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Union Budget Session 2025 Live Updates : The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address the nation at 11 am today with her 8th consecutive budget. As per the Economic Survey released on 31.01.2025, the Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.3-6.8% in 2025-26.

The focus of the budget will be to accelerate growth, inclusive development, unlocking the nation’s potential and rising middle class, A country is not just it’s soil but also it’s people, Zero poverty, 100% skilled labour, Women in employment 70% target, Gareeb, youth, annadata and nari.

The Six domains of focus will be taxation, power, urban, mining, finance and regulatory.

Budget Live : Agriculture

• First Engine – Agriculture
  PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojna in partnership with states- 100 districts with low productivity, crop diversity, improve irrigation, more credit for 1.7 crore farmers.
• Underemployment in rural areas in order to ensure that migration is an option but not a necessity
• Phase I- 100 developing areas will be taken up along with help from Multilateral agencies
• Six year mission on atmanirbharta in pulses will launched. Procurement will be done on as much as offered by farmers in three pulses through NCCF
• Makhana Board to set up in Bihar for value addition and sale of Makhana. FPOs will be formed
• A national mission of high yielding seeds will be launched
• For marine sector which is 60000 crore with special focus in Lakshwadeep
• Mission for cotton productivity will be launched for extra long staple variety
• Loan limit under modified subvention scheme will be increased to 5 lakhs from 3 lakhs through KCC
• New Urea plants to be launched
• India Post with 1.5 lakh post offices will be repositioned to act as a catalyst in rural economy and will be transformed as a logistics hub

Budget Live : MSME

• 1 crore MSME employing over 5 crore persons accounting for 45% of exports, better access to capital and guidelines will be given, investment and turnover criteria will be enhanced from 1.5 to2. 5 respectively.
• Access to credit
• Additional credit of 1.5 lakh crore
• For startups- 1% Guarantee for startups
• For exporters- Term loan upto 20 crores rupee
• For micro enterprises- Customized credit card limit – 5 lakh rupees limit registered on udyam portal. 10 lakh cards will be issued
• New Fund of Funds for startups with 10000 crore contribution from government for startups will be set up
• 5 lakh women sc/st term loan upto two crore rupees.
• In labour intensive sectors
• Leather sector- Focussed for non leather quality footwear emplloyment for 20 lakh persons and exports of over 1 lakh crore
• National toy mission- Global hub for toys, clusters for toys manufacturing under make in India
• National Institute for Food Technology and Management in Bihar for Eastern Region
• Manufacturing Mission covering small medium and large industries with favourable policies
• Clean tech manufacturing- solar cells, ev batteries etc
  

Budget Live : Investment as third engine

• Atal tinkering labs – 20000 labs will be setup in government schools
• Broadband will be provided to schools and PHC
• National centre of excellence for skilling -5 such COE will be setup for youth
• Expansion of capacity in IITs – 100% increase in number of students through capacity addition in last ten years
• Additional infra will be added to add 6500 more students in IITs opened after 2014
• COE for AI will be setup will be setup
• Over one lakh medical seats added in last year’s
• In next 5 years 75000 more seats will be added
• Setting up of day care cancer hospitals in government hospital
• Urban poor and urban workers – People swanidhi scheme has benefited street vendors. Upi linked credit card with 30000 limit will be given.
• Government will recognize gig workers and will be registered on shram portal and will be given medical benefits
• Second monetization plan for 2025-2030 will be launched with aim of 10 lakh crore is being launched
• Jal jeevan mission being extended till 2028 for potable water
• Urban sector reforms
• Urban challenge fund- 1 lakh crore rupees for cities as growth hubs will finance upto 25% if 50% is financed through banks and bonds
• Additional borrowing will be allowed to states for electricity purposes
• Amendment to the nuclear liability act will be done for energy mission
• Ship building policy will be revamped for mitigating cost disadvantages
• Maritime Development Fund will be setup 49% govt and balance from ports and other private institutions
• Udaan scheme – Enhance regional connectivity to 120 new destination
• 4 crore new passengers targeted
• Green field airports will be setup in Bihar
• Helipads will also be included in udaan scheme for hilly areas
• Western Kosi Canal ERM project for mithananchal region of Bihar

