Indian economy grew by 6.3 per cent during the second quarter of fiscal 2017-18 spanning July-September, a strong improvement from the 5.7 per cent growth in the first quarter.
The Union Budget for 2017-18 was announced by Mr Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance, Government of India, in Parliament on February 1, 2017. Budget 2017-18 contains three major reforms: advancement of date of presentation, merger of railway budget with general budget, done away with Plan and non-Plan expenditure.
During the period between April 2016 and March 2017, the Government of India continued its active diplomacy focused on enhancing India’s security, strengthening our partnerships, building influence in global forums and promoting and facilitating India’s economic transformation. The basic underpinnings of the strategy outlined by the government in the first few months in office were pursued with renewed energy and vigour, building upon the gains accomplished in previous years and creating new directions for the growth and expansion of India’s foreign policy.
The period between April 2015 and March 2016 saw renewed energy, vigour, and planning in India’s engagement with the rest of the world. The Government built further on the foreign policy priorities it had defined during its first few months in office, to achieve concrete results in a number of areas. There were elements of both continuity and change, as foreign policy acquired greater visibility not just internationally but also domestically.
India’s foreign policy pursues an active interaction with the international community to meet our key goals, including the national economic transformation, ensuring national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and addresses our key regional and global concerns. India deepened its engagement with all of its neighbours and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. We strengthened and expanded the economic and political foundations of strategic partnerships such as those with the US, Russia, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, European Union and its key member countries including France, UK and Germany. We sustained our engagement with our extended neighbourhood, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), West Asia and the Gulf states. India strengthened new fora for stronger ties with Africa including through development partnership programmes. We maintained an active voice in international organizations and articulated independent positions in emerging areas of international public policy.