10 big announcements in Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2025 speech; income tax payers, middle class, Bihar in focus; what next?
10 Big Announcements in Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's record 8th straight Budget had many specials, including a better-than-expected income tax relief for those earning up to Rs 12 lakh annual income (Rs 12.75 lakh including standard deduction). Here is a quick summary of 10 major announcements in the Budget 2025-26 and how market gurus are reading the proposals. Read on to learn about key aspects of the 2025 Union Budget.
10 Big Announcements in Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 8th Budget speech has a number of impactful announcements for the middle class, the marginalised, the youth, farmers and women, including a surprise for the humble taxpayer earning up to Rs 12.75 lakh of gross income (Rs 12 lakh after taking standard deduction into account).
As the market remained open normally for a special session on February 1, Saturday, benchmark indices made wild swings--a common sight during Budget speeches in the past--before finishing on a muted and rather mixed note. Buying in FMCG shares supported Sensex and Nifty but selling in spaces like IT played spoilsport. The BFSI space was a mixed bag with a negative bias, given a chain of announcements for the space.
The Sensex finished the session 5.4 points higher at 77,506 while the Nifty50 settled with a loss of 26.3 points at 23,482.2. Market guru and Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi has said that market participants will continue to react to the Budget blueprint in the coming days as analysts and experts decode the announcements with major action on Monday itself.
'Next 5 years a unique opportunity to realise Sabka Vikas'
The Finance Minister's Budget FY26 speech emphasised inclusive development and private investments to aid growth while aiming to contain fiscal deficit--or the shortfall between government expenditure and revenue--at 4.4 per cent of GDP in FY26.
Here are 10 key takeaways from the Union Budget 2025:
Here are 10 key takeaways from the Union Budget 2025:
FDI in insurance raised to 100% from 74%
The Budget proposes to raise FDI in insurance to 100 per cent from 74 per cent.
Analysts say that a boost to FDI will raise competition in the space which may give more choice between products.
Rs 1 lakh crore urban development fund
The Budget 2025 proposes to establish an urban development fund, called Urban Challenge Fund, of Rs 1 lakh crore to implement initiatives such as ‘Cities as Growth Hubs’ and ‘Creative Redevelopment of Cities’ announced in the previous Budget. The fund will finance up to one-fourth of the cost of bankable projects, stipulating that at least 50 per cent of the cost is funded from bonds, bank loans and PPPs.
For FY26, an allocation Rs 10,000 crore has been proposed.
Modified UDAN regional connectivity drive to fly 4 crore passengers in 10 years
The Budget proposes to enhance regional air connectivity by adding 120 new destinations to the UDAN network and carry four crore passengers over the next 10 years, after the regional connectivity scheme has enabled 1.5 crore middle-class people to meet their aspirations for speedier travel by connecting 88 airports and operationalising 619 routes.
Besides, the UDAN scheme will include helipads and smaller airports in hilly, aspirational and Nort East region districts.
A new airport in Bihar
The Budget has proposed a greenfield airport in the state and a brownfield airport at Bihta, in addition to the capacity expansion project of the Patna airport.
The Finance Minister has earmarked financial support for the Western Koshi Canal ERM project in Mithilanchal, set to serve a large number of farmers cultivating more than 50,000 hectares of land in the region.
The Budget has proposed a Makhana Board in the state to improve the production, processing, value addition and marketing of the aquatic seed. The board will provide handholding and training support to makhana farmers and will work to ensure they receive the benefits of all relevant government schemes.
The Centre will set up a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar, to provide a fillip to food processing activities in the entire eastern region, a step set to aid farmer income, skilling, entrepreneurship, employment opportunities for the youth.
Nil income tax liability on annual gross income up to Rs 12 lakh (Rs 12.75 lakh including standard deduction) in new regime
In a big gift for multitudes of taxpayers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced nil tax liability on annual income up to Rs 12 lakh (Rs 12.75 lakh with standard deduction) in the new regime. With this, the government has enhanced the appeal of the the new tax regime, while leaving the old regime untouched.
Individuals earning Rs 25 lakh a year will get a benefit of Rs 1.1 lakh, explained the finance minister.
TDS changes
The Budget raises the annual limit applicable to TDS on rent from Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh while rationalising the tax for senior citizens by doubling the threshold to Rs 1 lakh.
Many tax planners say that the higher TDS limits for various payments will ease the compliance burden for the common man.
The Budget raises the annual limit applicable to TDS on rent from Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh while rationalising the tax for senior citizens by doubling the threshold to Rs 1 lakh.
Many tax planners say that the higher TDS limits for various payments will ease the compliance burden for the common man.
Fiscal Consolidation | FY26 fiscal deficit target at 4.4%, FY25 projection at 4.8%
The Budget targets fiscal deficit at 4.4 per cent of GDP in FY26 after closing FY25 at 4.8 per cent instead of the 4.9 per cent targeted in July.
Fiscal consolidation refers to the process of tracking and reducing the fiscal deficit through measures like controlling expenditure and boosting revenue.
A country is said to be in a fiscal deficit when its revenue collections fall short of its expenditure. In the Union Budget, the Finance Minister provides a detailed breakdown of the fiscal deficit and related numbers, including the exact amount that the government needs to finance the deficit.
In Budget 2025, the government's gross and net market borrowings are estimated at Rs 14.82 lakh crore and Rs 11.54 lakh crore respectively.
Social Security for Gig Workers
The government has promised to provide identity cards and registration services to online platform gig workers through the e-Shram portal, and a dedicated healthcare cover under the PM Jan Arogya scheme.
Agriculture
The Finance Minister has announced the launch of a PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, a developing agri-districts programme covering 100 districts to boost agriculture productivity, irrigation, storage and credit access for growers. The scheme is set to benefit around 1.7 crore farmers while making farming more sustainable and profitable for farmers.
The Budget raises the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan limit from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, which is good news for farmers, fishermen, and dairy businesses.
It proposes to launch a six-year mission to boost the country's pulse production and a five-year drive to boost its cotton output.
Other Measures for Middle Class
The Budget proposes to move the maximum tax rate of 30 per cent to annual gross income of Rs 24 lakh and beyond, bringing more tax assessees into the lower slab. Tax experts say the measure is set to benefit taxpayers, leaving more cash in their hands and leading to higher overall consumer demand in the economy.
Besides, the government will introduce Income Tax Bill in Parliament to simplify tax rules while reducing litigation.
National Manufacturing Mission
The Budget proposes to establish a national mission to extend policy support, in tandem with its 'Make in India' manufacturing drive.
Education
The Department of School Education and Literacy has received an allocation of Rs 78,572 crore for FY26, including Rs 62,660 crore for centrally-sponsored schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) and PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI). The revised allocation for FY25 stands at Rs 67,571 crore.
The Finance Minister has announced 5 National Centres of Excellence for Skilling, an expansion drive at IITs to accommodate 6,500 more students, and 10,000 fellowships for IITs and IISc under the PM Research Fellowship programme.
Education Meets Tech
The Budget has allocated Rs 500 crore for setting up a dedicated centre of excellence for AI-powered educational research. It has also promised to set up 50,000 Atal tinkering labs in government schools over the next five years to promote STEM learning.