Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the new generation GST reforms have showcased the readiness of citizens to respond to governments who are responsive toward them. Addressing the 12th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave in Mumbai this afternoon, Mrs. Sitharaman said every sector recorded a positive response right from day one.
Talking about the conclave’s theme: ‘‘India’s Quest for Self-Reliance in a Fragmented World Order’, the finance minister said AtmaNirbarta is not about isolation but its an idea of resilient interdependence and integration with global value chains. Mrs. Sitharaman said India needs to achieve economic, social, technological, strategic and environmental self-reliance to build a Viksit Bharat through an AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
Talking about economic self-reliance, Mrs. Sitharaman said banks have helped in democratising finance by reaching out to citizens at grassroot level. Lauding the banking system’s efforts for ensuring financial inclusion, the minister said the economy becomes robust as more and more citizens become a part of the financial ecosystem. She added that India’s exports under Production-Linked Incentive -PLI schemes have surpassed 61 billion USD in March this year while also creating 12 lakh direct and indirect job opportunities.
On social self-reliance, Mrs. Sitharaman said India has been successful in uplifting more than 25 crore people from multidimensional poverty by adopting the idea of empowerment rather than patronage. She said focus on creating infrastructure has not been limited to building roads, metros and ports but also digital public infrastructure. She informed that while 47 lakh crore rupees have been passed on to beneficiaries through DBT, the government has been able to save and reinvest 4.31 lakh crore rupees in the past 11 years.
On technological self-reliance, Mrs. Sitharaman said data sovereignty is a focus area and hence preference is being given to indigenous R&D, adding that the recent launch of one lakh crore rupees RDI Scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will boost private-led innovation.
Stating that India currently has more than 116 crore mobile subscribers, primarily because data rates have been brought down from 300 to just ten rupees per GB in the past 11 years. She said the digital divide is being bridged literally to the last person, adding that DD played an important role by producing 200 special education programmes during COVID pandemic.
Talking about strategic self reliance, the finance minister said India is emerging as a Vishwa Mitra. She said indigenous defense production and export have been prioritized, leading to India’s defence exports reaching a record 23,622 crore rupees in the financial year 2024-25.
Speaking about environmental self-reliance, Mrs Sitharam said it is important not only for increasing the country’s green cover but also for ensuring energy security.
