All eyes are on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she is set to present her eighth consecutive Union Budget and the first of the Narendra Modi government's third term in office. Sitharaman will deliver the Budget speech in the Lok Sabha at 11 am on Saturday, February 1.

The Union Budget for 2025-26 is expected to continue the government's policy of giving a big push to economic growth with equity.

CREDIT: ANI

The government has prioritised improving the quality of life in rural areas to ensure equitable and inclusive development, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25.

The survey highlights financial inclusion as a key focus, with rural households and small businesses getting easier access to credit through microfinance institutions, self-help groups, and other intermediaries.

Also read: Budget 2025: Economic Survey predicts GDP to grow at 6.3-6.8%, says fundamentals remain strong

Many, especially the middle class, are expecting some favourable announcements from Sitharaman.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, for elevating the poor and middle class.

CREDIT: IANS

"I pray to Goddess Lakshmi that the poor and the middle-class sections in the country are blessed by her," Modi had said.

Most analysts and experts have said that they expect some tax cuts to be announced in the Budget.

This includes a reduction in income tax rates, along with a hike in the standard deduction. Under the old tax regime, the basic income exemption limit is set at Rs 2.50 lakh, while for those opting for the new tax regime, the limit is fixed at Rs 3 lakh.

CREDIT: IANS

The lower income tax burden would place more disposable income in the hands of the people to accelerate demand and give a further fillip to growth.

Another area many are looking at closely in the Budget is Sitharaman announcing policies and initiatives to accelerate progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

With the recent release of DeepSeek, the Chinese AI chatbot, there have been growing calls for the creation of an Indian LLM.

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