‘To spur growth’: Nirmala Sitharaman on PM Modi’s Atamanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday laid out the contours of the Rs 20 lakh crore financial package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

“Essentially, this is to spur growth and build a self-reliant India. That is why it is called Atma Nirbhar India,” Sitharaman said at a press conference.

“This package is focussed on five pillars - economy, infrastructure, technology driven systems, demography and demand. Accordingly, the focus will be what can be identified as factors of production - land, labour, liquidity and law,” she added.

The Finance Minister said that today’s announcement is in line with PM Modi’s vision. “In his address, the Prime Minister didn’t mean isolated India, but a confident India,” said Sitharaman.

A day before Sitharaman’s address, the finance minister had said on Twitter that “this shall not be just a financial package, but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the nation and announced that the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package will infuse vitality into the economy and benefit all sections of the society from the migrant labourers to big businesses. He said the details of the package will be made public by the finance minister in the coming days.

The prime minister described it as “a special economic package that will serve as an important link to the ‘Self-reliant India Campaign (Aatma nirbhar Bharat)’”. The relief package amounts to roughly 10% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) he said.