Patriarchy did not stop Indira Gandhi from becoming PM: Nirmala Sitharaman
Bengaluru, Nov 9: If patriarchy stopped women from achieving what they want in India, how come Indira Gandhi made it as prime minister, asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
She met the students of CMS Business School here on Saturday and discussed various measures undertaken by the Centre to support innovation as well as the government schemes available for young people, including the 1 crore internships for the ‘unemployable youth’ in the age group of 21 to 24 years old.
Replying to a question about women empowerment, Sitharaman insisted that patriarchy is a concept invented by the Left.
"Don’t get carried away by fantastic jargons. If you stand up for yourself and speak logically, patriarchy will not stop you from achieving your dreams," she advised the women in the audience.
However, she admitted that women are not facilitated adequately and that more facilitation is needed.
Answering a question about the prospects of innovators in India, the finance minister said the Modi government is creating an environment that is conducive to innovators.
"We do not just support innovation by bringing out policies," she said, adding that the Indian government is doing its best to ensure that such innovations find markets too.
As an example, she cited the support mechanism that is available for MSMEs. According to her, they are given priority in government procurements.
Sitharaman said that 40 per cent of all government procurements is coming from MSMEs. "That is why we have more than 2 lakh startups today in India and more than 130 have become unicorns. The opportunity is immense but is not fully utilised," she said.
It is the same with digital banking transformation that is happening in India, she added.
According to her, opportunities were created for the common people through Jan Dhan Yojana.
"India’s approach to spreading digital networks was funded by the government, while many other countries went through private players, resulting in some nominal charges somewhere. Because of this, even micro-level users also access digital banking without having to pay for it," Sitharaman said, and added that in the future this will only grow. "Therefore, technology will have to be continuously updated so that we don’t become redundant."
She also explained the concept of the 'Fund of Funds' offered by the Small Industries Development Bank of India, which is enabled by the Central government by infusing Rs 10,000 crore to help small businesses and innovative ideas needing support.
"Private equity funds are also backing this because we have given them concessions," she added.
As for the latest government scheme offering one crore internships to the unemployable, Sitharaman urged the students present to help get the target audience on to the platform so that more youth can become skilled.
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CJI's advice to aspirant: Join the bar, become a lawyer, don't hanker for judicial services post
New Delhi (PTI): She came to the Supreme Court seeking a re-evaluation of her paper in the examination for joining judicial services as a magistrate. What she got instead was a rejection — and a candid confession by the Chief Justice that he too had wanted to join the judicial services in his youth but was advised by a senior judge to become a lawyer instead.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Friday dismissed a plea filed by Prerna Gupta, the judicial services aspirant.
As Gupta pressed her case, the CJI intervened and said, "Let me share my personal story and I hope you will go happily as we cannot allow your petition."
He recounted his time as a final-year law student in 1984 when he wanted to become a judicial officer. As per requirement, he cleared the written test and was set to appear for an interview.
Judicial services is one of the two routes to become a judge after initially joining as a magistrate in lower court and thereafter rising through the ranks to become judge in a high court and possibly the Supreme Court.
The other route is to join the Bar, which means becoming a lawyer, and after building a reputation be picked from the Bar to become a judge at a senior level.
By the time the CJI's exam results came out, he had started practising at the Punjab and Haryana High Court when he was called for the interview.
The senior-most judge on the interview panel happened to be a judge before whom he had recently argued two significant matters.
"One of the matters was Sunita Rani vs Baldev Raj, where he had allowed my appeal in a matrimonial case and set aside the decree of divorce granted by the District Judge on the ground of schizophrenia," he noted.
Before the interview could take place, the judge called the young Surya Kant to his chamber and asked, 'Do you want to become a judicial officer?'
"I said 'yes.' He immediately said, 'Get out from (my) the chamber.'"
The courtroom fell silent as the CJI Justice described his initial heartbreak.
“I came out trembling. All my dreams were shattered. I thought he had snubbed me and that my career was over,” the CJI said.
However, the story took another turn the following day and the judge summoned him again, this time offering a piece of advice that would change the trajectory of his life.
“He said, ‘If you want to become (a judge), you are welcome. But my advice is, don’t become a judicial officer. The Bar is waiting for you,’” Justice Surya Kant recalled.
The CJI said he decided to skip his interview and didn't even tell his parents at first, fearing their disappointment, and instead chose to dedicate himself to his practice as an advocate.
“Now tell me did I make a bad right or bad decision,” the CJI asked and the litigant lawyer left the court with a smile on her face despite her case being dismissed.
Encouraging the petitioner to look toward the future rather than dwelling on the re-evaluation of a single paper, Justice Surya Kant said, "The Bar has much to offer."
