In her budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about conserving India’s manuscript heritage, on February 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Union Budget 2025-26 announced a special mission for the survey, documentation, and conservation of India’s manuscript heritage. Launched as the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’, it intends to cover more than one crore manuscripts.

The ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ is for undertaking the “survey, documentation and conservation” of India’s manuscript heritage lying with academic institutions, museums, libraries, and private collectors, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech.

National Manuscripts Mission

To accommodate this new initiative, the budget allocation for the National Manuscripts Mission (NMM), whose aim is to identify and document manuscripts and make the manuscript heritage accessible across the country, has been hiked from ₹3.5 crore to ₹60 crore.

The Hindu had reported last October that the Union Ministry of Culture was set to “revive and relaunch” the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) and was mulling the formation of an autonomous body to help preserve ancient texts in India.

Presently, NMM is a part of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. It was set up in 2003, but had not taken off as expected.

Welcoming the move, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the new mission “announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today will enable Bharat to preserve and protect the invaluable wisdom and knowledge held by these manuscripts found across the country”.

Culture Ministry allocation

The overall allocation for the Culture Ministry has been increased by approximately ₹100 crore with a total outlay of ₹3,360.96 crore as against the revised estimate of ₹3,260.93 crore in the current fiscal.

Out of this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been allocated ₹1,278.49 crore against ₹1273.91 crore allocated in 2024-25 which was revised to ₹1191.99 crore. A total of ₹156.55 crore has been allocated for national libraries and archives, ensuring the maintenance of historical records and documents, while museums such as the National Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art will receive ₹126.63 crore to enhance cultural preservation efforts.

Funds for organising events to mark centenaries and anniversaries and international cultural collaborations have seen a sharp decline.

Image used for representational purpose.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 1, 2025) made some significant proposals for promoting indigenous ship building as also acquisition of Indian-flagged ships. Among them, the Budget has proposed the setting up of a Maritime Development Fund (MDF) to support India’s maritime sector by providing financial assistance, via equity or debt securities, which will directly benefit in financing for ship acquisition and aims at boosting Indian-flagged ships’ share in the global cargo volume up to 20% by 2047.

“The initial corpus of the fund is pegged at ₹25,000 crore — where the government contribution will be 49%. The remaining balance will be contributed by major port authorities, other government entities, Central public sector enterprises, financial institutions as well as private sector. This fund will directly benefit in financing for ship acquisition,” the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said in a statement. “Further, indigenous fleet will reduce dependability of foreign ships, improve balance of payment and secure strategic interests of the country. By 2030, the MDF is aiming at generating up to ₹1.5 lakh crore investment in the shipping sector.”

Also read | Govt to bring framework to unlock potential marine sector with focus on Andaman and Lakshadweep: FM Sitharaman

New clusters

Stating that the budgetary initiatives for India’s marine sector are focused on unlocking its vast potential and enhancing existing assets through upgrades, modernisation, and automation, Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “A key highlight is our Ministry’s development of new shipbuilding clusters of 1.0 to 1.2 Million Gross Tonnage (GT) each. This strategic push is crucial in realising India’s vision of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047.”

These efforts will enhance India’s global competitiveness, drive sustainable growth, and solidify its position as a leading global maritime hub.

“Considering that shipbuilding has a long gestation period, I propose to continue the exemption of Basic Customs Duty on raw materials, components, consumables or parts for the manufacture of ships for another 10 years,” Ms. Sitharaman said in her budget speech. “I also propose the same dispensation for ship breaking to make it more competitive.”

The scheme for mega shipbuilding clusters will provide direct capital support in the form of creating the breakwater along with capital dredging and also proposes a 10-year rent holiday for the land, if not provided at a nominal rate, the Ministry said in a statement. Investment is also designed to support creation of trunk infra like roads, utilities, sewage treatment among others. “The proposed allocation of ₹6,100 crore aims to support India’s existing shipyards in upgrading, modernising, and automating their operations, enhancing efficiency, utilisation, and overall output.”

The Budget has also extended the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy 2.0, aimed at providing direct financial subsidies to Indian shipyards. This initiative seeks to help in securing orders by offsetting operational cost disadvantages, thereby strengthening the domestic shipbuilding industry. To be financed via budgetary support, the total outlay of the scheme is ₹18,090 crore, the statement added. The Budget also has an allocation of ₹6,100 crores to upgrade, modernise and automate Indian ports operations to upscale efficiency.

