviction that the development of the country lies in the development of the states."
Describing the political momentum in the last decade, Murmu said the focus on infrastructure development has seen the construction of over 3,80,000 kilometers of rural roads under the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana, while at the same time expanded the network of national roads and highways in the country. "The pace of construction of National Highways has more than doubled," he stated.
While work on the high-speed rail ecosystem between Ahmedabad and Mumbai (popularly known as Bullet Train) is also progressing at a rapid pace, the government has decided to conduct feasibility studies for bullet train corridors in the north, south and east of the country. country. , he said, adding that works on inland waterways have begun on a large scale.