Patna: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asserted that PM Narendra Modi was of the view that women would steer economic growth in the country, which was on its way to becoming the third-largest economy in the world.

She was speaking at a credit outreach programme held in the north Bihar town of Darbhanga, where loans for Rs 1,388 crore were provided to 49,137 beneficiaries by various banks.

Among those present were Union Minister Chirag Paswan and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, among others.

Sitharaman said, “Earlier, PM Modi used to tell me that the Union budget should be women-centric. But now he says the budget should be one that visualises women in leadership roles.” The finance minister, who is on a two-day tour of the state, noted that the region, which was known for ‘makhana’ and Madhubani paintings, owed these to women’s hard work.

“We have brought in projects like ‘Drone Didi’. Besides, cash assistance is being provided to women entrepreneurs through self-help groups. They are also being imparted with skills. Standing here, the birthplace of Goddess Sita, I proudly say that powered by the efforts of women, our economy shall leapfrog from the fifth spot to the third spot in about a year and a half,” Sitharaman said.

The function was also marked by the FM giving away five copies each of Maithili and Sanskrit translations of the Constitution.

The version in Maithili, spoken across north Bihar, was released earlier this week which had led the state’s ruling NDA to profusely thank the Centre.

She was also presented with a garland of ‘makhanas’ on the occasion.

Earlier, in Patna, she had chaired a review meeting of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) of the Eastern Region, covering four states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

The meeting was attended by Union Finance Secretary M Nagaraju, besides senior officers of the participating states and representatives of NABRD and SIDBI.

At the meeting, the minister asked the RRBs to increase credit disbursement under various flagship schemes of the Centre like MUDRA and PM Vishwakarma Yojana.

Sitharaman is scheduled to wind up her Bihar tour on Saturday when she will attend a couple of functions in the Madhubani district.