Page 10 - Latest Updates on Budget 2025-26

Budget 2025: How 100% FDI will benefit the Indian insurance industry

The government seeks to fully unlock the potential of India's insurance industry, and has announced opening up of the sector to 100 per cent FDI

Budget 2025 LIVE: FM bets on tax cuts to spur growth; Oppn calls it 'election package for Bihar'

Union budget 2025-26 Live Updates: Modi govt has made some big announcements including changes in the new tax regime with taxpayers not having to pay any income tax on earnings up to Rs 12 lpa

Budget 2025-26 allocates Rs 2,500 crore for plug-and-play industrial parks

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated Rs 2,500 in the Budget 2025-26 for a new scheme for plug and play industrial parks. The new scheme is formulated to facilitate development of investment-ready plug and play industrial parks with complete infrastructure. The minister has significantly increased the budgetary allocation for the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which deals with issues like foreign direct investment policy, startups and promoting manufacturing. According to the Budget documents, the allocation for the department has been increased by 64 per cent to Rs 13,145.06 crore for 2025-26 from the revised estimate of Rs 8,011 crore in 2024-25. The segments where allocations were increased for the next fiscal include intellectual property related works (Rs 321.34 crore), Footwear, Leather and Accessories Development Programme (Rs 350 crore), National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (Rs 2,500 crore), Fund of

Budget 2025-26 to transform India's infrastructure, says IIFCL MD

With this year's budget, it is evident that the government has embarked on an ambitious journey to revolutionise the country's infrastructure landscape, India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) Managing Director PR Jaishankar said on Sunday. Strategic investments and policy reforms outlined in the budget reflect a strong commitment to making India a Viksit Bharat by 2047, ensuring sustained economic growth, global competitiveness, and enhanced quality of life for all citizens, he said while outlining some of the major announcements in the Budget. The government has announced various measures, including an Asset Monetization Plan (2025-2030), aimed at recycling Rs 10 lakh crore into new infrastructure developments, backed by regulatory and fiscal reforms. The Budget also announced a plan to leverage PM Gati Shakti to modernise land records, urban planning, and infrastructure design, enhancing project execution efficiency, he told PTI. To attract long-term capital for ...

Budget is by the people, for the people, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday described the Union Budget as "by the people, for the people, of the people", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea to cut taxes for middle class but it took time to convince the bureaucrats. "We have heard the voice of the middle class" who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she told PTI in an interview. With the honest and proud taxpayers wanting the government to do more to limit the impact of factors like inflation, the prime minister was quick to task Sitharaman to look at ways to give relief. While Modi was quick to agree to tax relief, it took a bit of convincing to get on board the officials in the finance ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) - who are tasked to ensure revenue collection to meet welfare and other schemes, she said. Presenting her eighth straight budget, Sitharaman on Saturday announced

Budget a watershed moment in India's clean energy transition: Experts

Industry experts hailed steps for boosting clean energy like nuclear mission, incentives for critical minerals and renewable equipment in the Budget presented on Saturday by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman. Sitharaman announced a Rs 20,000-crore nuclear mission and duty exemptions for crucial minerals and capital goods for electric vehicles to step up energy transition. Rajat Verma, Founder & CEO, LOHUM said, The 2025 budget marks a watershed moment in India's journey toward clean energy sovereignty and circular economy leadership. The government's strategic vision for domestic manufacturing and critical minerals recycling demonstrates remarkable foresight in securing our sustainable future." The elimination of import duties on lithium-ion battery scrap, cobalt powder, and an array of critical mineral wastes unlocks unprecedented opportunities. Coupled with the duty exemption expansion to 63 additional capital goods for EV and mobile battery production, this creates a ...

Budget: Allocation for export promotion schemes dips 17% to Rs 2,250 cr

The government has earmarked Rs 2,250 crore for export promotion schemes for 2025-26, down 17 per cent from Rs 2,718.73 crore allocated in the revised Budget estimates for 2024-25. According to the Budget document, allocation for Department of Commerce has dipped to Rs 5,300.99 crore for the next fiscal as against Rs 5,624 crore in the revised estimates (RE) for the ongoing fiscal year. Under export promotion schemes, no fund is allocated for market access initiative (MAI) and interest equalisation scheme. Though the scheme ended on December 31, 2024, the exporting community has been pitching hard for its extension. Now the government has announced plans to roll out an export promotion mission. "New scheme namely, Export Promotion Mission, has been formulated to act as a catalyst to facilitate India's export competitiveness," it said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on Saturday said that through the mission, the government will facilitate exporters to get

Budget 2025: Focused on fiscal discipline, growth, and tax relief

Overall, the government has taken a disciplined approach in this Budget, keeping long-term benefits in mind

I-T relief fuels consumption Budget: FM focuses on agri, MSMEs, exports

FM Sitharaman targets FY26 fiscal deficit at 4.4% of GDP

Budget 2025-26: Lok Sabha gets Rs 903 crore, Rajya Sabha Rs 413 crore

Lok Sabha has been allocated Rs 903 crore in the Union Budget, more than double the amount given to the Rajya Sabha. A sizeable allocation -- Rs 558.81 crore of the total Rs 903 crore --? has been assigned to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, which also includes Grants in Aid to the Sansad TV. Of the Rs 413 crore allocated to Rajya Sabha, Rs 2.52 crore have been assigned for salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The budget for Rajya Sabha also has a separate allocation of Rs 3 crore for the salaries and allowances of Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and his secretariat. The budget has also allocated Rs 98.84 crore for members. For Lok Sabha, Rs 1.56 crore has been allocated for salaries and allowances of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and there is no separate provision for the office of the Leader of the Opposition. There was no Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for 10 years as no opposition party had the required numb

