PM Modi greets FM Sitharaman on her birthday

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, extended warm birthday wishes to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she turned 65, acknowledging her significant contributions to India’s growth and reforms.”Best wishes to Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her birthday. Nirmala Ji is making numerous efforts to further growth and reforms. Praying for long and healthy life,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X.The Finance Minister’s birthday saw an outpouring of greetings on social media from her ministerial colleagues and party leaders.External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar also conveyed his greetings, writing, “Warm birthday greetings to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji. Wishing you good health, happiness, and continued success.”Union Minister Nitin Gadkari shared a video message on X, stating, “Birthday greetings to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Ji. May you be blessed with good health and long life.”Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju praised her achievements, saying, “Warm birthday greetings to our long-time colleague and Finance Minister & Minister of Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman ji! Her role in astute handling of affairs made India the ‘Fastest Growing big economy’ of the world. I pray for her good health & long life!”Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also expressed his best wishes: “Hearty congratulations to my colleague in the Union Cabinet and the Finance Minister of the country, sister Nirmala Sitharaman ji on her birthday! I pray to God for your good health, long life, and successful life.”This year, FM Sitharaman made history by presenting her seventh consecutive Union Budget, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Morarji Desai.The Finance Minister presented a Rs 48.21 lakh crore Union Budget for 2024-25, focusing on job creation, empowering women, and improving farmers’ incomes.Notably, the Budget also provided significant relief to four crore salaried individuals and pensioners.FM Sitharaman announced an increase in the standard deduction for salaried employees from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 and a hike in the family pension deduction for pensioners from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. These measures were aimed at providing additional financial relief to millions across the country.–IANSsd/uk