NewsGate Press Network

In an another first, the new House of People – the Lok Sabha was inaugurated in the new Parliament House building when President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint session of 18th Lok Sabha.

Sine there is no Central Hall in the new Parliament House building, the joint session was held inside the Lok Sabha chamber that now has large space to accommodate MPs from both the Houses.

The news agency UNI is reporting that in her address President Murmu said India has improved its position sharply from being the 11th-ranked economy ten years back.

“From 2021 to 2024, India has grown at an average rate of 8 percent annually. And this growth has not been achieved under usual circumstances. In recent years, we have seen the biggest pandemic in 100 years,” the President said, highlighting that the pace of reforms will be further accelerated in tune with the aspirations of the people of India for rapid development.

President Murmu said the recent Lok Sabha poll has been an election of trust in policy, intention, dedication and decision.

“The people of this country voted for the Trust in a strong and decisive Government; Trust in good governance, stability and continuity; Trust in honesty and hard work; Trust in security and prosperity; Trust in Government’s guarantees and delivery; Trust in India’s resolve to be Viksit Bharat,” she said.

“It is a stamp of approval for my Government’s mission of service and good governance undertaken in the past 10 years,” the President said adding the Modi dispensation got the mandate so that its work of making India a developed nation continued uninterrupted and the nation attained its goal of Viksit Bharat (developed India).

The President appreciated the previous government for its work during the most difficult period of the pandemic, saying India achieved the economic growth amidst the global pandemic and despite ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world.

This has been made possible due to reforms and major decisions undertaken in the national interest in the last 10 years.

“Today, India alone is contributing 15 percent of the global growth. Now, my Government is striving to make India the 3rd largest economy in the world,” she added.

President Murmu also set the tone for the forthcoming Budget of the Modi 3.0 Government next month. “Along with major economic and social decisions, many historic steps will also be seen in this budget. The pace of reforms will be further accelerated in tune with the aspirations of people of India for rapid development.”

At a time when states are vying for investment, both foreign and domestic, and are offering advantages to lure investors, the President made it clear that there should be healthy competition among the states to attract investors from all over the world.

“This is the true spirit of competitive cooperative federalism. We will continue to move ahead with the belief that the development of the country lies in the development of the States,” she said.

As the NDA government, in its thrd term, has set an ambitious target of making India the third largest economy in the world, achievement of this goal will also strengthen the foundation of a developed India.

The Government is giving equal importance to all the three pillars of the economy – manufacturing, services and agriculture, the president said, and pointed out that Performance Linked Incentives (PLI) schemes and Ease of Doing Business have contributed to increasing investments and employment opportunities on a large scale in the last 10 years of governance.

Along with the traditional sectors, sunrise sectors are also being promoted in mission mode. Be it semiconductor or solar, electric vehicles or electronic goods, green hydrogen or batteries, aircraft carriers or fighter Jets, “India is expanding in all these sectors,” she told the parliamentarians.

According to Mumru, all efforts are being made to reduce the cost of logistics and this will give pace to the goal of becoming the third largest economy in the world.

Describing the service sector as healthy, she said in her address that the sector will play a very crucial role in achieving the targeted growth rate in the next five years and the government is making extra efforts to strengthen the services sector.

Today, India is emerging as a leader in every sector from IT to tourism and from health to wellness and this is creating a large number of new opportunities for employment and self-employment, the President said.

Agriculture and allied industries have always remained a focus area of the NDA Government and in the last decade, it has placed great emphasis on every aspect of the rural economy as agro-based, dairy and fishery-based industries are being expanded in villages.

In this also, cooperatives have been accorded priority, she said adding the Government is creating a large network of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and cooperative organizations such as PACS.

A major problem for small farmers is related to storage. Therefore, my Government has commenced work on a scheme to create the world’s largest storage capacity in the cooperative sector.

She lauded the scheme to enable farmers to meet their small expenses as in this direction, more than Rs 3,20,000 crore have been disbursed to them under PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi.

India currently is making changes in its agricultural system in line with its current requirements. Policies have been framed and decisions taken guided by the thought that India become more self-reliant and increase farmers’ income through increased exports.

The Government is providing all possible assistance to farmers to reduce dependence on other countries for pulses and oilseeds. New strategies are being formulated, keeping in mind the kind of food products that are in high demand in the global market, the President said.

She cited an example saying nowadays, the demand for organic products is increasing rapidly in the world and exuded confidence saying Indian farmers have ample capacity to meet this demand.