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PM Modi invoked the Maha Lakshmi mantra ahead of Budget 2025, hinting at relief for the middle class, while taxpayers anticipate higher deductions and revised tax slabs.
PM Modi addresses the media on the first day of the Budget session of Parliament (Photo: PTI)
A day before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her record eighth consecutive budget on February 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday reminisced the Maha Lakshmi mantra and said he prayed that the Goddess continues to bless the poor and middle class.
In his customary address to the media before the beginning of a new session, PM Modi said, “I bow down to Maa Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.”
“I pray that Maa Lakshmi continues to bless the poor and middle class of our country and continues to shower her blessings,” he added.
Later, President Droupadi Murmu, during her address, said that the government is committed to fulfilling the dream of the middle class of having their own house.
The Prime Minister’s remarks, a day before the third Modi government’s full Budget, are being treated as a hint towards the Budget with something beneficial for the poor and the middle classes.
According to various media reports, salaried taxpayers are eagerly anticipating the possibility of receiving additional tax relief to help alleviate the financial burden imposed by their salary incomes.
Though Sitharaman, in 2024, raised the standard deduction for salaried employees and pensioners choosing the new tax regime to Rs 75,000 per year, those under the old regime continued to receive a standard deduction of Rs 50,000.
Now, taxpayers are anticipating a higher standard deduction.
Recent reports have suggested that the upcoming Union Budget 2025-2026 may bring about major changes.
Among the top expectations by the middle class are enhancing the rebate limit under Section 87A, increasing the standard deduction limit, changing the tax slabs, increasing the basic exemption limit, health insurance benefits, and so on.
Reportedly, there is also growing demand for introducing a voluntary NPS contribution deduction in the new regime and raising deductions on health and life insurance premiums.
A major proposal on the middle-class wishlist is making annual income up to Rs 10 lakh tax-free under the new regime. Other sought-after tax reliefs include higher exemptions for home loan interest, tuition fees, and insurance premiums.
Presently, the old regime offers a Rs 50,000 standard deduction, while the new regime raised this to Rs 75,000 in Budget 2024.
UNION BUDGET 2025 ON FEBRUARY 1
Nirmala Sitharaman will on February 1 present the country’s Union Budget, which is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
On January 31, Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha.
The Economic Survey is an annual document presented by the government ahead of the Union Budget to review the state of the economy. The document also provides an overview of the short-to-medium-term prospects of the economy.
