CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ thrissur l Sunday l february 02, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l city edition 100% Fdi in insurance N-liability law to be tweaked Strengthening farmer pulse With more global insurance giants coming to India, expect new jobs to be created, sophisticated products and advanced technology, and higher competition resulting in lower premiums for end users Govt opens up nuclear power sector to private players, announces H20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission for research in the field. Also, the nuclear liability laws will be amended before PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US Loan limit through the Kisan Credit Card up from H3 lakh to H5 lakh. Nine new missions, including a six-year plan to make India self-reliant in pulses. NAFED will directly procure pulses from registered farmers for 4 years Desamante Matti Kaadoi, Desamante Manushuloi (A country is not just its soil, a country is its people) Census unlikely The muchdelayed decadal census is unlikely to be carried out in 2025 as only H574.80 crore has been allocated for the exercise, which is estimated to cost over H8,754 crore Nirmala Sitharaman quoting from Telugu playwright Gurajada Apparao’s work TAX AXE BUDGET PRODS PEOPLE TO SPEND MORE D i pa k M o nd a l @ New Delhi This is a people’s budget, it will boost investment and pave the way for ‘Viksit Bharat ... will hugely benefit middle class Narendra Modi, Prime Minister A band-aid for bullet wounds! Solving our economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift. But this govt is bankrupt of ideas Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Budget is reassuring, as it instils confidence that India is investing in the right areas to drive stable, inclusive economic growth Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson, Biocon a country is not just its soil, a country is its people—the famous line of Telugu poet and playwright Gurajada Appa Rao quoted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech— sums up the focus of Budget 2025-26. The middle class was the central focus of the Budget, which heralded a big income tax cut for which came from all corners—salaried people, industrialists, and economists. All of them were unanimous in their call for a relief to common man, the absence of which was writ large in all macro and micro indicators. The FM was cheered by all the members of Parliament when she announced the personal tax proposals, which include a major overhaul in tax slabs and an increase in the threshold up to which no tax is levied on income. The income threshold was increased from `7 lakh to `12 lakh, virtually making any income up to `12.75 lakh tax free. The new tax slab significantly reduces the tax burden on all with the highest tax rate of 30% applicable on income over `24 lakh from `18 lakh earlier. The government will introduce a new income tax bill in Parliament next week, replacing the six-decade old Income Tax Act of 1961. According to Sitharaman, the tax reforms will result in a revenue loss of `1 lakh crore. However, analysts say this could be much higher. Despite her tax largesse and the resultant revenue loss, the government maintains a strong fiscal stance. The fiscal deficit target has been kept at 4.4% in FY26, and the government plans to keep its borrowings lower than the current financial year, lower than 4.8% estimated in the current financial year. It’s a fiscal magic that the government plans to achieve through higher collection of personal taxes, which are estimated to grow at 14.5%. The government has, for a change, decided to go slow on capex as the allocations for capital expenditure has been kept at `11.2 lakh crore, a 10% increase from the revised FY25 estimate of `10.2 lakh crore. However, the government has defending flat capex numbers as it argues that the budgeted numbers don’t include the central PSUs’ capex commitment of `4 lakh crore for the year. “So, there is no going back or scaling down on public capex,” said finance secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey . The Budget also launched a massive rationalisation of customs duty to help both manufacturers and the middle class. That the move came in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance against countries with high import tax regime is notable. With the duty cut, Harley-Davidsons bikes will be cheaper as its levy has been brought down from 50% to 40%. Apart from the middle class, the Budget centred around 10 broad areas focusing on the poor, youth, farmers, and women. The objectives include spurring agricultural growth and productivity, building rural prosperity and resilience; inclusive growth path, boosting manufacturing and supporting MSMEs, and