Lakhpati Didi Yojana: Target increased from 2 to 3 crore, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday that the government has decided to enhance the target for creating Lakhpati Didis from two crores to three croresThe Lakhpati Didi Yojana is aimed at training women in selfhelp groups SHGs so that they can earn a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh per annum newswire PTI reportedPresenting the interim Budget 2024 the Union minister said 83 lakh selfhelp groups SHGs with nine crore women are transforming rural socioeconomic landscape with empowerment and selfrelianceEightythree lakh SHGs with nine crore women are transforming rural socioeconomic landscape with empowerment and selfreliance Their success has assisted nearly one crore women to become Lakhpati Didi already They are an inspiration to others she saidTheir achievements will be recognised through honouring them Buoyed by the success it has been decided to enhance the target for Lakhpati Didi from 2 crore to 3 crore she addedMeanwhile Sithraman presented her sixth consecutive budget with a speech lasting 56 minutes her shortesteverDressed in a turquoisecoloured 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 cheerThe opposition members listened to Sitharamans budget speech with rapt attention barring some voices of disapproval to the ministers reference to her government returning to power after the Lok Sabha electionsEarlier 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 1100 amAt 56 minutes it was Sitharamans shortest budget speech She also holds the distinction of delivering the longest budget speech at two hours and forty minutes in 2020In 2019 as Indias first fulltime woman finance minister Sitharamans 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 2023Sitharamans 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 speechesThe public galleries saw thin attendance with a few Rajya Sabha members occupying seats in Gallery 2 while relatives of Finance Minister Sitharaman ldquoKrishnamurthy Lakshminarayan and Vidya Lakshminarayanrdquo and her daughter Vangmayi Parakala were seated in the first row of Gallery 3Sitharaman 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 BudgetThe President gave Sitharaman a spoonful of curd and sugar and extended her best wishes for the presentation of the Union BudgetIn her budget speech Sitharaman coined new expansion of FDI ldquoFirst Develop India and for GDPrdquo Governance Development and PerformanceBesides delivering on high growth in terms of Gross Domestic Product the government is equally focused on a more comprehensive GDP ie Governance Development and Performance Sitharaman saidIn 2019 Finance Minister Sitharaman did away with the traditional Budget briefcase and instead went for a bahikhata with the national emblem to carry the speech and other documents on a tablet computer a tradition she stuck to on ThursdayJDU leader Rajiv Ranjan Lalan Singh whose party rejoined the NDA last week was seen applauding the budget speech on regular occasionsThe prime minister walked up to Sitharaman at the conclusion of her speech and congratulated her for the presentation of the interim budgetSeveral ministers were also seen congratulating Sitharaman after her speech With inputs from PTI