As Budget 2025 draws near, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman faces the challenge of tackling rising costs for essential goods like food, housing, and clothing. The upcoming budget, to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1st February, 2025, is expected to focus on stabilizing food prices, improving housing affordability for both urban and rural areas, and boosting the textile sector through strategic subsidies, tax breaks, and additional support for key programs.

Housing: Making the Dream of Owning a Home More Affordable

For many Indians, owning a home remains out of reach as property prices in cities like Mumbai and Delhi rose by 13–30% in 2024, according to Anarock Research. The 2024-25 Budget increased the funding for the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry by 20.4%, with a significant 36.5% hike in funding for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). 

What Budget 2025 Can Do for Affordable Housing

To address the housing affordability gap, Budget 2025 could introduce measures to boost urban housing projects and provide more funding for rural housing initiatives. The Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme for migrant workers might also receive additional attention, with a focus on strengthening public-private partnerships to make construction easier and increase rental options.

Clothing: Reviving the Textile Sector

India’s textile sector, which employs over 45 million people, is struggling with low domestic demand, rising costs, and intense global competition. Clothing expenditures have dropped from 6% to 4% over the past decade, according to the National Account Statistics 2024.

The 2024-25 Budget allocated Rs 4,417.09 crore for the textile sector, up from Rs 3,443 crore the previous year, and proposed customs duty cuts to boost textile exports. Despite these efforts, India's share in global textile exports remains low, standing at just 3.9% as of January 2025.

What Budget 2025 Can Plan for the Textile Industry

Reviving the textile industry will require both financial and structural reforms. Budget 2025 is expected to reduce GST rates on basic garments to make clothing more affordable for consumers. Furthermore, the budget may offer incentives for domestic textile production and support the modernization of the sector through programs like the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS).

Food: Dealing with Rising Food Inflation and Subsidies

In the 2024-25 Budget, the government allocated Rs 2,05,250 crore for food subsidies, down from Rs 2,12,332 crore in the previous year. Experts, however, are calling for more long-term reforms to sustainably control food prices.

Food prices remain a key concern for Indian families, with around 40% of household income spent on food, according to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). In 2024, food inflation surged dramatically, with tomato prices spiking by 161% and potatoes rising by 65%. To ease the burden, the government extended food subsidies through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which benefited over 80 crore people.

What Budget 2025 Can Do to Tackle Food Prices

The upcoming budget is expected to include targeted measures to address food inflation. Expanding food subsidy programs and enhancing support for agricultural production could help stabilize prices. There may also be increased funding for programs like the Ujjwala Yojana, which provides subsidized LPG to low-income households. Currently, beneficiaries receive Rs 300 per cylinder, but experts suggest extending this subsidy to non-Ujjwala households, especially as global energy prices continue to rise.

The affordability issues surrounding food, housing, and clothing have broad economic implications. Budget 2025 will need to not only offer immediate relief through subsidies but also implement long-term solutions. Measures like tax relief for the middle class, expanded job opportunities, and sector-specific reforms could ensure economic stability and renewed consumer spending. 

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget 2025, the stakes are high. The public is eagerly waiting to see if she can strike the perfect balance between affordability and growth. With various sectors, from real estate to renewable energy, looking for incentives and support, Sitharaman's challenge is to create a budget that caters to diverse needs while driving economic growth.

As Sitharaman crafts the budget, all eyes will be on her to deliver a budget that meets the high public expectations and sets the tone for India's economic growth in the coming year.