Citizenship Amendment Act fulfilled Gandhiji’s dream: President Ramnath Kovind

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu s also chairing a meeting of floor leaders of Rajya Sabha at his residence on Friday.

NEW DELHI: The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on Friday with an address by President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament.

President Kovind is delivering a speech in the Central Hall of Parliament. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will also be chairing a meeting of floor leaders of Rajya Sabha at his residence today.

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The Union Budget will be presented on Saturday. The first phase of the session will conclude on February 11, while the second part of the session will begin from March 2 and end on April 3.

Ahead of the budget session of Parliament on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that both the Houses should concentrate on debating over economic issues and empowerment of people.

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Here are the highlights from the President's speech:

This will be a very significant decade for India:

• The manner and maturity in which the citizens of this country reacted and maintained peace after the Supreme Court's verdict on the Ayodhya case was commendable.
   
• My government has brought out many reform measures that have helped better India's rank on several global matrices and indicators.
   
• The Constitution of India is what will be the guiding light to all that we do this decade and beyond.
   
• The mandate my government has been given is one to create a 'New India'. That is what my government has set out to do.

My govt taking strong steps for making this decade as India's decade:

• My government has brought out many reforms that has helped to place India in a better rank on several global matrices and indicators.
• All initiatives taken by my government and schemes launched has been done to benefit the poor and marginalised, irrespective of looking into religion and caste.
• The benefits from these initiatives and schemes are being received by all sections

Kartarpur corridor:

• My government built the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in record time, dedicated it to the nation on the occasion of 550th Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
   
• Sikhs will now be able to visit the shrine of their founding guru.

Farmers welfare:

• The Government is working dedicatedly to give farmers at least 1.5 times the cost of production to the farmers of India.
• The constant hike in MSP of Rabi and Kharif crops is a step taken in this direction: President Kovind​.
• Under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers all over the country are getting their crops insured at very basic rates. Under this, farmers have been paid Rs 57,000 crore as claims. e-NAM is also showing its effects.
• 1.65 crore farmers and 1.25 lakh traders have already signed up and are trading. Trade worth Rs 90,000 crore has already taken place on this platform.

Women empowerment:

• In an attempt to beef up the security of women in India, over 600 One-Stop Centres have been opened in India.
• A national database has also been created to identify the people that crime against women.
• To treat women equally, admission of the girl child has been approved in Sainik Schools as well.
• Women are being hired in the military as well.
• To empower women, the government started the self-help groups. Over 6.60 crore women have joined these groups so far. These women have been provided with loans at very low-interest rates.

Citizenship Amendment Act good for persecuted minorities:

• Citizenship Amendment Act fulfilled Gandhiji’s dream.
• I condemn the atrocities on minorities in Pakistan, urging the world community to take cognizance of this and take necessary steps in this direction.

Government determined to achieve 5 trillion dollar economy

• My government has helped make significant headway in digitising the economy. Bank accounts and digital initiatives have ensured that there is no pilferage and the money reaches those who it is meant to reach directly. This has saved over 1,70,000 crore from going into the wrong hands last year.
   
• My government has also brought in a data protection bill to ensure that citizen's and business' data is safe and secure.

President Condemns Atrocities Against Minorities in Pakistan

• President Kovind condemns atrocities against minorities in Pakistan, urges global community to take necessary action.