Expected Relief from Income Tax and Inflation Not Met*

**Udaipur,  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her record seventh budget, aiming to transition the country from a developing to a developed nation by announcing several schemes in areas such as agricultural productivity and resilience, employment and skills, inclusive human resource development and social justice, manufacturing and services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, research and development, and next-generation reforms. These initiatives have been welcomed by Senior C.A. Nirmal Singhvi.

Singhvi noted that the fiscal deficit is estimated to be 4.9% of GDP, which is an improvement from the interim budget's 5.1%, and is a commendable step. However, the budget fell short of providing the middle class with the expected relief from inflation.

The lack of changes in the basic exemption limit for income tax for several years has disappointed the middle class. Additionally, the proposal to increase long-term capital gains tax from 10% to 12.50% and short-term capital gains tax from 15% to 20% has dampened the hopes of investors and impacted the stock market.

Singhvi mentioned that the standard deduction proposal to increase from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 75,000 and the changes in the tax structure under the new tax regime could result in savings of up to Rs. 17,500 in income tax. The removal of angel tax for all categories of investors to strengthen the Indian startup ecosystem is a positive move.

In indirect taxes, the proposal to reduce the basic custom duty on mobile phones, mobile PCBs, and mobile chargers to 15%, and reduce customs duty on gold and silver to 6% and platinum to 6.5% is welcomed.

Singhvi also highlighted the proposal to provide employment to 41 million youth over the next five years and allocate over Rs. 11 lakh crore for capital expenditure on infrastructure development. The proposal to increase the loan limit from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh for successfully repaid loans under the "Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises" Tarun category is commendable.

Overall, this is a mixed budget. However, it failed to meet the expectations of the middle class, as it did not provide the anticipated relief in direct taxes.