Union Budget 2021: Finance Minister quotes Tagore in opening remarks

The Finance Minister's statements are in context to the unprecedented pandemic situation under which the Budget was formulated. She said that the Budget was undertaken in circumstances like never before and said that what the country had endured with Covid-19 was 'Sui generis'.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted Rabindranath Tagore ahead of presenting the salient points of the Union Budget 2021 in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Union Budget 2021 in the Lok Sabha. (PTI)

"I borrow the words from Rabindranath Tagore, Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark," Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget. She recalled the joy the country experienced when the Indian cricket team won the Border-Gavaskar test series in Australia in January.

The Finance Minister's statements are in context to the unprecedented pandemic situation under which the Budget was formulated. She said that the Budget was undertaken in circumstances like never before and said that what the country had endured with Covid-19 was 'Sui generis'.

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Sitharaman spoke about the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Indian and the global economy before presenting the salient points of the Budget. She said that the government had rolled out three Atmanirbhar Bharat packages to help the economy stay afloat and that the total financial impact of all packages including measures taken by RBI was estimated to be about ₹27.1 lakh crores.

She said that the government had stretched its resources towards helping the "poorest of the poor" and that the Garib Kalyan Yojana, the three Aatma Nirbhar Bharat packages and subsequent announcements were like five mini-budgets in themselves.

Sitharaman also announced that the 2021 Budget would be a digital one.