Ilkal saree worn by Nirmala Sitharaman on Budget day was hand-woven in Karnataka
The maroon colour saree that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman wore while presenting the Union Budget on Wednesday is Karnataka's Dharwad region's hand-woven 'Ilkal' silk saree with traditional 'Kasuti' work.
The maroon colour saree that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman wore while presenting the Union Budget on Wednesday is Karnataka's Dharwad region's hand-woven 'Ilkal' silk saree with traditional 'Kasuti' work. Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, wore Dharwad region's hand-woven 'Ilkal' silk saree with traditional 'Kasuti' work. (REUTERS)
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Kasuti is a traditional form of folk embroidery craft, with a geographical indication (GI) tag, said to be unique to Dharwad region.
The hand-made kasuti work generally includes embroidery work of chariots, elephants, temple 'gopura', peacocks, deer, and lotus.
The one worn by the Finance Minister is said to have had works of chariots, peacocks, and lotus on it. The heavy silk (800 gm) saree was designed by 'Arathi Crafts' owned by Arati Hiremath in Dharwad.
Stating that they had received a request for sarees in December, Hiremath said, "We were happy that the saree was for Nirmala Sitharaman maam, but did not know about the occasion, we had sent two Kasuti sarees.
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Stating that they had received a request for sarees in December, Hiremath said, "We were happy that the saree was for Nirmala Sitharaman maam, but did not know about the occasion, we had sent two Kasuti sarees.
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This morning, we saw on TV that she was going to Parliament to present the budget wearing the saree we'd designed. We are very happy."
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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