MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 ZAKIA JAFRI, WHO FOUGHT LEGAL BATTLE ON GUJARAT RIOTS, DIES AT 86 MUMBAI,LATECITY FEBRUARY2,2025 26+4PAGES,`6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA THE POLITICS People’s Budget, force-multiplier, it is about filling pockets of citizens: PM EXPRESS NETWORK THE ECONOMY Recipefor6%-plusgrowth:tightgrip onthefisc;debt/GDPrationewfocus EX-CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER NAVIN CHAWLA DIES PAGE 12 eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE ‘Cinema can surprise you, throw you off. That is why I fell in love with the movies’ SHAHID KAPOOR FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT THE STATES Several schemes for poll-bound Bihar, Opp-ruled states say nothing for them Taxpayer Thanksgiving REVENUE FOREGONE IN TAX RELIEF: Rs 1 LAKH CRORE Income up to Rs 12 lakh tax-free; consumption, capex key drivers ANIL SASI & P VAIDYANATHAN IYER NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1 IF UNION Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s seventh Budget after the BJP returned to power was about coalition politics, the Budget for 2025-26 seems to bet big on an unprecedentedtaxbonanzatopushflagging consumption alongside a continuing thrust on capital expenditure to maintain a 6-per cent plus growth momentum. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HOW TAX LIABILITY COMES DOWN AnnualTaxable Taxatcurrent Taxatproposed Income* NTRrates NTRrates 12lakh** `80,000 0 13lakh `1,00,000 `75,000 17lakh `2,00,000 `1,40,000 21lakh `3,20,000 `2,25,000 25lakh `4,40,000 `3,30,000 30lakh `5,90,000 `4,80,000 40lakh `8,90,000 `7,80,000 50lakh `11,90,000 `10,80,000 Savings `80,000 `25,000 `60,000 `95,000 `1,10,000 `1,10,000 `1,10,000 `1,10,000 *After excluding standard deduction of Rs 75,000 **Govt has proposed nil tax on taxable income up to Rs 12 lakh MIDDLE-CLASS CONFIDENCE-BUILDING Bid to bring trust back into taxpayer-exchequer equation 02/02/2025 82 110 135 72 BMC PROJECTS STUCK P 10 AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1 ATTHEHEARTofFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s decision to extend an income tax largesse seems to be an idea to build trust between the government and the honest citizen taxpayers — a whopping 1.75 crore of them. In a country, which has just over 10 crore taxpayers, theintenttosimplifythe tax regime with lower TDS/TCS compliances, raise the income tax rebatelimitandrejigthetax slabs, has been to repose CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INCOME TAX SLABS RECAST UNION BUDGET 2025-2026 MACRO Debt/GDP new metric for fiscal prudence, subsidy bill set to fall INFRASTRUCTURE New nuclear mission, opening sector to pvt PERSONAL FINANCE 100% FDI in insurance allowed; capital gains tax on FIIs at 12.5% SOCIAL SECTOR Cancer care at district hospitals; health cover for gig workers MANUFACTURING National Manufacturing Mission; Customs duty cut on several products MSMEs Investment, turnover limits enhanced; hike in credit guarantee cover EXPLAINED Impact on the economy THE EDITORIAL PAGE The delicate balance By SAJID Z CHINOY PAGES 6, 8, 9, 13-21 & 23 Rs 80,000 a year and up: Banking on increase in take-home to spur spends BUSINESS AS USUAL SUKALP SHARMA & SANDEEP SINGH BY UNNY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1 THE INCOME Tax bonanza, including increase in exemption slab from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 12 lakh (annual income) and tweaks in rates and slabs, will benefit taxpayers across income brackets. With the increase in exemptionslabtoRs12lakh,thosewho earn up to Rs 1 lakh per month CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘BETRAYAL OF POOR, JOBLESS’ Opp: No new ideas, it does not address root problems ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1 CALLINGthetaxrelief amerebid to woo the middle class, the OppositionpartiesSaturdaysaid that the third-term Modi government’sfirstfullBudgetlacked “new ideas,” the “will to reach beyond its grasp.” Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said that in the wake of the Budget, the slowing economy would just “trudge along on the old path” and deliver the usual 6% or 6.5% growth in2025-26."Thisisafarcryfrom the 8% growth rate that the CEA (Chief Economic Advisor V AnanthaNageswaran)estimated CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her way to present the Budget, in New Delhi on Saturday. Praveen Khanna Tax Savings What’s Next? Investing Savings with Mutual Funds is SIPlified. 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