The Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament. The speech lasted for 74 minutes. Many key announcements were made in the budget.
While the Economic Survey spoke about deregulation, the union budget was largely consumption-based, with increasing the purchase power of citizens being the central tenet of the budget.
Industry leaders have now reacted to the budget and shared their thoughts on the budget.
Transformative Step
"The government's decision to increase FDI in insurance from 74 per cent to 100 per cent is a transformative step. This policy balances global capital and expertise with domestic economic interests," said Kunal Varma, Co-Founder and CEO, Freo.
Varma further added that the sector expects it to attract global players, foster competition, drive innovation, and make insurance more affordable and accessible. The influx of foreign investment will also catalyze digital transformation, aligning with our vision of leveraging technology for seamless financial solutions.
Increasing Financial Accessibility
The Union Budget 2025 makes significant strides in expanding financial access and security for businesses and individuals. With doubled credit limits Rs 10 crore for MSMEs and Rs 20 crore for startups—alongside a lower 1 per cent fee for priority sectors, the enhanced credit guarantee framework aims to unlock Rs 1.5 lakh crore in credit over five years, enabling businesses to scale and innovate more effectively.
Easing Financial Network
According to Vishal Jain, CEO, Manipal Business Solutions The government's initiative to revamp the Central KYC Registry in 2025 marks a transformative leap toward a more efficient and seamless compliance process.
By streamlining the KYC framework, this move will eliminate redundancies, accelerate digital onboarding, and further enhance financial inclusion.
With technology at the forefront, automation and AI-powered solutions will drive real-time compliance, minimizing friction for both financial institutions and customers.
This visionary step lays the foundation for a more secure, transparent, and agile financial ecosystem in India, empowering progress and trust across the sector.
"This budget boldly addresses the need of the hour: putting money into the hands of the middle class through meaningful tax reliefs. This will energise consumption and growth at a critical time for the Indian economy.", said Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss MF
Empowering MSMEs and Startups
The Union Budget 2025 has once again established the Government’s continued support for the MSME sector. There are a few takeaways for the sector, the limits for MSME classification have been enhanced from 2 to 2.5 times, which will benefit the sector. opined UGRO Capital CFO Kishore Lodha.
The guarantee scheme for micro and small enterprises has been expanded from a maximum limit of Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore, which will increase credit flow to this segment. Additionally, 10 lakh credit cards will be issued to MSMEs, helping them manage working capital more effectively.
According to Lodha, several measures have also been announced for startups, further strengthening the Startup India mission.
These initiatives will elevate the program to new heights by providing for easing compliance norms, and increasing funding opportunities.
With sector-specific support in areas such as artificial intelligence, green energy, and biotechnology, these efforts will boost employment and position India as a global startup hub. Overall, this Budget reinforces the Government’s commitment to empowering MSMEs and startups, driving sustained economic growth and job creation.