Budget Live : Mining Reforms

• Sharing of best practices
• Another 40000 units will be handed over in stuck projects
• Swami fund 2- Expeditious completion of 1 lakh units

Budget Live : Tourism for employment lead growth

• Organizing skill development including IHM
• Mudra loans for home stays
• Provided employment linked incentives to states
• Visa fee waivers for certain groups
• For destinations related to life of Lord Buddha will be encouraged
• Heal in India- Medical tourism more impetus will be setup
• Deeptech fund of funds will be setup
• 10000 fellowships in IIT and IISC will be done
• National Geospatial Mission will be setup using PM Gati Shakti
• Gyan Bharatam Mission for manuscripts will be launched for over 1 crore manuscripts

Budget Live : Exports

• A digital infra for international trade will be setup for trade finance and will be aligned with international practice
• Export mission will have sectoral targets
• Cargo screening and custom protocols will be made more friendly

Budget Live : Financial Sector Reforms

• Insurance FDI upto 100%
• Services of India Post will be deepened in rural India
• Public sector banks – Revamp for central kyc registry
• Company mergers will be fast tracked and made simpler
• Regulations should keep pace with technological Upgradations for old laws appropriate for new age
• High level committee for all non financial sector regulations for reviewing existing laws and licenses in matters of inspections and compliances
• Industry friendliness index for states to be launched

Budget Live : Fiscal Deficit

Fiscal deficit target 4.4% of GDP

Budget Live : Part B- Indirect Taxes and Customs

• Rationalization for custom tariffs
• Remove 7 tariff rates will be removed
• Only 8 tariff rates will remain including 0 rates
• Levy not more than one cess or surcharge
• 82 items exempted from surcharge
• 36 life saving drugs fully exempted from BCD
• 6 life saving drugs @5% BCD
• All inputs will also be exempted from manufacturing of these drugs
• Time limit for finalizing provisional assessment of two years extendable by one year
• Pay duty with interest but no penalty where audits or investigation have not been initiated in customs
• Importers will need to file quarterly statements instead of monthly statements

Budget Live : Income Tax

• New Income Tax bill will be clear and half of the volume of the law for reduced litigation
• No income tax payable upto income of 12 lakh rupees. This will be 12.75 lakh for salaried employees. This will be under new tax regime.
• The tax payers upto Rs. 12 lacs income (normal income) excluding special income will pay no taxes due to marginal relief
• Revenue of 1 lakh crores will be forgone in direct taxes
• Personal income tax reform with special focus on middle class
• Rationalization of TDs and TCS
• TDS – Tax deduction threshold limits will be increases
• Limit for interest for senior citizens Rs 100000 for limit
• Limit for rent made 6 lakhs for TDS deduction
• Limit for LRS increased to Rs. 10 lacs
• TCS limit removed for education if financed from bank
• TDS higher deduction will apply only in non PAN cases
• TCS provisions for late filing decriminalized
• Updated return – 90 lakh returns were filed
• Updated return can be filed for any assessment upto four years
• NSC for senior and very senior citizens – all withdrawals will be exempt from tax after 29.08.2024
• Vivad se vishwas scheme 33000 people opted for the scheme
• NRI to be given presumptive taxation in certain areas
• Tonnage tax scheme will be extended to inland veseels
• Incorporation of startups- tax benefits for startups registered upto 2030

Budget Live : New Income Tax Slabs

New Income Tax Slabs

• 0- Rs. 4 lacs – Nil
• Rs. 4 to 8 lacs – 5%
• Rs. 8 to 12 lacs – 10%
• Rs. 12 to 16 lacs – 15%
• Rs. 16 to 20 lacs – 20%
• Rs. 20 to 24 lacs – 25%
• Above Rs. 24 lacs – 30%

The 47^th AGM of Reliance Industries Limited was held on 29^th August, 2024. RIL share price closed at Rs. 3041.85 today, up by 1.52%. The top highlights of the announcements and updates as addressed by the Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani are as under:-

RIL

RIL has announced to consider bonus issue of 1:1 on 5^th September, 2024 in its Board Meeting. The last bonus issue was announced on 7^th September, 2017.

Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, Mukesh Ambani visions Reliance earning a spot in the Top-30 companies in the world in the near future owing to its strategic adoption of Deep-Tech and Advance Manufacturing. In its long journey, Reliance took around 2 decades to make a place for itself in the Top 500 companies globally and has now joined the Top 50 most valuable companies club.

Reliance Industries has posted a record consolidated turnover of Rs. 10 lakh crores (USD 119.90 billion) in FY 2023-24 becoming the first company in India to have achieved these numbers in annual revenues, with EBITDA of Rs. 1.78 lakh crores and a Net Profit of Rs. 79,020 crores. RIL has become the single largest contributor to the national exchequer by its contribution of Rs. 1.86 lakh crores through various duties and taxes. The company has enhanced its annual CSR spending by 25% to Rs. 1,592 crores. the company has had a strong quarter ended 30th June, 2024 as well.

RIL has created around 1.7 lakh new jobs in FY 2023-24 including both traditional as well as newer engagement models taking the headcount to 6.5 lakhs.

Reliance has spent over Rs. 3,643 crores in FY 2023-24 in R&D and overall expenditure in R&D exceeding Rs. 11,000 crores in the last 4 years. RIL has over 1,000 scientists and researchers working on critical projects. With this support, RIL has filed over 2,555 patents in the last year

Jio

Jio is developing a comprehensive suite of tools and platforms for the entire AI lifecycle called the Jio Brain which will aid in quicker and better AI adoption across Jio. Jio Brain will be adopted in other Reliance operating companies as well to accelerate the overall AI journey of the group. Thus, Jio has become a true deep-tech innovator become on of India’s largest patent holders with over 350 patents in 5G and 6G technologies alone. The goal is to add a million homes to its 5G fixed broadband service in every 30 days.

In light of Reliance’s focus on AI for everyone and everywhere, Jio will be ruling out JioCloud that will be an AI-cloud platform in Diwali this year with a welcome offer to its users to avail 100GB of free cloud storage. Moreover, Jio has launched a ‘Phone Call AI’ to record and transcribe calls and the data will be stored on the Jio AI cloud. The aim is to democratize AI by making it affordable.

Jio has reached a new milestone in both financial and operating performance with over 43 million new subscribers in the broadband service. The revenue achieved is Rs. 1 lakh crores (USD 12 billion) with EBITDA of 50.1% and net profit of Rs. 20,000 crores. Jio plans to double its revenues and EBITDA in the next 3-4 years.

Reliance Retail

Reliance Retail, owing to its unique operating model, is now in the world’s Top 5 global retailers in terms of the number of stores, Top 10 in market capitalization, Top 20 in terms of number of employees and Top 30 in terms of revenues. Non-Executive Director of Reliance Retail, Isha Ambani announced that Reliance Retail undertook an equity fundraise of Rs. 17,814 crores, thereby achieving a valuation milestone of 100 billion dollars. Reliance Retail focuses on achieving its goal of doubling its business in the next 3-4 years.

Currently, the stores have over a billion footfalls and 1.25 billion transactions across channels. With acquisition of Metro India Cash and Carry, the company has strengthened its capabilities offering a wider assortment of kirana and HoReCa partners.

Media and Entertainment Business

The media business has achieved revenue of over Rs. 10,000 crores, representing an industry-leading growth of 49%, especially Viacom18 that is driven by its sports segment having a remarkable growth of 62%.

O2C Business

The O2C business of Reliance has recorded a turnover of Rs. 5,64,749 crores (USD 67.9 billion) with an EBITDA of Rs. 62,393 crores. The company has relied on its sharp focus on operational excellence, optimized asset capacities for contributing towards its results. The Chairman announced that Reliance is now the largest producer of speciality fibres in India. Diversification efforts are being made by the company in processing 60 grades of crude oil, including 13 new grades.