In addition, Ms. Sitharaman noted that presently the tonnage tax scheme is available to only sea going ships and added that the benefits of existing tonnage tax scheme are proposed to be extended to inland vessels registered under the Indian Vessels Act, 2021 to promote inland water transport in the country.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
| Photo Credit: PTI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for the upcoming year on Saturday, February 1, 2025. The first part of the Budget session will begin on January 31 and conclude on February 13, 2025. The second part will begin on March 10 and end on April 4, 2025.

The Union Budget 2025 will be Ms. Sitharaman’s second budget speech in the Narendra Modi-led NDA 3.0 government and her eighth budget in Parliament. She has presented six annual and two interim budgets throughout the NDA government’s term in office, the most of any of her predecessors, including Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, and Morarji Desai.

When to watch

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her Budget speech in the Lok Sabha at 11 a.m., on Saturday (February 1, 2025). She will be outlining budgetary allocations and revenue expectations for the financial year 2025-26. The Budget documents will be tabled in Rajya Sabha after the speech gets over in the lower house.

Where to watch

To catch the live streaming of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech, viewers can tune in to Sansad TV, the television channel that is dedicated for the parliamentary proceedings. India’s official public broadcaster Doordarshan’s news channel DD News will also telecast the speech.

Sansad TV will also run live streams on its YouTube channel.

The Hindu will be running live blogs for the Budget speech, political, industry and market reactions, along with in-depth articles, viewpoints from experts, and data analyses among others. The Hindu’s Budget coverage can be accessed in the Budget section.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament in New Delhi on July 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 30 termed misleading claims by Opposition leaders that if any State is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation.

Replying to a Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Ms. Sitharaman asserted that no State was being denied money. She recalled that in the past Budgets by the UPA government also did not mention names of all states in their Budget speech.

Ms. Sitharaman asked, “I have been picking up on Budget speeches since 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and so on. The Budget of 2004-2005 did not take the name of 17 States. I would like to ask the members of the UPA government at that time — did money not go to those 17 States? Did they stop it?”

She was responding to comments by several Opposition members that the Budget has provided funds only to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and nothing to other States.

Ms. Sitharaman said India is the fastest-growing economy globally and has overcome the after-effects of the pandemic due to a heavy capex push.

She also said the government is complying with the fiscal deficit trajectory. It will bring down the deficit to below 4.5% by 2025-26 from the targeted 4.9% for the current fiscal. The deficit was 5.6% in 2023-24.

The Budget has provided substantial financial support of ₹17,000 crore to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir this year. It includes ₹12,000 crore towards financing the cost of J&K police. “That’s the burden we want to take on our shoulders,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

The Lok Sabha approved the ₹48.21-lakh crore Budget for FY2024-25 of the Union Government. The lower House also approved the budget of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with a voice vote.

The first Union budget of the Modi 3.0 government saw a concerted effort at women-led development, with the Finance Minister announcing more than ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls
| Photo Credit: M. Moorthy

The first Union budget of the Modi 3.0 government saw a concerted effort at women-led development, with the Finance Minister announcing more than ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls, and promised a look at further lowering duties for properties purchased by women.

She also announced a new pension scheme named ‘Vatsalya’. A contributory pension scheme, this will have contributions from parents and guardians. On the child attaining the age of majority, the plan can be converted seamlessly into a regular National Pension System (NPS) account.

Other announcements include the setting up of special working women’s hostels and creches in collaboration with industries to facilitate women’s employment, and promoting women-specific skilling programmes and support for women’s self help groups.

According to an analysis by The Hindu’s data team, the allocation for the Ministry of Women and Child Development has actually seen a dip, though very marginal, of 0.03%. While the budget estimate for FY25 is ₹26,092 crore, the revised estimate in FY24 was ₹25,448 crore.

The allocations for schemes coming under the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry, including ‘Samarthya’ (supporting projects such as women’s hostels), ‘Swadhar Greh’, and ‘Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’, have also been increased slightly.

A significant portion of the WCD Ministry’s budget is directed towards Centrally-sponsored schemes, which received ₹25,848 crore.

The flagship schemes under the Ministry, including ‘Saksham Anganwadi’, POSHAN 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti, have been given substantial funds to continue their efforts in improving nutrition, child protection, and women’s empowerment.

What activists really find encouraging though are the doubling of the upper limit of Mudra loans to ₹20 lakh to promote entrepreneurship in the country as, according to them, nearly 60% of entrepreneurs in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector are women, and they are desperately in need of formal loans.

The credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs is also likely to be benificial for women, they feel.

“The MSME sector has the maximum number of women who struggle to get collateral-free loans. These efforts made in the Union budget would be hugely beneficial to them as we have observed in our work with communities,” Kalpana Ajayan, regional head, South Asia, Women’s World Banking, and Member, Gender Committee, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, said.

She said that the Union budget missed out on the need for gender aggregated data to be placed in the public domain in order to see how women have benefitted from gender-budgeting over the years.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2024 on July 23 at 11 a.m. It will be a record seventh consecutive Budget presentation for Ms. Sitharaman.

The Budget Session of the Parliament started on Monday with the Economic Survey 2023-24 being tabled in both Houses. The session is scheduled to have 16 sittings and is likely to conclude on August 12.

The Budget 2024 presentation will be streamed on various platforms. Viewers can watch the Budget 2024 speech by Nirmala Sitharaman live at The Hindu. Follow our liveblog for all the latest news, reactions, and analysis of Budget 2024. The Finance Minister’s address will also be available to stream live via the Sansad TV.

Viewers of Sansad TV will have the option of listening to the Budget speech 2024-25 in Hindi. As expected the Budget Speech will be in English. STV 1 will telecast the Budget speech live in English only. Whereas Budget speech in Hindi can be listened on STV 2. For accessing the Budget speech in Hindi on STV 2, viewers will need to navigate through the language settings of the set-top box by using the remote control. By selecting Hindi language one can listen Budget speech in Hindi.

The July 23 Budget speech is expected to focus on infrastructure development, social welfare schemes, measures to boost economic growth and simplification of personal tax regime.

People watch the live budget speech telecast from Parliament House, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 on February 01, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 presented her sixth consecutive Budget with a speech lasting 56 minutes, her shortest-ever.

Dressed in a turquoise-coloured embroidered Kantha silk saree, as Ms. Sitharaman delivered her speech, it was lauded at regular intervals by the treasury benches — her remarks on the presentation of the full budget by “our government” in July receiving the loudest cheer.

Union Budget 2024 | Follow live updates here

The opposition members listened to Ms. Sitharaman’s budget speech with rapt attention, barring some voices of disapproval to the Minister’s reference to her government returning to power after the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, BJP members raised slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Siya Ram as Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Lok Sabha chamber and took his seat a few minutes before 11:00 a.m.

At 56 minutes, it was Ms. Sitharaman’s shortest budget speech. She also holds the distinction of delivering the longest budget speech at two hours and forty minutes in 2020.

Also Read: Union Budget | Indian economy witnessed profound positive transformation in last 10 years, says Nirmala Sitharaman

In 2019, as India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, Ms. Sitharaman’s budget speech had lasted for two hours and 17 minutes. In 2021, her speech lasted for one hour and 50 minutes, followed by 92 minutes in 2022 and 87 minutes in 2023.

Ms. Sitharaman’s budget speech found no mention of Tamil poets and thinkers unlike previous occasions, but she referred to Prime Minister Modi at least eight times and quoted from his speeches.

The public galleries saw thin attendance with a few Rajya Sabha members occupying seats in Gallery 2, while relatives of Finance Minister Sitharaman — Krishnamurthy Lakshminarayan and Vidya Lakshminarayan — and her daughter Vangmayi Parakala were seated in the first row of Gallery 3.

Ms. Sitharaman, Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad, and top officers from the Finance Ministry called on President Droupadi Murmu before presenting the Budget.

The President gave Ms. Sitharaman a spoonful of curd and sugar and extended her best wishes for the presentation of the Union Budget.

In her budget speech, Ms. Sitharaman coined new expansion of FDI – First, Develop India and for GDP – Governance, Development and Performance.

Also Read: Govt to take up next-generation reforms to facilitate growth: Sitharaman

“Besides delivering on high growth in terms of Gross Domestic Product, the government is equally focused on a more comprehensive ‘GDP’, i.e., ‘Governance, Development and Performance’,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

In 2019, Finance Minister Sitharaman did away with the traditional Budget briefcase and instead went for a ‘bahi-khata’ with the national emblem to carry the speech and other documents on a tablet computer, a tradition she stuck to on February 1.

JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh, whose party re-joined the NDA last week, was seen applauding the budget speech on regular occasions.

The Prime Minister walked up to Ms. Sitharaman at the conclusion of her speech and congratulated her for the presentation of the interim budget.

Several Ministers were also seen congratulating Ms. Sitharaman after her speech.