Nirmala Sitharaman

Ms Sitharaman lauded the role of Self Help Groups (SHGs) who are positively impacting the lives of crores of women in the rural areas making 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme a success.

"Indian economy witnessed profound positive transformation in the last 10 years," said Sitharaman, while presenting Budget 2024 in the Parliament

The Indian economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has witnessed a profound transformation in the last 10 years when the government took several pro-people reforms that were structural, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday, as she rose to present the interim Budget for 2024-25. 

The interim budget will take care of the financial needs of the intervening period until a government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls. A full budget will be presented by the new government.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman voiced her concerns about the repression of religious festivities and the infringement of Hindus' rights by the DMK-led state government.

ISIS-backed magazine called for fundraising via privacy cryptocurrency Monero.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking special grants.

Sitharaman questioned the credibility of the Congress leader who labelled the voters as 'demons'. "How can the one who called voters 'demon' go in front of voters and ask for their votes?" she asked.

“We realised that the banking sector needs to be healthy and therefore we took a lot of measures. Banks are able to work without political interference, they are working with professional integrity. 'Banks mein failaya hua aapka raita hum saaf kar rahe hai’,” Minister Sitharaman said. 

Citing widespread reportage on Opposition MPs losing their status and Muslim minorities being subjected to violence, Adam Posen questioned if these 'perceptions' had any impact on India's capital flows.