Milan [Italy], May 6 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday highlighted the strengths and the value the Indian diaspora brings to the economies across the globe.

Addressing the Indian diaspora in Milan, Finance Minister Sitharaman said, 'Indian diaspora anywhere is held in great respect. Indian diaspora anywhere is seen as a very constructive, positive contributor to the respective economies where they are.'

'And as a result, you (Indian diaspora) bring immense pride to India because of the contributions you are making, as law-abiding citizens, as citizens who care and identify with the economy where you are, and equally remaining connected to the motherland,' she added.

Sitharaman offered a sharp overview of the Modi government's 10-year track record, while underlining the importance of political continuity for India's long-term development.

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In her remarks, Sitharaman drew attention to the government's focus on transparent policymaking, corruption-free governance, and inclusive delivery of essential services. She asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership over the past decade has marked a significant shift from past approaches that were often well-intentioned but ineffective in execution.

'Normally, in an interaction of this nature, I would tend to speak on what the government has done in the last 10 years...Why it is important for Prime Minister Modi to have won the third term, in the sense of why a stable government, which comes out with transparent policies and completely rejects corruption is so important for India, as India stands where it stands now, and also because we have given ourselves a very ambitious goal, that by 2047 India would be a developed one,' she said.

Sitharaman positioned the current administration as uniquely capable of delivering on that vision, noting that continuity in governance was not just desirable but necessary. 'So in fact you need some government which understands what it takes to deliver India to that goal, and therefore the Prime Minister getting a third term just for the sake of continuity, for stability, is important abd was important.'

Focusing on the achievements of UPI, Sitharaman stated that 1,800 crore transactions worth Rs 24 lakh crore were done through UPI in the month of March 2025 alone.

'You can imagine the robustness with which the UPI functions. Today, 55.17 crore Jan Dhan accounts are there in India with a balance of Rs 2.614 lakh crore in their deposits,' she said.

The Finance Minister also addressed the broader challenge of effective implementation -- something she said had been lacking in past administrations. While acknowledging that earlier governments may have intended to uplift people, she pointed out that systemic inefficiencies had often blocked those efforts from translating into results.

'Several governments could not achieve this over several decades because their delivery was not efficient. But in the last 10 years, what primarily had to be delivered for every citizen without any differentiation or discrimination has been delivered,' the Finance Minister said.

In a particularly pointed example, Sitharaman described the government's program to support India's street vendors, many of whom had never accessed formal loans or credit.

'There are sections of Indian society who, for sheer absence of bargaining power, have never been included in, for instance, the street vendors in our towns who come with the push-carts and sell fruits, vegetables, flour, have never had access to credit from institutions. He designed a program so that street vendors who are authorised by the local municipality, who are in the street, have been in the street, are street vendors. They were given security-free concessional loans,' she said.

FM Sitharaman is in Milan to attend the 58th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), scheduled to take place in Milan, Italy, from May 4 to 7, 2025. (ANI)