Employment creation, youth skilling, and the middle class were the main focus of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive Budget, the first of the NDA government’s third term. In her 1 hour 40-minute speech, she announced tax relief for those under the new tax regime, raising the standard deduction from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. Despite an initial market crash with the BSE Sensex dropping 1248.23 points and the Nifty falling by 409 points, the markets later recovered.
Sitharaman highlighted nine Budget priorities: productivity, jobs, social justice, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, and reforms.
Earlier, Sitharaman posed with a tablet in a ‘bahi khata’-styled pouch before heading to Parliament, set to make history with her seventh consecutive Budget presentation, surpassing Morarji Desai’s record of six consecutive budgets.
