Analysis: Past 5 addresses by President on Day 1 of Budget session

With several works of the incumbent government highlighted in the speech, well-known think tank PRS Legislative Research has analysed key announcements made in the President’s Address from 2019 to 2023, and their current status.

In her 90-minute-long address before the 2024 general election, President Droupadi Murmu highlighted key achievements of the government during the last 10 years. The President outlined the major policy priorities of the government in her last address before the nation enters into the election cycle. With several works of the incumbent government highlighted in the speech, well-known think tank PRS Legislative Research has analysed key announcements made in the President’s Address from 2019 to 2023, and their current status.

A) Economic Growth: India has become the 5th largest economy in the world. (2023)

India became the fifth largest economy in the world in 2021 in terms of GDP at current prices with the size further further increasing to USD 3.4 trillion in 2022. GDP growth only registered a decline between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

B) Foreign Direct Investment: FDI inflows are increasing. (2019)

> Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, Gross Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increased at a compounded annualised rate of 5.9%. 3 FDI inflows in 2022-23 were 16% lower than the previous year. Total FDI inflows for the first six months of 2023-24 (April-September 2023) were USD 33 billion, 18% lower than the FDI inflow during the same period in the previous year.

C) Tax reforms: With the implementation of GST, the concept of ‘One country, One tax, One market’ has become a reality. Steps to further simplify the GST will continue. (2019)

Parliament passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST), 2017 to implement a uniform indirect tax on similar commodities across the country. Revenue realisation for taxes subsumed under GST has been lower than in the pre-GST period. Until 2022, states were assured of an annualised growth rate of 14% in taxes subsumed under GST.

D) Foreign Exchange Reserves: Foreign Exchange Reserves are growing. (2019)

As of December 2023, foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 623 billion, up 11% than USD 563 billion reserves in December 2022. Between 2015-16 and 2022-23, foreign exchange reserves grew by 1.7 times.

A) Exports: India has become a major exporter of mobile phones. Over the last few years, the export of toys has increased by 60%, while imports have decreased by 70%. (2023)

India’s exports of mobile phones increased by 68 per cent from Rs 1,566 crore to Rs 35,696 crore (68% a year) between 2014-15 and 2021-22. Till October 2023, India has exported mobile phones worth Rs 64,823 crore. On the other hand, India’s mobile phone imports have reduced from Rs 48,609 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 6,685 crore in 2022-23.

B) Startups: The government seeks to establish 50,000 startups by 2024. (2019)

The Startup India scheme was launched in January 2016. As of January 25, 2024, 1.2 lakh startups have been recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and these recognised start-ups had self-reportedly created 10.3 lakh jobs till April 2023.

C) PLI Schemes: For the first time in the country, a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme worth about Rs 1.5 lakh crore is being implemented in 10 manufacturing sectors. (2023)

In 2020, the central government announced PLI schemes across 14 sectors involving a budgetary outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore. As of November 2023, investments of about Rs one lakh crore have been realised.151 The PLI is expected to create 60 lakh new jobs. Investments so far have led to production and sales of Rs 8.6 lakh crore and have created close to seven lakh jobs.

A) Defence Exports: Defence exports have grown by six times. (2023)

India recorded defence exports worth around Rs 16,000 crore in 2022-23, 10 times higher than the defence exports worth Rs 1,521 crore in 2016-17.

B) Modernisation: The government is rapidly taking forward the work of modernisation of the army and the armed forces. (2019)

Modernisation involves the acquisition of state-of-the-art technologies and weapons systems to upgrade. Expenditure on modernisation has ranged between 20%-25% of the country’s defense budget. In 2023-24, Rs 1,33,534 crore has been allocated towards modernisation.

C) Left-wing extremism: Left-wing extremism, which was a major threat to security in previous decades has now been confined to a few districts. (2023)

The number of districts reporting left-wing extremism (LWE) has reduced from 96 in 2010 to 45 in 2022. Between 2010 and 2022, both reported incidents, and the number of deaths of civilians and security personnel have declined.

A) Minimum Support Price (MSP): The Government decided to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report and increased the MSP to at least 1.5 times of the cost of production. (2021)

MSP is the assured price at which governments procure select agricultural produce from farmers. In the Union Budget 2018-19, the central government announced that MSP will be fixed at a minimum of 1.5 times the cost of production. For all crops, MSP has been set at least 1.5 times the A2+FL cost of production recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. A2 indicates the actual cost incurred to produce the crop, and FL indicates the cost of family labour.

