India Managed Inflation Well, Did Not Put Burden On Citizens: President Murmu Tells Parliament

New Delhi [India] : The government has kept the inflation under control despite global challenges and did not allow the burden on people to increase, President Droupadi Murmu said on Wednesday.

“The world has faced two wars and Covid-19 in the past few years. Despite the global crises, my government kept inflation under control across the country and did not put the burden on the citizens,” the President said in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament.

Retail inflation in India in December 2023 was at 5.69 per cent. The retail inflation in India is in RBI’s 2-6 per cent comfort level but is above the ideal 4 per cent scenario.

Barring the recent pauses, the RBI has raised the repo rate by 250 basis points cumulatively since May 2022 in the fight against inflation. Raising interest rates is a monetary policy instrument that typically helps suppress demand in the economy, thereby helping the inflation rate decline.

Besides intervention through monetary policy, the government also provided citizens with fiscal help including free food grains, subsidised cooking gas, and fertilisers.

The President said 2023 was a historic year for the country when it maintained the momentum to be the fastest-growing major economy.

“The year 2023 was a historic year for India when it grew the fastest among major economies despite global crisis. India grew about 7.5 per cent for two consecutive quarters,” she said.

She said the government has been continuously working on making it easy to do business in India and creating a suitable environment.

“In the last 10 years, we have seen India move from fragile five to the list of top five countries. FDI has doubled…Today, more than one lakh start-ups have been incorporated,” she added.

The Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, during the April-June and July-September quarters of the current financial year 2023-24, thus remaining the fastest-growing major economy.

Her address, which lasted about 77 minutes, marked the start of the Budget Session of Parliament. Subject to the exigencies of government business, the session will conclude on February 9.

This is President Murmu’s first address in the new Parliament building.

“…This is my first address in the new Parliament building. This grand building has been built at the beginning of the Amrit Kaal. This has the fragrance of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat’…This also has the resolve to honour democratic and parliamentary traditions. Besides this, it also has the resolve to build new traditions of the new India of the 21st century,” Murmu said.

“I am confident that there will be meaningful conversation on policies, in this new building,” she added.

“The achievements that we see today are the extension of the practices of the last 10 years. We heard the slogan of ‘Gareebi Hatao’ since our childhood. Today, for the first time in our lives, we see poverty being alleviated on a large scale.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim Union Budget on Thursday.

The interim budget typically takes care of the fiscal needs of the intervening period until a government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls.

A day before the Session was set to start, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, at an all-party meeting, said the Budget session will mainly be devoted to the financial business relating to Interim Union Budget for the year 2024-25 and discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.

However essential legislative and other business may also be taken up during this session.

The all-party meeting was attended by 45 leaders from 30 political parties.

He also informed that Supplementary Demands for Grants for the Year 2023-24 in respect of the Union Government will be discussed and voted on.

The presentation and discussion on the Interim Budget of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024-25 along with Supplementary Demands for Grants of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the financial year 2023-24 will also be taken up.