Atmanirbhar Budget for consumption and development: The ABCD of Budget 2025

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The markets somersaulted. India Inc cheered.

Opposition benches remained sullen. And for once, the salaried taxpayers had a faint smile on their faces. Nirmala Sitharaman’s record eighth Union Budget had something for everyone.

Here’s a handy alphabetized list of the key themes that shaped the most important financial document of the year: It can’t be a Budget without annadatas and agriculture, can it? Identifying agriculture as one of the four powerful engines in India’s journey of development (the other three being MSMEs, investment and exports), the Budget unveiled a slew of measures for the farm sector, including the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana to enhance agricultural productivity; a Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses with a special focus on tur, urad and masoor; a comprehensive programme to boost production of fruits and vegetables; a National Mission on High Yielding Seeds; and an enhanced limit of ₹5 lakh for loans taken through Kisan Credit Cards. Bihar remained the flavour of the Budget speech for the second straight year, in a reflection of the political compulsions of the Modi 3.0 administration. Bihar was mentioned six times by Sitharaman, who did not name any other state during her over-hour-long speech.

Proposals ranged from the quirky (setting up of a Makhana Board) to the substantial (greenfield airports, Western Koshi Canal Project, and a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management). Bihar goes to the polls later this year. Finally, a much-needed morale booster for the middle class.