In major relief for the middle class, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2025 announced on Saturday said there would be no income tax payable for those earning upto Rs 12 lakh.
Also, effectively those earning up to Rs 13 lakh will now be able save income tax as over and above the Rs 12 lakh income limit, there is a standard deduction of Rs 75,000, and a marginal relief of around Rs 30,000.
Sitharaman on Saturday made history as she presented a record eighth consecutive budget, which comes in the backdrop of slowdown in economy and demand for tax cuts for middle class. This will take Sitharaman closer to the record of 10 budgets that were presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai over different time periods. Desai has presented a total of six budgets during his tenure as finance minister from 1959 to 1964, and four budgets between 1967 and 1969.
Sitharaman on Saturday called on President Droupadi Murmu before presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha. As per established tradition, the finance minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament.
President Murmu offered ‘dahi-chini’ (curd-sugar), considered auspicious, to Sitharaman before she left for Parliament to present the Union Budget.
“Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman along with Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget. The President expressed best wishes to the Union Finance Minister and her team for the presentation of budget,” President’s office said in a post on X.
