 "PM Narendra Modi arrives for the BJP parliamentary party meeting at Parliament House in New Delhi on Thursday | Photo: PTI")
In the first Parliamentary meeting of the winter session on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the crucial role of the ongoing "Viksit Bharat" campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) electoral strategy in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls. PM Modi urged party lawmakers to actively participate and ensure the campaign's success, emphasising the pro-incumbency theme and India's development.
Having delivered on key poll promises, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the abolition of triple talaq, and the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the BJP, under Modi's leadership, has shifted its focus to a "pro-incumbency" narrative. The party aims to engage voters with a vision to transform India into a developed country by 2047. The government has initiated a nationwide campaign to ensure the timely delivery of welfare initiatives.
PM Modi urged party lawmakers to actively contribute to making the 'Viksit Bharat' campaign a grand success, stating, "Today, citizens of India are moving forward, and people of the country want to maintain this momentum. There is no going back from this now. And Modi can never accept this retreat. I call upon every youth of the country to become the ambassador of a developed India."
In a written reply, Union Minister Jitendra Singh highlighted the launch of the "Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra" to create awareness about benefits and facilities available to citizens, ensuring last-mile delivery.
India's economic growth under PM Modi
Also Read
On the same day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the Rajya Sabha and emphasised India's economic growth and development under the Modi administration. She declared that India was the fastest-growing economy in the world and achieved the highest global growth rate in the second quarter of the ongoing financial year (Q2FY24). The manufacturing sector also recorded its highest growth of 13.9 per cent, credited to PM Modi's "Make in India" initiative and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes.
She highlighted India's robust export performance, surpassing expectations, and touts India as the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. Mobile phone exports for FY23 surpassed $10 billion, the FM stated. She added that despite a drop in consumption and demand from Western nations, India's exports recorded a 9.43 per cent year-on-year growth in October at $62.26 billion.
Direct tax collection has also seen significant growth, with monthly GST collections stabilising at Rs 1.6 trillion, indicating economic growth. She also informed that youth unemployment (between ages 15-29 years) had declined to 10 per cent in 2022-23 from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18, while the youth labour force participation rate (LFPR) expanded from 38.2 per cent to 44.5 per cent in the same period.
General Elections 2024
Despite this economic success, Sitharaman stated there would be no "spectacular announcements" in the upcoming budget. She added that the government may pass a vote-on-account to meet expenses as the party would campaign for the general elections. This statement accentuates the FM's confidence in the Modi government's success.
