On
July 5, Sitharaman makes her first major public appearance in her new
role, presenting India's budget at a time when she's under pressure
to spend more to reinvigorate the economy.
India’s
first female finance minister in almost five decades, Nirmala
Sitharaman, has held a wide range of jobs: She rode aboard a
fighter jet as defense minister. As head of the trade department she
grappled with falling exports. She’s been a national spokeswoman
for her party, and in younger days worked in London as a home decor
saleswoman.
Now
Sitharaman, 59, faces what might become one of the toughest balancing
acts of her career. On May 31, within hours of her arrival at her new
office in New Delhi, she was greeted with India’s worst economic
news of the year: Unemployment had touched a 45-year high, and India
had lost its tag of the world’s fastest-growing major economy to
China in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
On
July 5, Sitharaman makes her first major public appearance in her new
role, presenting India’s budget at a time when she’s under
pressure to spend more to reinvigorate the economy. She must find
resources for welfare programs announced by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s government, including 870 billion rupees ($12.6 billion) for
a new measure to support farmers. And she must do all that while
keeping the national deficit below 3.4% of GDP, a target credit
rating companies are watching closely.
A
surprise pick by Modi, the new minister remains a relatively unknown
entity to the financial world. Her critics say there’s a risk she
could simply become a figurehead, with polices shaped by the prime
minister. Her supporters argue that her reputation for prudence and
team spirit will help her work out a middle ground.
“It
is difficult to predict what Minister Sitharaman will do in her new
role as finance minister,” said Richard Rossow, senior adviser at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“She will need to balance fiscal prudence with Modi’s desire to
continue expanding key social programs like subsidized cooking gas
and electric power access.”
The
minister didn’t respond to an email requesting an interview, and a
call to her office wasn’t answered.
Economic
growth is high on the agenda and the government is undertaking
various reforms to achieve this, Sitharaman told lawmakers on
Tuesday.
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