FM Goes For Big Push To Job-Led Inclusive Growth

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented the Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament with an aim at accelerating employment-led inclusive growth, propelled by investments in the agricultural and rural sector, MSMEs and exports while sticking to the fiscal consolidation path. MSMEs have been identified as the second engine of growth, and the focus will be on the 5.7 crore MSMEs, which include over one crore registered businesses employing 7.5 crore people and contributing 36 per cent to India’s manufacturing.

These MSMEs are crucial in positioning India as a global manufacturing hub, responsible for 45 per cent of the nation’s exports. To boost their growth and efficiency, the government will enhance the investment and turnover limits for MSMEs, increasing them by 2.5 times and 2 times, respectively. This move is expected to empower MSMEs to scale up, innovate, and generate more employment opportunities for the youth. The Finance Minister announced that the government will implement specific policy and facilitation measures to boost the productivity, quality, and competitiveness of India’s footwear and leather sector products.

This scheme is expected to create employment for 22 lakh people, generate over Rs400 crore, and achieve exports of over Rs1.1 lakh crore. In addition, measures will be introduced for the toy sector, building on the National Action Plan for Toys. A new scheme will aim to establish India as a global hub for toys, focusing on developing clusters, skills, and a manufacturing ecosystem that will produce high-quality, innovative, and sustainable toys, representing the “Made in India” brand, the Finance Minister said.

“This budget is dedicated to accelerating growth, driven by our aspirations for a ‘Viksit Bharat.’ Our economy remains the fastest growing among all major economies,” the Finance Minister said on the floor of the Lok Sabha.

The key domains covered in the Union Budget include taxation, power, urban development, mining, the financial sector, and regulatory reforms. These areas are central to the government’s focus on driving growth, improving infrastructure, enhancing governance, and ensuring sustainable development across various sectors.

She has kept the budget deficit target on a declining path to 4.4 per cent of GDP in 2025-26 from 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2024-25. The net market borrowing for the budget has been fixed at Rs11.54 crore while the rest of the funds will come from small savings and other sources, the Finance Minister said.