02 FEBRUARY 2025 NOT A PEOPLE-CENTRIC BUDGET: OPPOSITION RETURN OF OLIGARCHS www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 PAGE 8 PAGE 6 DAVIS CUP: INDIA TAKE 2-0 LEAD AGAINST TOGO PAGE 12 SINCE 1818 PAGES 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR THE UNION BUDGET 2025-26 PROPOSES DEVELOPMENT MEASURES FOCUSSING ON THE POOR, YOUTH, FARMERS AND WOMEN Budget 2025 lays down ‘Viksit Bharat' roadmap STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY F inance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented an ambitious and growth-oriented Union Budget, providing major income tax relief to the middle class, giving a boost to agriculture and laying a roadmap for 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. Tabling the Budget in the Lok Sabha, she highlighted the focus areas to accelerate growth, secure developments, uplift household sentiments and India's rising middle class, saying, “we see the next five years as a big opportunity for Sabka Vikas”. She said Agriculture, MSME, Investment, and Exports are engines in the journey to 'Viksit Bharat' using reforms as fuel, guided by the spirit of inclusivity. Presenting the Budget Estimates 2025-26, Mrs Sitharaman said the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure areestimated at Rs 34.96 lakh croreandRs50.65 lakh crore, respectively. Furthermore, the gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 14.82 lakh crore, and the Capex Expenditure of Rs 11.21 lakh crore (3.1 per cent of GDP) earmarked in FY 2025-26 In line with theme of Viksit Bharat, the Finance Minister outlined the broad principles such as zero-poverty; 100 per cent good quality school education; Access to high-quality, affordable, and comprehensive healthcare; 100 per cent skilled labourwithmeaningfulemployment; 70 per cent women in economicactivities;andFarmers making our country the ‘food basket of the world’. The Budget also promised to continue the government's efforts to accelerate growth, secure inclusive development, invigorate private sector investments, uplift household sentiments, and enhance spending power of India’s rising middle BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS ÜSubstantial increase in funding for key infrastructure projects, aiming to drive long-term growth and enhance connectivity. ÜPrime Minister DhanDhaanya Krishi Yojana to cover 100 districts with low productivity, intended to enhance agricultural productivity, adopt crop diversification and sustainable agriculture practices, augment post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block level, improve irrigation facilities and facilitate availability of credit. ÜRevised fiscal deficit estimated to be 4.8 per cent of GDP; Capital expenditure at Rs 10.18 lakh crore; Gross market borrowings at Rs 14.82 lakh crore ÜCentre of Excellence in AI for Education, to be set up with a dedicated budget of Rs 500 crore Ü50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs to be set up in govt schools in 5 years ÜRs 10,000 crore fund of funds proposed for startups Ü10,000 additional seats in medical institutes; 75,000 medical seats in 5 years will be created ÜNuclear energy mission for R & D of small modular reactors to be set up ÜModified UDAN scheme to be launched with 120 new destinations ÜRs 2,52,000 crore allocated as gross budgetary support to the Railways CHEAPER: Cancer drugs, critical minerals, mobile phone chargers, telecom equipment, EV batteries; Ü36 life-saving drugs fully exempted from customs duty COSTLIER: Imported flat LED TVs, imported knitted fabrics class. The Budget further proposed development measures focusing on the poor, Youth, farmers and women. The Budget had announced schemes for the agriculture sector like the ‘Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana’, multi-sectoral ‘Rural Prosperity and Resilience’ programme, a 6-year “Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses” among other measures.For the MSMEs, it announced that the investment and turnover limits for classification of all MSMEs to be enhanced to 2.5 and 2 times respectively,andalsocustomized Credit Cards with Rs 5 lakh limit for micro enterprises registered on Udyam portal, 10 lakh cards to be issued in the first year. The Budget has also highlighted investments as one of the growth engines and announced50,000AtalTinkering Labs to be set up in government schools in the next 5 years. Giving special focus to the election-bound state of Bihar, the Budget announced greenfield airports in the state, in addition to the expansion of the capacity of Patna airport and a brownfield airportatBihta.Further,financial support for the Western Koshi Canal ERM Project in Bihar was also announced. ‘No income tax’ for income up to `12 lakh STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY In a boost for the middle class, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Union Budget 2025, unveiled a major overhaul of the new income tax regime, introducing what in effect is a zero-income tax slab for taxpayers earning up to Rs 12 lakh annually. The move will benefit a large section of the population, especially salaried individuals, by reducing their overall tax liabilities. Approximately Rs 1 lakh crore will be made available in the hands of the taxpayers by virtue of changes in slab, rates and rebate. “There will be no income tax payable up to income of Rs 12 lakh (average income of Rs 1 lakh per month other than special rate income such as capital gains) under the new regime. This limit will be Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers, due to the standard deduction of Rs 75,000,” announced Mrs Sitharaman. “Tax rebate is being provided in addition to the benefit due to slab rate reduction in such a manner that there is no tax payable by them,” she added. This shift is expected to have a transformative impact on household incomes, providing a significant boost to savings, consumption, and investments. The across-the-board changes to income tax slabs and rates will benefit taxpayers at various income levels. With this revision, under the New Tax Regime (NTR), the revised tax slabs are Rs 0-4 lakh: NIL; Rs 4-8 lakh: 5 per cent; Rs 8-12 lakh: 12 per cent; Rs 12 -16 lakh: 15 per cent; Rs 16-20 lakh: 20 per cent; Rs 20-24 lakh: 25 per cent; and Above ₹24 lakh: 30 per cent. With the new slabs coming into force, the common man will be left with more disposable income, there is potential for an increase in savings, which could translate into greater investments in assets like mutual funds, stocks, and real estate. The Finance Minister also announced that a New Income Tax Bill would be introduced next week. Budget a force multiplier, milestone in India's development journey: PM Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed the Union Budget as a force multiplier that would increase savings, investment, consumption, and growth. Congratulating Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team for presenting a ‘People’s Budget’, he said the budget marks an important milestone in the journey of India’s development. “This budget reflects the aspirations of 140 crore Indians and fulfils the dreams of every citizen,” Mr Modi said and highlighted that several sectors have been opened up for the youth, and the common citizen to help drive the mission of 'Viksit Bharat'. Typically, the focus of the budget, he observed, is on how to fill the government's treasury. However, this budget focuses on how to fill the pockets of citizens, increase their savings, and make them partners in the country's development. He emphasised that this budget lays the foundation for these goals. Significant steps have been taken towards reforms in this budget,” the PM said and highlighted the historic decision to promote the private sector in nuclear energy. He added that civil nuclear energy will ensure a significant contribution to the country's development in the future.