The ongoing Budget session began on January 31.
The Budget session of Parliament has been extended by a day till February 10, as announced by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today. This extension comes amid buzz regarding the Centre”s intention to present a ‘white paper’ on the economy during the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
The ongoing Budget session began on January 31.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced on Tuesday that the Centre would unveil a “white paper” addressing what it perceives as ‘economic mismanagement’ during the tenure of the Manmohan Singh government. Sources indicate that this document will also highlight potential “positive steps” that could have been undertaken during that period.
A white paper serves as a means for the government to outline policy preferences before introducing legislation.
Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised the necessity for a white paper to address the “mismanagement” of the Indian economy prior to 2014, under the UPA-led government. Sitharaman lamented the “lost” 10 years and highlighted the detrimental impact of policy paralysis, corruption, and depletion of resources during that period.
Sitharaman further stated that revitalizing the economy after the alleged mismanagement of the UPA era had been a daunting task for the BJP government over the past decade, and underscored progress towards positioning India as the world”s third-largest economy.
During his address to the Lok Sabha on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that India would ascend to the position of the world”s third-largest economy during his government”s third term. PM Modi contrasted this vision with the interim Budget of 2014, where the then Finance Minister had projected India”s ascent to this position by 2044, criticising the lack of ambition displayed by the Congress government.
PM Modi also lamented the alleged dearth of visionary thinking within the Congress ranks, implying that their governance lacked the ambition necessary for India”s economic growth.
“On the basis of the experience of 10 years of governance, looking at today”s strong economy and the rapid speed with which India is progressing today, I can confidently say that in our third term, India will be the third-largest economic power. This is Modi”s guarantee,” he had said.