enabling employment-led development. In a significant boost to the MSME sector, the FM announced that credit guarantee cover for the MSME will be doubled from `5 crore to `10 crore. This leads to additional credit of `1.5 lakh crore in the next five years. Over 1 crore registered MSMEs currently employ 7.5 crore people and generate 36% of India’s manufacturing. This budget is progressive. The announcements made for Bihar in the budget will further accelerate its development Nitish Kumar, Bihar chief minister A pro-people and progressive budget... reflects vision of Viksit Bharat and prioritises welfare of women, the poor and youth Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra chief minister Well done Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers greet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after she presented the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha, in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI pre-poll sop New income tax slabs 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Up to H4L H4L to H8L H12L H16L H20L to H16L to H20L to H24L Above H24L Rebate Tax on Slabs Tax Benefit benefit Total after and rates of Rate Income Full up benefit rebate Present Proposed / slab Benefit to 12L K8L 30K K9L K10L R A J E S H K U M A R T H AK U R Bihar was written all over the Union Budget as it made significant allocations for the NDA-ruled state that will face assembly polls later this year. From Nirmala Sitharaman draping herself in a Madhubani saree gifted by Padma awardee Dulari Devi, who hails from Mithilanchal and is an ace in Madhubani paintings, to the finance minister considerably loosening her purse strings for the underdeveloped state, there was a sense of purpose behind the slew of allocations. They ranged from promoting agriculture through a Makhana Board and financial support for the Western Kosi Canal Project, to greenfield airports and plans to expand IIT Patna. North Bihar, especially Mithilanchal, could benefit from these targeted investments, which could potentially influence the electoral outcome there. Mithlanchal has about 60 seats in the assembly, 40 of which were won by the NDA in the 2020 state elections. “The budget’s focus on agriculture is a boon to farmers in Mithilanchal, where farming is the primary livelihood for a majority of the population,” said Dr Archana Kumari, a political researcher from Patna. Mithilanchal produces 85% of country’s Makhana (fox nuts). The Makhana Board will benefit more than 5 lakh farmers cultivating it in Bihar’s Darbhanga, Madhubani, Saharsa, Supual, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Katihar, Purnia, Kishnaganj, Araria and other districts. Apart from this, the budget promised financial support for the western Kosi canal, which will benefit farmers cultivating around 50,000 hectares in the Mithilanchal region. Other proposals included setting up a new National Institute of Food Technology Entre, preneurship and Management in the state. H8L to H12L Rebate on income tax Bihar gets bulk of the allocations @New Delhi Illustration: Sourav Roy 20K 10K 20K 30K 0 40K 30K 50K 40K 10K 30K 40K 0 10K 40K 50K 0 K11L 65K 50K 15K 50K 65K 0 K12L 80K K16L 1.7L 60K 20K 60K 80K 0 1.2L 50K 0 50K 1.2L K20L K24L 2.9L 2L 90K 0 90K 2L 4.1L 3L 1.1L 0 1.1L 3L K50L 11.9L 10.8L 1.1L 0 1.1L 10.8L No tax for up to `12.75 Lakh, major overhaul in slabs D IPAK M O N D AL @ New Delhi FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday gave the middle class and common man enough reasons to smile when she announced her personal income tax proposals. Not only did she increase the income threshold up to which no taxes would be levied from `7 lakh to `12 lakh, she also changed the income tax slabs that will lead to a substantial reduction in tax burden for all taxpayers under the new tax regime. With these changes, and the standard deduction of `75,000, an individual earning `12.75 lakh a year will have to pay no taxes under the new tax regime. However, if one’s taxable income crosses that threshold, all the income would be taxed as per the new slabs, which are both magnanimous and generous. The new tax slab increases the basic exemption limit from `3 lakh to `4 lakh, which means the first `4 lakh would attract no taxes. Income from `4-8 lakh would attract a rate of 5%, `8 lakh-12 lakh would attract 10%. From `12,00,001 to `16 lakh, there will be 15% tax and from `16,00,001 to `20 lakh, the tax rate would be 20%. The government has introduced a new tax slab of 25%, which would be applicable income from `20,00,001 to `24 lakh. The highest tax slab of 30% kicks in only if the income crosses `24 lakh per annum. A taxpayer in the new regime with `12 lakh income will save `80,000 in tax (which is 100% of tax payable as per existing