Sat Feb 01 16:19:59 IST 2025: ## Sitharaman Presents Eighth Consecutive Budget, Focusing on Middle Class Relief
**New Delhi** – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented her record eighth consecutive Union Budget, focusing on easing the burden on the middle class grappling with high prices and stagnant wages. The budget, described as fiscally prudent, comes on the heels of an Economic Survey projecting India’s economic growth at 6.3-6.8 percent in 2025-26. While the survey highlights the need for structural reforms and deregulation to sustain this growth, it anticipates an increase in investment activity.
President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to Parliament earlier this week, emphasized the government’s commitment to overcoming policy paralysis and boosting the economy despite global challenges like the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties.
This budget session will see the tabling of sixteen bills, including the Finance Bill 2025, amendments to the Waqf and Banking Regulations Acts, and a bill merging the Indian Railways and Indian Railways Board Acts. The focus on middle-class relief is expected to be a key theme throughout the budget’s presentation and subsequent debate. Further details on specific measures within the budget are awaited.
First Piper 