Here are the main highlights from Nirmala Sitharaman’s record seventh budget presentation on Tuesday.

Hike of Capital Gains Tax

Short-term capital gains tax was increased to 20% for financial assets from 15%. Similarly, long-term capital gains tax is increased to 12.5% from 10%. Securities transaction tax for futures and options was increased to 0.02% and 0.1%.

Changes To The New Tax Regime

Standard deductions in the new tax regimes increased from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.

The new tax Regime will have the following tax slabs:

• Income up to ₹3 lakh: Nil
• ₹3 lakh to ₹7 lakh: 5%
• ₹7 lakh to ₹10 lakh: 10%
• ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh: 15%
• ₹12 lakh to ₹15 lakh: 20%
• Above ₹15 lakh: 30%

Removal of Indexation on Property Sale

The Budget also announced the removal of indexation benefits for the sale of property while reducing the long-term capital gains tax on property sales to 12.5%, from the existing 20%.

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Custom Duty Exemptions

Custom duty is exempted for three more medicines used for cancer treatment. Basic Customs Duty is reduced for mobile phones and accessories to 15%. Custom duty on gold and silver was reduced to 6%. 25 critical minerals were fully exempt from customs duties, and basic custom duties (BCD) were reduced on two of them.

Reduction of Fiscal Deficit

The government projected fiscal deficit to be at 4.9% of GDP compared to 5.1% in the Interim budget. It also aims to
reduce the deficit to 4.5% of GDP.

Capex Allocation

The government maintained the FY25 capex outlay of ₹11.11 Lakh crore which is 3.4% of GDP same as announced in the interim budget.

Bihar

The government announced medical colleges, sports infrastructure, airports and road connectivity in Bihar. It has also allocated ₹26,000 crore for various road projects in Bihar. It also announced several schemes to promote tourism in Gaya, Rajgir and Nalanda.

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh will get ₹15,000 crore as special financial support through multilateral agencies in FY25, the finance minister announced in the budget speech.

Simplification of FDI Investment

The government will simplify rules in FDI and overseas investment and promote Indian Rupee for overseas investment.

Employment Linked Incentives

First-time employees registering in EPFO will get a direct benefit transfer of 1-month salary in three instalments, up to ₹15,000.

Mudra Loans

The government also increased the limit of Mudra loans to ₹20 Lakh from ₹10 Lakh for those who have availed
and repaid previous loans.

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