12:20 p.m. IST: The President has ended his address.
12:07 p.m IST: President Pranab Mukherjee said that the government had fulfilled the commitment to implement the four-decades-old demand of One Rank One Pension (OROP).
11:50 a.m. IST: "Highest ever increase in rail capital expenditure was achieved in 2015": President Mukherjee.
11:43 a.m. IST: "In 2015, India witnessed the highest ever generation of electricity."
11:35 a.m IST: "The Swacch Bharat mission is becoming a community movement."
11:29 a.m. IST: "My government's innovative initiatives have helped India jump 12 places in the latest rankings by World Bank on Ease of Doing Business," says President Mukherjee.
11:27 a.m. IST: Rural development is one of our top priorities," the president said. "The poorest of the poor are entitled to the first charge on the nation's resources," he said.
11:25 a.m. IST: "The Make in India initiative has achieved a 39% increase in FDI inflow despite an adverse global investment climate," Mukherjee said.
11:05 a.m.IST: President Pranab Mukherjee begins address at the joint sitting of Parliament.
"I am proud to say that the Jan Dhan Yojana is the world's most successful financial inclusion programme. About 15 crore accounts are operational," Mukherjee said, as per the Lok Sabha TV.
10:50 a.am. IST: "I wish that the Parliament session will be fruitful and there is constructive criticism as well," PM Modi said after reaching the Parliament.
"The entire country will be watching the Budget Session. The Opposition must let Parliament function, Modi said.
10:10 a.m. IST: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly expected to hold a meeting with senior ministers before the President's address that will commence the Budget Session.
The Budget Session of Parliament is set to begin Tuesday on a stormy note, with BJP leader Meenakashi Lekhi giving a notice in the Lok Sabha on the issues of the row at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and revelations made by LeT terrorist David Headley on Ishrat Jahan.
Several recent issues are likely to turn into flash points during the session, including the Arunachal Pradesh government crisis, and the the suicide of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula. In an all-party meeting last week, the BJP had agreed to discuss some of the issues and had called for smooth passing of key bills in Parliament.
Some of the important bills include the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and the Real Estate bill in the Rajya Sabha, and the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Amendment Bill in the lower house of Parliament.
"Hope the session functions properly, ready to debate on any issue raised by the Opposition," MA Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, told ANI news agency, Tuesday.
However, Congress President Sonia Gandhi gave a hint of how the discussions are likely to shape up, after she accused the BJP-led government of having "lost all sense of balance" over the JNU issue.
"First, it muzzled our voice in the Lok Sabha. Then it silenced civil society activists and organisations. Now is the turn of universities", she said at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Monday, according to the Press Trust of India.
President Pranab Mukherjee will address members of both houses in a joint sitting on Tuesday before the Budget session commences.
The Rail Budget will be presented on Feb. 25 and the General Budget will be presented on Feb. 29.
