Bengaluru: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday questioned how Indira Gandhi made it as prime minister if patriarchy held back women in India from achieving their goals, media reports said.

Addressing students at an event at Bengaluru’s CMS Business School, Sitharaman admitted that women needed more opportunities and facilities to support their dreams, but patriarchy would not stop a woman from getting what she wanted if she stood up for herself.

Responding to a question on women's empowerment, she maintained that ‘patriarchy’ was a term invented by the Left.

"Don't get carried away by fantastic jargon. If you stand up for yourself and speak logically, patriarchy will not stop you from achieving your dreams and certainly not in a country like India," she advised the women in the audience, reported PTI.

"Patriarchy couldn't stop freedom fighters like Aruna Asaf Ali, Sarojini Naidu and others," she highlighted.

Speaking on the future of innovators in India, the minister outlined various measures the Centre has taken to support innovation.

She also spoke about the government schemes launched for young people, including the 1 crore internships for the ‘unemployable youth' aged 21 to 24.

She emphasised that the Narendra Modi government is working to create an environment conducive to innovators by not just making policies but also ensuring that such innovations find markets too.

She cited the example of MSMEs, stating that they are given priority in government procurements.

Sitharaman said 40% of all government procurements are coming from MSMEs, and emphasised that this policy has helped the startups to grow over 2 lakhs today in India.

She highlighted that more than 130 of these startups in India have become unicorns.

“The opportunity is immense but is not fully utilised," she said.

She also spoke about the growth of digital banking transformation, and the Jan Dhan Yojana scheme paved the way for its success and we can see even the micro-level users availing the service without having to pay anything extra.

She also mentioned the idea of the 'Fund of Funds' offered by the Small Industries Development Bank of India, which is backed by the Central government by infusing Rs 10,000 crore with the aim to aid small businesses and innovative ideas.

"Private equity funds are also backing this because we have given them concessions," she added