[Budget 2022] Nari Shakti is the harbinger of our bright future: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her Union Budget address in the Parliament by emphasising that Budget 2022-23 will benefit youth, women, farmers, and people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

“This budget continues to provide an impetus for growth. It lays a parallel track of — a blueprint for Amrit Kaal — which is futuristic and inclusive. This will directly benefit our youth, women, farmers, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,” she said.

Putting women in focus, the FM also declared, "Nari Shakti is the harbinger of our bright future."

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She elaborated, “Recognising the importance of Naari Shakti as the harbinger of our bright future and for women-led development, our government has comprehensively revamped the schemes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Three schemes — Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, and Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 — were launched recently to provide integrated benefits to women and children."

She added, "Saksham Anganwadis are a new generation anganwadis that have better infrastructure, audio-visual aids, powered by clean energy, providing an improved environment for early childhood development."

The government will upgrade two lakh anganwadis under this scheme, she noted.

Additionally, a new scheme — the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the NorthEast — will be implemented through the NE Council, which will enable livelihood activities for youth and women in the region.

For the first time, the finance minister also touched upon "accentuated mental health problems" risen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will surely benefit a large segment of the population, including women.

She said, “To better the access to quality mental health counselling and care services, a national tele-mental health programme will be launched. This will include a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre, and International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bengaluru, providing the technological support.”