Budget 2025 key takeaways: No income tax till Rs 12 lakh, healthcare for gig workers and more

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented the Budget for the financial year 2025-’26.

This was the first full budget of the third term of the National Democratic Alliance government. It was tabled a day after the Economic Survey 2024-’25 said India will need to achieve sustained economic growth of close to 8% for at least a decade to achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047.

Here are the key announcements from Sitharaman’s Budget:

Income Tax

The Centre proposed that there would be no income tax payable for income up to Rs 12 lakh under the new regime. The limit would be Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers considering the standard deduction of Rs 75,000.

The finance minister revised the income tax slabs under the new regime, saying that it will help boost household consumption, savings and investment.

New Direct Tax Bill

The Union finance minister announced that the Centre will introduce a new Direct Tax Bill in Parliament next week. The new legislation “will be clear and direct in text” and will be “simple to understand” for taxpayers and tax administration”, she said.

Fiscal deficit

Sitharaman said that India’s revised fiscal deficit is 4.8% of the gross domestic product in the financial year 2024-’25. The fiscal deficit target for the next financial year will be 4.4%. “Our endeavour will be to...

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