New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu on Wednesday set the tone for the budget session of Parliament by highlighting reforms, economic resilience and India’s position in the rapidly changing global trade and geopolitical environment. In doing so, she effectively presented the government report card before the Economic Survey.
Addressing a joint session of Parliament, President Murmu highlighted India’s push for advanced technology, manufacturing and job creation and pointed to recent free trade agreements, including the India-EU FTA, as key tools to deepen India’s integration into global value chains and boost domestic manufacturing amid growing protectionism around the world. She said such agreements would give a new impetus to India’s manufacturing and service sectors and create new job opportunities for the youth.
India on Tuesday announced the conclusion of talks on a much-anticipated free trade agreement with the EU. The FTA is significant as the EU is India’s second largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching US$136.54 billion in FY25.
Read also | Mint survey: Budget 2025 tax changes find favor, hunger for more remains
Against the backdrop of prohibitive tariffs imposed by the US, the President said India’s approach to the world reflects its commitment to open trade, resilience and long-term growth. She said that despite global uncertainty and changing geopolitical equations, India continues to move forward with confidence, policy stability and structural reforms.
Referring to the ‘Reform Express’ as the defining theme of the NDA government’s approach, the President said initiatives ranging from local manufacturing to deep adoption of technology were reshaping India’s growth trajectory. She highlighted India’s growing role in emerging technologies, citing the AI Summit the country is hosting and plans to host a global summit on the impact of AI. She also raised concerns about deepfake technology and called for collective responsibility to address risks to democracy, social harmony and public trust in the digital space.
Maoist influence is waning
On internal security, the President said India is witnessing a decisive shift in the fight against left-wing extremism, with Maoist influence shrinking from 126 districts to just eight. Of these, only three remained seriously injured and more than 2,000 people linked to Maoist groups had surrendered, she said. This reflected visible changes on the ground, including Bastar, where tribal youth were increasingly involved in sports and constructive activities such as the Bastar Olympics and livelihood initiatives for ex-cadres, she added.
The President also said that economic reforms and welfare measures have strengthened household finances, noting that GST registrations of two-wheelers have crossed two million, revenue up to ₹12 lakhs have been exempted from taxes and initiatives like Jan Dhan, Mudra and social security schemes have widened access to finance. She emphasized the expansion of direct benefit transfers, with benefits valued over ₹6.75 trillion was transferred directly to beneficiaries in the last year alone.
Read also | Devina Mehra: Does India’s budget have room for more spending and tax breaks?
Labor reforms
It also highlighted labor reforms through the consolidation of laws into four labor codes as steps to protect workers’ interests while maximizing benefits for women and youth and ensuring easy compliance and fair wages.
On the energy transition, the President described nuclear power as a critical part of India’s future energy mix, calling the 100 GW target by 2047 a historic reform, while highlighting progress in renewables, including more than two million rooftop solar installations under the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and progress towards the 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity target. “India is pursuing green growth alongside economic expansion,” she said.
Industrial growth under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, semiconductor units coming up in Assam, infrastructure expansion, new opportunities in Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura and ongoing work on the Sudarshan Chakra mission were also cited as indicators of the government’s reform agenda. Record growth of electronics production, transition of defense production ₹1.5 trillion, growing defense exports and India’s push for self-sufficiency in critical minerals and shipping also figured prominently in her speech.
Bridging the gap
Highlighting India’s growing global role, the President said the country has strengthened the voice of the Global South on the world stage and positioned itself as a bridge between developed and developing economies amid growing geopolitical and economic fragmentation.
“India has forged new partnerships and strengthened long-standing relationships across regions such as Africa and Latin America, while strengthening existing ties and steadily expanding its presence at key international platforms including BIMSTEC, G20, BRICS and SCO to advance development-oriented priorities and interests of emerging economies,” she said.
In the complex global circumstances, the President said, India played the role of a bridge in the international system, noting that even nations involved in the conflict trusted India on important issues. Emphasizing India’s balanced and independent foreign policy, she said the country has consistently prioritized impartiality and humanitarian considerations, firmly adhering to the “India First” principle.
The past decade has been a cornerstone of India’s development journey, she said. The government remained committed to inclusive growth and as a result, about 250 million citizens had been lifted out of poverty in the last 10 years, she added. During this period, 40 million permanent houses were built for the poor and beneficiaries took ownership of 3.2 million houses last year alone, she said.
Echoing the President’s views, Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of the Garment Manufacturers Association of India, said an India-EU trade deal would be a game-changer for the textile sector, which is currently facing significant stress due to US tariffs. “It is now up to the industry to seize the opportunity and meet the compliance requirements of the EU market,” he said, adding that if Indian factories, products and processes align with buyers’ expectations, exports could grow by around 25% in the next few years.
Read also | Budget session to witness key reform Bills
