New IT Bill to be tabled today? All eyes on Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to Budget debate in Lok Sabha
Sitharaman will discuss the Union Budget 2025-26 in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, highlighting tax cuts for the salaried middle class and a new income tax bill.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will reply on the recently presented Union Budget 2025-26 and the subsequent discussions in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Her address is likely to be around 4pm.
After Sitharaman's address to the House, the budget process would be marked concluded following which the Finance Bill is likely to be passed in Parliament.
Focused on wooing the salaried middle class with tax cuts the finance minister presented the Union Budget for the upcoming financial year on February 1.
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Before that, Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2024-25 on January 31, projecting India's GDP to grow at a rate of 6.4 per cent for FY2025.
Budget 2025: What Sitharaman offered India
During her Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman raised the starting point for income tax to over ₹12 lakh from ₹7 lakh and also announced that the government will introduce a new income tax bill.
Sitharaman further announced a new fund for startups and said the government will provide more money to promote innovation in partnership with the private sector and launch programs to push manufacturing and exports.
She also announced excise duty cuts on crucial medicines and a range of new initiatives to foster the growth of the real estate and health sectors.
The Budget session of the Parliament commenced on January 31, with President Droupadi Murmu delivering her inaugural address.
The first part of the session will continue till February 13. The session will reconvene on March 10 and continue till April 4.
Discussions on Union Budget 2025
A general discussion on the Union Budget 2025-2026 commenced on February 6, while the debate on the Union Budget began on Friday last week.
The treasury and opposition benches sparred in the Lok Sabha over the Union Budget, with the opposition members saying it offered a mere “sugar rush” in tax relief without any long-term benefits, while the ruling side defended it as a"booster shot" for the economy.
Congress MP Manish Tewari claimed that in the past decade, government debts have soared which has created problems for future generations.
During their speeches, the opposition leaders questioned the absence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Chair said the minister of state for Finance was present and the FM herself was in the Rajya Sabha.
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On the other hand, BJP MP Anurag Thakur hailed the budget as a "force multiplier".
"Rahul Gandhi is calling the budget a 'band-aid budget'. I want to tell him that this is not a Band-Aid budget but a 'booster shot' budget. It is a force multiplier...," he said.
Sitharaman likely to introduce new IT Bill
After the approval of the Union Cabinet, the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, is likely to be introduced in the parliament in the ongoing Budget session, news agency PTI reported.
The new bill seeks to make direct tax law simple to understand and not to impose any new tax burden. It will not have provisos and explanations or long sentences.
The new income tax bill will be introduced in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and will be sent to Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
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