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    Budget 2019: Kiran Mazumdar, Ola boss, Hema Malini praise FM's 'visionary' speech

    Synopsis

    Biocon MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was impressed with the 'holistic' speech.

    ET Random Collage (98)Agencies
    Dressed in a purple-ish pink saree with gold 'zari', Nirmala Sitharaman entered Parliament with the Budget documents wrapped in a red cloth embossed with the National emblem.
    India's first woman full-time Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a stunning debut today with her Budget speech. Dressed in a purple-ish pink saree with gold 'zari', Sitharaman entered Parliament with the Budget documents wrapped in a red cloth embossed with the National emblem.

    Keeping in sync with the country's traditions, the newly-elected Finance Minister was a hit with Twitterati. It was her 2 hr 15-minute-long speech, padded with high aspirations for the nation, that won hearts today. The aim of becoming a $3 trillion economy this year with women leading the wagon, and Swami Vivekananda's words of wisdom, Sitharaman's speech was much appreciated.

    From business leaders to politicians and B-town celebs, Twitterati liked this debut, clearly.

    In her two-hour-plus speech, Sitharaman quoting Swami Vivekananda, 'Nari tu Narayani' (Oh, woman, you are a goddess), was a highlight. Hailing this, actress-MP Hema Malini said that if the country's citizens understood this thought, then violence against women would stop.


    Delhi's BJP chief and MP from North-East Delhi Manoj Tiwari, while listing the key points of the Budget, reiterated that India is going well under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



    Biocon MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, too, was impressed with a 'holistic, aspirational and visionary budget', and gave 'full marks' to the Finance Minister for improving social indicators. But she seemed a little less than enthused about reviving the private sector investment cycle'.


    Praise apart, some seemed to be in awe of the way Sitharaman honoured the diversity of the country. RPG Group boss Harsh Goenka, impressed by the way the Finance Minister used Indian languages in her speech, and called it 'united culture'.

    "Loved the way FM Sitharaman used not only Hindi but many Indian languages in her Budget speech to show that we are one nation. A great way to show respect towards our rich, varied and united culture! #Budget2019 #PMModi #Unifier," he tweeted.



    Sunjay Kapur, MD of Sona BLW Precision Forgings, tweeted about the lowered GST rates for electronic vehicles, and was optimistic that it would boost the Government's much-coveted 'Make in India' programme.

    He wrote, "Lowering #GST rate on electric vehicles from 12% to 5% should promote the #MakeInIndia Auto Industry to focus on transforming India into an #EV manufacturing hub. #Budget2019 @nsitharaman"


    Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, all 'inspired' by the Budget, expressed excitement on being a part of the Finance Minister's journey and contributing to the country's growth.

    "Very inspiring to see #Budget2019 by @nsitharaman @FinMinIndia focus on Electric Mobility, Digital Payments and the growing Startup Ecosystem. We’re excited about being part of this journey and in contributing to India becoming an innovation hub and leading the world by example," he wrote.

    Sitharaman, however, did not just gather fans on Twitter. On Facebook, Happily Unmarried, a brand that specialises in grooming products for women posted a picture in honour of the FM. The post read, "A woman's place is in the house...of Parliament, presenting the Budget." The post received over a thousand likes and 200 shares on the social networking platform.




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