New York [US], October 22 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during an interaction session at Columbia University, said that inequality is better bridged nowadays than ever before in the country, adding that several measures have been taken in the past ten years by adopting a "comprehensive approach to life."
During the interaction, the finance minister said that in the last 10 years, several steps have been taken by taking a comprehensive approach to life and implementing schemes that the government has delivered on the ground and not just on paper.
"Measures for financial inclusion, collateral-free lending, interest subvention, affordable housing, providing affordable gas cylinders, sanitation, health insurance for the poor through Ayushman Bharat cards, etc.--all these have targeted different aspects of poverty, which in turn has reduced inequality," she said.
Emphasising the government's priorities towards women, she stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants women to lead.
"The one scheme of the Government of India which I am very proud about is Drone Didis. Women in rural areas are being taught to operate and use drones. This scheme has brought a mindset change in the villages where women are now using technology," she said.
She said because of the initiative, Drone Didis are becoming Lakhpati Didis.
Answering a question, she said that India wants to strengthen its relations with partners so that economic and strategic relationships can be strengthened.
"When it comes to our economy, the government of India has a very big responsibility towards its 1.4 billion citizens. We have a duty to make sure that their aspirations are met and provide them with the facilities that they want. For that, we need to keep India's interests above all," she said.
Earlier in the day, the finance minister was hosted by Lynn Martin during her visit to the largest bourse in the world, in New York.
He also took a tour of the National Historic Landmark and interacted with a floor operator in the iconic blue jacket, who conveyed to her aspects of trading at NYSE besides also showing the 11 Indian companies trading on the bourse.