First session of 18th Lok Sabha from June 24; Union Budget likely in late July

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24, during which new members of the Lower House will take oath, and the Speaker will be elected, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday.

President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27 and outline the new government's roadmap for the next five years. The session will conclude on July 3.

The first three days of the first session will see the newly elected leaders taking oath and electing the Speaker of the House.

Both Houses of Parliament are expected to reconvene in the third week of July for the presentation of the Union Budget.

Nirmala Sitharaman is set to become the first finance minister to present seven consecutive Union Budgets, surpassing the record of Morarji Desai, who had presented six budgets in a row.

"First session of 18th Lok Sabha is being summoned from 24/6/24 to 3/7/24 for oath/affirmation of newly elected members, election of Speaker, President's address, and discussion thereon," Rijiju said in a post on X.

He said the 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will also commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to introduce his council of ministers to Parliament after the President's address on June 27.

The debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address is expected to see an aggressive opposition, whose strength has increased in the 543-member House, trying to corner the NDA government on various issues.

The prime minister will respond to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in both the Houses of Parliament.