Union Budget 2025-26: Vision for 'Viksit Bharat' Unveiled

The Union Budget 2025-26 is praised for its transformative approach towards 'Viksit Bharat,' focusing on middle-class empowerment, MSMEs, and private investments to spur economic growth. Key attention is given to sectors including taxation, power, and urban development, with measures to boost consumption, employment, and sustainable development.

The Union Budget 2025-26 has been described as a transformative stride towards the 'Viksit Bharat' vision, prioritizing middle-class support, MSMEs, private investments, and employment generation, asserted the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI). Hemant Jain, President of PHDCCI, emphasized that strengthening the middle class and MSMEs will heighten consumption and production, stimulate private investments, and generate job opportunities.

The budget outlines key focus areas such as accelerating growth, ensuring inclusive development, and energizing the private sector. It also aims to enhance household spending and the spending power of India's burgeoning middle class, according to Jain. Major drivers of growth, infrastructure improvement, and sustainable development are expected to include taxation, power, urban development, mining, financial sector reforms, and regulatory changes.

Sanjiv Puri, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), highlighted the budget's capacity to catalyze economic activity and employment, especially in agriculture, MSMEs, and export-led sectors. He noted significant investments in human capital, urban infrastructure, and future-facing technologies. The budget's commitment to climate transition, with a focus on nuclear energy and innovation, was also praised, alongside the push for state-level sectoral interventions and incentivizations.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General of CII, recognized the budget's alignment with the government's 'big' and 'bold' initiatives for India's progress towards Viksit Bharat, stressing the boost in consumption spending through tax cuts and measures targeted at labor-intensive sectors. The budget's regulatory reforms are described as enhancing the country's investment appeal.

Key features include reforms in the power sector, a new income tax bill, and financial sector regulatory advancements, which Banerjee believes will drive economic growth. Measures to significantly reduce the middle-class tax burden, encouraging consumption, and supporting marginalized communities, such as women, particularly through term loans for SC/ST communities, were lauded by stakeholders including Joyshree Das Verma, National President of FICCI FLO.

Verma appreciated the budget's focus on financial inclusion and entrepreneurship opportunities for marginalized groups and commended programs like Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 for improving nutrition among vulnerable demographics. The budget also outlines support for MSMEs, offering enhanced credit and growth schemes in sectors like footwear and food processing, fostering job creation.

(With inputs from agencies.)