Overview
- The budget lifted tax burdens by making income up to ₹12 lakh tax-free and replacing the 1961 law with the Income Tax Act, 2025, while GST was simplified to two main slabs of 5% and 18% with higher rates for luxury and sin goods.
- Four labour codes came into force, replacing 29 laws to streamline compliance and extend social-security coverage to gig and contract workers under a national minimum wage framework.
- The Viksit Bharat G‑RAM‑G programme replaced MGNREGA, raising guaranteed rural work to 125 days and boosting annual wage entitlements, though its passage faced opposition protests in Parliament.
- Deregulatory measures advanced ease of doing business through Jan Vishwas decriminalisation, a rollback of mandatory Quality Control Orders across dozens of product categories, and a higher ‘small company’ turnover threshold of ₹100 crore.
- Macro indicators strengthened with Q2 GDP growth around 8.2% and a cumulative 125 bps RBI rate cut to 5.25%, as 100% FDI in insurance and the SHANTI law opened avenues for capital and private participation in select civilian nuclear projects.