While presenting his first full annual budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was urged, "Please sit down and read out the rest of the budget if you want." Mr Jaitley thanked Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for her concern, and said "I will, later, if needed." About 20 minutes later, he accepted the suggestion.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2015/16 is expected to grow between 8 and 8.5 percent, the Finance Minister said in his presentation to parliament.
Last year, while presenting the budget in July just months after Mr Modi and the BJP swept to power, Mr Jaitley sat down in the middle of his over-two-hour-long speech because of a back problem. He was later in the year admitted to hospital for a month; he was treated for a diabetic condition and underwent a gastric bypass procedure.
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