"Misconceptions About Our Work In South": Nirmala Sitharaman To NDTV

There are more misconceptions than truth about south India in people's minds and a development-oriented ecosystem in the region was already in existence, in which both the state governments and the Centre have played a role, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. 

In her first post-Budget interview to a private channel, the finance minister told NDTV on Friday that the education, skill and opportunity levels in the south have always been there and the number of people emigrating to foreign countries has also been high.  

To a question on the BJP's plan for south India, a region in which it hasn't done well, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Ms Sitharaman said in Hindi, "Development there... the ecosystem already exists. Private investment is higher than government investment, we need to face reality. The state governments and the Centre have both played a role in building the ecosystem. Human resource has also played a part... educated people, people who take an interest in science and technology."

"Eminent people have played a role in building science and technology there. Because of this, you see phone manufacturers, IT companies, startups, the bio sector - all of this has also been mentioned in the Budget... because all of these sectors have been encouraged for some time now, private investment is being attracted there. And this is why there are more employment opportunities in technology-driven activities there and their contribution to the GDP in the services sector is higher," she added. 

To increase the development of the region further, the finance minister said, policy support and fiscal support will also be given as needed.

"For example, why did the defence corridor go there... there were questions raised about this. But one was set up in Uttar Pradesh too. This is why we will keep both regional backwardness and regional strength in mind," she said.