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Best of the Week | Breaking down the 2025 Union Budget
From taxes to cotton seeds, know every important announcement from the Budget.
For a business journalist, Budget Day is nothing short of the World Cup final (ICC or FIFA, you decide). It is the D-day for which edit meetings are held months in advance. It's the day for which editorial teams plan months in advance, crafting center spreads, fine-tuning graphics, and, come 11 AM on February 1st, waiting with bated breath for the finance minister to speak.
The only thing comparable to a Budget Day newsroom is probably the newsroom on the day of election results. However, Mint being a business newspaper and having made its debut on 1 February 2007, the event holds a special place for all of us here, as it also happens to be the newspaper’s birthday!
Not only that, but for years, our pre-budget reporting has been accurate and impactful enough to be reflected in the FM’s speech on D-day. Read on to find some examples of our impactful reporting.
For 18 years in a row, Mint’s budget special editions have become a unique favourite among our audiences. Some of our subscribers even hold these editions close to their hearts as collector’s items.
So, here are the stories, crafted by our team, packed with in-depth research and expert reporting. Dive in to get the most comprehensive insights and all the key details of this year's Union Budget.
👉 Let’s start with a primer on the budget. Senior editor N Madhavan writes about how the finance minister’s announcement on taxes became the highlight of the budget. Under the new income tax regime starting from 2025-26, individuals earning up to ₹12 lakh annually will be exempt from paying income tax, a notable increase from the previous ₹7 lakh limit.
This move aims to alleviate the middle class's concerns about their tax burden, especially after previous corporate tax cuts. The revised tax slabs mean substantial relief for middle earners, with those making up to ₹12 lakh getting a full rebate on their payable taxes. This adjustment will cost the government ₹1 trillion but is seen as a step to stimulate consumption by increasing disposable income among the middle class.
Gireesh Chandra Prasad had reported on how the finance minister was planning to provide tax breaks for individuals in a report on 20 January. You can read the story here.
Budget Day comes with a lot of terms that pop up once a year and then vanish. Take fiscal deficit for example. So, what does fiscal deficit mean? It’s essentially the gap between what the government earns and what it spends, and it’s expressed as a percentage of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A larger deficit can lead to more national debt and put pressure on the economy, possibly affecting the currency value and private investments.
👉 India is on track to hit a fiscal deficit of 4.8% of GDP for the fiscal year 2024-25, which is a tad below the target of 4.9% we had initially set, according to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech. This slight improvement comes as the government tightens its belt, spending a bit less, especially on planned capital investments, while also enjoying higher-than-expected dividends from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Looking ahead, the deficit for 2025-26 is expected to further reduce to 4.4%, Rhik Kundu reports. Rhik, in his pre-budget report on 13 January, had reported the same, citing a Goldman Sachs report.
👉 The Budget 2025 has raised the tax-exempt income threshold to ₹12 lakh, boosting optimism among Indian consumer companies. This change, which forgoes ₹1 trillion in tax revenue, aims to stimulate consumer spending across various sectors. Sectors like dining, travel, and consumer durables are expected to benefit, with companies like Zomato, Swiggy, and Trent Ltd seeing stock gains, Harsha Jethmalani and Pallavi Pengonda report. However, the impact may vary by sector. Discretionary sectors might see greater benefits than staples. While the government also aims to boost rural incomes through agricultural initiatives, there's caution that not all extra disposable income will translate into spending, with some potentially going into savings. On Thursday, Gireesh Chandra Prasad had reported on how the Budget could see deregulation, in a bid to boost consumer spending, hinting at the upcoming govt push to boost consumption. You can read the story here.
👉 The Union government aims to drive significant economic growth with transformative reforms across six key sectors: taxation, power, urban development, mining, finance, and regulation. Announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the 2025-26 Budget, these reforms are part of the government's broader strategy to position India as a developed economy by 2047. These initiatives are expected to boost investments, create jobs, and enhance India's global competitiveness. Focusing on 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India), the government acknowledges ongoing global challenges but remains optimistic about India’s growth prospects, driven by a decade of structural reforms and robust economic performance. The Budget underscores a commitment to inclusive development, aiming to stimulate private investment and increase the middle class's spending power. Gireesh features again with his story on the glimpses of the blueprint Modi 3.0 is planning for India. He had written about the same in his pre-budget report on 25 Jan.
👉 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of a Makhana Board in Bihar to boost the production, processing, value addition, and marketing of Makhana, commonly known as fox nuts or lotus seeds. The board will offer training and support to Makhana farmers, ensuring they benefit from all relevant government schemes. Read this Long Story from April about how the humble makhana from Bihar, has become a global superfood icon.
👉 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an expansion of the MSME definition in her budget speech to enhance credit availability and support small businesses. The revised criteria will allow more companies to qualify as MSMEs, benefiting from longer access to government programs. To address rising input costs, investment and turnover limits for MSME classification will be increased. Additionally, the government will boost credit guarantee limits for micro and small enterprises from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore and for startups from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore. New measures also include issuing customized credit cards with a ₹5 lakh limit for micro-enterprises registered on the Udyam portal, aiming to distribute 1 million cards initially. Puja Das had reported on 27 January how relief may be on the way for struggling MSMEs.
👉 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a five-year mission aimed at boosting cotton productivity during her Budget presentation for FY26. This initiative focuses on developing extra-long staple cotton to enhance the quality and revitalize India's traditional textile sector, Dhirendra Kumar reports. This is crucial for the success of Kasturi Cotton, a premium brand initiative by the government, textile trade bodies, and the industry. The mission is part of a broader strategy to increase funding for R&D in high-yield, high-quality hybrid seeds for essential crops like cotton, which faces productivity challenges due to climate change. Dhirendra had reported on the govt’s plans to develop high-yielding seeds, in his pre-budget report on 26 January. You can read it here.
👉 The government is focusing on job creation in agriculture, manufacturing, MSMEs, and startups to address the shortage of formal employment opportunities. In her budget speech, the finance minister emphasized initiatives aimed at generating employment in rural areas to reduce migration to urban centres. These initiatives include generating business and job opportunities for young and marginal farmers, landless families, and rural women, aiming to make migration a choice rather than a necessity, Devina Sengupta reports, along with Priyanka Sharma. The budget also targets job creation in labour-intensive sectors such as footwear and leather through the Focus Product Scheme, which is expected to create 2.2 million jobs. Additionally, a National Action Plan for Toys aims to establish India as a global hub for toy manufacturing.
That's all for this week. I hope you have a pleasant weekend!
If you have any feedback, want to talk about food, or have anything else to say about our journalism, write to me at siddharth.sharma1@htdigital.in or reply to this mail. You can also write to feedback@livemint.com.
Best,
Siddharth Sharma
Community Editor
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First Published:2 Feb 2025, 05:30 AM IST
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