24072024-LSTL-01.qxd 7/23/2024 11:15 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Life Wholesome! BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday hailed the Union Budget 2024 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and called it ‘wholesome’. LUDHIANA | WEDNESDAY | 24 JULY 2024 A toast to Andhra! Bomkai, Kantha, Mangalagiri — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s sareeson the Budget day depict not just a different cultural tale, but also send across subtle messages. Here’s a look at her choices over the years PLACE OF ORIGIN Nirmala Sitharaman’s Mangalagiri saree has its origin in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur. Registered under the Geographical Indications (GI) Act, 1999, these sarees are produced using traditional pitlooms and undergo a meticulous process of cotton purification, dyeing and weaving. 2024 F INANCE MINISTER Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, opted for an off-white checkered Mangalgiri saree with a contrasting purple and pink-hued blouse for the presentation of the first Budget of the third term of the NDA government led by PM Narendra Modi. Before heading to the Parliament to present her seventh consecutive Union Budget, Sitharaman posed for photo-ops with the traditional bahi khata, a tablet wrapped in a redcoloured cloth embossed with the gold-coloured national emblem. The elegant saree was adorned with a beautiful golden and purple border. Notably, the off-white colour of her saree is associated with purity in Indian culture. Sitharaman has stuck to Indian textiles and craftsmanship as seen in her sartorial choices, while presenting the Union Budgets since 2019. Ranging from silk to beautiful handloom, the range of textiles reinforces her staunch support for Indian textiles and has become a rather unusual aspect of the budget. For the previous six budget presentations as well, the Finance Minister donned traditional sarees. In February 2024, when she presented the interim budget, Sitharaman chose to wear a blue-coloured Tussar silk saree, adorned with Kantha handiwork, which she paired with a golden-hued blouse. Tussar silk is renowned for its distinctive texture and golden lustre. The coarse texture of Tussar silk gives it a particular character. For the presentation of Union Budget in 2023, Sitharaman donned a red and black temple border saree with Kasuti threadwork all over. In 2022, she sported a rust brown Bomkai saree with offwhite border. The rusty brown tone of her saree was a combination of two colours — brown and red. While the brown colour is often associated with resilience, dependability, security and safety, red signifies warmth, love and power. In 2021, Sitharaman wore a red and off-white silk Pochampally saree with Ikkat patterns around the pallu and a green border. Pochampally Ikkat is traditionally made in Bhoodan Pochampally, in Telangana, and is popularly known as the Silk City of India. In 2020, she opted for a bright yellow-gold silk saree. The yellow colour holds a valuable significance. It is believed to be a sacred colour that stands for prosperity. For her first Budget presentation in 2019, Sitharaman chose to wear a simple pink Mangalagiri saree with a gold border. This year she replaced the leather briefcase, which was in use for decades to carry Budget documents, with a traditional bahi-khata wrapped in a red cloth. — ANI 2023 DAHI-CHEENI FROM PRESIDENT MURMU Before presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday. The President fed her dahi-cheeni, a ritual performed by elders in Indian families to bestow good luck before undertaking important tasks. This year’s Budget is the seventh consecutive one for the FM and the Modi government’s 13th straight Budget since 2014. She also makes history as the first Finance Minister to present seven consecutive Budget speeches, surpassing former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record of six consecutive Budgets from 1959 to 1964. Earlier in the day, Sitharaman and her team posed for a traditional picture outside the Finance Ministry. IANS 2021 FM fuels meme-fest! There’s one thing Indians do better than anything else — laugh at their problems as well as those as others! So, on Tuesday, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget, X and Instagram were flooded with memes, which sure brought a smile on the face. Representing Modi 3.0 government, Sitharaman’s 32-page budget’s key focus was on employment, skill upgradation, MSMEs, and the middle class. But one X user wrote, “The goal of this government is to bring middle class into poverty, turn upper middle class to middle class, and make the rich flee the country. #Budget2024 #Budget.” What was noticed the most was Sitharaman’s bias for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. She allocated Rs 15,000 crore to help AP develop its capital, Amravati. Bihar got Rs 26,000 crores as she announced road connectivity projects. Many targeted her for the step-children treatment towards states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, where BJP showed dominance during elections. In fact, meme-makers didn’t think twice to connect the dots. Mirzapur series-fame Guddu Bhaiya’s dialogue, Ab humko chahiye full izzat, made a lot more sense for Bihar and AP One compared Bihar and AP to Ryan . Reynolds and Hugh Jackman of the upcoming Deadpool 3 film. Web series Panchayat’s popular dialogue also found a place, “Aapke funds se thoda paisa mil jata to badhiya hota.” Another one of Panchayat’s dialogue, Humlog dushman nahi dost hain, stands true for the middle class. There were also memes flying about salaried employees like, “Kuch nahi badla yaar sab kuch waise ka waisa hai.” There is one where the FM says, “If you want to pay less tax, stop earning more.” Now that’s what a common man can do to stay below Rs 7 lakh income slab! — Sheetal c m y b 2020 INTERIM BUDGET 2024
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