At 56 minutes, Nirmala Sitharaman's shortest budget speech ever
New Delhi (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday presented her sixth consecutive budget with a speech lasting 56 minutes, her shortest-ever.
Dressed in a turquoise-coloured embroidered Kantha silk saree, as Sitharaman delivered her speech it was lauded at regular intervals by the treasury benches -- her remarks on the presentation of the full budget by "our government" in July receiving the loudest cheer.
The opposition members listened to Sitharaman's budget speech with rapt attention, barring some voices of disapproval to the minister's reference to her government returning to power after the Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier, BJP members raised slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Siya Ram as Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Lok Sabha chamber and took his seat a few minutes before 11:00 am.
At 56 minutes, it was Sitharaman's shortest budget speech. She also holds the distinction of delivering the longest budget speech at two hours and forty minutes in 2020.
In 2019, as India's first full-time woman finance minister, Sitharaman's budget speech had lasted for two hours and 17 minutes. In 2021, her speech lasted for one hour and 50 minutes, followed by 92 minutes in 2022 and 87 minutes in 2023.
Sitharaman's budget speech found no mention of Tamil poets and thinkers unlike previous occasions, but she referred to Prime Minister Modi at least eight times and quoted from his speeches.
The public galleries saw thin attendance with a few Rajya Sabha members occupying seats in Gallery 2, while relatives of Finance Minister Sitharaman Krishnamurthy Lakshminarayan and Vidya Lakshminarayan and her daughter Vangmayi Parakala were seated in the first row of Gallery 3.
Sitharaman, Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad, and top officers from the Finance Ministry called on President Droupadi Murmu before presenting the Budget.
The President gave Sitharaman a spoonful of curd and sugar and extended her best wishes for the presentation of the Union Budget.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman coined new expansion of FDI First, Develop India and for GDP Governance, Development and Performance.
"Besides delivering on high growth in terms of Gross Domestic Product, the government is equally focused on a more comprehensive 'GDP', i.e., 'Governance, Development and Performance'," Sitharaman said.
In 2019, Finance Minister Sitharaman did away with the traditional Budget briefcase and instead went for a 'bahi-khata' with the national emblem to carry the speech and other documents on a tablet computer, a tradition she stuck to on Thursday.
JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan 'Lalan' Singh, whose party re-joined the NDA last week, was seen applauding the budget speech on regular occasions.
The prime minister walked up to Sitharaman at the conclusion of her speech and congratulated her for the presentation of the interim budget.
Several ministers were also seen congratulating Sitharaman after her speech.
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India describes attack on Fujairah 'unacceptable'
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday described the wounding of three Indians in an attack on the United Arab Emirates' port city of Fujairah as "unacceptable" and pressed for an immediate cessation of hostilities targeting innocent civilians.
New Delhi's reaction came a day after the Indians were injured after a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil industry zone in Fujairah. The UAE had accused Iran of carrying out the strike.
"The attack on Fujairah that resulted in injury to three Indian nationals is unacceptable," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians," the spokesperson said.
Jaiswal said India continued to stand for dialogue and diplomacy to deal with the situation so that peace and stability could be restored across West Asia.
"We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. India stands ready to support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of issues," he said.
The attack on Fujairah city came as the ceasefire between the US and Iran came under strain in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas pass, remains a major sticking point in the talks. Shipping through the narrow Gulf waterway has been severely disrupted by the conflict, triggering a sharp increase in oil prices and energy shortages in several countries.
The UAE's defence ministry on Monday said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.
The ministry affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country."
