'Trinity of democracy, demography and diversity can fulfill aspirations of every Indian'

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asserted that the BJP-led government at the Centre has worked with an approach to development that is "all-round, all-inclusive and all-pervasive" ('sarvangin', 'sarvasparshi' and 'sarvasamaveshi') and said that the trinity of "Democracy, Demography and Diversity" can help fulfil the aspirations of every Indian.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting her sixth Budget ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, said that the Indian economy has witnessed a profound positive transformation in the last 10 years.

"The next five years will be the years of unprecedented development. Trinity of democracy, demography and diversity can help fulfil the aspirations of every Indian. The Indian economy has witnessed a profound positive transformation in the last 10 years, The people of India are looking ahead to the future with hope and optimism," the Finance Minister said in her budget speech.

Stating that her government's vision of development covers all castes and people at all levels, Sitharaman said the aim is to make India a 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed Bharat) by 2047. "As our Prime Minister firmly believes, we need to focus on four major castes, they are gareeb (poor), mahilayein (women), yuva (youth) and annadata (farmers).

Their needs, their aspirations and their welfare are our highest priority," Finance Minister said while stating that the main focus of the Interim Budget stands on four pillars. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed hope that the good policies and the work done by the Central government will help the BJP return to power for the third consecutive time in a row.

"Our young country has high aspirations, pride in its present and hope and confidence for a bright future.We expect that our government based on its stupendous work will be blessed again by the people with a resounding mandate," she said.

Earlier, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Interim Budget 2024. PM Modi chaired the cabinet meeting ahead of the Interim Budget presentation in Parliament.

This is the sixth Budget presented by the Finance Minister and last in the second term of the Modi government. The interim budget will take care of the financial needs of the intervening period until a government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls. A full budget will be presented by the new government.

The Budget Session of Parliament commenced on Wednesday with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.