On Feb 1, the Union Finance Minister presented her 8th budget for 2025. She announced various key schemes and plans for different sectors. Out of all her announcements, one topic stood out and that was change in tax rates for people earning up to 12 lakhs as they will be exempt from all taxes. Other sectors, such as MSME, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Aviation sectors will get a boost with this budget.
Nirmala Sitharaman also announced some important projects for Bihar while other states got no specific mention. She used Bihar many times during her speech and announced 4 key projects that will boost the state economy and provide employment for the people of Bihar.
She has been criticized in the previous budgets but she has made people happy in this budget especially the middle class which contributes to the majority of this country’s population.
Let’s get to know some key highlights from Budget 2025:
Reduced Tax Rates
The main highlight of this budget was zero tax deductions for income up to 12 lakhs. Additionally, people with an income of more than 12 lakhs will also get benefits because of the reduced tax rate.
Women Welfare
The govt will provide loans to 5 lakh first-time women entrepreneurs of 2 cr value to make women self-reliant and boost women’s empowerment.
Agriculture Sector
The govt has already launched several programs to support the agriculture industry and farmers. This time announcements will further boost farmers and the agriculture economy.
- Kisan Credit Card (KCC) – The loan amount has been increased to 5 lakh from 3 lakh.
- PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojna (PMDDKY) – The govt will include 100 districts of low productivity and yield rate; it is expected to benefit 1.7cr farmers.
MSME Sector
This budget will surely make the MSME sector happy because of the benefits provided to them.
- The Credit Guarantee Cover increased to 10cr for small businesses from what was earlier 5cr and 20cr for startups from what was earlier 10cr which is doubled
- The investment limit has been raised to 2.5 times and the turnover limit has also been doubled so businesses can operate freely and scale their operations without losing their MSME status and will receive all the MSME benefits
Insurance FDI
The insurance FDI limit has been increased to 100% from 74% earlier
Bihar Projects
The four crucial projects have been gifted to Bihar to boost state growth, economy and employment:
- Makhana Board establishment to boost production and marketing of super-food Makhana, also known as fox nuts and lotus seeds. Bihar alone produces 90% of Makhana which offers several health benefits.
- Bihar also got the National Institute of Food Processing, entrepreneurship and Management to improve food processing in the region. This will also produce more skilled youths and entrepreneurs in this industry.
- Greenfield scheme to speed up the development and expansion of airports
- 50,000-hectare canal project for Mithilanchal that will help farmers in that region
Education Sector
Ms. Sitharaman announced more IIT seats, an AI centre worth 500cr and 50,000 tinkering labs to improve innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. This will surely help students and youth aspiring to grow in technology and become entrepreneurs.
Cheaper Life-Saving Drugs
A Total of 36 lifesaving drugs are expected to be cheaper as these medicines are exempted from customs duty, including cancer medicines.
Job Creation
The GOI has plans to create 22 lakh jobs in different industries, especially in tourism, fish farming, footwear, leather, and manufacturing sectors.
UDAN Scheme
120 new destinations will be included under this scheme to boost regional connectivity and growth.
Infrastructure Growth
We all know how passionate this govt is when it comes to infrastructure development. From rail and road connectivity to building new airports in different parts of the country to additional IITs setup to AI infrastructure to thousands of tinkering labs to multiple defense & space projects, this govt is doing every way possible to better infrastructure, boost growth and economy in the country. This is again expected to increase after this budget.
