Overall Theme: Focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.

 

Tax Reforms:

 

• • Revision in Tax Slabs: The tax structure under the new regime is revised, potentially saving taxpayers ₹17,500.

New Tax Rates:

 

• • 0-3 lakh: 0% tax
  • 3-7 lakh: 5% tax
  • 7-10 lakh: 10% tax
  • 10-12 lakh: 15% tax
  • 12-15 lakh: 20% tax
  • 15 lakh & above: 30% tax

 

• Standard Deduction Increase: Standard deduction on the new tax regime is increased from ₹30,000 to ₹75,000.
• Standard deduction is a fixed amount of money that you can subtract from your taxable income in certain tax regimes.

 

Capital Gains Tax Changes:

 

• • Short-term capital gains tax on specified financial assets increases from 15% to 20%.
  • Long-term capital gains tax on all assets increases to 12.5% from 10%.
  • Exemption limit on capital gains for certain financial assets increases from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.25 lakh annually.
  • Angel tax abolished to support startups and innovation.
  • Fiscal Deficit: FY25 fiscal deficit projected at 4.9% of GDP, aiming for a further reduction below 4.5% next year.

 

{Capital Gains Tax is a tax you pay on the profit you make when you sell an asset, like stocks, real estate, or even cryptocurrencies (in some countries).}

 

Expenditure and Receipts:

 

• • Expenditure for FY25 projected at ₹48.21 trillion.
  • Receipts for FY25 projected at ₹32.07 trillion.
  • Fiscal deficit estimated at 4.9% of GDP.

 

Customs Duty Reductions:

 

• • Gold, silver, and platinum duties reduced.
  • Lithium, copper, and cobalt exempted from customs duty.
  • Duty reductions on solar cell and panel manufacturing, spandex yarn, connectors, and oxygen-fused copper.

 

{Customs duty is a tax levied by a government on goods that are brought into or taken out of the country. It’s like a tollbooth for international trade.}

Duty Cuts on Medicines and Mobile Phones:

 

• • Customs duty fully exempted on three additional cancer medicines.
  • Duty on mobile devices and accessories reduced to 15%.
  • Increased customs duty on plastic products.

 

Budget Allocations:

 

• • Funds allocated for social and infrastructure development in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
  • ₹10 trillion allocated for providing 1 crore houses to the urban poor and middle class.

 

Agriculture and Allied Sectors:

 

• • Comprehensive review of agriculture research setup to raise productivity and develop climate-resilient varieties.
  • Initiatives for natural farming, supporting 1 crore farmers with certification and branding.
  • Shrimp production and export facilitated through NABARD.
  • New 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops will be released for cultivation by farmers.
  • 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres will be established.

 

Financial Initiatives:

 

• • Mudra loan limit increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh for previous borrowers.
  • Financial support for higher education loans up to ₹10 lakhs in domestic institutions.

 

Employment and Skilling:

 

• • Five schemes to focus on 4.1 crore youth over 5 years, with a central outlay of ₹2 lakh crore.
  • Comprehensive internship scheme for 1 crore youth in top companies.
  • Employment-linked incentives and women-specific skilling programs.

 

MSME and Manufacturing Support:

 

• • Special attention to MSMEs and manufacturing sector.
  • Credit guarantee scheme, term loans for machinery purchase, and technology support package.
  • SIDBI to open 24 new branches to serve MSME clusters.

 

Employment & Skilling

 

Employment Linked Incentive

• • As a part of the Prime Minister’s package, three schemes to be implemented for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’:

 

Scheme A: First Timers

• • To provide one-month wage (up to INR 15,000) to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors. The eligibility limit will be a salary of INR 1 Lakh per month.

 

Scheme B: Job Creation in Manufacturing

• • To incentivise additional employment in the manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time employees.

 

Scheme C: Support to employers

• • To cover additional employment in all sectors. The government will reimburse employers up to INR 3,000 per month for 2 years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee.

 

Other Announcements:

 

• • 100 new branches of India Post Payments Bank to be established in the North East.
  • 12 new industrial parks to be created.
  • ₹1.52 trillion allocated for agriculture and allied sectors.
  • New high-yielding and climate-resilient crop varieties for farmers.
  • ₹3 trillion allocated for women-centric schemes.
  • Three new employment-linked schemes proposed with ₹2 trillion allocation for job creation.
  • Mudra loan limit increased.
  • Critical mineral mission and auction of offshore mining blocks announced.
  • Rental housing scheme for industrial workers.

 

Note: This is a summary based on a news report and may not include all details from the budget.