Union Budget 2025: What Gets Costlier, What Gets Cheaper? Check List
Union Budget 2025: What Gets Costlier, What Gets Cheaper? Check List
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NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget for 2025-26, focusing on strategies to boost economic growth, foster inclusive development, and uplift household sentiments. She said that the budget aims to empower India's middle class by increasing their spending power and driving growth across society and industries.

Sitharaman outlined the budget's key objectives:

  1. Accelerate economic growth
  2. Promote inclusive development
  3. Energize both society and industry
  4. Enhance household sentiment
  5. Strengthen the spending capacity of India's expanding middle class

What's Getting Cheaper? Several items are now set to cost less, thanks to the new budget:

Mobile Phones: 28 new items, crucial for mobile phone battery production, will now be exempt from capital goods duties.

Life-saving Medicines: 36 critical medicines, including cancer drugs, will be fully exempt from Basic Customs Duty.

EV Batteries: The push to support electric vehicles continues with reduced duties on EV batteries.

Frozen Fish Paste (Surimi): Customs duties on frozen fish paste used in manufacturing products for export have been slashed from 30 percent to 5 percent.

Marine Products: Customs duties on certain marine products have been reduced.

Critical Minerals: 12 essential minerals will be subject to lower duties to support the manufacturing sector.

Shipbuilding Materials: Raw materials for ship manufacturing will be exempt from duties for another 10 years.

Other Items: Cobalt products, LED lights, zinc, and lithium-ion battery scrap will also benefit from reduced duties.

 

What's Getting More Expensive? On the flip side, a few items are going to cost more:

Flat Panel Displays: Expect to see higher prices for flat panel displays due to increased duties.

Knitted Fabrics gets Costlier 

Growth Forecast The budget comes at a time when India's GDP growth is projected to dip to a 4-year low of 6.4 percent for the current financial year, close to its decade-long average.

According to the Economic Survey for 2024-25, India's GDP is expected to grow between 6.3 percent and 6.8 percent in FY26. While this growth is steady, it's still below the 8 percent annual growth needed for India to reach its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047. 

Last year's budget saw customs duties reduced on a variety of items, including gold, silver, platinum, and other goods. This year, the focus remains on adjustments that will make certain products more affordable, while others will see a price hike.

This marks a significant slowdown from last year, where India registered an 8.2 percent growth in 2023-24. Despite a dip in growth, the government's focus remains on pushing reforms and boosting key sectors to fuel the next phase of economic development.

 

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