Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs
WHEN NIRMALA SITHW ARAMAN TOOK over as India's finance minister in May 2019, India's growth was being squeezed by a slowdown in domestic demand and private investment. The country's GDP had been falling in consecutive quarters since the third quarter of 2016-17. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic only compounded India's woes as the country went into a stringent lockdown from March 25, 2020. India saw two successive quarters of negative GDP growth, with FY21 ending with growth contraction of 7.3 per cent. India's health infrastructure stood overwhelmed, and millions of Indians employed in its informal economy faced a crisis of livelihood. The FM was in an unenviable position. Across the world, governments were loosening their purse strings to put money in people's hands. Sitharaman, too, was expected to give a direct stimulus to the economy. Her team, however, chose a different, multipronged strategy-multiple relief package for weaker sections of society; help businesses, especially smaller ones, sustain themselves through the crisis; and focus heavily on infrastructure development to create jobs.
WHAT'S DONE
▸ ARs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced in May 2020
▸ Extended emergency credit line guarantee scheme for MSMES
▸ Reiterated commitment to National Infrastructure Pipeline envisaging an investment of Rs 108 lakh crore between 2019-20 and 2024-25
This story is from the June 06, 2022 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 06, 2022 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AAMCHI ENGLISH
You'd think its history of language politics would have nixed such a possibility.
SULTANS OF AASMAN
It's harvest season for India's charter flight operators, as eager candidates hop on to rented choppers and small aircraft with sky-high ambitions.
Music to OUR EARS
After signing a record deal with Warner Music Group, Nora Fatehi sets her sights on being a global pop star
Rebel with a CAUSE
A retrospective of revolutionary artist Gobardhan Ash showcases four decades of his practice at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity
HYBRID FORMS
Mythic Femininities at DAG Delhi brings together a well-chosen crosssection of the late GOGI SAROJ PAL'S large body of work
OUT OF THE SHADOWS
JAI MEHTA makes his directorial debut with Disney+ Hotstar's web series Lootere
MAN OF MANY PARTS
Pratik Gandhi's transition from theatre and Gujarati cinema to mainstream Bollywood is an inspirational tale
THE DUNKI REPUBLIC
Rivers flowing down from the Himalayan massifs are known to have fickle habits-they curl about, meander and, if they stray far enough, get captured by bigger river systems.
A SENSE OF DEPRIVATION
As the Uddhav Sena gets a lion's share in the MVA seat-sharing deal, discontent brews within Congress ranks over the leadership conceding three key seats
Kshatriyas Declare War on Rupala
The minister's appeasement of Dalits has upset the warrior class, who want his candidature withdrawn or they will stir trouble for the BJP in all 26 seats