New Delhi:

The income tax benefit announced for the middle class in the Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday is the biggest relief provided by any government for the concerned economic strata so far, India’s G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said.

The budget for the upcoming financial year focuses on growth and creation of jobs, and provides a huge fillip for demand creation, Mr Kant told NDTV. “I rate the budget very high,” he added. 

Mr Kant’s remarks came as the Narendra Modi-led government exempted annual income of up to Rs 12 lakh from income tax and rejigged tax slabs as part of a reformist Budget. 

Presenting her eighth straight Budget in the Lok Sabha, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid out a blueprint for next-generation reforms. She announced the setting up of a National Manufacturing Mission to further promote Make in India initiative, and said support will be provided to develop domestic manufacturing capacities for the Indian economy’s integration with global supply chains.

Manufacturing and job creation

Mr Kant hailed the government’s focus on manufacturing and job creation. “You are actually ensuring that consumption drives the economy, and consumption will lead to greater demand, and demand will lead to greater production, and production will lead to greater jobs,” he said.  

“So, this, to my mind, is being done but in a very fiscally responsible manner because the fiscal deficit for this year was 4.8% and next year, the finance minister is aiming for 4.4%. So, she has been fiscally very responsible and prudent. I think the key highlights of this budget is the huge focus on the labour-intensive sector,” he added. 

The former NITI Aayog CEO also claimed that “never before has so much emphasis been put on tourism, footwear, leather, toys and on about a 100 aspirational districts in the agricultural sector.” “So, a vast impact on labour-intensive sectors which will happen through the creation of jobs,” he said. 

Boost for labour-intensive sectors

The government has announced a focused product scheme for footwear and leather sectors to enhance its productivity, quality and competitiveness. Besides, it announced a scheme to make India a global hub for toys by focusing on cluster development.

Mr Kant said the Union Budget 2025-26 is “very progressive on some of the labour intensive sectors”. “For every job that you create in tourism, you are creating 11 indirect jobs. A massive impact on growth with jobs. We have not even scratched the surface of the tourism potential in India. We have so much heritage and so much culture that you need to tap into,” he said. 

Likewise, the toy sector also has massive potential, he said. “Look at footwear, look at leather. Huge potential… objective of bringing cutting edge technology, storage, credit to 100 backward districts in the agricultural sector… All this can be path-breaking as far as creating jobs is concerned. While growth will create jobs, focus on the labour intensive sector, with growth means that you are going for growth with labour intensity, which is very very important in the case of India,” he explained. 

On the Finance Minister’s announcement of setting up a National Manufacturing Mission, Mr Kant said it’s very important to drive manufacturing since a high proportion of the population are dependent on agriculture. “They are poorly paid, you need to move them to good jobs in the manufacturing sector. That, to my mind, is very important. The budget does that through the instrument of credit guarantee,” he said. 

Credit guarantee for start-ups, MSMEs

Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can use the credit guarantee, he said. Also, it (budget) lays emphasis on a lot of cutting edge areas of growth. Artificial intelligence, clean tech, etc. Now, my view is that the private credit to the GDP ratio needs to be enhanced. The finance minister has done her bit. The Reserve Bank of India needs to ensure flow of greater credit in a systematic and orderly manner through the monetary policy,” he said. 

Technology and innovation

The Union Budget 2025-26 also lays a lot of emphasis on innovation, technology and start-ups, Mr Kant said. “To put up 10,000 crores of funds for start-ups, replenish it. Also talk about another 10,000 crore of funds for deep tech, with a 20,000 crore for innovation. All this will have a multiplier impact on the economy. And then a clean tech mission, so that we can manufacture solar, fuel cells and batteries. All this in India… all this is very very important to my mind,” he said. 

“Lastly, I would say that this thrust towards nuclear energy and opening up the insurance sector are also very very major initiatives,” he added. 

The G20 Sherpa appreciated the government’s efforts to focus on cutting edge technology, whether through the clean tech mission or through Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

“Last year, the finance minister had given three centres of excellence. This year, she has given another centre of excellence in AI for education. But more important than that is the huge focus and emphasis on start ups, which will do cutting edge work in many of these new tech areas of growth. So we need to grow AI, we need to grow in quantum computing, we need to grow in semiconductors, we need to grow in clean tech areas. All this has had a very huge emphasis in the last two years and that will enable India to technologically pole vault in the coming years,” he said. 

New and emerging technologies were in focus in the Union Budget, as Ms Sitharaman announced a national framework for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), Rs 500-crore Centre of Excellence in AI for education, and said a deep tech “Fund of Funds” will be explored to catalyse the next generation startups. 

“I announced three Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023. Now a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore,” she said.