B) Crop Insurance: The small farmers of the country have also benefited from the new changes in the crop insurance scheme. More than Rs. 1 lakh crore have been given as compensation to about eight crore farmers. (2022)

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was launched in 2016 to provide farmers with affordable crop insurance against non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest stage.

8.3 crore farmers were covered for the 2023 Kharif season and 4.9 crore farmers are covered for the 2023 Rabi season.

C) Free food grains to the poor: Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY), Rs 3.5 lakh crore has been spent to provide free food grains to the poor. (2023)

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was introduced in March 2020 till December 2022. 80.5 crore beneficiaries were covered under the scheme.

D) Farm laws: Three Farm laws were passed. (2021)

Three farm laws were passed by Parliament in September 2020 to assist barrier-free trade of farmers’ produce and provide a framework for contract farming. In 2021, the laws were repealed by the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021.

A) Ayushman Bharat: More than 50 crore individuals have been provided the facility of free treatment under the PM Ayushman Bharat Yojana. About 50 per cent beneficiaries are women. (2023)

The Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) provides cashless treatment of up to five lakh rupees per family per year. In India, 10.7 crore families (approximately 50 crore individuals) are covered under the scheme.

Between 2020-21 and 2022-23, 3.5 crore claims (92 per cent) out of 3.8 crore claims have been settled.

B) Medical Education: More than 260 medical colleges were opened between 2014 and 2022. The number of seats for graduate and postgraduate medical students has doubled between 2014 and 2022. (2023)

Between 2012 and 2022, the total number of medical colleges increased from 355 to 648 (83 per cent). The number of seats in undergraduate medical courses increased from 44,302 to 96,277 (117 per cent) and from 22,503 to 64,059 (185%) for post-graduate courses.

A) School dropout rates: The government has taken several initiatives such as constructing separate toilets and providing sanitary pads in government schools. This has led to a sharp reduction in the dropout rate. (2023)

Dropout rates for each level of education have reduced since 2016-17. However, they still remain high at the secondary level (12 per cent in 2021-22).

B) Higher Education: More than 300 new universities and 5,000 colleges have been set up in the past eight years (2023). Rs 37,500 crore has been sanctioned through the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) for the modernisation of 75 educational institutions (2020).

The number of registered universities increased from 667 to 1,168 (75 per cent) between 2012-13 and 2021-22. In this period, registered colleges increased from 35,525 to 45,473 (28 per cent).

A) The PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan was formulated to reduce delays in infrastructure projects. (2023)

Launched in October 202, the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan aims to integrate the development of transport infrastructure such as railways, roads, ports, waterways, and airports. As of November 2023, 845 Central Sector projects (46% of the total ongoing projects monitored) were delayed.

B) Logistics: The National Logistics Policy was launched in 2022, which seeks to reduce the cost of logistics (2023)

According to the union government, logistics cost in the country in 2021-22 was estimated to be 7.8-9% of GDP, lower than 13 per cent of GDP recorded in 2016.160. In 2023, India ranked 38th in the Logistical Performance Index (LPI), faring better than its rank in 2018 (44).

C) Air Transport: The number of airports increased from 74 in 2014 to 147 in 2022. With the help of the UDAN Yojana, India has become the third-largest aviation market. (2023)

517 routes that connect 29 airports have commenced operations. 501 routes have been canceled because airlines have shut down, or aerodromes are not ready.

D) Railway Electrification: Indian Railways is moving towards becoming the world’s largest electric network (2023)

As of December 2023, 61,508 route km have been electrified.171 This is 94% of the total broad-gauge route.

A) Housing for All: More than 11,000 houses are built every day under PMAY. Pucca houses more than 3.5 crore households. (2023)

Launched in 2015 during the first tenure of PM Narendra Modi, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme intended to provide ‘housing for all’ across urban (PMAY-U) and rural areas (PMAY-G). The government has extended the scheme till the end of 2024.

Under PMAY-U, 1.1 crore houses were to be constructed as of 2021. As of January 2024, 80 lakh (71%) houses have been completed and delivered to beneficiaries. For the PMAY-G scheme, about 2.54 crore houses have been completed (86%) till January 2024.

B) Metro Rail Network: Metro Network increased by 3 times in the last 8 years. Projects are underway in 27 cities. (2023)

The operational metro rail length has increased from 248 km in 2014 to 872 km as of August 2023 running in 20 cities (11 states/UTs).

21 project proposals are in various stages of approval across 10 states as of August 2023. Kochi and Gurugram metros have received approval.

C) Rural Road Network: Road network under PMGSY increased from 3.8 to 7 lakh km between 2013-2021. More than 99% of habitations are connected by road. (2023)

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme was launched in 2000 to connect unconnected rural areas with all-weather roads. As of March 2019, PMGSY roads accounted for 21% of the rural road network with 81% of constructed roads paved.

