Budget 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman’s Reforms for Growth
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her record-breaking 8th consecutive Union Budget on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at 11 a.m. She is closer to the record of 10 budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai over various terms. The upcoming budget is expected to focus on measures to support India’s slowing economic growth while maintaining fiscal discipline. It is likely to prioritize boosting consumption while adhering to the fiscal deficit reduction plan.
The Economic Survey for 2024-25, which was presented in Parliament on January 31, 2025, projects India’s economy to grow between 6.3 percent and 6.8 percent in the fiscal year 2025-26, slightly higher than the estimated growth at 6.4 percent in the current year.
Transformative Reforms in Six Key Areas
In her budget speech, Sitharaman has emphasized transformative reforms to realize the vision of a “Viksit Bharat” or Developed India. The reforms will be in six sectors:
- Taxation
- Power sector
- Urban development
- Mining
- Financial sector
- Regulatory reforms
Development Initiatives in the Budget
Sitharaman has also presented ten broad developmental measures that aim to uplift different sections of society, including the poor, youth, farmers, and women. These measures focus on:
- Agricultural growth
- Building rural prosperity and resilience
- Inclusive growth for all
- Manufacturing growth
- Support to MSMEs
- Employment through development
- Investment in people, innovation, and economy
- Energy security
- Exports promotion
- Innovation nurturing
Source : TheHindu