GYAN, FDI, GDP & 3D: Nirmala Sitharaman takes a page out of PM Modi’s acronyms book

From “JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile) to Pragati (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation), the Narendra Modi government introduced numerous acronyms over the last 10 years. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her latest interim Budget for 2024-25 on 1 February, has maintained the BJP’s love for acronyms. The acronyms she used in her latest Budget address are GYAN, FDI, GDP, and 3D, while also highlighting the government’s goals and plans for the coming years. Here’s what they mean and why they are so relatable to common people. Nirmala Sitharaman’s 2024 Budget acronyms GYAN, which stands for knowledge in Hindi, was the first acronym mentioned in the Finance Minister’s address. It represents Gareeb (Poor), Youth, Annadata (Farmer), and Nari (Woman). The government aims to empower the most economically struggling people and address youth problems by leveraging India’s strength through its policies and security initiatives. The government’s top priorities are going to be to increase farmer incomes, maintain food security, and support and uplift India’s women. Sitharaman also proposed the term GDP. However, she considers GDP to mean more than the standard Gross Domestic Product. She refers to GDP as Good Governance and Development, Performance. It detailed the government’s holistic approach to accomplishing the Amrit Kal’s objectives, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously emphasised. The Minister used the term “FDI” in his address to refer to First Develop India rather than merely Foreign Direct Investment. India’s long-cherished ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2047 will be met with the support of this plan, which will centre on the holistic development of both the nation and Indians. In his 2023 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi praised the 3Ds of India: Democracy, Demography, and Diversity, calling them “Triveni”. The latest pre-election interim Budget speech also referred to the 3Ds. Acronyms used in last year Union Budget Sitharaman used intriguing acronyms, including PM PRANAM, GOBARdhan, and the MISHTI, among others, to introduce projects in her fifth Budget speech of 87-minutes, as per Hindustan Times. Pradhan Mantri Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth, or PM PRANAM, was introduced to encourage states and Union territories to use of alternative fertilisers in agriculture and to decrease the usage of chemical fertilisers. Under the GOBARdhan initiative, an acronym for Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan, 500 new “waste to wealth” plants valued at ₹10,000 crore will be established with the aim of advancing a circular economy. The Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Income (MISHTI) scheme is an initiative by the government to establish mangrove plantations on saltpan areas and along the shoreline. PM Modi’s love for acronyms Whether in speeches or Mann-Ki-Baat addresses to the nations, PM Modi’s signature speaking tricks is neatly devised phrases whose first letters make up another word which offers a short summary of what the phase means. From attack acronyms for political opponents to diplomatic ones, the Indian Premier has mastered it all. Taking a dig at BJP’s political opponents before the UP assembly polls in 2017, Modi urged people to vote against SCAM which he expanded as Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, Congress and Mayawati. According to India Today, PM Modi has previously used ABCD for Adarsh, Bofors, Coal, and Damaad, to mock the Congress for corruption. During a Made in India workshop, the PM used the term ROAD, which stands for Responsibility, Ownership, Accountability, and Discipline, as a mantra for success. Another interesting one was used for campaigning like VIKAS (Vidyut (Electricity), Kanoon (Law) Aur Sadak (Road)). The Prime Minister also came up with NDA (National Development Alliance) to redefine the National Democratic Alliance led by his party BJP in 2014. He brought up the BIMARU name to refer to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, implying that they had fallen behind in terms of economic growth, healthcare, and education, during the first day of the Uttar Pradesh government’s two-day Investors’ Summit in February of last year, according to Indian Express. Two days later, at the first section of the New Delhi-Mumbai expressway’s inauguration, he used the same phrase in Rajasthan. With inputs from agencies