Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the country’s budget on Sunday (1 February 2026), which was highly praised by NDA leaders including PM Modi. After presenting the budget, the Finance Minister held a press conference and clarified the government’s stand on many issues. During this, he replied to the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in which the Congress MP claimed that the youth in the country do not have jobs and manufacturing is declining.
India’s economy is growing rapidly: Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, ‘I don’t know what course correction he (Rahul Gandhi) is talking about. Our economy is progressing rapidly. In this budget, we have tried to advance those areas which have been under pressure at the international level. For this, we have brought many different schemes for small and medium enterprises, textile, leather, people working in rural areas, farmers and value addition, women entrepreneurs.
Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the central government
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Union Budget turned a blind eye to the real crises facing India. He said, ‘Investors are withdrawing capital, domestic savings are decreasing, farmers are in trouble. The global shock that our economy has received was ignored. He claimed that this was a budget in which instead of fixing things, it turned a blind eye to the real crisis.
If there is any fact then put it forward Rahul Gandhi: Nirmala Sitharaman
On this Nirmala Sitharaman said, ‘If you want to do evil politically, you are welcome, please do. However, if you want to provide the facts on which you are basing your views, then I am ready to listen and respond to them. We are reaching out to common people to ensure that they do not have to face major changes in their lives due to any volatility coming from outside.
The Union Finance Minister said, ‘We are paving the way to maintain the pace of growth and boost the economy. We want to ensure the speed of that growth or continuous economic development. Mainly we are focusing on building the ecosystem with structural reforms, which will continue. We have made many improvements and will continue to do so. Further reforms will continue with the aim that we create an adequate environment to improve productivity and create employment.
Big announcements in the field of semiconductor: Nirmala Sitharaman
He said, ‘The 21st century is completely based on technology, so we will ensure that technology is brought to benefit the common man. Every city is being given Rs 1000 crore annually and the emphasis will be largely on Tier-2, Tier-3 cities. Two big announcements have been made in the Semiconductor Mission which will improve India Stack and IP related matters. The Rs 40,000 crore Electronic Components Manufacturing Scheme is a big incentive to make electronics self-reliant.
‘Dependence on rare earth materials will reduce’
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, ‘We have also announced the establishment of Rare Earth Corridor so that India can meet its needs with its own material. Therefore, once we identify, locate and process these minerals and make them available to us, our dependence on external sources for obtaining rare earths will reduce. We have identified the states where we want to establish this rare earth corridor. These will be in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This is going to have many big impacts on the Indian economy. Our dependence on magnets and rare earths will reduce.”