In her 90-minute-long address before the 2024 general election, President Droupadi Murmu highlighted key achievements of the government during the last 10 years. The President outlined the major policy priorities of the government in her last address before the nation enters into the election cycle. With several works of the incumbent government highlighted in the speech, well-known think tank PRS Legislative Research has analysed key announcements made in the President’s Address from 2019 to 2023, and their current status.

A) Economic Growth: India has become the 5th largest economy in the world. (2023)

India became the fifth largest economy in the world in 2021 in terms of GDP at current prices with the size further further increasing to USD 3.4 trillion in 2022. GDP growth only registered a decline between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

B) Foreign Direct Investment: FDI inflows are increasing. (2019)

> Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, Gross Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increased at a compounded annualised rate of 5.9%. 3 FDI inflows in 2022-23 were 16% lower than the previous year. Total FDI inflows for the first six months of 2023-24 (April-September 2023) were USD 33 billion, 18% lower than the FDI inflow during the same period in the previous year.

C) Tax reforms: With the implementation of GST, the concept of ‘One country, One tax, One market’ has become a reality. Steps to further simplify the GST will continue. (2019)

Parliament passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST), 2017 to implement a uniform indirect tax on similar commodities across the country. Revenue realisation for taxes subsumed under GST has been lower than in the pre-GST period. Until 2022, states were assured of an annualised growth rate of 14% in taxes subsumed under GST.

D) Foreign Exchange Reserves: Foreign Exchange Reserves are growing. (2019)

As of December 2023, foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 623 billion, up 11% than USD 563 billion reserves in December 2022. Between 2015-16 and 2022-23, foreign exchange reserves grew by 1.7 times.

A) Exports: India has become a major exporter of mobile phones. Over the last few years, the export of toys has increased by 60%, while imports have decreased by 70%. (2023)

India’s exports of mobile phones increased by 68 per cent from Rs 1,566 crore to Rs 35,696 crore (68% a year) between 2014-15 and 2021-22. Till October 2023, India has exported mobile phones worth Rs 64,823 crore. On the other hand, India’s mobile phone imports have reduced from Rs 48,609 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 6,685 crore in 2022-23.

B) Startups: The government seeks to establish 50,000 startups by 2024. (2019)

The Startup India scheme was launched in January 2016. As of January 25, 2024, 1.2 lakh startups have been recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and these recognised start-ups had self-reportedly created 10.3 lakh jobs till April 2023.

C) PLI Schemes: For the first time in the country, a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme worth about Rs 1.5 lakh crore is being implemented in 10 manufacturing sectors. (2023)

In 2020, the central government announced PLI schemes across 14 sectors involving a budgetary outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore. As of November 2023, investments of about Rs one lakh crore have been realised.151 The PLI is expected to create 60 lakh new jobs. Investments so far have led to production and sales of Rs 8.6 lakh crore and have created close to seven lakh jobs.

A) Defence Exports: Defence exports have grown by six times. (2023)

India recorded defence exports worth around Rs 16,000 crore in 2022-23, 10 times higher than the defence exports worth Rs 1,521 crore in 2016-17.

B) Modernisation: The government is rapidly taking forward the work of modernisation of the army and the armed forces. (2019)

Modernisation involves the acquisition of state-of-the-art technologies and weapons systems to upgrade. Expenditure on modernisation has ranged between 20%-25% of the country’s defense budget. In 2023-24, Rs 1,33,534 crore has been allocated towards modernisation.

C) Left-wing extremism: Left-wing extremism, which was a major threat to security in previous decades has now been confined to a few districts. (2023)

The number of districts reporting left-wing extremism (LWE) has reduced from 96 in 2010 to 45 in 2022. Between 2010 and 2022, both reported incidents, and the number of deaths of civilians and security personnel have declined.

A) Minimum Support Price (MSP): The Government decided to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report and increased the MSP to at least 1.5 times of the cost of production. (2021)

MSP is the assured price at which governments procure select agricultural produce from farmers. In the Union Budget 2018-19, the central government announced that MSP will be fixed at a minimum of 1.5 times the cost of production. For all crops, MSP has been set at least 1.5 times the A2+FL cost of production recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. A2 indicates the actual cost incurred to produce the crop, and FL indicates the cost of family labour.

B) Crop Insurance: The small farmers of the country have also benefited from the new changes in the crop insurance scheme. More than Rs. 1 lakh crore have been given as compensation to about eight crore farmers. (2022)

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was launched in 2016 to provide farmers with affordable crop insurance against non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest stage.