New Energy Business

The Chairman Mukesh Ambani has announced that the new energy business will be their newest and most ambitious engine for growth and value creation. The company has initiated an energy plantation pilot on 1,000 acres of arid wasteland for integrated CBG plant. The company will be setting up the world’s largest bio-energy deep-tech R7D centre at Jamnagar. The Chairman, Mukesh Ambani stated that Jamnagar is the energy capital of the world and the vision is that by 2025, it will become the cradle of their new energy business as well.

For the first time in India, the company has successfully drilled multi-lateral wells. By the end of the year, the company will commence the production of solar photo-voltaic modules. The in the following quarters, the first phase of the integrated solar production facilities will be completed.

RIL-Disney Merger

It was announced in the Reliance AGM that the partnership of RIL with Disney will result in a new era in India’s entertainment industry with focus on digital first approach, the company aims to provide world class entertainment across the spectrum.

Stay updated on the latest news.

SEBI bans Anil Ambani and 24 other entities including KMPs of Reliance Home Finance Limited for a period of 5 years from the securities markets through an order issued on Thursday, 22^nd August, 2024. SEBI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 624 crores on these individuals and entities for allegedly siphoning funds.

Background

SEBI had undertaken an investigation for FY 2018-19 following several complaints alleging diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance. SEBI in its order has  established  the existence of a fraudulent scheme, orchestrated by Anil Ambani and administered by the  KMPs of  RHFL,  to  siphon  off  funds  from  the  public  listed  company  (RHFL)  by structuring them as ‘loans’ to credit unworthy conduit borrowers and in turn, borrowers all of whom have been found to be ‘promoter linked entities’.

Interim Order in February 2022

In February 2022, SEBI had passed an interim order restraining Anil Ambani and Reliance Home Finance Limited amongst others from the securities market until any further orders. This was on account of adverse findings and allegations of diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance Limited which is promoted by Reliance Capital Limited.

Final Order – SEBI bans Anil Ambani

As per its final order on Thursday, SEBI bans Anil Ambani for a period of 5 years from the securities market and has imposed a fine of Rs. 25 crores on him. Other key managerial persons (KMPs) of Reliance Home Finance Limited Amit Bafna, Ravindra Sudhalkar and Pinkesh Shah have been Rs. 27 crores, Rs. 26 crores and Rs. 21 crores respectively. The company RHFL has also been fined for Rs. 6 lakhs and barred for a period of 6 months. This detailed order of around 222 pages was uploaded on the SEBI website on 23^rd August, 2024.

Adverse Observations

It was pointed out that the Board of Directors of Reliance Home Finance Limited had expressed its serious concerns on the red flags in the lending of advances  and had strongly urged the company to abstain from such lending, the management of the company continued to overlook the concerns of the board.

As per the adverse findings of SEBI, loans were given to entities with weak financials that could not sustain and comply with the terms of the financing. SEBI noted that the loans were given to entities that had poor cash flows, low net worth, declining revenues and little or no assets. Moreover, there was lack of proper documentation and no due diligence before the advances were given. In some cases, SEBI pointed out that the disbursement of the loans was on the date of the loan application itself thus proving the allegation that there was lack of due diligence and a complete lapse of procedural compliances.

Another red flag observed by SEBI was that the borrowers of such loans were in many cases related/linked to the promoters or Reliance Home Finance Limited. These borrowers eventually failed to repay their loan obligations and thus, Reliance Home Finance Limited also failed to service its debts on time.

Penalties and Bans Imposed

Other group entities like Reliance Unicorn Enterprises, Reliance Exchange Next Ltd, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, Reliance Cleangen Ltd, Reliance Business Broadcast News Holdings Ltd and Reliance Big Entertainment Private Ltd have been imposed a penalty of Rs 25 crore each since these were the linked entities that received these illegally sanctioned loans or were intermediaries in the process of siphoning off funds from Reliance Home Finance Limited.

SEBI bans Anil Ambani as it observed that such fraudulent schemes were designed to siphon off funds from Reliance Home Finance Limited to entities known/related to the promoters and KMPs who facilitated such diversion of funds.

To know more about the Budget 2024 highlights, click here.