Viral social media posts claiming Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget speech said the Modi government distributed 35,000 LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs under the UJALA Yojana scheme, are false.
A still image from a Hindi business news channel CNBC Awaaz was widely shared following the finance minister's speech.
The bottom graphic in Hindi states, '35,000 LED bulbs were distributed'. (Original Hindi caption - "35,000 करोड़ LED बल्ब बाटे गए").
Several Twitter users including politicians belonging to opposition parties have shared the viral graphic taking a dig at the finance minister while other Twitter users have alleged that scam has taken place.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
Click here to view, and here for an archive.
(Original caption in Hindi -"बड़ा घोटाला 35000 करोड़ LED किसको बांटे ? देश की जनता है 125 करोड़ मतलब 280 LED बल्ब प्रति व्यक्ति.")
FACT-CHECK
BOOM watched the complete Budget speech given by the finance minister and found that she said '35 crores' and not '35,000 crore' as being claimed.
At the timestamp 1:06:50, one can hear Sitharaman say, "approximately 35 crore LED bulbs have been distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of 18,341 crores annually. "
BOOM also crosschecked with text of the speech online and confirmed that it was 35 crore and not 35,000 crore LED bulbs.
Click here to read the 2019 Budget speech. (Point 74)
A source within the channel confirmed to BOOM that the graphic was a typo and immediately taken off air when spotted.