Decade of digital growth has sped up benefits of freedom as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi: Union Finance Minister

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlights India's digital transformation and economic progress at Tiruchi event honoring Mahatma Gandhi.

The benefits of freedom, as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi, have been accelerated in the past 10 years through the digital transformation brought about by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday, March 16, 2024.

Ms. Sitharaman was speaking at Shrimati Indira Gandhi College (SIGC) in Tiruchi, after unveiling a statue of the father of the nation at the historic spot under the peepal tree where he had addressed staff and students of what was then the campus of National College High School, in 1934.

“Gandhiji fought for freedom from imperialism; we are now working towards economic independence. India’s presidency of G20 showed our supremacy in digitalisation not just in banking, but also in healthcare and agriculture. Our achievements have made us the cynosure of the world today, as a role model for positive digital growth,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

Students are ambassadors of the advancements that India would achieve by 2047, in its centenary year of Independence, embodying both a modern temper and the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, the Minister said. Recalling her own days as a student in Tiruchi, Ms. Sitharaman said the city was an important part of the nation’s conscience, as a hub of culture, education and patriotism.

Ms. Sitharaman also said that women’s empowerment had been enabled by technology-driven innovations, especially in rural areas. “Male farmers may be the ones driving tractors on the fields, but the controls of the drones that spray nutrients and fertilisers on the crops, are in the hands of women. While I am often held up as an example of women’s empowerment, I would prefer to direct the nation’s attention to the many unsung women achievers helping us to progress,” she said.

Kishore Nagappa, who sculpted the Gandhi statue, and nadaswaram exponents Kasim and Babu were among those felicitated at the gathering.

SIGC chief executive officer K. Chandrasekharan also spoke.