"Budget Will Lead India To A Developed Nation": Naveen Jindal To NDTV

Increasing the per capita income is an important aspect in the road to becoming a developed nation, said Industrialist Naveen Jindal today, hoping that the upcoming Budget will lead the country towards achieving this dream. In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, the Jindal Steel and Power chairman also spoke about Donald Trump taking over as President and how it may impact India-US ties.

"Nirmala Sitharaman is an experienced finance minister. She has presented many budgets. Today, the country is moving on the path of economic progress. It is expected that Budget 2025-26 will lead the country towards a developed nation in which every section will be taken care of," said Mr Jindal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown the country the vision of a developed India, added the industrialist, who is also a parliamentarian.

"The most important scale of developed India is per capita income. Increasing the income of the common people is the most important aspect. We all are working on this vision," he said.

If every citizen works keeping in mind the country's interest, then no one can stop it from becoming a developed country, he added.

Asked about the change in government in the US and what it means for the India-US business ties, he said he hopes that Donald Trump's second term will be better than the first one.

"The ties between India and America are not just based on the governments. The people-to-people relationship is also very good. Lakhs of Indian citizens work in the US, and they have played an important role in making America powerful," said Mr Jindal.

Trump will take charge on January 20, replacing Democrat Joe Biden as the president of the world's biggest economy. Highlighting that the Republican shares good relations with PM Modi, he hoped India-US ties would be strengthened under him.

"PM Modi has good relations with Donald Trump. I think India will benefit from this. I hope that the wars going on in the world will end. India and the whole world hope that with Donald Trump becoming the President again, the situation in global politics will improve," said the industrialist.

Mr Jindal also spoke about the landmark legal case that he had won in the Supreme Court, which affirmed that all Indians had the right to hoist the Indian flag on all days of the year.

"In 1993, when I hoisted the flag for the first time at my home, I was 22 years old. But the same evening, the flag was taken down. I was told we are not allowed to hoist the flag at home. I had to fight a legal battle for 10 years. On January 23, 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that hoisting the flag is a constitutional right of an Indian citizen," he said.

The industrialist said this paved the way for every Indian to hoist the flag. "Today, people hoist the flag at various places across the country, in slums, on shops...We formed the Flag Foundation of India to popularise this idea," he told NDTV.