PM Narendra Modi Highlights Lack of “Foreign Influence” Disrupting Budget Session Ahead of 2025 Union Budget
New Delhi, 31st January 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his traditional address before the start of the Budget Session on Friday, January 31, highlighted that for the first time in a decade, there has been no foreign influence attempting to disrupt the Parliament session, indirectly taking a jibe at the Opposition.
“This may be the first time since 2014 that there’s been an attempt to create unrest in a foreign country just a day before the session begins,” PM Modi remarked. “For the past 10 years, before every session, there were people ready to cause trouble, and it’s evident that there’s no shortage of individuals looking to escalate tensions here,” he added.
The Prime Minister emphasized that India is progressing with a sense of purpose and “mission mode.” “Our growth strategy is driven by innovation, inclusion, and investment—these pillars have shaped our economic roadmap,” Modi said, speaking at the Parliament complex on the eve of the 2025 Union Budget’s presentation.
Modi expressed confidence that this Budget session will inspire renewed confidence and energy to help achieve the vision of a “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India) by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence.
“I believe this session will meet the hopes and expectations of the nation,” Modi said.
The Budget Session, starting January 31, will be held in two phases, concluding on April 4. The first phase will end on February 13, with the two Houses reconvening after a recess on March 10, before adjourning on April 4.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget for 2025 on Saturday, February 1. With this, she will become the only finance minister to present the budget eight times consecutively. The record for the most budget presentations, however, belongs to former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented 10 budgets across two separate periods: six during his tenure as finance minister from 1959 to 1964, and four more between 1967 and 1969.
