Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday clarified that the hike in taxes on the super rich in the budget was only to ensure that there is growth in all sectors.
Addressing an international business networking conference organised by the Nagarathars, one of the popular trading communities in Tamil Nadu, she said that the Modi government wants to ensure not just ease of doing business but also ease of living. This is Sitaraman's first public event in South India after she took over as finance minister.
She recalled how the Nagarathars, as a trading community, took their life and culture across the globe. How much ever we talk about Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu, the country is one and the Nagarathar community has been ensuring it through their way of living and their humility, she said. "If every community decides to work towards nation building through their value systems, our soft power will turn solid."
“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi always talks based on these soft skills; he insists that India has the capacity to be the vishwa guru in the future,” she added.
"We want to ensure that not all Indians depend on jobs. Entrepreneurship should be a natural skill for India to be the richest economy," she said. "We want to ensure that the youth in the country can stand on their own without any hindrance."
"India will grow only when our businesses and youngsters grow. Our budget has all these aspects. Today India is at a cusp of where we want it to be—where everyone gets opportunities. In the past 60 years, we only spoke of rights rather than speaking about our duties. Tax on super rich was to ask them to share a bit more burden to help the poor grow. Please shoulder the responsibility along with the government to lead the country. This was the only intention of the taxes on the super rich," she said.
