The focus of Budget 2025 is on tax relief, digital economy, healthcare, AI, infrastructure, MSMEs, agriculture and financial inclusion. Let’s see who got what and which sector benefited.
✅ Winners (Winners)
- Middle-Class & Salaried People
Income tax slab rejig: 1 crore new people have come into the tax-free bracket.
Exemption on income up to ₹12 lakh: Disposable income will increase, benefit of both expenses and savings.
2 No tax on self-occupied properties: Relief for home buyers.
TDS limit of senior citizens increased from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh: Retirement planning is easy.
- Healthcare & Cancer Patients
Full duty exemption on imported cancer drugs: Treatment will be cheaper.
200 new daycare cancer centres: Treatment will be available even in small places.
Medical education boost: 10,000 new MBBS seats.
- MSMEs, Startups & Entrepreneurs
PM SVANidhi scheme upgrade: Street vendors to get UPI-linked credit card up to ₹30,000.
₹1 lakh crore startup fund: Innovation and entrepreneurship boost.
Ease of Doing Business reforms: Compliance load reduced.
- AI, Digital Payments & Fintech
Heavy investment on AI infrastructure & research: India is on the way to becoming an AI powerhouse.
Support to UPI and digital payments ecosystem: Rural post offices linked to India Post Payments Bank.
Revamped KYC registry: Digital transactions and banking easy.
- Infrastructure & Education
Expansion in 5 new IITs: 6,500 new engineering seats.
Focus on Railways and highways: Public transport and connectivity will be strong.
Push to affordable housing and real estate sector: ₹15,000 crore Swamy Fund 2 launch.
- Farmers & Agri Sector
Credit support to ₹17 million farmers: boost to Kheti-kisani and rural economy.
Makhana Board for Makhana farmers of Bihar: upliftment of regional farming.
Self-reliance mission for pulses: Import dependency of pulses will be reduced.
- EV & Green Energy
Duty-free capital goods on EV battery manufacturing: Production cost will be reduced.
Support to Green energy and clean mobility: Renewable energy adoption will increase.
❌ Losers (Losers)
- RBI Dividend Transfer Down
In 2025-26, the government will not get big dividend from RBI, fiscal space is tight.
- Railway Stocks Down
Railway capex did not grow as much as expected, due to this railway stocks fell.
Railway stocks like RVNL, IRCTC, IRFC fell by 5-9%.
- Crypto Enthusiasts
Tax department got the power to audit virtual digital assets for the past 6 years.
Pressure may increase on crypto investments and speculative trading.
- Large Import-Based Industries
Duty hike for some sectors, global competitiveness challenge.
🧐 Expert Opinions
PM Modi:
“This budget is not just for filling the government’s coffers, but for filling people’s pockets.”
Rahul Gandhi:
“A bullet is like putting a band-aid on a wound, the economy needs a paradigm shift.”
P. Chidambaram:
“Apart from bold reforms like 1991 and 2004, the economy will be limited to 6-6.5% growth.”
Dr. Naresh Trehan (Medanta):
“Making cancer drugs duty-free will be a game-changer.”
💡 Bottom Line
Budget 2025 was strong for the middle class, healthcare, AI, fintech, MSMEs, startups and rural economy. But it was not as favorable for RBI dividend, crypto investors, railway stocks and large import-heavy industries.
What is your opinion on the budget? Does it match your expectations?