Sat Feb 01 06:44:06 UTC 2025: ## Sitharaman Presents Record Eighth Budget, Focusing on Middle Class Relief

**New Delhi** – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented her record eighth consecutive Union Budget, focusing on measures to alleviate the burden on the middle class amid high prices and stagnant wages. The budget aims to achieve this while maintaining fiscal prudence.

The presentation follows the Economic Survey, which projected India’s economic growth at 6.3-6.8 percent for 2025-26. While the survey highlighted the need for structural reforms and deregulation to bolster long-term growth, it also anticipates a rise in investment activity.

President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to a joint session 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 stemming from ongoing conflicts.

This budget session will see the tabling of sixteen bills, including the crucial Finance Bill 2025, amendments to the Waqf and Banking Regulations Acts, and the merging of 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 unveiling and subsequent discussions.

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