India plans ‘historic steps’ in Budget under new government

INDIA’S president said the new government is planning to announce significant measures in its first budget, seeking to propel the economy into the future.

“Along with big economic and social decisions, many historic steps will also be seen in this Budget,” President Droupadi Murmu told a joint sitting of the parliament on Thursday (Jun 27).

She added that it will be “an effective document of the government’s far-reaching policies and futuristic vision”, without providing specific details.

The Budget, which is could be announced in July, will lay out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy priorities under a new coalition government, after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win an outright majority in recent elections.

Investors have worried the BJP’s below-par performance at the polls will shift it towards more populist spending measures in the Budget to shore up its support. 

Modi has promised to transform India into a developed country by 2047, a goal which economists predict will require yearly growth rates of over 8 per cent, for the next 25 years.

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Murmu noted that the pledge of “reform, perform and transform” has made India the fastest-growing economy in the world, and the government is working towards making the economy the third-largest in the world. BLOOMBERG