The government has convened an all-party meeting on January 27 to discuss the legislative and other agendas ahead of the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will host the meeting at the main committee room of Parliament House annexe at 11 am.

Budget Session Timeline and Key Events

The Budget Session will commence on January 28 with President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. In a rare occurrence in parliamentary history, the Union Budget will be presented on February 1, which falls on a Sunday. This will mark Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth consecutive budget presentation.

Parliamentary Proceedings and Schedule

The Lok Sabha has provisionally allocated three days from February 2 to 4 for discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address. There will be no Zero Hour on January 28 and February 1, according to an internal circular.

Political Context and Campaigns

The Budget Session comes amid significant political activity, with the opposition Congress conducting a nationwide campaign against the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act. This new legislation replaces the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The ruling BJP is simultaneously running a counter campaign to highlight the new legislation as reformist and necessary to address loopholes in the previous law.

Pending Legislative Agenda

Nine bills are currently pending before the Lok Sabha, awaiting parliamentary consideration. Key pending legislation includes:

• Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025
• Securities Markets Code, 2025
• Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024

These bills are presently under scrutiny by Parliamentary Standing or Select Committees.

Global Economic Context

The Union Budget presentation will occur against the backdrop of global economic uncertainties, particularly with US President Donald Trump's tariffs having disrupted the international economic order. This context adds significance to the upcoming budget discussions and policy announcements.

India possesses unprecedented technological capabilities through platforms like Aadhaar and UPI, but achieving the Viksit Bharat vision requires fundamental changes in how governments think, plan and execute, according to NITI Aayog leadership. The constraint for transformation is no longer tools but mindset, as the country aspires to become a developed nation by the centenary of independence.

Five Critical Mindset Shifts for Government Transformation

The NITI Aayog CEO and distinguished fellow identify five essential changes required across districts, states, and central departments to translate technological capability into real outcomes.

From Silos to Scale Implementation

Innovation thrives across states but remains largely confined to pilot programs that demonstrate possibility without delivering transformation. The agriculture sector exemplifies this challenge, where hundreds of technology pilots have failed to unlock exponential gains in crop yields or farmer incomes due to fragmented deployment.

Scale requires design from day one, with platform-based approaches cutting across departments. Customization becomes crucial as farmers differ sharply in needs, capital access and technology readiness.

Data-Driven Decision Making

India currently remains data-rich but insight-poor, with stored data providing zero value until converted into intelligence for timely decisions. The risk lies in becoming suppliers of raw data while importing intelligence if governments fail to build decision-intelligence capabilities.

Essential Requirements:

• Investment in analytics capabilities
• Embedding data into core decision workflows rather than parallel dashboards
• Building data literacy among officials for judgment rather than compliance

Technology Sovereignty Development

Geopolitical environment demands non-negotiable technology sovereignty requiring long-term outlook and uncompromising commitment. True sovereignty encompasses owning critical intellectual property, shaping global standards, and controlling key supply chains.

Advanced Policy Design Integration

Governments globally move beyond digitizing services to embedding advanced technologies directly into policy design and decision-making. Digital twins now enable policy simulation and stress-testing before rollout, reducing risk and improving outcomes.

Continuous capacity development through platforms like IGOT (Integrated Government Online Training) becomes essential for ongoing learning and technology fluency across all states.

Proactive Risk Management

The most critical shift involves moving from reactive responses to anticipating risks. Today's threats extend beyond IT systems to national infrastructure, supply chains, cognitive warfare, and large-scale workforce disruption.

Emerging Risk Categories:

• Quantum-enabled security breaches
• Biosecurity challenges
• Operational risks from fragmented procurement
• Siloed data and weak institutional capacity

These represent national security and economic resilience risks requiring institutionalized continuous risk-horizon scanning.

Technology Foundation and Future Direction

India's digital public infrastructure demonstrates strength and inclusivity by design, with platforms becoming global benchmarks impacting billions of lives. However, the next phase demands end-to-end transformations across sectors to unlock exponential growth while re-engineering social landscapes for enhanced productivity and dignity.

The convergence of technological capabilities creates unprecedented opportunities to unlock enormous economic value, though it expands risk exposure at speeds governments struggle to manage. The choice remains clear: continue fragmented deployments with sub-optimal impact or re-imagine governance itself with clarity and conviction to establish foundations for truly Viksit Bharat.