Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the nation for the seventh time from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day on Saturday and it will be his second speech of the second term in office.
'Whatever Modi had promised us on OROP has not been delivered. He lied to us'
The finance minister may stagger some of the recommendations.
Modi said his government has taken 'historic' decisions and the nation progressed rapidly in the last one year, even as he acknowledged that there is a lot that needs to be done and many challenges and problems face the country.
The two ministers were released from Parliament Street police station an hour later.
Presenting the Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal also said Rs 35,000 crore has been given under the One Rank One Pension scheme in the last three years.
Capex for next year expected to be up 25% to Rs 3 lakh crore
For the second successive year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Diwali with troops on Wednesday, saying the world looks at India with respect because of their valour and "character", in comments that come against the backdrop of protests by several veterans over OROP.
'An expanding army, rising salaries due to the 7th pay commission, and raised pensions due to OROP are consuming money at the cost of badly needed bulletproof jackets, rifles, artillery, submarines, warships and fighter aircraft,' notes Ajai Shukla.
The PM said that it was the BJP government which abrogated provisions of the Article 370, while the Congress was only concerned about its "personal interests".
Room for rise of up to 2 percentage points, move to help meet higher expenditure need in FY17
Veterans protesting for early implementation of One Rank, One Pension are likely to meet Modi in the last week of August.
In a marathon address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined India's unity and diversity and the progress of his 15-month-old government's policies.
When farmers are deprived of fair MSP and jawans of the OROP, it is not the right time to hike salaries/pension for MPs, said the Congress.
The government had committed to increasing spending in infrastructure
Last week, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said buying 90 less Rafale fighter jets than the 126 planned earlier would save him money to buy more Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the India Air Force.
He cautioned people against forces inside and outside India which are working against the country by targeting it and its constitutional values.
Highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on India's 69th Indepedence Day from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort.
Prasad said the Narendra Modi government was working to resolve the OROP issue and will do it.
The next general election is more than three years away. Yet, the Centre appears to be reluctant to take any bold move that might annoy influential sections of the electorate.
The cross-Line of Control surgical strikes, policy towards Pakistan, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, besides One Rank, One Pension and the plight of farmers were also among issues that were raised at the meeting with parties demanding discussion on them.
These people don't know that time has changed and they should not treat people as fools, Modi said.
'He consulted widely, both formally and informally and acted quickly on pragmatic suggestions.' 'To his credit, Parrikar took the initiative to reduce excessive litigation against armed forces veterans and widow over small sums of pensionary and disability benefits,' points out says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Apparently targeting Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Rahul Gandhi on Friday dubbed it as an "intolerant non-state actor" "controlling" the Narendra Modi government and said the prime minister cannot see it.
"The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said.
Rediff.com does a quick checklist on what the two manifestos have to say on hot-button issues of the day.
Government's effective supply-side measures and commendable commitment to fiscal consolidation will have a salutary impact on inflation, says the RBI report.
Targeting parties who are opposing the note ban, he claimed some people are upset as his decision has struck the "ring leader of thieves".
Implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, One Rank, One Pension are the other triggers going ahead, analysts say
RSS head Mohan Bhagwat will be present through the exercise in which issues like census figures and OROP are likely to come up for discussion.
"Our armed forces have shown utmost restraint in tackling terrorists in Kashmir Valley despite grave provocations," he said in his address on the All India Radio on the eve of Independence Day.
The recommendations will benefit 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.
President Pranab Mukherjee addressed a joint session of Parliament ahead of the budget session which began on Tuesday. Here are the highlights of President Pranab Mukherjee's speech:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government is committed to implement the One Rank, One Pension scheme for ex-servicemen, but sought time to resolve its complexities.
Presiding over the meeting of the Congress Working Committee in the absence of party chief Sonia Gandhi, the party vice president charged that, "hiding behind the cloak of national security, civil society is being intimidated for asking questions."
Close friend Tarun Vijay pays tribute to the four-time Goa chief minister and former defence minister who passed into the ages on Sunday.
Kicking off Uttar Pradesh poll campaign, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Saturday took a dig at infighting in the Mulayam Singh Yadav family and targeted the ruling Samajwadi Party as well as the Bahujan Samaj Party, saying neither party is bothered about development of the state.
'It's doubtful if serving defence personnel and their families will retain their faith in this government if such gimmicks allowing political considerations to over-ride security issues are allowed to prevail,' warns Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
"Won't you vote out a government which sullied the reputation of the abode of God," the prime minister said.
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