Never imagined I will become the Finance Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said she never imagined that she would become the country's Finance Minister and one should never forget there is 'some infinite grace' above all.

The Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, taking part in a series of events earlier in the day, gave away loans amounting to Rs 3,749 crore to over one lakh beneficiaries.

"Did I imagine becoming Finance Minister of the country? No chance." Sitharaman said she had no political background and still one day she managed to do so (become a Minister).

"I am being spiritual here. Instead of only praying to God, we should put in sincere efforts...But never forget that you cannot be there (reach your destination) without some infinite grace," she said.

Sitharaman made these comments while addressing students at the PSG R Krishnammal College for Women here.

"I remind myself during difficult times that there is some cosmic power to give that strength (to you). I always say that you (God) have brought me this far, please show me the way to overcome this obstacle. that is what I pray," she said.

Later, she presented miniature models of the Chandrayaan-3 rocket to students of Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School.

Sitharaman also visited the CODISSIA Defence Innovation and Atal Incubation Centre in Coimbatore.

CDIIC is supported by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Defence.

Earlier at a Credit Outreach Programme, she said loans are being given amounting to Rs 3,749 crore benefitting over 1 lakh people hailing from the Coimbatore region.

Sharing some statistics, she said retail loans are being given to 23,800 people while 2,904 people would receive loans under the Mudra scheme.

"We are also giving crop loans to farmers. Totally, today we are giving loans to over one lakh account holders worth Rs 3,749 crore in Coimbatore region alone," she said.

From the earlier trend of going to banks to avail loan facilities, today, banks are coming forward to offer loans to eligible individuals, she remarked.

Observing that the Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar districts were identified to be 'aspirational districts' under the Centre's scheme, she said the government's scheme has come to the level of attaining 'saturation' across the country.

"Today the Aspirational Districts scheme has come to the level of attaining saturation not only in Tamil Nadu but across the country. There were about 115 districts identified as Aspirational Districts" she said.

In a move to achieve growth at block level in districts, Sitharaman said the Centre has launched a scheme to develop blocks under the 'Aspirational Blocks' scheme in a district.

"We have started this initiative in over 500 blocks situated in districts that are located across the country. To name a few, we have identified a block in a district in Puducherry, then Kota in Rajasthan, Gangtok in Sikkim, Kohima in Nagaland," she said.