From an Economic Graduate to Finance Minister of India – Know the story of Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman in her 3rd budget speech focused on capital spending which is raised to Rs 7.5 lakh crore, over 2.2 times the outlay in 2019-20 and 36% increase over last year 2021-2022.

The country is expected to grow at 9.27% in the coming year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. With a focus on four pillars of development — inclusive development, productivity enhancement, energy transition and climate action. 

The government has announced a sharp jump of 35.4% in capital expenditure to fund various infrastructure projects in 2022-23. In her Budget speech, the Finance Minister said capital investment holds the key to speedy and sustainable revival and public spending is required to take the lead.

The Budget estimates the effective capital expenditure of the Central government at Rs 10.68 lakh crore in 2022-23, making up about 4.1% of the GDP. The Centre’s spending on the capital account is being raised to Rs 7.50 lakh crore in FY23, which Sitharaman emphasised is over 2.2 times the outlay in 2019-20 and 36% increase over last year. Budget 2021-22 had allocated Rs 5.54 lakh crore for capex, which has been raised to nearly Rs 6.03 lakh crore in revised estimates. Majority of the money will be used to increase the physical and social infrastructure of the country.

In a major push for digital currency, Sitharaman stated that the digital rupee will be issued using blockchain technology by the RBI starting 2022-23. This will give a big boost to the economy, the Finance Minister added. She added that income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset shall be taxed at the rate of 30%.

Background

On 31 May 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as the finance and corporate affairs minister. She is India's first full-time female finance minister. Before entering into politics Nirmala Sitharaman worked as a salesperson at Habitat (a home decor store in London). She also served as an assistant to an Economist of Agricultural Engineers Association (UK). She has also worked as a Senior Manager (Research and Development department) for PWC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers) and at the BBC World Service. She was also a member of the National Commission for Women.

She did a Bachelor of Arts Degree in economics from Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli. In 1984, she moved to Delhi to complete her Master of Arts and M.Phil in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).