FM cites India's fiscal discipline as key to Moody's unchanged ratings

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday flaunted India's unblemished track record of not faltering on any of its fiscal consolidation or debt reduction targets as she seemed to shrug off the passiveness of agencies like Moody's which have not upgraded India's ratings. Sitharaman in her budget for fiscal year beginning April treaded a fine line between fiscal prudence and providing a thrust to growth as she not only gave the middle class the biggest-ever tax relief but also unveiled a glide path for reducing fiscal deficit next year and debt as percentage of GDP by 2031. India, she said, had to borrow more during the pandemic to meet the fiscal needs of the economy amid global challenges, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical conflicts in two theatres. "Despite all these we have shown a commitment and following the commitment to the last word as regards fiscal deficit and the glide path that we should follow," she told PTI in an interview. "We have, not one year have we ...

PM pitches 'Modi's guarantee', confident of BJP's win in Delhi polls

Asserting that the Union Budget has filled every family with happiness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that this is the most middle class friendly Budget in India's history. Addressing a rally here ahead of the Delhi assembly polls on February 5, Modi spoke about various beneficial provisions of the Budget for the middle class to claim that never since India's Independence those earning up to Rs 12 lakh have received such a relief. The middle class is saying that this is the most friendly Budget for them in India's history, he said. Slamming the Aam Aadmi Party government in the capital for its alleged false promises and corruption, he said its policies have led to closing of factories, adding that those who have looted people will have to account for it. While on the one hand is 'AAP-da' which stands for false promises, on the other is 'Modi's guarantees', the prime minister said. Greeting people on Basant Panchami on Sunday, he said the festival marks the change in

AI-powered Central KYC announced in Budget 2025: Here are key upgrades

The revamped Central KYC aims to simplify and standardise KYC procedures across the financial sector, ensuring greater security and efficiency

Customs duty cuts in certain areas to benefit American exports: GTRI

The customs duty reduction announced in the Budget on products such as motorcycles and synthetic flavouring essences would benefit American exports, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that despite the repeated criticism of India as the biggest tariff abuser and tariff king by the Trump-administration, the country's Budget has introduced significant tariff reductions on multiple products, many of which benefit the US exports. "With key tariff cuts on technology, automobiles, industrial inputs, and waste imports, India appears to be taking steps toward facilitating trade even as the global trade environment remains tense. Whether these reductions will alter Washington's view of India's trade practices or become a point of contention in the US election cycle remains to be seen," it added. Among the key tariff reductions, India lowered the duty on fish hydrolysate for the manufacturing of aquatic feed from 15 per cent to 5 per cent,

Increased medical seats to help reduce students moving abroad: Experts

The government's announcement in the Union Budget to create 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges next year has been welcomed by education experts and stakeholders, saying the move will reduce the outflow of medical students to other countries. Infrastructure expansion at the five new IITs to accommodate 6,500 more students, 10,000 new medical seats and an allocation of Rs 500 crore to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education, are among the big announcements for the education sector in the 2025-26 budget. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday that the government plans to add 75,000 seats in medical colleges in the next five years. The India Edtech Consortium (IEC) said increasing seats in medical colleges was urgently needed to meet the requirements of the healthcare sector as well as to reduce student outflow to other countries. Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder, PhysicsWallah (PW) and Chairman, Indian Edtech Consortium ..

Focus product scheme to boost exports by Rs 1.1 trn for leather sector: CLE

The Budget announcement for rolling out of a focused product scheme for footwear and leather sectors will help enhance productivity, competitiveness and exports by over Rs 1.1 lakh crore, CLE said on Sunday. The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) said the scheme will support design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery required for the production of non-leather quality footwear. "The scheme will support thrust areas like design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery required for production of footwear and products," CLE Chairman Rajendra Kumar Jalan said, adding that the scheme is expected to facilitate employment for 22 lakh people, generate turnover of Rs Rs 4 lakh crore and exports of over Rs 1.1 lakh crore. He added that it will also enhance production and productivity by attracting investments and will strengthen the component and machinery ecosystem of the sector. CLE Executive Director R Selvam said the proposal to remove 20 per cent export duty on crust

Every budget presented by Modi govt is an election package: Sanjay Raut

Election is due in Bihar - Modi government's every budget is an election package, Raut added

Union Budget 2025: 9 out of 10 taxpayers will now pay zero income tax

In her post Budget press conference, Nirmala Sitharaman said that an additional one crore taxpayers will pay no tax post her announcement. Here's how

Modi govt keeps prioritising island communities: Lakshadweep Yuva Morcha

Yuva Morcha strongly believes that this is the beginning of a brighter future for Lakshadweep, and we stand united in supporting the government's push for reforms that promise lasting benefits for us

Budget 2025 FAQs: Key tax, insurance and investment changes explained

Budget 2025 brings key tax, insurance, and investment changes. From ULIP taxation to NPS benefits and Kisan Credit Card updates, here's a breakdown of FAQs to help you understand the new provisions