The 2017 budget session of the parliament began with President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to members of both the houses on January 31. Speaking to the legislators of the country, the President said that this was a historic session heralding advancement of the budget cycle and merger of general budget with rail budget for the first time.

He praised the countrymen for going through the struggle of demonetisation and said that the resilience showed by the citizens, particularly the poor in the fight against black money and corruption was remarkable. He further said, “the core of all my government policies, is the welfare of ‘gareeb’, ‘peedit’, ‘Dalit’, ‘vanchhit’. Govt committed to growth, ‘sabka saath sabka vikaas’.” The President praised the countrymen for voluntarily giving up the LPG subsidy to help the poor. He praised the Modi government for having taken many initiatives to improve the quality of life of the poor, and the commitment to provide shelter.

Here are the highlights of the speech:

A favourable monsoon supplemented by farmer-oriented schemes has increased the acreage and yield of most Kharif crops
Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana launched for promoting entrepreneurship education and training amongst 7 lakh students. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme has been launched with a budget outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore. With motto of “Har Haath ko Hunar”, my govt has taken several steps for skilling youth & improving their employability: President Mukherjee
The revision of Maternity Benefit Act will support pregnant women at the workplace. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan will provide comprehensive ante-natal care to all pregnant women. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme is yielding encouraging results. Our women deserve equal opportunity. My government is making Nari Shakti an integral part of our development journey: President Mukherjee
Three crore Kisan Credit Cards will be converted into RUPAY debit cards soon. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana expanded ambit of risk-coverage, doubled sum insured & facilitated lowest-ever premium: President Mukherjee. My Government has taken various steps to transform the lives of our farmers. The sown area in the current Rabi season has shown six percent increase in comparison to last year: President Mukherjee
Mission Indradhanush commits to vaccinate “every child everywhere” against preventable diseases: President Mukherjee
Under Deen Dayal Upadhayay Gram Jyoti Yojana over 11,000 villages have been electrified in a record time. 37 percent of the Ujjwala beneficiaries belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: President Mukherjee
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will make clean energy accessible to the poor. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to ensure health and sanitation, particularly for the poor. My Government is committed to providing shelter to every houseless poor household through the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana. My Government has taken many initiatives to improve the quality of life of the poor: President Mukherjee
Under Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, over Rs. 16000 crores have been made available to SHGs in the current Financial Year. Over Rs 2 Lakh Crore has been provided through 5.6 crore loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana: President Mukherjee
To take the banking system to the doorstep of the poor and the unbanked, the Indian Postal Payment Bank has been started. Close to 13 crore poor have been covered under various social security scheme. An unprecedented 26 crore plus Jan Dhan accounts have been opened for the unbanked: President Mukherjee
Financial inclusion is key to poverty alleviation. My government is guided by the Antyodaya philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. At the core of all my Govt’s policies is the welfare of the garib, Dalit, peedit, shoshit, vanchit, kisan, shramik &yuva. My government salutes the strength of janashakti and pledges to constructively utilise it in Rashtra Nirman. Janashakti has transformed Swachh Bharat Mission into a jan-andolan. Resilience & forbearance demonstrated by countrymen recently in fight against black money & corruption is remarkable: President Mukherjee