President Murmu to address joint session of Parliament today

President Droupadi Murmu will address both Houses of Parliament on Friday, marking the beginning of the Budget Session. 

The President will address the joint sitting at 11 a.m. After her address, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha separately.

The survey will provide an official assessment of the performance of the economy in the ongoing financial year, and list out the challenges being faced by the nation.

The Indian economy is projected to expand by 6.6 per cent in 2025, primarily supported by robust private consumption and investment, according to a United Nations report

According to the Parliamentary Bulletin, the Budget Session will be in two phases. The first part of the Budget session of the Parliament will begin on January 31, with the Union Budget on February 1, and conclude on February 13.

The second part of the Budget Session will commence on March 10 and will conclude on April 4. “Discussions are scheduled for February 3, 4, and 6, with the reply set for February 6, provisionally allotted for discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address to be moved by a Member and seconded by another Member,” the bulletin read.

Minister Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday (February 1) for the eighth consecutive time.

Sixteen Bills, including the Finance Bill 2025, amendments to the Waqf and Banking Regulations Act, and the merging of the Indian Railways and Indian Railways Board Acts, will be tabled in the Budget Session.

Among the 13 other Bills likely to be tabled in this session are amendments to the Disaster Management and Oilfields (Regulation and Development) laws. Bills dealing with coastal and merchant shipping and another seeking to rename the Institute of Rural Management Anand as the Tribhuvan Sahkari University and declare it 'an institution of national importance' may also be presented.

Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju appealed to the opposition for cooperation in holding smooth discussions in both Houses during the upcoming session. "In the last two sessions, there was some hungama in Parliament which created a poor image of our Parliament. I want to appeal to Opposition leaders and other MPs to take part and hold discussions in Parliament during the session. If the Opposition allows the Parliament to run, then discussions can happen easily," he said.