Budget Session Live Updates:

The budget session of the Parliament will commence today with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of the two Houses. After her address, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The document, prepared by a team led by Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, will provide an official assessment of the economy’s performance in the ongoing financial year.

The government has listed 16 Bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, besides the financial business for the Budget session.

On Saturday, Ms Sitharaman will table the first full Budget of the Modi 3.0 government.

The first part of the Budget session will conclude on February 13 before breaking for recess to examine the Budget proposals. The session will reconvene on March 10 and continue till April 4. The entire Budget Session will have 27 sittings.

Here Are Live Updates On Budget Session:

New Delhi:

The budget session of the Parliament has begun with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of the two Houses. It will be followed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabling the Economic Survey in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi:

Sixteen Bills, including the Finance Bill 2025, amendments to the Waqf and Banking Regulations Act, and the merging of the Indian Railways and Indian Railways Board Acts, will be tabled in Parliament’s Budget session, which begins on Friday with the Economic Survey 2024-25.

Among the 13 others likely in this session are amendments to the Disaster Management and Oilfields (Regulation and Development) laws. Bills dealing with coastal and merchant shipping and another seeking to rename the Institute of Rural Management Anand as the Tribhuvan Sahkari University and declare it ‘an institution of national importance’ may also be presented.

Bills looking to safeguard financial interests related to the aviation sector and change current regulations relating to immigration and the entry of foreigners are also expected this session.

Finally, another key bill expected is the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa. As the name suggests, this seeks to re-allocate Assembly seats in that state to better represent its ST communities.

The big-ticket items in this session, which will see Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman present an eighth Union Budget — leaving her just two behind the record of 10 set by Morarji Desai, are the Waqf (Amendment) and Finance Bills.

Waqf (Amendment) Bill

The bill proposing 44 changes to Waqf laws — the way Muslim charitable properties are managed in this country — was presented in Parliament in August last year.

The controversial bill triggered furious protests from the Opposition as soon as it was tabled and referred to a joint committee led by BJP MP Jagadambika Pal. The JPC — which held nearly three dozen sittings, but was rocked by chaos and protests from outnumbered opposition members, who said their concerns were being ignored — presented its report this week.

The House panel made 14 recommendations, all from members of the ruling BJP or its allies while rejecting 44 made by opposition MPs, another source of acrimony between the two sides.

The recommendations, and the Bill, are expected to be taken up in this session.

Finance Bill

The Finance Bill is critical for several reasons, the most important of which is the talk of a new direct tax code that will result in a complete overhaul of existing the Income Tax Act of 1961.

The new code is expected to make income tax laws easy to read, understand, and follow, as well as make it easier for taxpayers to calculate their dues and file returns.

Sans this, the Finance Bill will still contain several important reforms and will be central to the Central government’s implementation of all of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budgetary proposals.

There are also amendments to the banking laws that the Centre has said will strengthen governance of the banking sector and enhance consumers’ and customers’ convenience with respect to nominations and protection of investors.

Other Bills

Maritime laws will see updates, with the Bills of Lading Bill, Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, Coastal Shipping Bill, and the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, set to modernise shipping rules.

The Oilfields Amendment Bill will propose updates to laws governing oil exploration and extraction. The Boilers Bill will introduce new safety rules for boilers in industrial applications.

Another key legislative proposal is the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, which will transfer the responsibility of making disaster plans to the Central and state-level forces, and ensure an updated database for both, to ensure a faster and more efficient response.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Economic Survey, a pre-budget document detailing the state of the economy over the last fiscal year, will be presented in Parliament at 12 p.m. on Friday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The presentation comes a day before the much-anticipated arrival of the Union Budget 2025-26.

The survey will be tabled in Lok Sabha at 12 pm and in Rajya Sabha at 2 pm.

The Economic Survey is prepared under the supervision of the Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran and includes insights into the economy prepared by the economic division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

The document not only details the current state of the economy but also provides an outlook for the upcoming fiscal year. It can also be an indicator of the tone and texture of the Union Budget.

The presentation of the Economic Survey will kickstart the Budget Session of Parliament, which concludes on April 4. Parliament will have an inter-session break from February 14 and will resume on March 10.

The theme of the Economic Survey also holds significance. In 2024, the theme was economic resilience. The theme sets the tone for the policies which are proposed in the Union Budget as well.

Before the budget is presented, conventionally a Cabinet meeting headed by the Prime Minister is also held, where Ministers are briefed about the Budget and Cabinet approval is taken.

Ahead of the Union Budget presentation, President Droupadi Murmu will also address a joint seating of Parliament on Friday.

The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.

President Murmu will address the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha at 11 a.m. on Friday.

After the President’s address, Finance Minister Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha separately.

Finance Minister Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.

