E-Paper
FDI to GDP: FM Sitharaman lends economic jargon a twist
During the speech of the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharman, Two acronyms stood out as they played on economic terms — FDI and GDP
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman peppered her shortest ever Budget speech on Thursday morning with a familiar dose of acronyms, catchphrases, alliteration and wordplays, in a bid to unravel complex financial and economic jargon and hook the electorate ahead of the general elections this summer.
Two acronyms stood out as they played on economic terms — FDI and GDP.
Sitharaman expanded the first, which in economic parlance stands for Foreign Direct Investment, as “First Develop India” and used it to stress the government’s increased focus on state investment and foreign treaties to bolster the economy, especially compared to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments.
“The FDI inflow during 2014 to 2023 was $596 billion marking a golden era. That is twice the inflow between 2005 to 2014. To encourage sustained foreign investment, we are negotiating bilateral investment treaties with our foreign partners in the spirit of ‘First Developed India’,” the finance minister said during her 58-minute address.
Short and popular names and titles of government initiatives aimed at the public, have been a trademark of the Modi government.
The finance minister then referred to GDP, which conventionally stands for Gross Domestic Product, as Governance, Development and Performance.
“Besides delivering on high growth in terms of Gross Domestic Product, the Government is equally focused on a more comprehensive ‘GDP’ — ’Governance, Development and Performance’,” she said.
Read here: Interim Budget: ‘GDP’, ‘FDI’ have a bold, new meaning for Nirmala Sitharaman
Delivering her sixth Budget address, Sitharaman turned to alliteration as well.
She described the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) approach to development as sarvaangeen, sarvasparshee and sarvasamaaveshee — all-round, all-pervasive and all-inclusive.
That turn of phrase also extended a theme that ran through her speech — the government’s reframing of the castes to be focussed on, namely the poor, women, young people and farmers, in a bid by the BJP to counter attempts by the Opposition to call for a nationwide caste census and drum up support on Mandal lines.
Sitharaman also said her government was guided by the principles of “reform, perform and transform” to build consensus among stakes and stakeholders.
