The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Interim Budget 2024-25, expressed pride in the achievements of Indian youth, particularly in the realm of sports. During her speech in Parliament, she underscored the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas’ and highlighted the country’s significant strides in sports.
Smt. Sitharaman lauded India’s remarkable performance in the Asian Games and Asian Para Games in 2023, where the country achieved its highest-ever medal tally, reflecting a high level of confidence among the athletes. She also mentioned the accomplishments of India’s chess prodigy and number-one ranked player, Praggnanandhaa, who competed against reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsson in 2023. Noting the rapid growth in chess, she pointed out that India now has over 80 chess grandmasters, a significant increase from just over 20 in 2010.
In her budget presentation, Smt. Sitharaman proposed the establishment of a corpus amounting to one lakh crore rupees. This fund is intended to provide long-term financing or refinancing options with extended tenors and low or nil interest rates. She emphasized that for India’s tech-savvy youth, this initiative marks the beginning of a golden era. The corpus is designed to encourage the private sector to significantly scale up research and innovation in emerging domains. This move reflects the government’s commitment to combining the potential of youth and technology to foster growth and innovation.