“The electorate transcended the boundaries of caste, creed, region and religion to come together and vote decisively in favour of ‘Development through Good Governance’,” he said.

Newly-elected Lok Sabha members and those belonging to the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Modi, his cabinet colleagues, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders heard the 50—minute speech with rapt attention interspersed by occasional thumping of desks.

The President said putting the economy back on track is paramount.

The government will put it back into a high growth path, rein in inflation, reignite the investment, accelerate job creation and restore the confidence of the domestic and international community.

“My government will create a policy environment which is predictable, transparent and fair. It will embark on rationalisation and simplification of the tax regime to make it non-adversarial and conductive to investment, enterprise and growth.

“My government will make every effort to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) while addressing the concerns of states. Reforms will be undertaken to enhance the ease of doing business. My government will follow a policy of encouraging investments, including through FDI, which will be allowed in sectors that help create jobs and assets,” Mukherjee said.

On the foreign policy, the President said while the government was committed to work towards building a peaceful, stable and economically inter—linked neighbourhood, “we will never shy away from raising issues of concern to us at a bilateral level.

“We emphasise that the future of shared prosperity can only be built on the foundation of stability in the region, which requires sensitivity to security concerns and an end to export of terrorism to neighbours.”
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