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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday urged all manufactureres, producers and industrilaists to take advantage of the free trade agreement India has signed with the European Union, as the pact has thrown open a big market for them.

 

Addressing mediapersons outside Parliament, the prime minister also called upon members of Parliament to "come forward and expedite the process of decisionmaking" in the Budget Session. In a dig at the opposition, Modi said this was not the time for "interruption but for solutions".

 

"I call upon all kinds of producers, manufactureres, industrialist.. we have just signed what is being called the mother of all deals...this is an opportunity as a huge market has been thrown open," he said. "But we should not sit back and take this lightly. We must focus on quality. Good quality will win their (European customers') hearts. It forges long-term relations."

 

The prime minister said his government had already "boarded the reform express", and the whole world was looking at India as a source of inspiration. "From the age of long pending problems, the country is now moving toward slong-term solutions...our every decision is human-centric. We will go along with technology, but we won't undermine human capabilities," he said.

 

Modi noted that this would be the "first Budget of the second quarter of this century", and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would present her ninth Budget – a record for a woman finance minister in India.

 

Meanwhile, the Congress slammed the prime minister's address as a "performance". "He will not convene and chair all-party meetings to take the Opposition into confidence on national issues. He will suddenly have bills introduced and bulldozed through Parliament without the necessary legislative scrutiny," Jairam Ramesh, the party's general secretary,  wrote on X.

 

"He will not sit in Parliament and respond to the concerns of Opposition Leaders, and will instead make election rally speeches in both Houses. Before the beginning of each session, he will give his usual hypocrisy-laden 'desh ke naam sandesh' with Parliament as his backdrop. Today's performance is part of this series," he added.  End

 

Reported by Asim Khan

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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