LIVE: President outlines Modi Sarkar's priorities in Parliament, says greatest challenge is to fight poverty

“The surge in aspirations and the belief that these could be realised through democratic processes, has been amply reflected in the record 66.4 per cent participation by voters and a clear verdict in favour of a single political party after a gap of nearly 30 years.

“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.

The government will embark on rationalisation and simplification of the tax regime to make it “non-adversarial and conducive to investment, enterprise and growth,” the President said.

Observing that the government will make every effort to introduce GST while addressing the concerns of the states, he said “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.