Nirmala Sitharaman

During the Amritkal, marking 100 years of India's Independence in 2047, Sitharaman highlighted the focus on sunrise industries and the impact of the Modi government's FDI policy, which attracted USD 595 billion in the last 9 years.

Sitharaman emphasized India's position as the world's second most sought-after manufacturing destination and credited the Make in India program and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's schemes for the sector's significant 13.9% contribution to the economy. She underscored the growth across all sectors, pointing to the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in November, which stood at 56, indicative of sustained expansion.

"It is important for all governments to know how to deter smuggling and activities which are endangering our wild fauna and flora. Deterrence is what is going to help, and in which we are at an advantage as enforcement agencies because of the advantage of technology," she said while addressing the Global Conference on Cooperation in Enforcement Matters organised by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

The G20 has committed to pursue reforms for better, bigger and more effective MDBs to address global challenges to maximise developmental impact, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman added, while addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

"Today, we're able to send most of the benefits directly to the bank accounts of citizens. After the introduction of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), the government was able to save Rs one lakh crore in just one of the provinces in India through direct benefit transfer," she told dignitaries, while addressing the summit for the New Global.

Addressing a G7 seminar on economic policies for welfare in Niigata, Japan, the Finance Minister shared that technology improves access for the poor to markets and basic services. She further highlighted that access to digital connectivity has empowered people and there is a need to discuss ways to measure empowerment going.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday congratulated Ajay Banga, the former Indian-American head of Mastercard, on becoming the World Bank president. Banga, who was selected as the new World Bank president on Wednesday, had most recently served as vice chairman at General Atlantic.

The Union Minister, who arrived in Incheon earlier in the day to attend the annual general meeting of ADB, met Asakawa on the sidelines of the event, official sources said. Sitharaman also expressed support to ADB for innovative financing mechanisms to enhance the lending capacity of the bank.