Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Will middle class finally see some tax relief?

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary met President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025 in the Lok Sabha at 11am.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: The first budget of the third term of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was presented in July 2024.

The finance minister also announced a slew of tax measures, offering relief to some taxpayers while raising the tax liability for others. The standard deduction was raised from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Budget documents are being taken inside the Parliament, a video shared by PTI shows. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the budget at 11am in the Lok Sabha.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Ahead of the Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech, the stock market opened positively. At 9.15am, Sensex was 113 points higher, Nifty was up by 37 points.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman showed the tablet containing Budget documents before leaving for the Parliament from the finance ministry.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Congress' Lok Sabha Chief Whip K Suresh ahead of Budget presentation in the Parliament tells PTI: "We are not expecting much about the common people, unemployed youths or farmers. This Budget will be focusing on the corporates and upper-class people and multinational companies..."

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: On budge, Ayodhya resident Dharmendra Verma tells ANI: "The biggest thing is the middle class. We would want a relaxation in tax slabs. We would want more relaxation for middle class so that India's economy and purchasing power further increase...We want something concrete."

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 in the Parliament at 11am today.

The Budget speech by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be broadcast live from 11:00 am on February 1 and can be watched on the official Union Budget website (indiabudget.gov.in) and Sansad TV.

For real-time updates and expert analysis, readers can also tune in to Hindustan Times coverage.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has arrived at the ministry of finance. She will present the Union Budget 2025 in the Parliament today at 11am.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has left her residence, reports ANI. She will present the Union Budget 2025 at the Parliament today.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Taxpayers, particularly lower middle tax, may likely get relief in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget on Saturday, according to Deloitte India economist Rumki Majumdar.

"Most likely they (should) probably look at the ₹7-10 lakh income slab, which is where they can probably go for more exemptions. That is a possibility," she tells PTI.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: With Budget 2025 just hours away, real estate experts are calling for urgent reforms to boost affordable housing and support homeownership for the middle class.

While the luxury housing market continues to thrive, experts stress that the key priority should be expanding the supply of homes in the ₹60 lakh to ₹1 crore price range.

Experts suggest the government reintroduce the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, increase tax rebates on home loans, and revise income and loan eligibility criteria to improve housing affordability.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: The Congress is planning to stage a protest inside the Parliament ahead of the Union Budget presentation over the recent stampede at the Maha Kumbh that has claimed at least 30 lives, people aware of the matter said on Friday.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: In anticipation of a pro-growth Budget, the benchmark Sensex jumped 741 points, while Nifty rallied to close above 23,500.

Among the top gainers on the BSE Sensex were L&T, Nestle India and IndusInd Bank. Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and ITC Hotels recorded losses.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: A banker in Mumbai tells ANI: “The most important thing would be some relaxation in the tax slabs for salaried people. It has not happened for years but it should be done...”

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Assocham Jammu and Kashmir council chairman Manik Batra says that the public is expecting some tax reliefs in the Budget.

“We are very excited for the Union Budget today. Expectation for every common man is tax reliefs... tax relief on income tax. We are expecting some tax slabs to be increased so that... there can be better exemptions,” Batra tells PTI.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Ahead of the Budget, Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders. The rate of 19 KG commercial LPG gas cylinders has been reduced by ₹7 with effect from today.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Analysts and experts are expecting some tax rationalisation, export push, better implementation of capital spending plans and clear roadmap on structural reforms.

DK Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor, EY India, told PTI: "As we navigate a challenging economic landscape, the upcoming budget must balance fiscal prudence with growth-oriented measures. Increasing capital expenditure and putting more disposable income in the hands of consumers, particularly urban consumers, will be pivotal to uplifting growth in domestic demand".

The 2024-25 Economic Survey has recommended throwing the kitchen sink at the textile export challenge to exploit the economic potential of this sector. Its recommendations include nudging creation of localised complex value chains, cutting regulatory cholesterol, focusing on man-made rather than cotton fabrics and striking trade deals to boost competitiveness. Read more.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: The rupee pared initial losses and settled at 86.62 against the US dollar on Friday. Unabated foreign fund outflows and month-end dollar demand negated support from positive domestic equities.

Forex traders said the rupee continued to face pressure due to sustained foreign fund outflows and the broad strength of the American currency in the overseas markets, which is fueled by unabated dollar demand from oil importers and a weak risk appetite.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at the possibility of a generous Budget for the poor and middle classes.

Evoking the Hindu goddess of wealth, Modi said he was praying that Lakshmi be especially generous towards the poor and the middle classes. To be sure, he also spoke about the need for prudence and achievement.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: The Economic Survey presented by Sitharaman in the Parliament has projected India’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the range of 6.3% to 6.8% for the financial year (FY) 2025-26.

It indicates that India's world-beating growth is moderating and more needs to be done to achieve the near 8 per cent annual rate required to achieve the Viksit Bharat target by 2047.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: FM Nirmala Sitharaman gave final touches to the Budget document on Friday evening ahead of the presentation.

"Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman interacts with the Secretaries and the senior officials involved in the Budget making process @FinMinIndia while giving final touches to the Union Budget 2025-26 at her office in North Block, in New Delhi, today," the finance ministry said in a post on X.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her record eighth consecutive Union Budget today. The salaried class will be expecting a major relief in income tax rates/slabs to ease the burden of inflation.

Income Tax Budget 2025 Live: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025-'26 in the Lok Sabha today at 11 am.