Every rupee collected is accounted for so it doesn't get frittered away: FM Sitharaman

Bengaluru: The government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accounts for every rupee collected so that it doesn't get frittered away and common people benefit from the work that it is doing, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Saturday.

Addressing students at an event here, FM Sitharaman said that if you're looking at how our government has managed the money that it earns and the money that it spends, "the philosophy has been that for every rupee which is collected as tax, we should be effectively creating assets as much as giving good governance to the people".

Stressing that India's banking turnaround started in 2014 with the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the Finance Minister said the aim was to make the banking net accessible to everyone.

Today, PMJDY is promoting financial inclusion with over 523 million bank accounts, bringing marginalised sections into the formal financial system.

"Simultaneously, the evolution of digital infrastructure took place. Not just the government, but all stakeholders played their role in making it what it is today," FM Sitharaman told the students.

"For example, when I went to Nagaland, I visited an NGO which produced hand-made handicraft products, ranging from cushion covers to tea coasters. The lady running the NGO told me that they've got an order from the US and they're sending it for Christmas," she said, noting that a small NGO in Nagaland now has direct access to the market in the US.

"No one would've imagined this sort of access. The digital revolution doesn't have any borders. If it can happen for a small NGO in Nagaland, you can imagine how it must've benefited the small units across the nation," she told the gathering.

"People today aren't waiting for anyone to educate them about digital or financial inclusion because it's already available to them in their phones and that too in simple language," FM Sitharaman added.