Did PM Modi Drop Hints For Big Budget Roll Outs For The Poor, Middle Class?

New Delhi: Will Budget 2025 have special provisions for the poor and the middle class? Ahead of the Budget Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address has sparked speculations in this regard. This has been triggered as the PM’s address on Friday (Jan 31) had a special mention for the poor and the middle class.

PM Modi evoked the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi at the beginning of his address and said he was praying that Lakshmi be especially generous towards the poor and the middle classes. “Maa Lakshmi gives us success and wisdom, prosperity and well-being. I pray to Maa Lakshmi that every poor and middle class community of the country should be blessed with the special blessings of Maa Lakshmi,” the PM said.

The PM’s remark a day before his third term government’s presentation of the second full Budget have triggered expectations of something out of the ordinary for the poor and the middle classes in the budgetary allocations for the upcoming fiscal.

This has even flared speculations as to whether there would be changes in the tax slabs, something which directly effects the middle class. The income tax slabs in India have not seen much change since 2020. But it would also be interesting to watch how will the government revise, if at all, the tax slabs at a time when there is a slowdown in the economy with India’s GDP growth dropping from 8.2% in 2023-24 to 6.4% in 2024-25, necessitating the need for policy efforts to boost consumption.

Coming to the poor, it is to be seen whether PM’s evoking of the goddess for the economically challenged sections is a hint for further enhancement of its welfare schemes. For instance, will the Modi 3.0 government restore the LPG subsidies, something that the BJP and many opposition parties have been mentioning in its pre-poll promises in several state elections. It is also to be seen if the government will further enhance existing programmes like PM-KISAN, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeewan Mission.