- Sanjhi Soch Beauro –Budget Economic Survey 2021 LIVE Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey 2020-21 in Parliament on Friday as the Budget Session is all set to begin. The Budget session is set for a stormy start with as many as 18 opposition parties announcing their decision to boycott the President’s address to a joint sitting of both houses.
- The joint Parliament session is also likely to witness acrimonious scenes, with the Opposition aiming to corner the government on issues like farmers’ protest, recession, job losses, handling of COVID crisis. Keep refreshing this page to get all LIVE UPDATES from the Budget Session of the Parliament.President Ram Nath Kovind Arrives At Parliament
President Ram Nath Kovind also arrived at the Parliament ahead of Budget session. He was greeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and other leaders. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament shortly.
Important For Us To Fully Utilise This New Decade: PM Modi
“It is important for us to fully utilise this new decade. With this in mind, there should be discussions in this session focussing on the decade – this is expected by the nation. I believe that we will not lag behind in making our contribution for the fulfilment of people’s aspiration: PM Narendra Modi ahead of Budget Session,” he said.
“As expected by the entire country, there should be discussions in this session focussing on the decade. I believe that none of us will lag behind in making our contributions for the fulfilment of people’s dreams and aspirationsm,” the Prime Minister added while speaking to reporters outside Parliament.
PM Modi Ahead Of Budget Session
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other leaders arrive at the Parliament ahead of Budget Session. Before start of the session, PM Modi spoke to reporters outside Parliament where he said that it is going to be the first session of the decade.
“Today commences the first Session of this decade. This decade is very important for the bright future of India. A golden opportunity has come before the nation to fulfill the dreams seen by the freedom fighters: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament,” PM Modi said.
Joint Statement Of Opposition Parties
“The Prime Minister and the BJP government remain arrogant, adamant and undemocratic in their response. Shocked by this insensitivity of the government, the opposition political parties, reaffirming the collective demand for the repeal of the anti-farmer laws and in solidarity with the Indian farmers, have decided to boycott the President’s address to both the houses of Parliament…,” a joint statement issued by 16 parties said.
19 Opposition Parties To Boycott President’s joint address
A total of 19 Opposition parties including the Congress, the BSP, NCP, Shiv Sena, DMK, Trinamool Congress, CPI, CPI-M and RJD and some other parties have announced that they would boycott the President’s address. There are over 20 opposition parties in Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi has appealed to all the parties to reconsider their decision to boycott, saying the President is above party politics.
Om Birla Convenes All-Party Meet Ahead Of Budget
To seek the cooperation of various parties for the smooth functioning of the Budget session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has convened a meeting of all political parties on Friday which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The session will begin with the President’s address followed by the presentation of the Economic Survey.
Budget Expectation By VLCC Founder Vandana Luthra
The Covid pandemic has underscored the importance of healthy living and maintaining our physical and mental health. To encourage individuals and families to proactively invest in preventive healthcare, wellness programmes for people suffering from lifestyle related ailments should be brought under health insurance coverage. This will also help reduce the burden on the curative healthcare infrastructure in the country, which would be better served to addressing communicable and life threatening disease and ailments.
Higher resource allocation for improving the Skill Development ecosystem in country would also be a welcome move. The fact is skilling / reskilling / upskilling of youth is a critical need given that over a third of the country’s population will be in the 10 to 34 age group in 2021 and as per some estimates over 300 million youth need to be given skills training for ensuring gainful employment for them.
Budget Expectation By Arunabha Ghosh, Council on Energy Environment and Water
India’s Union Budget 2021 must promote a new social contract that commits to jobs, growth and sustainability along with a razor-sharp focus on tail risks, like pandemics and extreme climate events that can overturn years of progress in economic growth. The focus should be on investing in climate-resilient infrastructure and low-carbon technologies, revitailising MSMEs, ensuring food and water security, driving capital to accelerate India’s energy and electric mobility transitions, and exploring innovative financing models for disruptive technological innovation. Each of these opportunities also creates additional jobs.
The resources for these interventions could come from a reform of energy and electricity subsidies, targeting those who need the support while increasing the competitiveness of industry. Similarly, decommissioning old and inefficient thermal power plants can be a huge source of savings to the public exchequer. Finally, developing a circular economy and strategic reserves for critical minerals can increase India’s energy and industrial security for the industries of the future.
Budget Session Set For A Stormy Start; 16 Oppn Parties To Boycott Prez’s Address
The crucial Budget session of Parliament is set for a stormy start with as many as 18 opposition parties announcing their decision to boycott the President’s address to a joint sitting of both houses on Friday, in solidarity with the farmers agitating against the three contentious farm laws.
Alleging that the farm laws have been pushed by the BJP government without a national consensus, the opposition parties announced their decision on Thursday to boycott the President’s address, a move termed as “most unfortunate” by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi.
IMF’s Gita Gopinath Cautions Against Tightening Of Policy Support
Meanwhile, IMF’s Chief Economist Gita Gopinath on Thursday said it would be damaging for India to start tightening policy support in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and also stressed on reducing wasteful expenditures in the upcoming Budget.
“It would be damaging (for India) to start tightening of policy support in the midst of the pandemic,” the chief economist of the Washington-based global financial institution said. The Union Budget for 2021-22, the eighth Budget of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, is scheduled to be presented in Parliament on February 1, 2021.
