‘Something out of ordinary’: Nirmala Sitharaman interacts with college students who witnessed Parliament’s Budget session live

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, 2026, interacted with 30 college students who witnessed the session in Parliament live from the Lok Sabha gallery during the presentation of the Union Budget 2026-27.

He described the interaction as a departure from the usual practice of granting interviews to newspapers and television studios following the Budget presentation. Speaking at the Budget 2026 Youth Dialogue, Ms. Sitharaman said that this idea came from her team, who suggested taking a different approach this time.

“This time my team thought of doing something extraordinary and said, ‘You go and present the budget to each of the studios or each of the newspapers and advertise to them…’

Also Read | Budget for tough times

He shared that they came up with the idea of ​​inviting university students to the Parliament and asked the participants to share their experiences.

“So they contacted universities and thought they would come up with a group of students with whom they could have this interaction, and that’s how it happened… I would definitely like to know from you what it was like to sit in the parliament and hear the budget,” he said.

Ms. Sitharaman also spoke about the efforts being made to provide students with a “better India” while drawing a contrast to the India where she grew up.

“From time to time I can tell you what the country I was born in was, what the country I grew up in was and what this country I live in now is. But I don’t want any of you to remember that India. This is no longer the India we want for anyone in the future. We want a better India,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

Stating that he does not think that everything that happened in the past can be perceived negatively, the Minister of Finance said, “I am not saying that everything that happened in the past is bad, but after leaving imperialism, the way economies grew, our growth rate, our growth style, our management style delayed this. Everything was postponed.”