On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present a White Paper on the Indian economy to the Lok Sabha, as per the supplementary list of business for February 8. This initiative comes amidst the ongoing budget session, which commenced with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses on January 31. Notably, this session marks the final gathering of the current Lok Sabha before the upcoming general elections anticipated to be held in April-May this year.
In the union budget unveiled on February 1, the government announced its intention to release a ‘White Paper’ to evaluate the economic performance during the tenures of both the Congress-led UPA government and the BJP-led NDA government over the past decade. Sitharaman, while presenting the interim budget for 2024-25 in Parliament, emphasized the significant strides made by the Modi administration since assuming office in 2014, overcoming economic challenges and steering the nation towards sustainable growth.
She stated, “The crisis of those years has been overcome, and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path with all-round development.” Sitharaman highlighted the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability by announcing the presentation of the White Paper, aimed at assessing the economic trajectory from pre-2014 to the present, with a focus on learning from past shortcomings.
Emphasizing the government’s dedication to the welfare and progress of the nation, she remarked, “The exemplary track record of governance, development and performance, effective delivery, and ‘Jan Kalyan’ has given the government trust, confidence and blessings of the people to realize, whatever it takes, the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ with good intentions, true dedication and hard work in the coming years and decades.”
The budget session, originally scheduled to conclude on February 9, has been extended by a day.