‘Shree Anna, Saptarishi, Gobardhan’: FM’s heritage terms in ‘Amrit Kaal’ speech

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, February 1

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday banked heavily on “virasat” to present the first Budget of “Amrit Kaal” using Sanskritised Hindi not just to unveil government’s intent going into 25 years until the centenary of India’s Independence in 2047, but also to christen new schemes.

The FM’s use of “Shree Anna” (divine food) for super food millets topped the list of heritage expressions used in today’s Budget. Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally led the applause when Sitharaman described millets as “Shree Anna” declaring the government’s intent to make India the global hub of the coarse grains, hitherto considered a humble man’s food.

Next, the FM listed seven priority areas for the Budget (inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector) and called these “Saptarishi”.

“These priorities will act as the Saptarishi guiding us through Amrit Kaal,” Sitharaman said, with her nearly 85-minute speech dotted with competitive chants of “Modi-Modi” versus “Bharat Jodo” from the ruling BJP and opposition Congress MPs, respectively.

The Opposition sat largely staid, with noises heard only when Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi entered the Lok Sabha, and accompanying Congress MPs chanted “Bharat Jodo” slogans, interrupting Sitharaman who had been nine minutes into her speech.

There was a brief moment of slip by the FM who, while announcing the continuation of vehicle replacement policy, said, “Replacing political vehicles”—a phrase that had the Opposition cheering her, with even straight-faced Congress leader Sonia Gandhi breaking into smiles.

The FM retracted quickly saying, “I mean replacing polluting vehicles, that’s sensible, right!”

That apart, the Budget speech was smooth, with the FM using chaste Hindi terms for new schemes—Vishwakarmas to describe artisans and crafts persons; PM Pranam (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth”) to announce a programme on alternative fertilisers and GOBARdhan for a new plan to set up 500 “waste to wealth” conversion centres.

Sitharaman addressed today’s youth as “Amrit Pidhi (Amrit generation); summed up government’s guiding slogan as “vanchiton ko vareeyata (priority to the underprivileged); and called the mission to promote biodiversity “Amrit Dharohar.”

While the FM earned accolades for furthering government’s governance pitch that seeks to blend virasat (heritage) aur vikas (developnent), the Opposition dismissed the Budget as a “document of acronyms.”

The dismissal prompted BJP veteran and former minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to say: “I can wake up someone who is sleeping. How can I wake up someone who is awake, but pretending to be asleep?”

‘Banking on virasat’

• FM Nirmala Sitharaman banked heavily on “virasat” to present the first Budget of ‘Amrit Kaal’
• FM’s use of “Shree Anna” (divine food) for super food millets topped the list of heritage expressions
• She listed seven priority areas for the Budget and called these “Saptarishi”
• FM used chaste Hindi terms —Vishwakarmas to describe artisans and crafts persons
• She used GOBARdhan for a new plan to set up 500 “waste to wealth” conversion centres
• n She addressed today’s youth as “Amrit Pidhi”