The first Union Budget in the third term of the NDA government will lay the foundation of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and prepare the ground for converting guarantees, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

In his customary opening remarks on the eve of the new session of the Parliament, Modi said: “I have been giving guarantees to the people of the country and our mission is to bring this to the ground. This budget is important budget for Amrit Kaal. Today’s budget will decide the direction for the next 5 years of our term. This budget will also become a strong foundation of our dream of ‘Viksit Bharat’.”

Apart from laying the Economic Survey on the first day itself, the Union Budget will be presented on Tuesday, July 23. This will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s record seventh consecutive budget. With this, she will break the record held to date by the late Morarji Desai, who presented 10 budgets, including interim ones.

“It is a matter of pride that after 60 years, a government has come to power for the third time and will present the first Budget for the third time,” Modi said. He added that India is moving forward with a growth rate of 8 per cent. Lauding the public mandate in the Lok Sabha polls, he said: “Positive outlook, investment and performance is at its peak.”

Highlighting the importance of Parliamentary democracy, he hoped that the current session would be a positive one and urged all MPs to work with a positive spirit.

“I would like to request all the MPs of the country that from January till now we have fought as much as we had to, but now that period is over, the public has given its verdict. I would like to ask all the parties to rise above party lines and dedicate themselves to the country and use this dignified platform of Parliament for the next 4.5 years. In the election year of January 2029, you can play any game, but till then we should participate for the empowerment of the farmers, youth and the country,” he said.

The session is scheduled to continue until August 12. Apart from the Finance Bill, the government has listed five new bills for introduction, consideration, and passage. These include bills to reenact two British-era legislations, the Aircraft Act and the Boiler Act.

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