Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, the 18-year-old Indian chess prodigy, on Thursday found mention in finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Interim Budget speech..

Praggnanandhaa, India's latest chess sensation, found a special mention in the Interim Budget speech as Sitharaman noted that he is giving a tough fight to world number 1 Magnus Carlsen.

Sitharaman also noted that India now has 80 Chess Grandmasters as opposed to just 20 in 2010.

"The country is proud of our youth scaling new heights in sports. The highest-ever medal tally in Asian Games and Asian Para games in 2023 reflects a high confidence level. Chess prodigy and our no.1 ranked player Praggnanandhaa up a stiff fight against the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2023. Today, India has over 80 Chess Grandmasters compared to a little over 20 in 2010," she said.

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa had become India's number 1 player in 2023.

Last year, Praggnanandhaa finished runners-up in the 2023 Chess World Cup after losing in the final to Norwegian World No.1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen.

The final had been pushed to tie-breakers after the two classical games ended in draws. Carlsen won the first game after which Praggnanandhaa chose to shake hands on a draw in the second.

Praggnanandhaa's run to the final had turned heads around the world. The Indian GM, who turned 18 last year, beat world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura and No.3