On the eve of the Union Budget’s presentation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the unstable global economic outlook and said that India’s Budget would attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of common citizens, adding that the whole world was looking at it with hope.

Mr. Modi was making his customary remarks at the beginning of the parliamentary session on Tuesday, which kicked off with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint Houses of Parliament.“Amid the unstable global economic situation, India’s Budget will not only attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens, but the ray of hope being seen by the world will also glow brighter -- for this, I firmly believe that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations,” said the PM, while addressing the media.

He cited “credible voices” from “the world of economy” and said that these had brought positive thoughts ahead of the session. He was perhaps referring to International Monetary Fund deputy managing director Gita Gopinath’s tweet on Tuesday morning, with data showing that India would remain the world’s fastest growing large economy in 2023 and 2024.

Women at the top

He also said that President Murmu’s maiden address to a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament was a matter of pride with respect to the Constitution of India, and for women’s empowerment that a daughter of India’s tribal community was taking her place at the top.

Another strike with regard to women’s empowerment was that Ms. Sitharaman would be presenting the Budget again on Wednesday, he said. “Our Finance Minister is a woman too. She will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s Budget,” said Mr. Modi.

He said that the work culture of his government has revolved around the principle of ‘India first, citizen first’, and added that he expects there to be constructive exchanges with the Opposition during this session.

The first part of the session, which began on Tuesday, will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget session, which will conclude on April 6.