Daily News - Monday, 3 February 2025
‘PM put me on the specific assignment to see what is that we could come up with’ (The Indian Express)
Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the Union Budget as being “by the people, for the people, and of the people,” highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong support for tax cuts aimed at benefiting the middle class, despite initial resistance from bureaucrats. In her eighth consecutive Budget, Sitharaman raised the personal income tax exemption limit from ₹7 lakh to ₹12 lakh, marking the largest-ever ₹5 lakh increase, allowing middle-class taxpayers to save up to ₹1.1 lakh and boosting consumption, savings, and investment. She emphasized that these tax reforms, designed to simplify direct taxation and reduce compliance burdens, were driven by the aspirations of honest taxpayers who sought relief amid inflation while continuing to contribute to the nation’s progress.
India might face US tariffs despite pre-emptive move (Financial Express)
The Indian government has taken preemptive measures in Budget FY26 to mitigate potential US tariff hikes on Indian exports, particularly steel, aluminium, and pharmaceuticals, amid concerns that the Trump administration may escalate its global trade war to include India. The US, India’s largest export market for pharmaceuticals (accounting for 38.8% of its imported medicines), received $5.8 billion worth of Indian drug formulations and $2.3 billion in steel and $516 million in aluminium shipments between April and November. To counter Trump’s accusations of India being a “tariff king,” the Budget has significantly reduced import duties, scrapping high tariff slabs (100%-150%) and lowering them to 70% while also cutting other duties to 20%, signalling India’s commitment to fair trade while protecting national interests.
Budget boosts allocations for the plantation sector, led by hikes for tea (The Hindu)
The Indian government has significantly increased budgetary allocations for the plantation sector in 2025-26, with the tea industry receiving ₹771 crore—more than three times the ₹500 crore in the revised estimates for 2024-25—mainly to support the Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana benefiting women plantation workers and children in West Bengal and Assam. The Coffee Board’s funding rose to ₹280 crore from ₹250 crore, the Rubber Board to ₹360 crore from ₹348 crore, and the Spices Board saw the largest proportional increase, receiving ₹153.81 crore compared to ₹130 crore in 2024-25. Despite these increases, no major policy announcements were made for the plantation sector beyond these budgetary hikes.
Centre plans to invest in toy hubs, super foods, power, AI (Financial Chronicle)
For the first time, the Indian government has announced investments in emerging sectors like toy hubs, global superfoods (e.g., makhana), next-generation powerhouses, and artificial intelligence (AI), with ₹500 crore allocated for AI research and another ₹2,500 crore for plug-and-play industrial parks to boost infrastructure. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) received a 64% budget hike to ₹13,145.06 crore for 2025-26, up from ₹8,011 crore in 2024-25, with increased allocations for intellectual property-related work (₹321.34 crore), footwear, leather and accessories (₹350 crore), and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (₹2,500 crore). These initiatives aim to strengthen manufacturing clusters, improve skill development, drive renewable energy transition, and enhance India’s global competitiveness under the Make-in-India initiative.
Tech sector confident of GCCs’ rise in tier ll cities (Financial Express)
The Indian government’s plan to establish a national framework for Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in tier-2 cities is expected to drive talent expansion beyond traditional tech hubs like Bengaluru, with emerging cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Vadodara, Coimbatore, and Kochi gaining attention. Industry leaders see this as a transformative move, as 80% of global firms have yet to set up GCCs in India, positioning the country as a major global GCC hub. Additionally, the initiative is expected to strengthen India’s digital infrastructure, enhance its global competitiveness, and accelerate its journey as a leading technology powerhouse.
