Nirmala Sitharaman sports a different mask each day at Rs 20 lakh crore package briefings

In a series of press conferences over the past five days, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled details of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by PM Modi last week.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveils the final tranche of the Covid-19 economic package, on 17 May in New Delhi. | Photo by Praveen Jain

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman faced the media every day over the last five days as she explained details of Prime Minister Modi’s Rs 20-lakh-crore package announced last week to revamp the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

As the clock struck 4 pm, Sitharaman took her place at the National Media Centre in Delhi elaborating on the packages for MSMEs, reforming the agricultural sector and throwing open the defence and coal sectors. She came masked every day, a different one each day — some matching with her sari, some contrasting with it.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at National Media Centre in Delhi on 13 May, at the first of the five press conferences she held over five days to elaborate on the Rs 20 lakh crore Covid-19 economic package | Photo by Suraj Singh Bisht

Sitharaman announced the second tranche of the Covid-19 stimulus package on 14 May, which focused on help for farmers and migrant workers in a post-pandemic world | Photo: Grab from Doordarshan News

In the third tranche announced on 15 May, Sitharaman introduced plans to enact a central law to permit barrier-free inter-State trade of farm commodities | Doordarshan News

Sitharaman announcing the fourth tranche on 16 May, which focused on a range of topics from mineral mining sector to defence manufacturing | Doordarshan News