The Finance Minister quoted Swamiji in her maiden Budget speech.
AgenciesNirmala Sitharaman reiterated that India's tradition is steeped in "Nari tu Narayani.
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a stellar Budget debut as she presented the vision of the second term of the Narendra Modi government. With the Indian economy expected to reach $3 trillion this year, the 59-year-old FM began her speech with the call for "reform, perform and transform", saying that the Government had proved that the three aspects can together lead to success. Invoking Swami Vivekananda an hour into her speech, she reiterated that India's tradition is steeped in "Nari tu Narayani" (Oh, woman, you are a goddess). She recalled Swamiji's words to his mentor and guru, Sree Ramkrishna Deb, that "there is no chance of welfare in the world unless the condition of women in India is improved."
Sitharaman stressed on how women can play a crucial role in improving the financial status of rural India, and how their contribution has been significant in every segment. To empower women financially, Sitharaman announced an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000 for all verified women self help groups (SHG) member with a Jan Dhan bank account.
Batting for gender equality, she underlined that the Government's motive is to ensure greater women participation which will lead to the country's development. To this front, she promised to create a broad-based committee - comprising public and private members - to evaluate and suggest ways to encourage and facilitate women participation. Pointing out the record number of BJP MPs in the House - the party has 78 members - she said that the Government wants to go beyond just women-centric policy making to building women-led initiatives. By making recurring references to 'minimum government, maximum governance', Sitharaman hailed the Modi government for making it an inclusive society, and said that the regime had managed to restore the dignity of women by ensuring that every home has a toilet.
She further proposes to expand SHG to all districts and said one woman in every SHG will get loan of up to Rs 1 lakh under Mudra Yojana. Another reform announced was SHG interest subvention programme in all districts.
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Narendra Modi (top) and Smriti Irani (centre bottom) applauded for the FM as she suggested ways to encourage and facilitate women participation.
"It is not possible for a bird to fly with one wing. Similarly, it is not possible for the country to succeed without women participation. Government wishes to encourage and facilitate the role of women in India," she added.
Sitharaman further said that the Government will streamline multiple labour laws into a set of four labour codes. She also said that in order to attract foreign students in India for higher education, the Government will launch a 'Study in India' programme that will include training of skill set, languages to enable the youth with better job opportunities.
She also said that the Modi 2.0 rule will focus on developing new-age skills like artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, big thinking, 3D printing, virtual reality and robotics for helping people get higher remuneration.
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Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Modi government had proved that 'reform, perform and transform' can together lead to success.
Quoting an Urdu couplet, "Yakeen ho to koi raasta nikalta..." (when there is hope, there is a way), she reiterated that India Inc is India's primary job creator and wealth creator. Sitharaman quoted a former business tycoon who once asserted that he always aligns his company's growth with the country's. Saying this, she expressed happiness on the fact that India Inc now understands 'Make in India', which before independence was known as 'Swadeshi'.
The FM said that the government plans to create - Gandhipedia (modelled on the lines of an Encyclopedia on Gandhi) to promote Gandhian values.
Rahul (L) and Sonia Gandhi (R) from the opposition party were seen keenly listening to Sitharaman's Budget speech.
Indian economy is now the sixth largest in the world, a jump from the its 11th position in 2014, the FM added.
Earlier today, the FM was seen headed to Parliament dressed in a purple-ish pink saree with gold 'zari', and matching blouse. She defied convention by ditching the black briefcase. Instead, she chose to carry the Budget documents in a red cloth with an emblem embossed on it. The four-fold cloth was tied with a yellow-red string in a bow. She was accompanied by MoS Anurag Thakur, CEA K Subramanian, and other bureaucrats from the finance ministry.
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In 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman's unusual choice for carrying her Budget documents caught everyone's attention.
Speaking about the FM's unusual choice for carrying the Budget papers, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said, "Keeping Budget documents in the red cloth is in Indian tradition. It symbolises our departure from slavery of Western thought. It is not a Budget, but a 'bahi khata' (ledger)", he added.
In the history of independent India, Sitharaman is the second woman FM after Indira Gandhi.
Rewind The Budget Clock: From Nirmala Sitharaman To James Wilson
India's first-ever Budget was presented before Independence by the man who went on to launch what is now known as the Standard Chartered Bank. The maximum number of Budgets have been presented by Morarji Desai. Here's a look at some other facts about the Union Budget.
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