New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth consecutive Budget on Saturday (February 1, 2025). Interestingly, it was delivered from a digital tablet enclosed in a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ style pouch.
“Our economy is the fastest-growing among all major economies. Our development track record over the past 10 years and structural reforms have drawn global attention. Confidence in India’s capability and potential has only grown during this period. We see the next five years as a unique opportunity to realize Sabka Vikas, stimulating balanced growth across all regions,” she began her speech. FM Sitharaman added, “In this Budget, the proposed development measures span 10 broad areas, focusing on the poor, youth, farmers and women.”
The full speech PDF of the Union Budget 2025-26 will be available shortly. Until then, check out her complete speech here:
Union Budget 2025-26
The Union Budget 2025-26, approved by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marked the second Budget of the BJP-led NDA government in its third term. This year’s Budget, like the past three years, was also in paperless form.
In her first Budget in 2019, Sitharaman replaced the leather briefcase, used for decades to carry Budget documents, with the traditional ‘bahi-khata’ pouch. As per established tradition, she first met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament. President Murmu offered curd and sugar, considered auspicious, to Sitharaman before she left to present the Union Budget.
The Budget provided a glimpse of the Modi government’s measures to boost the economy. Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in the opening trade ahead of the much-anticipated presentation. While the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 136.44 points to 77,637.01 in early trade, the NSE Nifty went up by 20.2 points to 23,528.60. Union Budget 2025 Full Speech PDF: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget for the fiscal year starting April 2025 (FY2025-26) marked the 14th consecutive Budget under the Narendra Modi government since 2014. This includes two interim Budgets presented ahead of the general elections in 2019 and 2024, respectively. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
