FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 230 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2025 | Pages 20+4 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Pam Shriver recovers stolen trophies amid LA Wildfire chaos P.18 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD : HAMAS FREES 3 MALE HOSTAGES UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper readers’ corner TN’s contribution... P.14 Cinema Ibrahim’s digital debut P.16 BUDGET 2025-26 | Finance Minister presents Budget with an expenditure of Rs 50,65,345 crore, an increase of 7.4% over current fiscal HOLY ‘DIP’ FOR MIDDLE CLASS Individuals earning up to Rs 12.75 lakh in a year will not have to pay any taxes ALLOCATION DEFENCE `4,91,732 cr RURAL DEVELOPMENT `2,66,817 cr HOME AFFAIRS `2,33,211 cr AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED ACTIVITIES `1,71,437 cr EDUCATION `1,28,650 cr HEALTH ` 98,311 cr URBAN DEVELOPMENT `96,777 cr IT AND TELECOM `95,298 cr ENERGY `81,174 cr Centre of Excellence in Artificial Six new schemes and increased New scheme for 5 lakh women, Intelligence for education with Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled a total outlay of RS 500 crore Rs 5 lakh from Rs 3 lakh Tribes first-time entrepreneurs New tax regime PTI NEW DELHI Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced significant income tax cuts for the middle class and unveiled a blueprint for next generation reforms for Viksit Bharat as she treaded a fine line between fiscal prudence and providing a thrust to growth. Individuals earning up to Rs 12 lakh in a year will not have to pay any taxes after she raised the exemption threshold from Rs 7 lakh. An additional Rs 75,000 standard deduction is available for the salaried class. Presenting her eighth straight budget, she also altered tax slabs for people earning above this threshold to help save up to Rs 1.1 lakh in taxes for those with income up to Rs 25 lakh in a year. The raising of the rebate leads to 1 crore people not having to pay any tax, she said. The overall tax slab regig will benefit 6.3 crore people, or more than 80 per cent of taxpayers. "The new structure will substantially reduce taxes on the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment," Sitharaman said presenting what was dubbed as 'reformist' budget for the next fiscal in Lok Sabha. Up to Rs 4 lakh Nil Rs 4 - 8 lakh 5% Rs 8 - 12 lakh 10% Rs 12 - 16 lakh 15% Rs16 - 20 lakh 20% Rs 20 - 24 lakh 25% Above Rs 24 lakh 30% il tax slab will apply for annual income up to Rs 12 lakh (Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried tax payers with standard deduction of Rs 75,000) N TRIVIA n Nirmala Sitharaman sports Madhubani saree made by Padma awardee Dulari Devi n First Finance Minister to present eight consecutive budgets n President Droupadi Murmu offers 'dahi-cheeni' to Nirmala n Carries digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style red pouch I congratulate Finance Minister and her team for presenting a people’s Budget — ‘Janata Janardan Ka Budget’ Narendra Modi Prime Minister The Budget for April 2025 to March 2026 fiscal (FY26) proposed to raise foreign investment limit in insurance sector to 100 per cent from current 74 per cent and continued spending spree on infrastructure while raising allocations for social sectors as well as providing for measures for poor, youth, farmers and women. All this she did while managing to stick to the fiscal consolidation roadmap, projecting a fiscal deficit of 4.4 per cent of the GDP in FY26 as against an estimated 4.8 per cent in the current year ending March 31. Commenting on the announcements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it is a "people's budget" that fulfils the dreams of every Indian and said that it is a "force-multiplier" that will boost consumption, investment and growth. Sitharaman's budget has proposals aimed at boosting both consumption and investment, which in turn are expected to give a flip to domestic economic activity, protecting the growth outlook amidst global uncertainties. While maintaining the thrust on infrastructure development, it also continued to provide increasing support to the MSME and the agricultural sector. Also announced were duty cuts on intermediaries and certain life saving drugs. To balance the revenue lost, she budgeted a modest increase in capital spending at Rs 11.21 lakh crore in the next financial year compared to a lowered Rs 10.18 lakh crore in current fiscal. Besides, an increase in dividend expected from the Reserve Bank and other government-owned financial institutions will also help to contain the losses. The budget comes against the backdrop of the Indian economy growing at its weakest pace since pandemic and rising geopolitical risks particularly with the new US President Donald Trump threatening to impose widespread tariffs including on India. The 6.4 per cent GDP growth Inclusive budget: CM Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav welcomed the Union budget. He said special provisions have been made in the budget for poor, youths, farmers and women. It is a revolutionary budget of Modi government and is yet another step in the direction of making India as a self-reliant country. The move to exempt income up to Rs 12 lakh from tax is praiseworthy. This decision will give wings to the dreams of the middle class and strengthen them. He thanked PM Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the budget which gives huge relief to tax payers from the middle class. estimated for the current fiscal and 6.3 to 6.8 per cent in the next are well below the 8 per cent growth needed to meet the ambitious goal of making India a developed nation by 2047.