Soon, a multipurpose seaweed park will be established in Tamil Nadu, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2021. "Seaweed farming is an emerging sector with the potential to transform the lives of coastal communities," she said, adding, "It will provide large scale employment and additional income." Natural seaweed resources exist in abundance in the state's Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Pudukkottai districts.


Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third budget this year at 11 am. Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Finance Minister presented a paperless budget. This is the first time in India's history that a paperless Union Budget was presented. As the budget papers will not be printed, the Finance Minister had also launched an official mobile app to provide complete access to all budget documents. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal  www.indiabudget.gov.in.

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The Finance Minister had assured a budget “like never before”. The budget 2021 has a greater significance as it comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused economic disruption. FM Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi 'bahi khata' and switched to a tablet. She was seen carrying a tablet kept inside a red coloured cover with a golden coloured national emblem embossed on it. The Economic Survey 2020, presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pegged the GDP growth at 11 per cent in FY22.