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman along with the Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and team members of Finance, outside the her office at North Block in New Delhi on Saturday. Finance Minister to be general budget 2025-26, in the Parliament, February 01, 2025.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 1, 2025) said the Union Budget 2025-26 continues efforts to accelerate growth and provide inclusive development.

Nirmala Sitharaman presents 8th consecutive Budget amid Opposition sloganeering: Click here for the live updates

Presenting the 14th consecutive Budget under the Narendra Modi government since 2014, Ms. Sitharaman said, “Together we embark on journey to unlock our potential for greater prosperity.” She asserted that the Indian economy is fastest-growing among all developing economies.

In her record 8th straight Budget presentation, the Finance Minister said, “We see the next five years as unique opportunity to stimulate growth.”

Village women work under MGNREGA scheme at Jagannath Prasad village in Odisha
| Photo Credit: Gerra Madhusudan 10751@Chennai

The share of the Union Budget allocated for the social sector has declined rapidly in recent years. Data show that the outlays to most schemes under the rural development, education, health, and social welfare heads have either declined or stagnated.

Table 1 shows the allocations for various social sectors as a share of the total Budget.

Expenditure on health as a share of the total Budget declined from 2.47%-2.22% in the FY18-22 period to 1.85%-1.75% in the FY23-25 period. The share of the total Budget allocated to the Ministry of Rural Development did not cross the 6%-mark in the last three years, which was the case for many years prior.

Similarly, allocations for higher education as a share of the total Budget declined from the 1.57%-1.37% range in FY17-20 to 1.27%-0.88% in FY21-25. Allocations for school education declined from the 2.18%-1.96% range to 1.61%-1.23% and allocations for social welfare schemes declined from the 1.89%-1.61% range to 1.17%-0.97% in the same period.

The reduced allocations can be better understood at the scheme level. Table 2 shows the allocations for various social sector schemes as a share of the total Budget.

Notably, allocations for schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), introduced under the United Progressive Alliance government, have declined significantly over time.

The ₹86,000 crore (Budget Estimates) allocated for MGNREGS for 2024-25 formed only 1.78% of the total Budget, a 10-year low. Latest data show that the Rural Development Ministry was short of ₹4,315 crore, which resulted in a delay in the disbursement of wages to MGNREGS workers.

Allocation for the national social assistance programme, which includes old age pension, widow pension, and disability pension, has declined as a share of the total Budget from the range of 1.21%-0.36% in the years FY19-21 to about 0.2% in the last four years.

The allocations for the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme as a share of the total Budget declined to 0.26% in FY25 (Budget Estimates) — the lowest in the last nine years — except FY24 (Revised Estimates).

The primary objective of the scheme is to improve the nutritional status of children studying in Classes 1 to 8 in eligible schools. It was earlier known as the National Programme of Mid-Day Meals in Schools.

There were some exceptions to this trend: allocations under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY)-Rural, and PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) as a share of the total Budget were on an increasing trend or at least stagnating. Notably, all these schemes were launched post 2014.

With the Budget for the next financial year set to be presented on February 1, it will be crucial to examine how the declining allocations for the social sector are being addressed. The sector has under its umbrella a host of important schemes, as shown in Table 3. The table shows major expenditure heads under each social sector.

The number in the table corresponds to a scheme/expenditure head’s share in each sector’s total budget. For instance, about 33% of the health budget for the current year went to a flexible pool to be used by States for their health needs and 20.6% was allocated to autonomous bodies such as AIIMS. Close to half of the rural development budget was given to MGNREGS and over 30% went to PMAY-Rural.

Source: The data for the charts were sourced from Union Budget documents

sambavi.p@thehindu.co.in

vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in

samreen.wani@thehindu.co.in

People walk past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Benchmark Sensex and Nifty settled marginally lower in volatile trade on Tuesday as the government proposed to hike securities transaction tax on futures & options in the budget for 2024-25.

Recovering most of its intra-day losses of over 1,200 points, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled lower by 73.04 points or 0.09% 80,429.04.

The index gyrated between highs and lows during the day as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced budget proposals for 2024-25.

The barometer tanked 1,277.76 points or 1.58% to hit a low of 79,224.32 as the Minister announced a hike in STT on F&O trade and an increase in long-term capital gains tax on equities. However, tax exemptions and customs duty cuts helped boost consumer durables and FMCG shares, aiding stocks to recover from the day’s lows.

The NSE Nifty dipped 30.20 points or 0.12% to 24,479.05. Intra-day, it dropped 435.05 points or 1.77% to 24,074.20. Among the Sensex pack, Titan jumped over 6%, followed by ITC which surged more than 5%.

Adani Ports, NTPC, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and Sun Pharma were among the other big gainers.

However, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were amonh the major laggards.

“From the markets perspective the raising of STCG (Short-Term Capital Gains Tax) to 20% and LTCG (Long Term Capital Gains Tax) to 12.5% is a body blow. We need to brace ourselves for a negative reaction in the short term,” Sanjay Sinha, Founder, Citrus Advisors, said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23 announced income tax relief for the middle class, a ₹2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party’s new coalition partners as she unveiled Modi 3.0 government’s first budget after the general elections.

With rural distress and unemployment being blamed for BJP losing its majority, Ms. Sitharaman in her seventh straight budget provided ₹2.66 lakh crore for rural development and maintained spending on long-term infrastructure projects at ₹11.11 lakh crore to boost economic growth.

The Finance Minister said the government plans to raise the capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to ₹1.25 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle class.

Presenting the Budget for 2024-25, she announced a hike in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) on F&O (futures and options) securities by 0.02% and 0.1%.

She abolished ‘angel tax’ for all classes of investors in startups, cut customs duty on mobile phones and gold and simplified capital gains tax.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,444.06 crore on July 22, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul settled higher while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading higher.

The U.S. markets ended in the positive territory on July 22.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.25% to $82.63 a barrel.

Falling for the second day in a row, the BSE benchmark fell 102.57 points or 0.13% to settle at 80,502.08 on July 22.

The NSE Nifty dipped 21.65 points or 0.09% to 24,509.25.

Image for representation only.
| Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

In her seventh budget speech and the first Union Budget presented by the new NDA government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a bevy of measures aimed at boosting the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.

Click here for the Union Budget 2024 updates, highlights

Saying that the Budget provided special attention to MSMEs and labour-intensive manufacturing, Ms. Sitharaman said that the government has formulated a package covering financial, technological support to MSMEs to spur their growth.

She announced that a credit guarantee scheme to facilitate term loans for machinery without provision of a collateral or third-party guarantee will be introduced. A separately constituted self-financing guarantee fund will provide a guarantee cover up to Rs. 100 crore for each borrower, while the loan amount may be higher.

The Budget also proposes a new assessment model for MSME credit by public sector banks which will not rely on external assessment. This will be based on the digital footprint of MSMEs in the economy, rather than only on assets and turnover criteria traditionally used, the Minister said.

The Budget also provides for credit support to MSMEs during a stress period, through a new mechanism, while being a special mention account for reasons beyond their control, to avoid such enterprises getting into the NPA stage.

Mudra loan limit will be enhanced to Rs. 20 lakh from the current Rs. 10 lakh for those who have availed and successfully repaid loans previously taken under the Tarun category.

Further, 24 new SIDBI branches in MSME clusters are also to be opened within three years to allow for more credit, with the coverage being expanded to 168 clusters.

Further, e-commerce export hubs to enable MSMEs and traditional artisans to make their make in international markets, will be set up in a PPP mode with a seamless regulatory framework, so that trade can will be facilitated under one roof.

The government will reduce the turnover threshold of MSME buyers for mandatory onboarding on TReDs platform from Rs 500 crore to Rs 250 crore. TReDS is an online platform to help MSMEs 

“In the next two years, 1 crore farmers will be initiated into natural farming supported by certification and branding,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech, in New Delhi on July 23, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

Prioritising the welfare of farmers and the development of the agriculture sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Union Budget for 2024-25, on July 23 announced that the government will undertake a comprehensive review of agricultural research set-up to bring focus on improving productivity and develop climate-resilient varieties. ₹1.52 lakh crore has been allocated for agriculture and allied sectors, the Finance Minister said as she presented the Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.

The government will work with States to promote digital public infra for agriculture, the Finance Minister said. “Funding will be provided in challenge mode including to the private sector and domain experts from the govt and outside will oversee the conduct of such research,” Ms. Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha.

Also Read: Union Budget 2024 LIVE Updates

“In the next two years, 1 crore farmers will be initiated into natural farming supported by certification and branding. Implementation will be through scientific institutions and willing Gram Panchayats,” the Minister announced.

The Finance Minister announced that 109 new high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops will be released for cultivation by farmers.

On missions for pulses and oilseeds, the Finance Minister said the government will strengthen their production, storage and marketing. “A strategy is being put in place to bring in Atma Nirbharta in oilseeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean and sunflower,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

Also Read: A contributor, not consumer

Large-scale clusters of vegetable production will be set up near consumption centres, she announced.

The government will promote farmer producer organisations, cooperatives and start-ups for vegetable supply chains including for connection, storage and marketing, Ms. Sitharaman noted.

