Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the general budget in Parliament on February 1. The Budget session of Parliament begins on January 28 with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses.
In a culture where children take up the profession of their father, her becoming a politician was seen as natural and acceptable.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
'Mark had such a profound understanding of India, which was, of course, the land of his birth as well as of his death... He loved India, and lived two-thirds of his life here.'
He chose what was best for India, not for himself. Few can deny that when god took Shastri away so soon, they did India an injustice, points out Harishchandra.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
The last rites of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Shivraj Patil were performed with full state honours in his home district, Latur, in Maharashtra on Saturday, with many top leaders in attendance.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections.
10 things you must know about the most famous foreign correspondent in India who made Bharat his home.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to build the Babri Masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel prevented it. He also lauded Patel's contributions and criticized Nehru's approach to national issues.
Congress, AAP, and Patidar leaders in Gujarat have criticized MNS chief Raj Thackeray for his comments about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, demanding a ban on his entry to Gujarat and an FIR against him.
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
In seniority in the BJP leadership team, V K Malhotra, who passed into the ages this week, was next only to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh, notes Sudhir Bisht.
The Supreme Court's opinion on the presidential reference can impact on any number of cases if and when governors, if not the President, take a literary view of the Supreme Court's 'ppinion' on their 'discretionary powers' without reference to the rider on 'reasonable time', points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
When Kamini Kaushal passed away at 98, she missed being a centenarian by just two years. But there is very little else that she missed out on in her long, rich, creatively fulfilling life.
'JP opened up about all the betrayals, the betrayal of the Jan Sangh and the RSS, how they ganged up with Sanjay Gandhi and pulled down the Morarji Desai government, how they destroyed the Janata Party.'
Nehru, India's longest-serving prime minister (1947-63), addressed the nation 17 times from the Red Fort. India's second prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri delivered speeches from the Red Fort ramparts for two Independence Days in 1964 and 1965.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray warned Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis against making Hindi compulsory in schools, threatening to shut them down. He accused the government of testing the people's response to eventually attach Mumbai to Gujarat.
Here is the timeline of the Emergency that lasted for 21 months, which is considered as the darkest period in the history of Independent India.
BJP strategists are missing something somewhere, and they have not acknowledged it, to be able to repair it in good time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
"My interview was on March 21, 1977. That was the day the Emergency was revoked. Revoked! So, I go in for an interview at Shahjahan Road... First person that morning," recalls Jaishankar, now 70.
Vice President V V Giri's resignation in 1969 triggered political upheavals that saw the ruling party defy its own presidential nominee, the expulsion of a sitting prime minister by her party president, and a historic split in the Indian National Congress, recounts Utkarsh Mishra.
The theme for this year is "Yoga for One Earth, One Health" echoes India's vision of global wellness.
On that fateful day, Narayan, popularly known as JP and a fierce critic of the then-Indira Gandhi government, addressed a massive gathering at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.
The 21-month-long Emergency also saw the government amend the Constitution several times, including to keep the elections to the offices of President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Speaker beyond the scrutiny of courts and insert the words 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' in the Preamble.
'Skirmishes with officials in the Press Information Bureau were an everyday affair as the newspapers sought clearances from the media censors for publishing the next day's editions'
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will present a record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the Budget for 2024-25, her 7th straight presentation surpassing the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai. This is the first Budget during Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's third term in office.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was the third American leader to visit India during which a village in Haryana was named Carterpuri in his honour.
During Emergency Indira Gandhi acquired absolute power. Lakhs of political opponents, students, activists were arrested.
Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Monday said that he and nephew Ajit Pawar are together as a family, but made it clear that the latter was heading a different political party.
Amid suspense over Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s prime ministerial face for the 2024 general elections, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the 1977 Lok Sabha polls were fought by the opposition without projecting Morarji Desai as the PM candidate.
Morarji Desai was 81 when he was elected prime minister and ruled India for two years, from March 1977 to July 1999.
Kangana Ranaut's decline as an actor feels complete, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
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