The Budget Session will be held from January 31 to April 4 in two phases. The first part of the Session will end on February 13 and the second phase will begin on March 10.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

 Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The downward revision of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimates for the current fiscal provides a gloomy backdrop to the upcoming Union budget, and needs radical action to dispel “the cloud of growth slowdown and investment chill” in the country, the Congress said on Wednesday (January 8, 2025).

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh in a statement said there should be income support for India’s poor, higher Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) wages, and increased Minimum Support Prices (MSPs).

Drastic simplification of the “comically complex” Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, and Income Tax relief for the middle class, were also the need of the hour, the party said.

“The advance estimates released by the Union government for GDP growth in FY 25 year project a mere 6.4 per cent growth. This is a four-year low, and a sharp deceleration compared to the 8.2 per cent growth recorded in FY24 (2023-24). It is even lower than the recent RBI [Reserve Bank of India] estimate of 6.6 per cent growth which itself marked a reduction from the earlier projection of 7.2 per cent,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “In a few short weeks, the bottom has fallen out of the Indian economy, with the all-important manufacturing sector simply refusing to expand as it should.”

Asserting that the government could no longer deny the reality of India’s growth slowdown, the Congress leader alleged that India’s consumption story was the biggest pain point, as it has gone into “reverse swing” in the past 10 years.

“In the data from Q2 [second quarter] of this year, Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) growth slowed to 6 per cent from 7.4 per cent in the previous quarter. Car sales have plunged to a four-year low. Several CEOs from India Inc have themselves raised the alarm over the ‘shrinking’ middle class. Stagnant consumption is not just dragging GDP growth rates directly, it is also the reason why the private sector is disinclined to invest in capacity addition,” Mr. Ramesh said.

He also pointed to sluggish private investment, saying the government’s projection for growth in Gross Fixed Capital Formation (public and private) was that it would slow to 6.4% this year, down from 9% last year.

Mr. Ramesh said the Union budget for 2024-25 had made grand promises on increase in capex investment, with an allocation of ₹11.11 lakh crore, but until November 2024, only ₹5.13 lakh crore had been spent. “Most estimates suggest that the government will fail to meet the target before the end of the financial year. The government’s own incompetence in spending its funds is partly responsible for the wider economic gloom,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh said data from the Union government itself showed that between 2020-2021 and 2022-2023 net financial savings of households fell by ₹9 lakh crore, pointing to a shrinkage in net household savings.

“This is the gloomy backdrop to the upcoming Union Budget for FY25-26 (2025-26). As the Indian National Congress has consistently advocated, radical action is necessary to dispel these clouds of growth slowdown and investment chill. Income support for India’s poor, higher MGNREGA wages, and increased MSPs are the need of the hour, as is a drastic simplification of the comically complex GST regime and income tax relief for the middle classes,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25, presented on July 23, will continue in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

The discussion on Budget of Jammu and Kashmir, 2024-25, which was also presented on Tuesday, will also continue today.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kirtivardhan Singh will lay papers on the table today.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar is likely to make a statement regarding status of implementation of recommendations and observations contained in the 250th report of the department-related parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs on action taken by the government on the recommendations and observations contained in the 243rd report of the committee on demands for grants (2023-24) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.

-ANI

Congress MP Manish Tewari gave an adjournment notice on Thursday in the Lok Sabha, urging discussion on the border situation and huge trade deficit with China.

In his letter to the Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Tewari highlighted ongoing border clashes between India and China and pointed out that China recently rejected the inauguration of the Seva tunnel and claimed parts of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.

“…For the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent importance that this House do supend zero hour and relevant rules relating to question hour and other businesses of the day to have a discussion on the border situation and the huge trade deficit with China,” the letter mentioned.

“Since 2019, there have been ongoing border clashes between India and China, with reports of Chinese troops blocking access to patrolling points in Eastern Ladakh. Recently, China rejected the inauguration of the Seva tunnel and claimed parts of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory,” the letter added.

-ANI

New Delhi:

A day before his government present its first Budget in the third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined the agenda for this session with an appeal to the Opposition and a combative message.

Addressing the media on the first day of Budget session, he said many MPs have been deprived of the opportunity to raise their constituency’s issues because “negative politics” by some parties had wasted Parliament’s time. He appealed to MPs from all parties to set aside political difference and participate in constructive discussions.

In an apparent reference to the Opposition’s protests in Parliament in the session immediately after poll results, the Prime Minister said there was an attempt to “unconstitutionally silence” a government chosen by the people. “There cannot be a place in democratic traditions for attempts to gag the Prime Minister for two-and-a-half hours, and there is no remorse,” he said.