Digital public infrastructure in agriculture

On push to digital public infrastructure in agriculture for coverage of farmers and their land, the Finance Minister said, “During this year, digital crop survey for kharif will be taken up in 400 districts. The details of six crore and their land will be brought into farmer and land registries. The issuance of Jan Samarth-based kisan credit cards will be enabled in five States.”

The government will provide financial support for shrimp farming, processing and export, she added.

The government also announced a National Cooperation Policy for systematic and orderly all-round development of cooperative sector. “Fast-tracking growth of rural economy and generation of employment opportunities on a large scale will be the policy goal,” Ms. Sitharaman said in her Budget 2024 speech.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman created history as she presented her seventh straight Budget and the first Budget by the BJP-led NDA government since it was re-elected last month. Since her appointment as the Union Finance Minister in 2019, Ms. Sitharaman has presented six straight budgets, including an interim one in February this year. This was because an incumbent government cannot present a full Budget just before the Lok Sabha polls which were held in seven phases from April to June. Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai presented consecutive five full budgets and one interim budget between 1959 to 1964.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2023-24 on the second day of Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other MPs are seen.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman will brief BJP MPs on the important points of the Union Budget on Friday, February 3, 2023, morning, after which the party will undertake an all-India outreach programme.

Sources confirmed that the briefing will be held ahead of the Parliament sitting on Friday. BJP president J. P. Nadda had earlier set up an eight member committee for a “Budget par charcha” programme, to be headed by former Finance Minister of Bihar and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Modi.

The outreach programme will be rolled out over the weekend (February 4 and 5) across India to bring to the fore what the budget means for each and every citizen. “During this programme, Union Ministers will hold a press conference on the Budget and at the same time interact with people across strata, including prominent citizens and intellectuals,” sources said.

As per the sources, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur will go to Jammu, Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy to Kochi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology Rajeev B. Chandrashekar will go to Coimbatore, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal will travel to Raipur, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will travel to Bhopal and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will go to Bengaluru. The programmes for other Ministers are also being firmed up. Meetings and press conferences will be held in all State capitals and 50 other spots.

The Budget presented on Wednesday is the last by the BJP-led NDA government before the 2024 general elections next year, and thus has significant political and economic ramifications.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks during a post-budget press conference, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The government will focus on economic growth and job creation and cut down the fiscal deficit, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday, presenting its last full budget in Parliament before the 2024 election.

Here are the charts that show major aspects of Union Budget 2023:

Budget at a glance

The Narendra Modi government focused on a slew of measures that expanded Capital Expenditure spending and tied in various priorities including Green Growth, Youth Power, and Inclusive Development.

Fiscal deficit would be brought down to below 4.5% by 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. She also said that tax receipts for the next fiscal are budgeted at ₹23.3 lakh crore and States would be allowed 3.5% of GDP as fiscal deficit.

What funds the deficit

The government plans to borrow a record ₹15.4 lakh crore from dated securities in FY24 to meet its expenditure requirement to prop up the economy. This is higher than the total borrowing of ₹14.21 lakh crore for the current financial year ending March 31, 2023.

Rupee come from

Borrowings and other liabilities account for the largest avenue from where the Budget money comes.

Rupee goes to

With 20% of its budget going into interest payments, the State’s share of taxes and duties and the Central sector scheme assume two major areas of spending for the government.

State-wise allocation of central taxes and duties

Here is the state-wise distribution of net proceeds of Union Taxes and Duties for Budget Estimates 2023-24. The distribution was conducted according to the recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission which fixed the share of states at 41% of the net proceeds of sharable Central Taxes and Income Tax.

Transfer to states/UTs

Allocation to Ministries

The Union Budget allocated a massive ₹5.94 lakh crore for the Defence Ministry, a 13% increase year-on-year from last year’s budget estimates.

Outlay for Major Schemes

The Union Budget 2023-24 document listed the new allocations for core welfare schemes that drive socio-economic development.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a number of measures for the agriculture sector, including an increase in the credit target to ₹20 lakh crore, with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.

% change for major schemes

Here’s a roundup of how the budgetary allocations for some of the key schemes have changed. While the MGNREGS budget saw a 32% decrease from the revised estimates of 2022-23, the outlay for PM-Kisan remained the same.

Railway Budget in a Glance

With an outlay of ₹2.40 lakh crore for the financial year 2023-24 compared to ₹1.40 lakh crore in the FY22-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the outlay for the railways is nine times the amount provided in 2013-2014.

Cheaper vs Dearer

With an eye on promoting exports, boosting domestic manufacturing and enhancing value addition, Union Budget 2023-24 has proposed number of changes to Customs Duty regime that is likely to make mobile phones and televisions cheaper and certain class of automobiles, including EVs, as well as toys and bicycles dearer.