Highlights: FM Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement on February 1 brings a gift for the Indian middle class with no tax payable up to ₹12 lakh income.

New Delhi: The Centre has introduced customs duty rationalisation to ensure that the Indian economy becomes aatmanirbhar (self-reliant), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a post-budget interview with NDTV.

Nirmala Sitharaman gave the middle class a huge boost when she declared that anyone earning up to Rs 12 lakh would not be subject to taxes.

LIVE: During the Union Budget 2025 announcements, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that under the new tax slabs, over one crore taxpayers will be exempt from paying taxes

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2025-26, marking her shortest full budget speech at 1 hour and 14 minutes. Notable past achievements include delivering the longest budget speech in 2020 and presenting India's first paperless budget in 2021.

Sitharaman will present the budget today at 11:00 am. The Parliamentary Budget session kicked off on January 31, 2025. The session is being conducted in two phases: the first part runs from January 31 to February 13, while the second segment is scheduled between March 10 and April 4.

In her Union Budget 2025, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the allocation for the PM Internship Scheme, a key initiative aimed at providing students and trained youth with valuable work experience.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget 2025 this week. This will be her eig

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday, highlighting the government's commitment to uplifting the poor (garib), youth, farmers (annadata), and women (nari).