The remarks referred to the sloganeering by Opposition MPs when the Prime Minister was addressing the House during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

The Prime Minister said the country is closely watching and hopes that this is session would be constructive, creative and lay the foundation to fulfil their dreams. “This is an important milestone in the glorious journey of Indian democracy. We are proud that 60 years later, a government has returned to power for the third time and is going to present its first budget of its third term,” he said.

Speaking about the Union Budget to be presented tomorrow, the Prime Minister said the government is moving forward to implement his guarantees. “This budget is an important budget of Amrit Kaal. It will outline our plan for five years and also lay the foundation for our Viksit Bharat 2047 vision,” he said. The Prime Minister also said it is a matter of pride that India is the fastest growing among large economies. “Over the past three years, the country has grown at a rate of 8 per cent. The country now has positive outlook, investment and performance. In a way, it is at the peak of opportunities and this is an important milestone in India’s development journey,” he said.

In his appeal to MPs cutting across party lines, he said they must now set aside differences and contribute to the functioning of Parliament.

“Starting from January, we fought with all our might. We told people what we had to say. Some tried to show the way, some tried to mislead. But that phase is over. The country has given its mandate. It is now the duty of all MPs that they stop fighting for their parties and fight for the country for the next five years,” he said, appealing to MPs to rise above party differences and work for the empowerment of the poor, the farmers and women.

“I am saying this with a heavy heart. After 2014, some MPs came for five years, some for 10 years, but many of them did not get an opportunity to raise issues of their constituencies or enrich the Parliament with their opinions because negative politics by some parties wasted Parliament’s time,” he said.

“Difference in opinions is not a problem, negativity is. The country does not need negativity, it needs a progressive ideology. I hope we will use this temple for democracy is a constructive manner to fulfil the dreams of people,” he said.

Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel, Ramdas Athawale and JD(U) MP Dileshwar Kamait during the all-party meeting, at Parliament House in New Delhi on July 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Janata Dal (United), a key BJP ally which heads the government in Bihar, has strongly argued for a special financial package for the State to be granted during the Budget Session of Parliament that begins from July 22, since the government has already ruled out the grant of special category status. The JD(U) made its demand at Sunday’s all-party meeting.

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However, the BJP’s other major ally, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is in power in Andhra Pradesh remained ambivalent on the issue, only seeking financial support from the Centre on various “legacy” issues dogging the State.

According to sources, back-channel talks are on between the BJP and its allies on this issue. With Bihar going to the polls in a year, the JD(U) has told the BJP in no uncertain terms that Bihar must get significant financial aid from the Centre for the ruling National Democratic Alliance to have a fair shot in next year’s Assembly election.

Reciprocity expected

The JD(U) already made a concession for the BJP, climbing down from its long-standing demand for special category status only. A resolution was passed at the JD(U)‘s last national executive meeting in Delhi, stating that Bihar needs either a special category status or a special financial package. The JD(U) now expects a reciprocal gesture from the BJP.

It was JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha who raised the issue during the all-party meeting. “We reiterated our demand for special category status in the meeting. Our leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has addressed public rallies from Gandhi Maidan to Ramlila ground on the issue. We also said that if on some technical grounds, they are unable to accord Bihar this status, they should grant a special package. We hope that in the upcoming Budget, the government will consider it,” Mr. Jha said.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan also raised the same demand at the all-party meet.

YSRCP-TDP tussle

Unlike the JD(U), the TDP did not explicitly spell out its demand for “special category status” or a “special package” for Andhra Pradesh, but spoke at length on the precarious economic condition that the State finds itself in. The TDP’s equivocation on the issue gave a handle to its political rivals, the YSR Congress Party, which has framed special category status as the “only solution for the development of Andhra Pradesh.”

“We want enough time, so that all the financial issues concerning Andhra Pradesh can be placed in Parliament. It is not a question of this or that demand. There are several legacy issues. We will be presenting a white paper on the dire financial condition that the State finds itself in so that every political party understands our situation,” Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, the TDP’s parliamentary party leader told The Hindu.

Slamming the TDP’s attitude, YSRCP leader Vijay Sai Reddy told journalists that he had raised the need for “special category status” for Andhra Pradesh during the all-party meet. “We have been demanding special category status. It is not a new demand; we have been raising it right from the day it was promised by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. It is the only solution for the development of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP ignoring the issue and asking for an incentive or additional funds is not acceptable,” he said.

‘No more special category States’

The Biju Janata Dal also raised the demand for special category status for Odisha during the all-party meeting. BJD leader Sasmit Patra said that was a two-decade-old demand that Odisha has been continuously pleading for. The concept of a ‘special category status’ was introduced in 1969 by the Planning Commission during the Fourth Five-Year Plan. It extends tax incentives for investors and also increases the Centre’s financial share in all centrally sponsored schemes, considerably lightening the State government’s burden. However, consecutive Finance Commissions have ruled out extending the status to any States beyond those who already enjoy it.