8.3 crore farmers were covered for the 2023 Kharif season and 4.9 crore farmers are covered for the 2023 Rabi season.

C) Free food grains to the poor: Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY), Rs 3.5 lakh crore has been spent to provide free food grains to the poor. (2023)

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was introduced in March 2020 till December 2022. 80.5 crore beneficiaries were covered under the scheme.

D) Farm laws: Three Farm laws were passed. (2021)

Three farm laws were passed by Parliament in September 2020 to assist barrier-free trade of farmers’ produce and provide a framework for contract farming. In 2021, the laws were repealed by the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021.

A) Ayushman Bharat: More than 50 crore individuals have been provided the facility of free treatment under the PM Ayushman Bharat Yojana. About 50 per cent beneficiaries are women. (2023)

The Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) provides cashless treatment of up to five lakh rupees per family per year. In India, 10.7 crore families (approximately 50 crore individuals) are covered under the scheme.

Between 2020-21 and 2022-23, 3.5 crore claims (92 per cent) out of 3.8 crore claims have been settled.

B) Medical Education: More than 260 medical colleges were opened between 2014 and 2022. The number of seats for graduate and postgraduate medical students has doubled between 2014 and 2022. (2023)

Between 2012 and 2022, the total number of medical colleges increased from 355 to 648 (83 per cent). The number of seats in undergraduate medical courses increased from 44,302 to 96,277 (117 per cent) and from 22,503 to 64,059 (185%) for post-graduate courses.

A) School dropout rates: The government has taken several initiatives such as constructing separate toilets and providing sanitary pads in government schools. This has led to a sharp reduction in the dropout rate. (2023)

Dropout rates for each level of education have reduced since 2016-17. However, they still remain high at the secondary level (12 per cent in 2021-22).

B) Higher Education: More than 300 new universities and 5,000 colleges have been set up in the past eight years (2023). Rs 37,500 crore has been sanctioned through the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) for the modernisation of 75 educational institutions (2020).

The number of registered universities increased from 667 to 1,168 (75 per cent) between 2012-13 and 2021-22. In this period, registered colleges increased from 35,525 to 45,473 (28 per cent).

A) The PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan was formulated to reduce delays in infrastructure projects. (2023)

Launched in October 202, the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan aims to integrate the development of transport infrastructure such as railways, roads, ports, waterways, and airports. As of November 2023, 845 Central Sector projects (46% of the total ongoing projects monitored) were delayed.

B) Logistics: The National Logistics Policy was launched in 2022, which seeks to reduce the cost of logistics (2023)

According to the union government, logistics cost in the country in 2021-22 was estimated to be 7.8-9% of GDP, lower than 13 per cent of GDP recorded in 2016.160. In 2023, India ranked 38th in the Logistical Performance Index (LPI), faring better than its rank in 2018 (44).

C) Air Transport: The number of airports increased from 74 in 2014 to 147 in 2022. With the help of the UDAN Yojana, India has become the third-largest aviation market. (2023)

517 routes that connect 29 airports have commenced operations. 501 routes have been canceled because airlines have shut down, or aerodromes are not ready.

D) Railway Electrification: Indian Railways is moving towards becoming the world’s largest electric network (2023)

As of December 2023, 61,508 route km have been electrified.171 This is 94% of the total broad-gauge route.

A) Housing for All: More than 11,000 houses are built every day under PMAY. Pucca houses more than 3.5 crore households. (2023)

Launched in 2015 during the first tenure of PM Narendra Modi, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme intended to provide ‘housing for all’ across urban (PMAY-U) and rural areas (PMAY-G). The government has extended the scheme till the end of 2024.

Under PMAY-U, 1.1 crore houses were to be constructed as of 2021. As of January 2024, 80 lakh (71%) houses have been completed and delivered to beneficiaries. For the PMAY-G scheme, about 2.54 crore houses have been completed (86%) till January 2024.

B) Metro Rail Network: Metro Network increased by 3 times in the last 8 years. Projects are underway in 27 cities. (2023)

The operational metro rail length has increased from 248 km in 2014 to 872 km as of August 2023 running in 20 cities (11 states/UTs).

21 project proposals are in various stages of approval across 10 states as of August 2023. Kochi and Gurugram metros have received approval.

C) Rural Road Network: Road network under PMGSY increased from 3.8 to 7 lakh km between 2013-2021. More than 99% of habitations are connected by road. (2023)

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme was launched in 2000 to connect unconnected rural areas with all-weather roads. As of March 2019, PMGSY roads accounted for 21% of the rural road network with 81% of constructed roads paved.