rates). A person earning `18 lakh will get a tax benefit of `70,000 (30% of tax payable as per existing rates), while a person with an income of `25 lakh gets a benefit of `1,10,000 (25% tax payable as per existing rates). Meanwhile, the FM also announced that the new direct tax bill will be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament. “The new income-tax bill will carry forward the same spirit of ‘Nyaya’, said the FM, adding that the new bill will be clear and direct in text with close to half of the present law, in terms of both chapters and words. New, simple Income tax bill coming The government will introduce a new Income Tax bill in Parliament next week, replacing the six-decade old income tax Sct of 1961. “The new bill will be clear and direct in text with close to half of the present law, in terms of both chapters and words. It will be simple to understand,” Sitharaman said State’s demands ignored, budget disappointing, says Balagopal E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Thiruvananthapuram The Kerala gover nment’s hopes of a substantial allocation to compensate its revenue loss and to fund key initiatives were dashed with the Union Budget ignoring most of its demands. The major demands in the pre-budget wish list submitted by the state included a special economic packa g e wor th `24,000 crore, a `2,000-crore package for Wayanad rehabilitation and `4,500 crore assistance for climate resilience activities. Terming the budget a big disappointment, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal said it failed to treat all states equally . “The special economic package and Wayanad rehabilitation package were just demands, and we had high hopes for them. The Union finance minister says the budget’s focus is on investment, development and export. But it is silent on the Vizhinjam port project, a major infrastructure project of recent times,” he said. He said the Union budget has kept aside `25 lakh crore for states. “The amount was `21 lakh crore in the previous budget. Last year, Kerala received only `32,ooo crore even though we were entitled to `73,000 crore, if population was a criterion,” he said. “This year, the allocation for states increased by `4 lakh crore. Kerala’s share from the additional allocation will be in the `3,000 crore-`4,000 crore range,” he added. In 2025-26, the estimated devolution of union taxes and duties to Kerala is `27,382.06 crore as against `24,772.38 crore in 2024-25. Kerala’s receipts from the Centre, including devolution and grants in 2024-25 was ● More on P5 `33,954 crore.  INSIDE healing touch to cancer care; med infra push I P7 insurance, id cards for gig workers I P7 tax cuts to increase consumption I P9 udan to connect 120 new destinations I P9 I10-cr fund to give fillip to msme startups I P9 defence gets L6.8 lakh cr, up by L59.6 cr I P11 e x p r ess r e a d Elderly couple charred to death as son sets house on fire in Alappuzha 8 Naxalites killed in encounter in Bijapur Guj riots survivor Zakia Jafri dies Alappuzha: The charred bodies of an elderly couple were found in the remains of a house in Kottamuri, near Chennithala, which was allegedly set ablaze by their son in the early hours of Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Raghavan, 96, and his wife Bharathi, 86. Mannar police arrested their son Vijayan. According to reports, the couple and Vijayan had differences over property. “Vijayan quarrelled regularly with parents over property. This may have been the motive for killing them. We suspect that he killed them before setting the house on fire,” police officers said. P3 Bijapur: Eight Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday. The gunfight broke out around 8.30 am in the forest in Gangaloor police station area. An operation was launched on Friday after receiving inputs about the presence of cadres of CPI (Maoists) in the area | P11 Ahmedabad: Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, died on Saturday in Ahmedabad at the age of 86. Ehsan Jafri was among 69 persons who were killed inside Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, on Feb 28, 2002 Nine tremors in six days rattle Uttarkashi Dehradun: Residents of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand have been rattled by a series of continuous earthquake tremors over the past 10 days, prompting seismologists to issue a warning urging locals to stay vigilant and acclimatise to living in such conditions WITH THIS ISSUE The New-collar Revolution PLUS 12 PAGES Arab states reject Don’s refugee plan Cairo: Powerful Arab nations on Saturday rejected US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan. The statement warned that such plans threaten the region’s stability, risk expanding the conflict, and undermine prospects for peace | P12