NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth consecutive Union Budget on Saturday. This brings her closer to the record of 10 budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who holds the record for the most budgets presented across different terms. She is also the first woman to serve as a full-time finance minister.
The Budget for the financial year starting April 2025 (FY2025-26) was the 14th consecutive Budget under the Narendra Modi government since 2014.This includes two interim Budgets presented before the general elections in 2019 and 2024.
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Ahead of the Budget, there was interest in how the announcements would affect the prices of goods and services, especially for the middle class.
Here’s the full list
Items that became cheaper
- Mobile phones: 28 more goods used in mobile phone battery production were added to the exempted capital goods list.
- Medicines: Basic Customs Duty was removed on 37 more medicines.
- Critical drugs: 36 drugs used for cancer and rare diseases were also exempted from Basic Customs Duty.
- Raw materials: Full exemption from Basic Customs Duty was given to cobalt products, LED, zinc, lithium-ion battery scrap, and 12 critical minerals.
- Shipbuilding: Exemption on raw materials for manufacturing ships was extended for another 10 years.
- Handicrafts: A new scheme was introduced to support handicraft exports.
- Leather: Wet blue leather was fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty.
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Items that became costlier
- Interactive flat panel displays: Basic Customs Duty was increased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent to address the inverted duty structure.
Meanwhile, the Economic Survey presented in Parliament on Friday projected India’s economic growth to be between 6.3 per cent and 6.8 per cent for the financial year 2025-26.
The survey said that India’s economic fundamentals remain stable due to a strong external account, fiscal discipline, and private consumption. It also mentioned that the government plans to support long-term industrial growth by focusing on research and development (R&D), micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and capital goods.
“The fundamentals of the domestic economy remain robust, with a strong external account, calibrated fiscal consolidation and stable private consumption. On balance of these considerations, we expect that the growth in FY26 would be between 6.3 and 6.8 per cent,” the survey stated.
The survey also noted that food inflation is expected to decrease in the last quarter of FY25 due to lower vegetable prices and the arrival of the Kharif harvest. A good Rabi harvest may help control food prices in early FY26. However, inflation risks remain due to uncertain weather and rising global agricultural prices.
