Sat Feb 01 04:23:05 UTC 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 providing relief to the middle class grappling with high prices and stagnant wages. The budget aims to achieve this while maintaining fiscal prudence.

The presentation follows the Economic Survey, which projects India’s economic growth at 6.3-6.8 percent for 2025-26. While the survey highlights the need for structural reforms and deregulation to sustain growth, it anticipates an increase in investment activity.

President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to a joint sitting of Parliament earlier this week, emphasized the government’s commitment to overcoming economic challenges, including the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and global uncertainties. She highlighted the government’s efforts to end policy paralysis and boost the economy.

This budget session will see the tabling of sixteen bills, including the crucial Finance Bill 2025, as well as amendments to the Waqf and Banking Regulations Acts and the merging of the Indian Railways and Indian Railways Board Acts. Further details of the budget’s provisions are expected to emerge throughout the day.

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