"With a view to reduce litigation and provide certainty in international taxation, the scope of Safe Harbour Rules is being expanded," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

A modified UDAN scheme will be launched to improve regional connectivity to 120 new destinations and carry four crore passengers in the next 10 years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said that the government will facilitate establishment of day care cancer centres in all district hospitals in the next three years. In FY2025-26, the government plans to establish 200 such centres.

In the next year, 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals, towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next five years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday.

Notably, the government has added almost 1.1 lakh UG and PG medical education seats in 10 years.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programme to provide nutritional support to over 8 crore children, one crore pregnant women and lactating mothers, and about 20 lakh adolescent girls in aspirational districts and the northeast region.

The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that function under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to ensure the security of Indian land borders, apart from federal counter-terrorist forces such as the National Security Guard (NSG), have been given a marginal increase in their budgetary allocations in the 2025 Budget.

The government announced on Saturday that it would revamp the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to make it more friendly to investors and attract foreign participants.

"To encourage sustained foreign investment and in the spirit of 'first develop India', the current model BIT will be revamped and made more investor-friendly," she said.

The government on Saturday rationalised basic customs duty (BCD) rates, cutting the number of levies to just 8. However, it has kept the effective duty rates on most items the same by adjusting cess to further ease of doing business.

Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Saturday that the focus on nuclear energy in the 2025 Budget will strengthen the country's power infrastructure and reduce dependence on conventional sources.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, announced that the government will rationalise the procedures and requirements for speedy approval for company mergers and broaden the scope for fast-track mergers as part of efforts to further improve the ease of doing business.

Applauding the Union Budget 2025-26, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the most special thing about this budget is the tax rebate on income up to ₹12 lakh per annum. He also said the budget focuses on women's empowerment and youth.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a "bold" 2025 budget that will boost consumption, especially in the middle class, Assocham President Sanjay Nayar said.

"The finance minister has placed her confidence in the middle class for leading the consumption-led growth. At the same time, there is a clear focus on unleashing the potential of the MSMEs, Startups and exports," he said.

The government decreased its borrowing estimate for the next fiscal to ₹11.54 lakh crore on a net basis due to the anticipation of improved tax collection, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget, increased the allocation for important technology projects, comprising production-linked incentives (PLI) for mobile phones, IndiaAI Mission, and semiconductor scheme, by about 84% to ₹18,000 crore for the next fiscal year.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Responding to voice of the people, which is what PM Modi is known for, it is a very responsive government, and as a result, the income tax simplification which I announced in July is already completed in its works and we shall bring the bill next week. So, the income tax simplification about which I had gone in detail in July budget... it will be brought to the Parliament next week."

In response to a media query on income tax rebate up to ₹12 lakh, Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, "Earlier, it (rebate) was ₹2.2 lakh, and in 2014, it became ₹2.5 lakh; in 2019, it became ₹5 lakh. Later, it was raised to ₹7 lakh and now it being raised to ₹12 lakh. The government feels that on the average Rs 1 lakh per month (income), you need not pay tax."

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the Jal Jeevan Mission, which seeks to provide tap water connections to all rural households, has been extended until 2028 with an enhanced Budget outlay.

The government projected a dividend income of around ₹2.56 lakh crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and public sector financial institutions in the financial year 2025-26, according to the Budget documents.

The government exempted 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines from Basic Customs Duty (BCD), and shares of Ajantha Pharma, Sun Pharmaceutical, Biocon, and Mankind Pharma jumped up to 3% after the announcement.

According to the Union Budget 2025-26 documents, for every rupee in government coffer, the largest portion of 66 paise, will come from direct and indirect taxes.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed an amendment to the Income Tax Act (IT Act), that would make it mandatory for prescribed entities to furnish tax authorities with transaction details of crypto assets.

Markets closed mixed on Budget Day. SENSEX settled marginally higher at 77,505, up 5.39 points. The NIFTY50 dipped 26.25 points or 0.11% to 23,482.15.

In the NIFTY50 space, BEL, Power Grid, L&T, Cipla and Grasim Industries declined the most.

The government on Saturday announced its plans to hike the annual threshold for deduction of tax at source or TDS on rent from the existing limit of ₹2.4 lakh to ₹6 lakh.

The Union government in the the Financial Year 2025-26 Budget on Saturday announced a scheme to make India a global hub for toys by focusing on cluster development.

"Building on the National Action Plan for Toys, we will implement a scheme to make India a global hub for toys," she said.

The government has raised defence expenditure by 7.6% to ₹6.81 lakh crore for the financial year 2025-26, according to the Budget documents.

Speaking on Union Budget 2025-26, Tapan Ray, MD and Group CEO of GIFT City, said, "The Union Budget 2025 reinforces the government’s commitment to making GIFT City IFSC a global financial hub. The proposed tax incentives and regulatory simplifications will attract global investors, fund managers, and businesses, strengthening India’s financial ecosystem. With these measures, GIFT City is set to become a competitive and business-friendly destination on the global financial map. It will play a key role in driving India’s growth in the international financial services sector."

The government has allocated ₹2,873,33.16 crore for the the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2025-26, marginally 2.41 % up from last year's outlay of ₹2,805,18.80 crore.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also increased the allocation to state-run National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ₹1,878,03 crore from last year's ₹1,693,71 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Union Budget 2025 will increase savings, investment, consumption and will push forward growth.

"I congratulate Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her entire team for presenting the people's Budget," PM Modi said.

"In this Budget, important steps have been taken towards reform. The decision to promote private sector in nuclear energy is historic. In the coming times, it will ensure a major contribution by civil nuclear energy in the nation's development, said PM Modi on Budget 2025-26.

Commending the Union Budget 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Budgets often focus on filling treasury. This Budget aims to fill people's pockets and increase savings"

The civil aviation ministry's budgetary allocation bas been reduced by nearly 10% to ₹2,400.31 crore for the financial year 2025-26, with the regional air connectivity scheme Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) set to get a lower amount of ₹540 crore.

The Centre has allotted ₹3,412.82 crore to the Ministry of Environment in the 2025-26 Union Budget, reflecting an increase of 9% from ₹3,125.96 crore in 2024-25.

• New Income Tax Bill to be introduced in the Budget session.
• The tax deduction limit on interest for senior citizens is being doubled from the present ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh.
• Annual limit of ₹2.40 lakh for TDS on rent is being increased to ₹6 lakh.
• The threshold to collect tax at source (TCS) on remittances under RBI’s liberalised remittance scheme is proposed to be increased from ₹7 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
• Government has proposed to Remove TCS on Remiiances for Education Purposes
• The government has proposed to exempt withdrawals made from National Savings Scheme by individuals on or after the August 29, 2024.

Hailing the Union Budget 2025, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "This is an excellent Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with an aim to fulfil PM Modi's vision of 'Viksit Bharat'. I applaud this Budget which takes care of every section of the society. Especially, this Budget brings an unprecedented gift for the middle class, to recognise their contributions."

On tax relief to middle class, Home Minister Amit Shah said, "The middle class is always in PM Modi’s heart. Zero Income Tax till ₹12 lakh Income. The proposed tax exemption will go a long way in enhancing the financial well-being of the middle class. Congratulations to all the beneficiaries on this occasion."

• Total receipts other than borrowing are estimated at ₹34.96 lakh crore and total expenditure is estimated at ₹50.65 lakh crore
• Fiscal deficit is estimated to be 4.4% of GDP.
• To finance the fiscal deficit, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at ₹11.54 lakh crore.