Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Major Tax Reforms and Economic Measures in 7th Consecutive Union Budget

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the seventh consecutive Union Budget today, marking the first budget of the newly formed Narendra Modi-led NDA government's third term. In her address, she introduced notable changes to the income tax system aimed at providing relief to salaried individuals and pensioners, as well as supporting the start-up ecosystem. The budget proposes raising the standard deduction for salaried employees from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000 and increasing the family pension deduction for pensioners from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000. These adjustments are expected to benefit around 4 crore salaried individuals and pensioners. To promote domestic value addition in gold and precious metal jewellery, customs duties on gold and silver have been lowered to 6%, and on platinum to 6.4%, from the previous effective rate of 15%. Additionally, the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on mobile phones, mobile printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), and mobile chargers will be reduced to 15%, which is expected to decrease mobile unit prices. A new credit guarantee scheme will be introduced to support MSMEs in obtaining term loans for machinery and equipment without requiring collateral or third-party guarantees. This scheme will pool the credit risks of these MSMEs, with a self-financing guarantee fund offering coverage of up to ₹100 crore for each applicant. Furthermore, the limit for Mudra loans will be increased to ₹20 lakh from ₹10 lakh for entrepreneurs who have successfully repaid previous loans under the 'Tarun' category.